My kids did private lessons at Eastside Swim School and we were absolutely blown away by how much…read morethey both advanced in just one summer. One of my children was petrified of the water and wouldn't submerge his head on the first day, and three months later, he was literally swimming across the pool independently. My other child could just barely swim, and by the end of a few months, he could nearly beat his instructor in a swimming race across the pool. Lisa and her staff are incredible. They are dedicated to helping kids learn water safety awareness, building confidence and independence, improving swimming technique and endurance, all while encouraging kids to have fun and truly enjoy the water. We are so grateful to Lisa and her teachers (our boys adored Aidan!) for helping my children learn the important life skill of swimming--something they will take with them for the rest of their lives!

I was beyond impressed with the instructions that my teenage daughter received. After multiple…read moresessions of swim lessons elsewhere over the years, my daughter still could not swim at fifteen. After one session with Gelsi she emerged from the pool so proud that she actually swam. The way that Gelsi broke down her instruction into logical points that clicked with my daughter was much appreciated. Also, the owner, Lisa, is responsive and easy to communicate with. She checked in with us following the first lesson to make sure that we were happy.

If you or your child has a fear of water, I can not recommend Orca Swim enough! As an adult, I was…read moreone of those people who wouldn't even put their face in the water and now I can confidently hang out in the deep end and even go snorkeling in open water, something I wouldn't have considered a couple years ago. Yes, the classes are more expensive than most courses, but you spend a lot of time in the water with each class and you get individual attention with the small class sizes. Not to mention that being in a class with other students who were as petrified as I was made me feel like I wasn't alone. You also get a nice warm pool so you don't have to worry about staying warm and can just have fun. These courses are for true beginning students. Instead of focusing on strokes, they focus on being comfortable in the water no matter what you are doing. I tried several classes around the area before these and the instructors would dive right into teaching us the strokes and only had 30 minute class times. That's fine if you swam as a child and want a refresher, but didn't work for me as someone who had avoided water all of my life. Orca Swim classes were completely worth the money! I have no regrets and have since taken additional classes here or just gone back to enjoy the warm pool. As a note: This is one of two locations in the area -- the other is in Seattle. I've been to both and would recommend you use whichever one works with your schedule and your commute. I believe they also teach classes at other locations around the Sound, so go to their website for more info.

We went to our sons first swim lesson with Orca. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the…read morefacility and how it is marketed on the website. I felt with a nice website, a private swim school, and higher prices, the facility would match what is offered. I cant believe how unprofessional and how a business is legally operated out of that place. "This is a private indoor pool with many outdoor features like beautiful plants that surround the deck. The pool has both shallow and deep water, it also features a small hot tub. The water temperature in the pool is a consistent 90 degrees. Our classes are exclusive to this pool." Pros: 1) Importantly, the teacher was amazing with kids Cons: 1) The facility/pool looked horrendous. The floors around the pool, the bathrooms were filthy. The random chairs, some dirty , some clean, lack thereof etc... 2) Hot tub? it looked like a hot mess with junk toys and leaves at the bottom of it. 3) Parking situation is a nightmare. Check out the facility before signing up!

My 4-year old daughter has been doing lessons at SwimGuru for over a year now, and I've been so…read moreimpressed with the progress made so far! She went from being deathly afraid of the water to basically becoming a mermaid, requesting longer swim lessons regularly and expressing disappointment when it's not "swim lesson" day. We've taken lessons from a few different coaches, and they've all been excellent with clear communication and knowing how much to challenge her. Would highly recommend to anyone wanting their child to feel more comfortable in the water and more importantly, to obtain and hone valuable self-rescue skills.

My son can swim a whole lap in 9 months. He started 9 months ago at age 5 and now intermittently…read moretakes lessons when there's time. Worth every penny. He recently joins Goldfish swim school for group lessons and he swims with 7 and 8 year old's. I see kids at Goldfish taking 1-2 years to learn what my son learned in 9 months at Swimguru. Glad I spent the money and didn't waste time driving around for to other lessons that only give minimal progress. If you want results and don't like wasting time, then pick Swimguru. My son loves all his coaches. Thank you coach Rhys, Mitch, Emma, and Molly!

My instructor Jake was amazing! Patient and encouraging. I would definitely recommend this swim…read moreschool.

Multiple negative experiences trying swim lessons here. Do not recommend…read more More details: We arrived 10 minutes early and waited until 3 minutes past the lesson start time. The woman who we learned was Kaylie was standing around on her phone that whole time until she came over and started the lesson late. We filled out your intake forms sharing information about swimming background and goals, but it didn't seem like Kaylie read them, so we rushed to share experience and goals while the student was getting in the water. The lesson itself didn't cover anything new for the student. Kaylie then rushed to end the lesson on time, despite starting over a few minutes late, which is significant for a single 15 minute lesson. The student didn't learn anything and was rushed out of the pool. We understand it was our first time, but feeling stressed about our lesson was starting late and getting shorter than the 15 minutes we paid for was very frustrating. We had similar negative experiences on subsequent attempts to give this place a shot. Do not recommend, especially not Kaylie McRea.

DO NOT TAKE CLASSES HERE! THEY RIP YOU OFF! My son's soccer schedule changed and he could no longer…read moreattend his swim lessons, I called to cancel well before the next billing cycle and they said I had to pay for an ENTIRE MONTH of CLASSES before the cancellation would start. so basically they charge you for ONE FULL MONTH AFTER YOU CALL TO CANCEL! What a rip off. They are inflexible regarding schedule changes and impossible to deal with. TOTAL RIP OFF.

My wife and daughter were taking a swimming class at the pool, and tried using locker room for…read morechanging. They were *kicked* out of locker room because "kids are not allowed". Why are you making kid swimming classes if you don't allow kids in the locker room? You can't even enter pool without going through lockers! I don't care if it's a new or old "policy". It's an open discrimination, it's unreasonable and not acceptable.

My family has enjoyed our time here. Kids use kids club, wife and I use gym facilities, and I can…read moreswim there. Seems like a diverse and friendly communit.

Goofy hours, seems like every time it works for me to get a workout in they're closed. Front desk…read morestaff will let you walk right past with a couple of minutes before a lame closing time and laugh at you when you have to an exit through an inconvenient side door. But hey, The Y, right? Not like it's a Planet Fitness or anything.

My 4-year-old loves being in the pool! The Shoreline pool is really clean and the location is so…read moreconvenient for us. We were lucky to snag some training lessons at a lower cost and those were great for my daughter to experience and get used to the location. They're patient and take the time to teach important techniques - my daughter, on the other hand, gets easily distracted and it can be hard for her to focus and listen to directions. Nevertheless, we look forward to scheduling her for more classes! I only wish the classes were longer than 20 minutes.

McDonald swim school was the perfect choice for my son and his best friend to learn how to swim…read moretogether. Not only did they learn how to swim, they created life long memories!

My daughter took lessons with them from when she was 4 until 8 years old. The things I really like…read moreabout them: - you pay on a monthly basis and get the time slot you want and keep it as long as you continue to pay. None of that re-enrolling after 10 weeks (or however long other swim programs are) and writing down 3 time slot choices (hoping to get your #1 choice). - group session is maximum of 3 swimmers! - consistent teachers. My daughter had teacher John for almost 2 years before seeing a different teacher. - program director is very receptive of comments. Example: one new teacher talked a lot in the beginning to the point the kids were no longer listening. Explained the situation to the program director and the following week, there was improvement. Short instructions, kids listened well, and ample swim time. My daughter would've stayed with Orca if it weren't for the fact that she wanted to join a swim team and needed that next-level program to improve her endurance and skill set. I always recommend first time swimmers to check out Orca.

Orca Swim School is amazing!!! Have you been reluctant to pursue swimming for whatever reason. Or…read moreseveral reasons? Have other lessons been a poor experience? Me, too. Orca's unique approach to swimming truly is a miracle. I just completed the 8 class beginner course in the Bothell pool. I am amazed they were able to overcome all my years of negative self-talk and experiences and now I am able to hang out comfortably in the deep end of the pool. They dispelled all my misconceptions I had about swimming and myself. Do you want to feel safe and actually enjoy yourself in this new phase of your life? Contact Orca Swim School. I am so glad I did. Truly enlightening.