Go anywhere else! Stay away! They are liars and scammers! Completely unethical and unprofessional! Tarrik Daou is the executive director of the Lucile Cowle Swim School (now Daland Swim School). This man has no conscience, no ethical compass, and does business dirty to make a profit. He is unhinged, condescending, and worships money over service, professionalism, and honesty. My child is autistic and is a Regional Center client. Lucile Cowle, also under Daland Swim School, said that they would create an account with a 3rd party payer so that they could be directly paid by the 3rd party vendor with the Lanterman Regional Center. I started communicating with Lucile Cowle Swim School on March 5, 2025. It is now July 2026 (16 months later), and I was finally reimbursed financially after countless calls and emails. The only way that I was paid for adaptive swim lessons was to bypass LC completely, and Aveanna 3rd-party payers conducted a full investigation to unpack their numerous lies. Dealing with this unethical company was so traumatic and all-consuming. Aveanna had to create an internal memo to no longer deal with this company because they would often refuse to respond, say they already did without turning in the necessary paperwork, and they never responded to the Lanterman Regional Center. My Lanterman Regional Center worker constantly reached out to LC, and their statements about when they responded do not align with any of the paper trail. They have made it difficult at every turn. Read my reviews. I never posted a single negative review of a business before today. Even when I get less than stellar service or food/goods-I try to give businesses the benefit of the doubt and don't want to damage their business in chance it was just an off day. However, this took 16 months of my time, and the executive director, Tarrik Daou, was so nasty, condescending, and more fearful of not covering his bases when too many outside parties (not me) came with financial questions than actually providing honest, reputable service or transparent, ethical accounting. I have a long paper trail to back up every claim I make, as opposed to Lucile Cowle (now Daland Swim School), who can't keep records or even finish setting up a business account after 8 months. This is step 1 of any financial accounting. I just can't in any good conscience recommend this awful institution or Tarrik's narcissistic personality as someone you want to deal with. Please. There are other reputable swim schools who won't lie to you. I don't call people liars easily; in fact, I literally never have before in any business review. I had to come up with a long paper trail and unravel his lies because he's such an expert gaslighter; you want to double and triple-check facts to make sure the accounting is done correctly. Please take your business elsewhere. There are swim schools that actually care about your kids, not just the money that comes with it. If your child has any special needs, please stay away. Being a special-needs parent who must advocate for your child's special needs is hard; why add to your load by constantly having to unravel one vendor's outright lies? Your time is precious, and your child can become an agile swimmer at a swim school that loves children and not just sees an opportunity to financially exploit you. read more

Took my kid in for a swim assessment today. He was in the water for less than 5 minutes before they decided he belonged in the Dolphin group. The recommendation? One 30-minute group class per week for $189/month (plus tax), with 4-6 kids in the class. If we wanted a second class each week, the total would jump to about $380/month after tax. Let's break that down: * About 8 classes per month. * 30 minutes per class shared among 4-6 kids. * Realistically, that's only a few minutes of individual attention from the instructor each session. So for nearly $380 per month, you're paying for maybe 30-40 minutes of actual one-on-one attention over the entire month. Am I missing something, or is that an insane amount of money? To make matters worse, the pool smelled like it had more chlorine than water, the facility looked very outdated, and the overall environment didn't feel particularly clean or safe. Curious to hear what other parents are paying for swim lessons these days. read more

Unfortunately a predatory business. Charge you hundreds of dollars at the drop of a hat without telling you, but to withdraw you have to jump through a ton of hoops. They "accidentally" charged me for an entire month of swim lessons we never took, and then claim they can't refund us. Really wanted to like this place but they're shady. read more

I'm disappointed to update my review. While the classes themselves were great, I had to withdraw my child due to an upcoming move--and unfortunately, they do not offer refunds. I ended up paying for an entire month we can't use. At the end of the day, this is a business, and offering refunds in situations like this should be standard practice. On top of that, they don't return any phone calls and don't allow you to remove the payment method from their website unless they have one in their system. read more

Lucile Cowle Swim School - Pool - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Burbank, California

Many years ago, my oldest child took swim lessons here and really enjoyed them. Fast forward to today and I have another little one, so of course I go back to Lucile Cowle for lessons. Much to my surprise, it looked completely different. Wow! What a makeover! I almost didn't even recognize the new state of the art facility. I had to do a double take. My understanding is that a new owner took over the property a few years ago and spent a lot of capital to upgrade it to a very modern facility. A+++ for sure. The front office staff was friendly and helpful and so far my son is loving his lessons with Daria. She's great. Highly recommend read more

Lucile Cowle Swim School - They actually have two pools, one that is more shallow - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Burbank, California

I signed my wife up for adult swim classes. Once they saw she was black they canceled her classes, and refused to provide a refund. Would only allow us to reschedule during weekdays early morning. I assume before there white customers show up. She showed up on time they would acknowledge at to the front desk. She called the instructor but no response. After 15 minutes they informed her that she late and cancelled her class. We rescheduled for the next day after her second class. Lucile called her later that day and cancelled her regular lesson. They assumed her her makeup would still be good. We show up and they said her makeup was cancelled, and marked her down as absent for both lessons. When we asked for a refund we were refused, and told they can only do reschedule early weekdays. You know before there VIP white clients show up. When I filled out the unenrollment paper work I makes you check a box that cancels all your makeup classes. The manager refuses to take my calls or provide a refund. Do not sign up for this school. They just take your money read more

Absolutely Unacceptable Experience - Avoid This Business at All Costs! I booked a series of five swim lessons with this business, and it has been an absolute nightmare from start to finish. Their scheduling is a complete disaster. They have extremely limited hours, and despite booking for weekends, my first class was rescheduled because they "didn't have any instructors available." I tried to be understanding and rescheduled for the very next day, only to have that class canceled as well--without any notice! I showed up, only to be informed on-site that my class was canceled, yet there were other classes happening at the same time. I've now had almost every single class rescheduled or canceled, and it's clear that they are only targeting my sessions. Every time I'm told there's no class, I see instructors right in front of me, either not working or conducting other classes. It feels like a blatant disregard for my time and money. The final straw was when I asked for a refund due to their repeated failures to provide the service I paid for in full. They outright refused to issue a refund, refused to connect me with a manager, and refused to reschedule my classes for a time that works for me. This business has taken my money and provided nothing but frustration and inconvenience in return. If you value your time, money, and sanity, stay far away from this place. They are unprofessional, unreliable, and completely disrespectful to their customers. I wouldn't recommend this business to anyone! read more

I am so impressed by this swimming school! We had an awful experience with another school here in the valley. My son was terrified of the pool and it took him a year to try again. Arden was so patient with him and even got him to put his head under the water. I was shocked because the fear really runs deep with him. Can't wait for our future classes! read more

I love this place . I put my toddler age of 2 last summer. the all full summer she did great and I am putting her th his year too..the teachers are great and they know what they are doing ..like it very much I feels very cozy and cool place like a little family pool that I enjoy it very much ..very clean too..thanks to Stefani she is very nice and manages the place good read more

My daughter has her swim classes here with Gabby and Gabby is so patient and sweet. I am so glad we picked this swim school for her .

This is now owned by Daland Swim but they kept the Lucille name - probably to try and keep past clients because of the history this swim school has in Burbank. The make up/cancellation policy is very unforgiving so if you're going to be traveling this summer and may need to reschedule any of your lessons my advice would be to find a different school. You also can never get ahold of the Burbank location - when you call it takes you to the TO location and they don't know how to transfer you. We have been so unhappy with the service we've received based on the hundreds of dollars we've spent. read more

This is my six-year-old son's second season swimming at Lucile Cowle Swim School, and, all I have to say is: THIS PLACE ROCKS! The swim instructors are young, vibrant, and passionate about teaching the swimming fundamentals. My son has learned so much last summer that, during this summer, he has improved tremendously. He's putting his head in the water; and he's not scared of the deep end anymore. His freestyle stroke has improved by leaps and bounds. If you're looking for a swim school, look no further because Lucile Cowle IS IT!!! read more

Lucile Cowle Swim School - The facade of Lucile Cowle Swim School - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Burbank, California

Horrible customer service after they kept my money! I scheduled classes back in May when the scheduling was available for the Lucille Cowle Burbank location. I called the school several times to insure that everything was in order and we would get the classes and schedule that we need. After that, we get a notification that the school will not open on time and that it will have to be held at a different location at a public pool. They don't refund my money, but tell me to reschedule for different dates and classes at the public pool. I request for a schedule both by phone and their sign-up sheet on June 1st. I'm told I will be scheduled by June 15th the latest. June 15th comes and goes and still no reply from the school and now their phone lines don't have anyone answering them. I emailed that I would like a cancellation since I never heard back from them and I get a reply to schedule classes at their Thousand Oaks location (way out of my way). They make me sign a waiver to return the money, yet don't answer any phone lines or emails after this as to my full refund status. They only give me a partial refund. Tell me how this isn't wrong on all levels? I feel like I've been robbed by Daland Swim school owners (which now own Lucille Cowle). read more

The staff and instructors are very friendly. The facility is clean and well maintained. My son and niece were always excited for their lessons and learned to love being in the pool. Street parking only but plenty of it especially across Glenoaks. read more

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First and foremost, I'd like to say that I, and my three younger siblings, all learned how to swim here in the 90's. Nothing about this place has changed, the pools are the same, the dot lettering, and Stephanie is still there, it was all too familiar when I walked in for the first time as a mom two years ago with my daughter. My 5 year old has had severe anxiety about putting her face in the water. I started taking her here when she was 3. I didn't like the instructor that my daughter had her first session here, she is no longer teaching at the swim school. We had Kristina for a second session our first year and for a session last summer, my daughter liked her, and I liked her positivity because I know my daughter was difficult in regards to putting her face in the water. Now on to this summer, my 5 year old has an amazing instructor, and she has made all the difference in my daughters confidence in the water. Claire is fantastic and I am so glad that we have found her at this swim school. Within the first lesson, my daughter had her face in the water and was actually swimming on her own. Fast forward to a few weeks into lessons (we go M,W,F), she is swimming on her own, jumping in the water from the side and swimming, floating on her back and flipping over and swimming to find the wall, floating on her back and swimming on her back, and jumping off the diving board and swimming. She also has swam at her friends house and utilized the entire pool all by herself with no problems. We have already signed up for a second session with Claire because I want her to be a stronger swimmer by the end of this summer. Thank you, Claire, for teaching my daughter how to swim and for your positive energy. Now on to some details: - Parking has always and will always be crappy. Street parking and two little spots in front, one is for disabled. If you're worried about parking or are always running late, schedule your lessons in the morning. We have lessons around 10:30 and we always find parking in front of Earthwalk Park without an issue. Do NOT park in the parking lot next door, they will ticket you! - Their clock is 5 minutes slow, so if you're a little bit late, you'll be okay. If you're a lot late, they'll take you until your lesson is over, not one minute over. They also don't schedule makeups. - They are very busy so don't get your panties in a twist because you keep calling and they aren't answering. Simply call back or leave them a message. They always return messages. read more

Been trying to sign my kids up here since 'registration' in May. Been given one excuse after another (we will call you when the schedule is decided -- no call, we will email you with information as our remodel is not done yet-- no email, etc.), delaying action on my end. It's now a month later and my kids could be learning to swim elsewhere instead of being left hanging here. Although late, we will move on to other places. read more

You would think for how much lessons are they would invest in parking for their customers . That's why 4 stars lol. Other wise my kids go here for lessons in the summer . They have patience with the kids . Wish they were more tech savy though . Maybe have online options to pay ect . read more

Excellent program Great system Once you start the program it all makes sense. The system is very organized and the Instructors are very caring. Parking is challenging but well worth it. Just plan to get there a little early so you find parking. read more

Loveee this place. My son adores every second spent with his teacher Kyle. Very very happy place

What started off as a pretty good experience really just turned into a nightmare of unfriendly people who really don't care about your children. I would not suggest this place to anyone. read more

This was our first summer at the swim school, the boys took two sets of classes We pretty much we're at the school the whole summer. What a great experience it was! My boys loved their teachers and enjoyed their classes. My youngest went in not knowing how to swim and came out swimming confidently. My oldest, is a good swimmer but gain confidence going to the deeper end of the Pool. We will certainly be back next summer. read more

I've taken 3 children to Lucile Cowle's over the last 7 years. The experience my son had was good; the experience my middle daughter had was pretty good, and my youngest still hasn't learned to swim despite a package of 10 30-minute lessons. On the whole, our experience has been ok. But my primary gripe about this place (besides the parking, which shouldn't be legal - they have two parking spaces available, one of those is disabled - otherwise, you need to use street parking in a residential neighborhood) is how they schedule lessons. Folks, it's 2014 - why are you still asking people to leave a message on an answering machine and making people repeatedly dial in when getting a busy signal? When I've asked this question in the past, I hear "the place is run by teachers who don't know technology well enough to change the system." My response - spend a few hundred dollars and hire someone! Having to argue with someone about what time and when you left an answering machine message and having to wait for weeks to get your schedule is very 1980s - not in a good way. read more

My daughter has been going to Lucile's every summer for the past 3 years. The instructors have been great and the price is reasonable for one on one instruction. I am not an uber sensitive parent myself, so I have told her instructors every year to push my daughter and not sugar coat the lessons. The first year, at age 6, she cried the first few lessons, but the instructor was great at keeping her focused on the lesson and not on crying for me to pick her up out of the pool. Now, my daughter is hooked on going every summer and now pushes herself to accomplish the goals set by the instructors. We do the 30 minute lessons three days a week and it has been well worth the money. My daughter has enough confidence to get into a pool now but is smart enough to know her limits. Only negative I have with the joint is lack of parking. They don't have a parking lot, so you have to compete with the surrounding apartment buildings and the public park across the street, but with the lessons being on weekday early afternoons, it hasn't been too bad. And, for those with tablets and iPads, they offer free WiFi. read more

My boys were fortunately gifted swim lessons last summer at Lucile Cowle's Swim School in Burbank. I was a little skeptical since I had never heard of the swim school before and because the lessons were pretty expensive (although a gift to us). The lessons here are different - one on one lessons at 15 minute intervals either 2, 3 or 5 days a week depending on your preference. My older son was paired with Paul who was really tuned into the individual needs of my 4 1/2 year old. My tot was paired up with Lacee who was fantastic as well. By the end of the summer my kids had progressed beautifully and next summer, gift or no gift, we'd like to send our kids back. This is a 5 star swim school, however I'm hesitant to give 4 stars just because it is not year round, is on the expensive end, and the parking situation sucks. But all in all, I do feel the lessons were well worth it. The instructors are fantastic. A true hidden jem. read more

We are on our 3rd summer here. My daughter has made progress each year, and started out her first lessons at 3 years old. She is building great memories here, and overcoming her fears / anxieties about swimming. Even though she loves the pool so much, she has these childlike nerves (duh), and Lucile's staff are amazing at helping her ENJOY making progress. Plan to burn a few minutes parking - so give yourself enough time to be there on time. But they also (pro tip here) run the clock back about 5 minutes to help those who might be running late. So if you show up to your lesson "on time" you're going to be 5 minutes early on the Lucile clock ;) They have suckers for the kids. I guess that's a "must have" for mine lol. Before our first year we did price out the lessons. They were comparable with the Rose Bowl. I think this year we may sprinkle some winter lessons in for her at the Rose Bowl to "keep her skills up". read more

The teenaged instructor humiliated my seven-year-old son. I informed the school beforehand that my son was struggling with fear of swimming; even floating on his back was scary to him. They assured me that they would match him with a patient, experienced teacher. The teenaged instructor was immediately and visibly annoyed by my son, and said things like, "Come on! You're seven. You should get this." I even heard him say, "What's wrong with you?" I'm sure there are good instructors here but we had a terrible experience. One of my biggest regrets is that I did not immediately pull my son from the pool when the instructor shamed him. The front desk ladies are annoyed when you try to talk to them, as if you are inconveniencing them. read more

I took my 5 1/2 year old daughter to this swim school for nine 15 minute lessons. It was a 3 day a week cycle consisting of Mon, Wed, and Friday. The instructor she was assigned was Paul. He did a good job and was great at motivating my child to do better each time. The one con I have is that I missed the 2nd lesson because my daughter was sick with a fever. I found out that they charge a 6 dollar fee to reschedule and it seemed hard to try to get a make up lesson. However it was a great experience for my daughter to see other children learning to swim too in the pool. read more

Lucile Cowle Swim School - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Burbank, California

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My enrolled my girls for lessons here this summer. Outdoor swimming pool. Overall a good place. But as far as lessons went I didn't really see a difference from the first and last lessons. But then again maybe 4 weeks might have been too short. read more

My daughter just finished her second summer at this swim school. 2015 she was 4 years old and took 15 minute lessons. That year she basically was learning to be comfortable in the water, dunk her head completely, get to the wall, climb out, tread water. This summer she is 5 years old and took 30 minute lessons. Her teacher this summer was wonderful. My daughter always had a big smile at the beginning and end of her lessons (she is serious during the lesson because she is concentrating and doing her best). This summer, she was learning to float on her back, three different swimming strokes, jump off the diving board, diving down to the pool bottom for toys,and just the beginnings of head first diving. We plan to go back next summer. The reasons I did not give a 5 star: the parking and the scheduling by phone message. But we learned to arrive with extra time to park. And even though the scheduling system is old fashioned, the person who I spoke with was helpful and accommodating. I would not let either of these issues keep you away. Just be aware of them. read more

Thinking of swimming lessons for the kids. This place is great! We brought our son here when he was 2 and probably not the best time as it just wasnt happening. We just brought him back at 4 and its been about 2 weeks and hes already swimming on his own. The coaches are great and so is the instruction. Only downside, its a bit pricey and the sessions are generally 15 minutes. read more

Claire is an amazing teacher, my son loves it, and we have so much fun during free swim. It's such a cute swim school as well.

I was very excited to have my son start swimming here since I heard lots of good things and also because I had taken my daughter here years ago ... but this last visit was awful the owner was super rude and couldn't accept that she made a mistake on the price of the class seeing it clear as water on the receipt that she gave me. The professional way to have handled this was to provide good customer service and honor the price and she didn't, she was more interested in finding out if I was going to take the class if not so she can offer it to someone else! When I went to pick up my refund she didn't even look at me she was rude! read more

My children's nanny recommended this school for swim lessons when my daughter was under 2. I thought it to be a little early, but I signed her up and she's been taking lessons every summer. It's been amazing! My now 5-year-old is swimming like a fish! Everyone who sees her can't believe her skills, and I highly recommend this school! We love Miss Veronica! My 1-year-old son is now taking lessons. Although he cried the first few lessons, he is now having fun and she cues him when he's going to go under water, so he knows how to close his mouth and hold his breath. When he comes up, he's laughing. It's so wonderful to know my kids are comfortable in water and love to learn. read more

After waiting 1.5 years on the waitlist for this place I was very disappointed. The new owners are very disorganized. I had plans o sending my son from June-October and all he got was 2 lessons in June and 3 lessons in July. For the 5 lessons he had 4 instructors and then I got an email that last week of July was canceled cause his instructor was no longer available. I want to pay and continue and they didn't want that I guess they don't need the money or care about costumer service. Also this school used to offer 30min classes now they offer 20min which is ridiculous. Last they suddenly said oh we are closed August 11 to October so basically you do whatever you want and screw your plans of you kid learning swimming. The 4 instructors that we worked with were very nice and professional and they deserve a great review but what the upper management needs to up their game if they want to stay in business. I even recommend family and friends here which were very disappointed for the same reason. read more

So we're currently on 26 wait lists with Burbank's Park & Rec swimming classes. We got a late start to all this swimming lessons this time since my son is going into the 3rd year with eartubes and now he's interested in attending. He's 4 1/2 now and we want him in swim lessons for fun and his own safety. I emailed a few weeks ago with no response. Then I started calling and waited on hold a few times as long as I could with the most being 25 minutes one day during my lunch. I finally selected the number call back option, and left my callback number. The following day I did the voicemail option as well. It's been over a week now from the VM and call back option and at least 2 weeks from the email date and no response back. I was searching today and found classes available so I signed my child up for kickstart....I see there's also "seahorse", and "turtle" but have no idea which age range he should be in as there is no description for these. I see online as of June 30th classes are at McCambridge park pool. So for the 8/1 class should we got to McCambridge or to the LC swim school? I'd assume McCambridge but no ones even got to back to me with general questions, so I'm not sure? Will come back to update the review once the lessons begin. I've heard great things about the swim school so I'm hoping it's just a fluke and they're busy with the renovations read more

This was the first summer my daughters attended Lucile's. My youngest daughter loved the experience, she couldn't wait to see her instructor Rebecca (who was great with my 2.5 yr old.) Max was my eldest daughter's instructor; he was patient but kept challenging her. I was very thankful to have had such great instructors. As for the facility, there was plenty of room for kids to change. Beware, finding parking will take some time. read more

We love Lucille Cowle Swim School!!! All of the employees are great with us. They are extremely patient and understanding. These last few years my son has totally flourished as a swimmer..... I appreciate their patience. We are looking forward to another summer of swim lessons. read more

I love this swim school! 2 years ago, we used a different (more famous) swim school. That one was much more expensive, very chaotic, and my daughter didn't have the same teacher for every lesson. So each instructor never really knew where she was skill-wise. One had her jumping off the diving board and the next lesson, the instructor would say "Let's sit on the stairs and drip water on your head to get you used to the water!" It was weird. Because Lucile Cowle was so much less money and hadn't (that I knew of) been featured in the news and voted best swimming in various magazines... I assumed we were in for a somewhat sub-par experience. I couldn't have been more wrong! My daughter (who is 4) started off by barely even wanting to get her face wet (she'd regressed from her lessons of 2 years ago). By the end of her lessons, she was jumping off the diving board, swimming to the wall, and climbing out all by herself. Her teacher, Rebecca, is awesome. So we signed her up for MORE lessons and now Rebecca is teaching her different swim strokes as well as how to dive. We're so happy with this school! read more

They taught me how to swim after a near-death experience in Hawaii.They give you lollipops from what I remember and the teachers there are really really nice, even when you're screaming and crying and terrified of the water. I think it's a good place for a kid to learn how to swim, I mean, I turned out all right... read more

This is our second session in the same summer and I'm very pleased with the school. My 2 yr old loves his instructor, Jeremy, who is extremely patient with him. I'm so happy with the experience that I think we'll do a third session this summer. My son gets very excited for his lessons. read more