Ohana has been a superb experience for both of my kids. They've both had terrific, consistent teachers, and they've grown leaps and bounds in the two years they've spent here. They look forward to swim class - it's the highlight of the week. The community here is truly lovely and welcoming, and we appreciate being a part of it! read more

My daughter has been taking weekly classes for a year and a half and I've been so pleased with her progress. She's autistic and has ADHD and started off with a moderate fear of getting her face wet and some pretty high levels of anxiety and sensory issues. She's totally swimming independently now, is working hard to improve, and just loves it. The environment was a good "fit" for her and we're super sad that it's closing so abruptly. We had just been considering adding more classes. read more

Ohana has been a life saver for our family. Before coming to Ohana, our older child was fearful of putting their head under water. Now after 2 months of lessons with Ohana and the patient and skilled instructors, they are putting their head under water and on track to becoming water safe...finally. We are so pleased and just cannot believe they are closing down. There is need for this business in our community and it's devastating to lose it. read more

Awful. We've been three times and two of the classes were taught by miserable women who could not have looked more annoyed that they were there. Did not have the skills to manage young children, used punishment (time outs and "you just lost a minute of free time"). These are four year olds. Relax. Let them take a break if they are struggling. Time outs? It's a thirty minute lesson. Ridiculous. Won't be returning. read more

I tried 3 different swim locations for my son before trying Ohana. They are the best. Experienced, professional teachers who really knew what they were doing. The environment was so welcoming. Everyone who worked there from who greeted us, to the registration, and the teachers. Just so friendly, welcoming, and the teachers are the best. Just good feeling for the kids and the parents. They're organized, have a good system. My son had an incident that was scary and I didn't take learning to swim lightly, so I wanted teachers who took it just as serious. And they do. read more

Ohana has been a great environment for both of my children. One of whom has struggled for years with water safety- and finally when we got to Ohana it was properly addressed and he's been getting great support! The small classes and attentive/ experienced teachers has been a refreshing experience. Unfortunately Ohana is closing due to a lease issue. This is devastating for us and the community. We hope there can be a new agreement so we can continue to work with Ohana. Not only is it close to our home, but we've been finally seeing progress with our kids' swimming! read more

My 2 year old daughter goes here for swim lessons and she loves it. Caring teachers and greeters and great families that come with their kids to learn. read more

Our daughter (8) has truly loved and benefited from Ohana Aquatic's swimming classes over the past few years! She went from being afraid to put her face in the water to loving the water and confidently swimming across the pool. Her weekly swimming class is one of the highlights of her week! We cannot thank Ohana and their instructors enough for their dedication, hard work, and genuine care for every student that they serve. The impact that they've had on our child and so many others is incredibly meaningful. read more

Plainly put, no. We've been at a different school for 2 years but wanted something closer to our home in Oakland. Today was our 3rd week and our 3rd instructor too. The pool is outdoors and there are chairs lining the gate for the parents to sit (totally fine). Looking at the quality of the swimming of the kids swimming, in the class ahead of my daughter's, is no bueno. Their freestyle looks like the kids are fighting the water. This was evident in more than 1 child over multiple weeks. Last is the indoor washroom facility. Very dated (1960s maybe?), did not feel or seem sanitary. There is a plastic mat that lines the shower (yes a single shower) and changing rooms. I can only imagine the amount of bacteria and mold that live there. Their monthly rates are only $25 cheaper than the other more notable swim centers in the area. Ohana is not a good value. Revolving door of instructors, poor quality of instruction (because they don't know the kids), and the substandard facility at not much of reduced rate made me withdraw just as fast as we started. TLDR: If the rate was 1/2 the price of the more notable swim facilities I would maybe consider staying -- bc you get what you pay for, right? read more

We tried this place back in 2021 when our daughter was 9 months old. It was peak pandemic and they seemed disorganized, the instructor at the time was sweet but brand new and I wasn't impressed with the instruction. Winter came and I pulled my daughter because of how cold it was constantly and the changing rooms weren't actually heated (plus COVID! I didn't want to spend too much time in there) Fast forward to now, she's just turning 3 and we had heard that they had "gotten better" so looking for an outdoor pool we tried it again. Only to find that they absolutely suck at communicating. No really. They are the worst. Everything they say drives home the 'you must attend class or you forfeit it, no make up classes etc' which is fine. Come to class. We did miss a class the week before 4th of July then came to class on the 5th of July because our class is on Fridays. We received *ZERO* direct communication that there would be no class that day. Instead we show up and everything is closed. I go to log into the account to see - a pop up tell me. Thats it. Mind you we started 3 weeks before this. It was not on our sign up paperwork no flyer nothing. It was posted on the pool the week prior and you get a pop up if you sign into the portal. No member email was sent out to people. Even if you look at the website you had to look at the FAQs and find the day 2/3s of the way day nestled in with other days they will be closed. Thank you for wasting my time and when I brought this to their attention- instead of taking the feedback they blamed me for not knowing. I'm not a mind reader. My child started with the 2s class where parents are expected to accompany the child. She switched up to the 3s and we arrived and were told 5 minutes before the start of class that parents cannot be in the water with kids. Excuse me!! This was news to us. It was not outlined in our "you're moving up" email nor anywhere else in our conversations. If you have a sensitive child you know that sometimes they need more than 5 minutes of preparation to do new things and COVID babies definitely need more time to acclimate to literal strangers asking her to jump into a pool. When we tried to ask someone what the plan would be if our daughter was too afraid to go to the instructors, we were told "she can sit byself by the side of the pool" that's a literal quote. I can't make this up. They want to charge you hundreds of dollars to just have your kid sit by the side of the pool? Fuck that. When we again stated that this was not communicated anywhere the person doubled down and said 'its on the website" I'm attaching screenshots of what the website says for each level. Note that her level ( Sea star) is vague, it says everything is "done with assistance " but does not specify that parents are not allowed in the water to be that assistance. If they are expected to be alone why not be clear as the next level is that expressly states (solo swim) Again. The communication is ambiguous at best, the humans present are unhelpful and seem to be unknowledgeable themselves about what their own communication says. I'm sure the instructors are kind. I haven't gotten to see many of them, the ones that have worked with my child have been sweet and patient. The support staff that sits on the sidelines are snarky and unhelpful. The admin needs serious help with customer service and communication. Save yourself the headache and money find a different pool. read more

See all

This place had terrible reviews but we gave it a try since it was convenient and the weekend schedules worked. We haven't had any problems with the cancellation policy and communication about instructor cancellations and holidays has been good. The instructors are patient but firm and are good at enforcing practice with the lure of free time games at the end of class. So far we are happy with the classes and have no complaints. read more

I'm guilty of being a serial optimist. We've been attending Ohana Aquatics for almost a year now and I realize that this entire time, I keep thinking and hoping that the level of instruction will improve, and well, it doesn't, in fact, quite the opposite. The weekly "Baby + Me" class started off really great, with Teacher Shannon who had clear ability to instruct, was friendly and attuned to her students: toddlers and babies. Then Shannon left and what's happened since is an overall lack of instruction, with the new teacher Cristina / Kristina. Don't get me wrong, the new teacher is friendly which I guess makes the experience somewhat more palatable and she's also said things like: "I think the parents should teach the class, you all know more than me" "Hey guys, literally do whatever you want" (in the pool) and when training another new teacher last week, she announced to the new teacher, "if there's only like 2 or 3 babies in the pool, you really don't have to do anything...". I wish Ohana Aquatics would just call this class what it really is: Family Rec / Free Swim Time and maybe charge us less since there's not much instruction happening. We spent the summer swimming with Oakland Parks and Rec and had far better instruction, hands down. What Ohana does have going for it: *Beautiful, heated pool tucked away in the Oakland Hills with a private parking lot *Friendly greeter / staff person who welcomes everyone While I love the actual pool itself, I've stopped recommending Ohana to anyone. read more

Ohana Aquatics - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Oakland, California

It's a little funky but it's been working for us. Parents are able to watch the lessons through the slated fence which can obstruct your view. Our son takes lessons and was in between skills. We advocated to be bumped up because we knew he'd rise to the challenge. He started the 30 min lesson unable to do some of the skills but because this peers could he focused and had mastered them by the end of the lesson. The teachers change every single time so I advise you not to fall in love with any one instructor. No make up us lessons available without note from a doctor. Some swim centers don't offer even with a note so that's a plus. read more

Ohana Aquatics - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Oakland, California

Wish I could give this place zero star. Signed up for classes in June for my toddler. Only attended 1 class due to his new nap schedule, so I cancelled Next month and the month after they automatically charged hundreds of dollars to my credit card. Charging for services NOT rendered is unprofessional, dishonest, and unfair. Run away from this place. And sign up in advance for toddler swim classes with your local pool. read more

Ohana Aquatics - The pool is located inside of the East Bay Hills Community Church. There's nothing Christian about charging for services NOT rendered. - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Oakland, California

Friendly instructors but the lack of flexibility is awful (no makeups even if they're sick, you need 30 day notice to cancel the program, and no notification when your instructor changes). They increased their rates to $32 dollars for 30 minutes and it's not even a full 30 minute lesson. They tell the kids to get out out of the pool at the 28 minute mark. The kids do the same thing over and over and I'm paying for him to swim with a kick board week over week when he can swim the width of the pool. Not challenging and he's bored. I get frustrated every time I watch his lesson. We're removing him and changing swim schools read more

My two daughters have been taking classes here since it was known as Tim Oliver Swim. My oldest now does swim team in high school (and was the only freshman last year to make varsity). My youngest is still taking lessons and recently advanced to "shark" level. We took a bit of a break during COVID and there were times I could tell Ohana was struggling to deal with the new realities of the pandemic (like so many businesses!) and I feel like that is now fully in the past. We tried other places before we found this place and feel like the instruction is far superior at Ohana. read more

DO NOT RECOMMEND. We had been looking for a toddler swim class for a while signed our daughter up here because it was the only one in the area with availability. Like an idiot, I ignored the bad reviews and figured that toddler swim class is so low stakes, there's no way it could be THAT bad. To start, they have a 4 class minimum. At $30 a class and a registration fee you're already out over $100 before you can even check them out. Our first "class" was embarrassingly bad. I went into this with pretty low expectations, how much can you really teach a toddler, right? I figured we would be holding them in different positions in the pool and basically just getting them acquainted with the water. The instructor was barely audible, he wouldn't raise his voice above a low mumble and didn't teach us anything. He had no suggestions on how to hold the babies and would randomly say things like "time for crab crawl" with zero explanation of what a crab crawl was. About 90% of the "class" was free swim during which the instructor would silently mill around the pool. It was a bizarre experience and I cancelled our membership the second we got home. I emailed them to cancel and didn't hear anything back in confirmation. Instead, I got multiple emails about a DIFFERENT child and their swim schedule?? We still had a few more classes to attend as per their 4 class minimum policy so I figured we might as well go since the money was already spent. The next few classes were marginally better but I guess for $30 and hour I expected more instruction and less free swim. At least that instructor was audible, I guess. Our last was supposed to be today. I emailed them to let them know my daughter had a cold and to see if we could make up the class the next week. Hard no from them. Apparently they don't do makeup classes at all. Sure, that's on me for not reading their policies thoroughly but it seems to me like just one more money grubbing tactic on top of the mandatory four class minimum. I get that they can't reschedule classes all the time but seems weird to me that they won't make exceptions for sick kids, especially in the time of COVID. All in all, our experience with Ohana Aquatics has been disappointing and chaotic. If you're interested in getting your toddler acquainted with water I think you'd get a much better value from just googling activities to do with toddlers and taking them to a public pool. The Richmond Swim Center on Cutting Blvd has a an awesome shallow water section and is not too crowded, even on the weekends. read more

We signed up for classes about 6 months ago because we couldn't get a spot at the swim school that we all actually wanted to go to (you know which one). It seemed odd to me that there was an immediate opening but we just wanted lessons so we jumped. *insert montage of my child not actually learning anything but I've determined that this is fine because our goal was more being comfortable in the water* And here we are, present day. There's been a new kid in our class for a few weeks and while I noticed he was disruptive, I let it slide. They're kids, it's a learning curve. Then last week, he had to be separated and I was told by the check in person that his parent had been spoken to but that he has consistently bad behavior. I email asking to change times and I don't hear back except for an auto response. When I do finally get a response (after calling as well - also went to voicemail) they did not answer my question at all and continued to ignore the actual issue. Long story short, I have spent the past week trying to get in touch to fix this issue and when I finally get a call, it was all excuses while telling me it's not their fault and that no, we can't waive any of the cancellation notice/ fees (because I was so fed up that it made more sense to just quit) To be fair, I got heated. I could have been more measured. But the level of disrespect that these admins have for the parents and kids is unacceptable. I am STILL waiting to hear back from whoever is in charge over there because they continued to kick the question down the line. 10/10 recommend if you want to watch your kid learn nothing while also having to watch like a hawk to make sure that someone else's kid is behaving since they're incapable of doing it. read more

I love this spot. The pool is nice, the setting is chill, the teachers are wonderful. My reluctant 5-yr-old has made incredible progress in just a few weeks. I agree that the sign up situation can be a little awkward, but yikes have you seen literally every other swim place? They're even worse! I do get the billing complaints though. Like I get that they charge you at the beginning of the month for the whole month, thus need a 30 cancelation notice. Fine. But I *do* wish they allowed one test lesson before requiring a monthlong commitment. My 5 year old is loving it and doing amazing. My 3 year old? Absolute wreck. Cried and screamed one week, refused to get in the next week. Not their fault--he's just a drama queen. But I would have liked not to spend $100+ to test him out. (Also wish that sweet playground next to the pool were open and available for waiting siblings, but that's probably not on them!) Anyway, we love Ohana and have been super happy with them! read more

$1800+ later and I am so upset that I ignored the negative reviews. I have no problem with the Ohana swim instructors. I do not know them personally but my children love them. Although there is no policy that outlines the swimming curriculum or even the expected timeframe for the children. It's just all vibes... every session. No expectations about the swim lessons just vibes. My concern is Ohana's policy that does not allow for any flexibility when it comes to children's sessions and the negative communication with the staff via email. The staff through the email communication? Negative stars. You are not notified what days the pool is closed, no one notifies in advance if the teacher will be unavailable or if they have switched teachers. No one provides you any form of flexibility if you are on vacation or if you go out of town for one session, there are no make-up sessions allowed. It is just disturbing how little information this company provides. There is no information on their instructors, the curriculum, or the expectations for the class. They can not tell you, "By 15th class, your child should learn how to float." or anything remotely close. They do not send invoices prior to billing you automatically, they do not notify you of their holiday closures, you have to ask them. It was an extremely frustrating experience. At $60 a lesson, I should know what my children are doing for 30 minutes. Not understand the problem here. 3 months into the lessons and my children are blowing bubbles and surfing on floating devices. You are better off signing your children up for the YMCA or a group class outside of Ohana. Even though Ohana means family, all kinfolk are not friendly. And these people are the creepy uncles that everyone hates to invite. read more

We have been so lucky to have had our children take swim lessons with Ohana for so many years (5 years!). All of the instructors have been so patient, caring, and supportive. We so appreciate all the instructors who have groomed our children from Starfish to the Sharks they are now. Our son says that it is easier to swim than it is to walk. When we were in Hawaii for Spring Break, they were so comfortable snorkeling and boogie boarding in the ocean. Thank you for making them not only water safe but for teaching them a life skill that will continue to bring them so much joy for the rest of their lives. We are so grateful to have been a part of the Ohana family. read more

My 2 kids have been going to Ohana on and off for 2.5 years, pre and during covid. Overall, its been very good. Compared to the YMCA (the only other place we've had lessons), the groups are smaller, and I feel the teachers give more individualized instruction to each child, as opposed to just having kids take turns swimming laps. My kids have each advanced several levels, have more confidence, and like the teachers. There was one month where my 4 year old child was put in a group below his level because they didn't have the right number of teachers, I guess? I had to speak up to figure out why he was being held and carried by the teacher when he was able to swim across the pool...but before a resolution was figured out, covid struck and lessons were put on hold for several months. The organization has been pretty good at communicating--I usually get a response within 1 day--and while they don't do regular make ups, they worked with me in a couple of circumstances when I needed to switch schedules on short notice. The pool sits aside trees and a grassy field, which is especially nice in the spring/summer/fall. Winter with the dome up its more like a any old pool. Overall, its a good swim program for kids in a nice location, with a bit of a DIY-shoestring management approach you have to get the hang of. Not cheap, but swim lessons rarely are. Thanks Ohana! read more

I am 38 years old and never learned how to float or swim. I was scared to do lessons, but I wanted to experience a breakthrough in my life so I attended classes here for 2 months. I LOVE the people that work here. They would guide me and feel out where I'm at. Because of their supportive attitude I was able to step outside of my comfort zone. My instructor was Chris. There were a couple times where I had a sub, but I really loked them too. They were my cheerleaders. I always felt good after every lesson and I would look forward to going the next week. read more

Some teachers are amazing but management/ownership communication and billing is extremely poor. During the pandemic they have: - Refused to refund cancelled classes due to pandemic/air quality - Refused to communicate over the phone or in person (only email with no signature so one has any idea who they are corresponding with) - Failed to provide 30 day of "winter bubble" going up yet require families to provide 30 day notice of cancellation for refund. - Erroneously accuse families when there are accidents (in attempt to recoup lost revenue from families cancelling due to poor management) Do not send your children here unless you are willing to put up with above read more

My grandson has been going here for a few years. He has learned to swim and enjoys going weekly. They follow Covid requirements to keep the kids safe. read more

I will echo the sentiments that others have in terms of Ohana's poor management and communication. I would add that once I was able to get someone on the phone to address the issue I was having with my son's lesson, the man I spoke to was so aggressive, offensive, and toxic that I walked away hurt and dumbfounded. "It is what it is, what do you want me to do about it lady?!" was his basic response but it was the tone and hostility that was so tough to swallow. I have encountered toxic masculinity before but this was an extreme situation. I doubt he would have spoken to a man with same aggression or degrading tone. I would not want this person interacting with and/or teaching my son and question any company that hires such a person. read more

Read the other reviews about the management and operations. They're all true. The sign up process is almost impossible to navigate, you're on the hook for 30 days after you decide to cancel (yet it's almost impossible to get into a class so clearly the demand is there for them to fill the spot), they charge a $15 fee for a decline credit card (mine alerted me to fraud and they had to reprocess the charge so they charged me $15 - I doubt they incurred this fee), they charge unsupported amounts to make any change to the lessons, they allegedly require COVID vaccinations but that has never been checked. My kid was sick and I asked for a credit for another class and they refused even though the classes are often sparsely attended bc it's so hard to navigate their systems. So they'd rather me bring a sick kid to the pool. They pick and choose which emails to respond to, never the ones about finances. Pretty sure they make their money by cashing in on the ridiculous fees they charge for every little thing. The classes are fine. We liked our instructor the first go around but this last one seems very uncomfortable teaching little ones. We aren't returning after finishing out this 30 day cancellation window. read more

Don't do it. Save yourself the aggravation and stress. It will be less painful to teach your kid to swim yourself at Stinson with the Great Whites. They will charge your credit card fraudulently even after you have canceled your membership. My husband showed up for a lesson with my kid and they never let us know that the instructor was hurt and was not going to be there. We left, said we weren't coming back and they still charged our credit card. We canceled and still they kept charging our credit card. Disputed charges with the credit card company and they charged our card before the other disputes were resolved. My kid had one lesson and they have so far charged us almost $600 for a $40 lesson. read more

I wish I was here to review the actual lessons. But we never made it that far. I've been trying to get my now 6 & 8 year old boys into lessons for two years to no avail. Locations are limited in the Bay Area and it can really get expensive for two children. I have a couple friends who were able to get their children in Ohana. One got in a couple years ago and the other sometime within the past year. Both said, "we had to email and call a bunch of times and they finally worked us in, try email." So I did during the school year. There were no openings so I received a response saying to send them my availability when school lets out for the summer as more classes would likely be opening up. Did that. But instead of a receiving a direct response I was sent a form email with very convoluted instructions that basically said use the website. I tried calling and here's where it gets really interesting. The voicemail states that the descriptions of the class levels list the skills the kids will be working on in the classes. So I went online and thought I'd finally gotten lucky scoring two places in a class. I called again to confirm and to ask some questions prior to attending the first class. I was told then that the level I chose was too high since my kids weren't yet able to do skills listed in the class level (remember when I said the VM stated that is what they'd be working on?) She said we'd be "kicked out" if we tried to attend at the wrong level. Ok fine, their system is super confusing, but I'd cancel and start over if need be. I was told to email to cancel--did that and was told I wouldn't be receiving a refund, for classes or registration per their "policy." I immediately went to review their policy and it is not stated in there. I emailed back and received another email stating the last person was new and I would be receiving a refund for the class but not for the registration, which was a lot! Again, not stated in the policy, so I emailed again. Mind you I never knew who I was corresponding with because they never use their own names. I then got a phone call from another unnamed person who immediately began talking AT me. She said three times, "I hope you appreciate that we are refunding you for the class" in the most condescending tone, and wouldn't acknowledge the confusion with their system. She again refused to refund my registration fee and wouldn't let me get a word in at all. My children were never able to get in. So I took them every week since to the rec swim at AQUATECH in Alameda--its only $10 per person for an hour. I taught them myself because this was about safety and it was extremely important they learn to swim now. Still, I'm left feeling super offended. Ohana was so mean in their communication and refused to be held accountable. Zero stars man. read more

Tried it for the summer in June, and the lessons were ok. The pool was really small. I was confused about the automatic enrollment policy and was charged monthly for 4 months with no invoice. My daughter only went for 1 month. Admittedly, it was my fault for not reading the waiver carefully which says lesson is automatically renewed and charged. I was confused when in July, I don't see an opening for her class and just thought it was cancelled. Anyways, just beware that if you manage to get through and sign up, you are on the hook for at least 2 months because you need 30 days written notice to cancel. read more

I'm not usually the one to leave bad reviews. But I just had to because I do not want other people wasting their time like me. It was just horrible and I have been so busy with work and my son already. This place has terrible customer service, is not professional, and wasted so much of my time in just trying to sign my kid up for classes. Their website booking didn't work so i had to call, then was directed to email them with the class i want, then i didn't hear back from them. then i emailed a second time. finally heard from them. they said there is availability in the class i wanted. So then I email them again of the class i want. Then they tell me oh you can't get in yet because you have to fill out your credit card information on their website first. ok so then i go to the website and it's not working. there is only options to pay for existing balances. omg. so then i call them while i'm at work to give them my credit card information and i give her all of my info she says oh wait it's not working on here. give it to me again. ok so she finally gets my credit card information and tells me i will be getting a confirmation email about my sons swimming class he is enrolled in. and then i get an email saying they don't have availability in that class anymore!! After all that. Really?? Get it together. The way this place is poorly run, I wouldn't even want my son learning there. I don't trust them. They are misleading and guide you in all different directions. read more

My 4 1/2 year old daughter is just wrapping up her first official 8 wk session here and we're very happy with her progress. We had done the parent/infant group swim with her a couple of years ago and weren't sure how she would do without us in the water, since she tends to be very shy. She had a different teacher just about every week, but they were all very warm and the classes had the right mix of skill and fun. She is now comfortable going completely underwater and blowing bubbles, can float on her back and can swim a stretch of about 10 ft. I was prompted to write a review after they announced some upgrades that are in the works, including an online scheduling and payment system that should help a lot in being able to provide consistency in available teachers. If you've been turned off from previous bad reviews, I encourage you to keep an open mind and check them out again. They are listening and making great improvements. We'll be back for sure read more

Both of our kids attend swimming lessons here, and the instructors are really patient and have helped them overcome their fear of the water. Our kids have truly advanced in their swimming skills and enjoy being here. A special call out to our instructors Shannon and Jay, who are amazing! read more

My daughter took lessons from Tim Oliver for two years (about 7 months out of each year). Tim seems to hire young, kind well trained swim instructors. My daughter loved the teachers and the pool. Things went down hill our third year. My daughters more regular instructor left the school and then my daughter began cycling through 3-4 teachers in the following 2 months. Every other session the new teacher didn't seem to know her level and spent most of the 30 minute lesson assessing (reassessing) her ability. By the end of class they would realize that she could do more and bump her to the deep end of the pool for more challenging strokes. BThis happened repeatedly. When I attempted to discuss the issue with Tim. He was rude and dismissive. He responded by saying if I don't like the way he runs his school I can leave. Tim is a rude man that parents tolerate and try not to interact with if at all possible. His staff primarily run the program and generally do a great job. I gave two stars because the instructors are awesome and helped my little one be a stronger more confident swimmer. Unfortunately, when you have an issue you have to deal with Tim. And that is when we had to leave. I will never spend another dime at Tim Oliver swim. He has a poor attitude and disregard for paying clients with legitimate concerns. Also, Tim doesn't provide assessments/records on students levels so no one knows where a student is from swim season to season or in our case lesson to lesson. Thumbs down! read more

I loved Todd as an instructor for my son. He was able to get him swimming like a whale in less than 4 lessons. I was so impressed and happy with his skills and the confidence he gave my son! I am forever grateful to that teacher. My son now tackles rivers and oceans because of this experience at Ohana! We loved this place! *Very unfair for those to give this place a 1 star. They may be inundated by multi students that are flooding in due to its popularity and are trying to accommodate new families kindly. Be kind. read more

I took my daughter here last night for her "first swim lesson." How fun, right? I get there after much confusion on where this place is located. FYI, its at the East Hills Church. After we find the place we wait for the class to start and one of the instructors tells me they are no longer doing parent child swim on Thursdays. The excuse was they just haven't been able to get it off the website, they took it down and it magically reappeared! And they've known about it for over 2 F'ing years. My daughter was very upset as i had built up the class for her to be excited about. I saw parents shelling out $300 checks for classes.... My advice, go spend $100 and have a web designer fix your problem. My 2yr old daughters heart was broken; thus making me a permanent adversary! read more

We went to the drop-in parent-baby swim class on Sat. 10 - 11 am. We love that it's a drop-in, since having a little one makes showing up for things on time difficult. We were discouraged to sign up for swimming class before due to the possibility of losing money on missed lessons. So, Tim Oliver Swimming makes things easy. You can sign up for 4 lessons or pay as you go. Just bring $12 cash when you show up. No need to pay extra for adults and both parents/caregivers are encouraged to participate. The pool is very warm -- the warmest pool I've ever been in. 3 instructors roamed about and gave tips but it's very unstructured. I'm not sure if I will call this a lesson. It's more like a parent-child / family recreational swimming in a warm pool with some toys and if you wanted to learn, you could ask for tips and things to do with the instructors but you are not forced to "teach" kids any skills. It's really what you make of it. If you want to push your baby to learn skills, ask the instructor for help and they will work with you. If you just want to get comfortable being in the water with your baby, go ahead and just play and have fun. It was quite crowded and we bumped into other people but no one cared and no one minded. We actually liked being in a pool full of parents and kids and it was nice having our 21 month old toddler see other kids being brave and doing more advanced things. And it was encouraging seeing so many parents being brave with the kids. I am personally petrified of dipping my baby under water! But I'm working on getting over the fear... One big tip: There is no sign anywhere that says Tim Oliver swimming. You have to look for a maroon sign that says "East Hills Community Church". Once you drive up, you will see a parking lot and a pool on your right. There is usually a person by the cash box. You check in with the person handling the cash box. Another tip: Bring towels and set yourselves near the grass area. Much nicer to change baby's clothes and diaper on the grass than on the cement. There is a bathroom/change room, but most just change outside. No need to show up right at 10 am but the pool does need to be cleared out at 10:50 am. Needless to say, you should also bring water and snacks for the little one. Swimming makes you hungry and thirsty. read more

My 4 yo son has been taking lesson since the Spring and we are very happy with the classes here. We've taken lessons at Berkeley Warm pool when he was an infant, Roberts East Bay Parks, through the Oakland Parks and Rec, and "tried' to sign up for a class with Aquatech (which was such an adminstrative cluster--- that it turned me off). I wish I found Tim Oliver Swimming a lot sooner. It surpasses them all. First of all, the pool is heated well. The pools elsewhere have been too cold for my son to the point that he was focusing on how cold he was rather than how he was swimming. Plus, they dome-cover the pool in the winter months so the parents/caretakers aren't in the cold either. Secondly, the pool is not chlorinated, but rather brominated. Don't ask me the chemical differences, but it is supposed to be safer, and the kids and their suits don't reek of chlorine afterward. Most importantly, the classes are geared to teach kids how to swim at their pace. Instructors ease kids into swimming rather than force-dunking them in the water. My son looks forward to lessons every week and although he has fun, he is also working hard and learning how to swim. read more

Both of my kids (5 and 3) have been learning how to swim here and we all look forward to swim class. Tim is a wonderful teacher and so are his entire staff of instructors. The class sizes are small so I know my kids are getting the personal attention they need to really learn how to swim. We were initially drawn to the non-chlorine, heated pool since one of my kids has a chlorine allergy. There are also shower facilities and plenty of free parking. Even though the pool is outdoors, lessons run year-round since they put up an inflatable bubble dome during the cold months. It's steamy in there, but you get to swim through winter. As others have alluded to, this is for swim classes, not day care, so calibrate your expectations accordingly. read more

Here's the deal with Tim: He's a great teacher who will absolutely teach your child to swim - but if you're expecting someone to coddle your kids, put up with their bratty behavior or let them just goof off instead of actually learning something, then he's not for you. We had our 3-year-old daughter at another swim school where she basically learned nothing. Within just a few lessons with Tim, she was learning strokes, how to flip to her back and float and more. We have total confidence that Tim is actually teaching our daughter - we see the results at every class. Tim knows what he's doing and does a great job. We'd happily recommend him to anyone who really wants their kids learning to swim. read more