We love Ms. Palacios and Palacios ATA Martial Arts!…read more Our first grader started taking taekwondo (TKD) lessons from Ms. Palacios one day per week in his after-school program at Magellan International school. We were so impressed with the resulting positive changes in our son, we soon had him attending additional evening and weekend classes at her studio on South IH 35 between Wells Branch and Howard Lane. He's preparing to test for his 3rd belt in just a few weeks and TKD has become a huge part of our family life. The gym space in a North Austin industrial park is nothing fancy, but it has everything a TKD student at any age from 3+ needs to progress, especially caring, knowledgeable, and motivating instructors. While Ms. Palacios (5th degree black belt with 20 years of experience) is the owner and primary teacher, there are several other advanced black belts on staff (all of whom have undergone background checks) who take turns leading different aspects of each class. Further, during each class, students at all belt levels are challenged to take on responsibilities and lead small groups of others below their belt levels, a great way to foster leadership skills. Beyond the fitness, self-defense, and discipline aspects of TKD, Ms. Palacios emphasizes academics, leadership, and good citizenship. She even teaches bullying prevention at local schools and incorporates many of those lessons into her TKD classes. Another thing we love about Palacios ATA: they offer summer and school holiday day camps for elementary school ages. These camps aren't just about martial arts and character building, but also offer other fun activities like tumbling, inflatables, and popcorn flicks with a good lesson. I've been so happy with the positive experience for our child, I'm now considering taking up lessons myself. When I do, I'll update this review with more info on the adult TKD beginner experience at Palacios ATA. Note: this business has another listing as ATA Blackbelt Academy, but it is the same gym as Palacios ATA. I've asked Yelp HQ to merge the two pages, but that may take a while to happen.

Sending my son to Palacios ATA is the best thing his dad and I have ever done for him. He's grown…read moretremendously over the past year since we started. He's more respectful, he listens better, he's more confident and focused. He's also getting stronger and learning how to defend himself should he ever need to. Master Palacios is just phenomenal, as are all the teachers. They are amazing at connecting with the kids and teaching them lessons in the moment when something comes up. I really can't say enough great things about Master Palacios, her staff and the community at Palacios ATA.

My partner and I recently took a private trail ride at the Coupland location and it was amazing. I…read morewant to preface this review by saying I had never been horseback riding before so I was sort of nervous about not knowing what to expect, but everyone we interacted with was super friendly and made me feel at ease. To set it up, I filled out a form on their website and then chatted with Kathy via email. She was very easy to communicate with and answered all my questions thoroughly. She was even accommodating to a last minute schedule change due to weather, which we appreciated! When it finally came to the day of our ride, we drove out to Coupland, which was about 40 mins away from where we were staying in Austin. Once we arrived, we had to drive down a long, rocky, dirt road for around half a mile. I wasn't aware that it would be that far down the dirt road, so I began to worry that we might be in the wrong place. So, I gave Kathy a call, and she assured me we just had to keep driving down the road. So, my advice for future visitors is to be prepared to drive down a rocky road until it ends, and then you're there! Once we did arrive, we met a handful of very friendly folks. They had us sign paperwork and borrow boots and helmets. Then they let us choose our horses and practice in a little corral before heading on the trail. Again, I want to reiterate how I had absolutely zero experience riding a horse and they did a great job of being patient and reassuring with us. Our guide, Bailey, then led us on a lovely ride around the farm, for a little over an hour. Bailey was so friendly and easy to talk with, and had great energy. She stopped to take photos of us several times which was great. Our horses pretty much just followed her horse and we didn't have to do much work at all in directing them. The property was beautiful and remote, and our ride was calm and serene. Just what we were looking for. Overall, our trail ride at Tri-Star was a fantastic experience and made for a really special way to celebrate my partner's 30th birthday. Thank you so much!

Pay for boarding, many horses leave as Nina on the farm yells at family, contradicts herself, has a…read morehand problem and moves your stuff out of rooms with out consent, I've never seen so much of my stuff broken and unsafe materials around horses. I have a sign up to leave my horses mask on due to her eye and Nina keeps taking it off creating eye infections for me to pay for and blaming me and almost lost my horses eye. The disrespect and lack of care and communication is horrible business. There's no accountability and to allow a narcissist like Nina to ruin a farm and hurt animals is insane. I wish this farm all the best - they need to keep the care of animals and communication #1 which has been a struggle for years & no change.

I've been coming here for two years now to paint pottery. The prices are well priced compared to…read moreother places and the staff is super helpful if you need any help or advice on your pieces! They fire the pottery pretty quickly too, I wait about a week for mine to be done and it always comes out great.

the friendly, knowledgeable instructors receive frequent praise for personalized guidance that…read morefuels creativity and confidence! whether you're a nervous beginner or an experienced artist Pro tip: I booked my session using GetOutPass, where I get access to multiple local venues similar to GoCity. Use coupon code: sale1 for an extra $5 discount on top of existing promotions"

We've been going to Summer Spark the past three summers, and my two 8 year olds are so excited to…read morego back this summer. This is such a special camp. The owner picks very high quality staff (teachers, I'm pretty sure) and trains them very well. It's not just a camp, it's a giant leap forward in your child's social, emotional development and problem solving skills. But the kids would not tell you that, they just love that they are having fun! I love that they get out and explore nature and create stuff out of recycled materials to solve fun challenges. They also learn the vocabulary of growth mindset and team work. The only drawback has been the location - but they've already fixed that by expanding to additional locations. Oh, and yes, it is one of the most expensive camps, but it's worth it!

My daughter absolutely loved this camp and Skylar Bossen is such an amazing camp coordinator. We…read morewill definitely be returning.

I have noticed that increased security sometimes frustrates new members, but that's the…read moreuncomfortable reality of Jewish communities throughout the world. That said, Austin is an exceptionally kind and welcoming place -- with members and instructors of all backgrounds. And the security staff is both diligent and professional, as one would expect.

Shalom, JCC, Health & Wellness Managers, Robbin T. and Erika C., Robbin committed & Scheduled two…read moreinterviews and no showed both. She never met with be yet asked another manager to ask how much experience i had. I guess 16 yrs in the industry was insufficient and had her insubordinate send the rejection letter stating that they were moving forward with another candidate, yet 12 hours later it was reposted and open. Erika didn't allow me to audition for the open roles is cycle, Barre or bootcamp, instead strength, yet a few days later, rejection letter never allowing me to audition for the REAL positions. She said that there were a lot of strong candidates, 12 hours later, reposted and to this day, it's still open. They don't value meritocracy, rather being overshadowed, laced with insecurity

My son had the best experience! Each day was a unique adventure in Austin. It was a perfect blend…read moreof indoor and outdoor activities. The camp itself is well organized and provides lunch and snacks each day. It's a great camp to meet new kids and hang out with friends. We will definitely be back!

I can't say enough about Camp 512's founders and counselors, Blake Pankonien, Brooke Alkire and…read moreCourtney Rimkus. All are former Eanes ISD elementary school teachers with a love and a passion for working with children. The low staff-camper ratio makes for a special and engaging experience. Each Camp 512 week hosts its own unique and fun-filled theme. The well thought out yet flexible schedule includes exploring Austin favorites such as Mount Bonnell, the Blanton Museum and the State Capitol as well as introduces the children to local food resources, cooking and baking and animal adventures to name a few activities. Guaranteed fun!

My youngest has attended many summer camps at Switch Willo Stables two Summers in a row now. She…read morereally enjoyed her time at the camps and always came home excited to share what she did with the horses. If she could change one thing about the camp, I am pretty sure she would have the campers spend more time actually riding the horses. Even though she felt she didn't get enough time riding horses ( I can't recall the amount of time the campers spent riding horses, but it did seem rather short at the time), however, she is always talking about returning to camp. My one complaint about the camp is that the "counselors" are older kids(12,13 and up) who have been riding at Switch Willo for a while. While I did find some of the "counselors" completely competent, others left me wondering if my 7 years old was more mature than her "counselors", which was obviously disconcerting. Fortunately, I never heard of any dangerous situations ( and I know I would have heard about any if they occurred because my daughter takes her "reporting" very seriously.). All in all, my daughter always left camp happy and exhausted, just the way we want her. ;)

My son and his friend came here for summer camp. They were treated well and the staff were friendly…read moreand the location is beautiful. But for the price of the camp, we wish they had more than 45 mins a day on the horses. At other stables we've tried since my son has had more time riding horses in less than two sessions than he had all week at Switch Willo summer camp.

We had my 10 year old daughter's birthday here and they loved it. They had so much fun dressing up…read morethe bunnies and taking them around to the various play areas. Then we moved to the house where they met a variety of animals to pet and hold. They allowed us to bring all our own food and drinks and had plenty of space for the kids to play. If your kids love animals, this is a great place to have their birthday party.

This place is awesome! She keeps a limit on guests which is great so it's not over crowded.. there…read moreis so much to see and do here we will be back! There is a cute play area along with pens that hold little animals such as mini horses, donkeys and goats.. there is a rabbit home fully decorated with all kinds of things ... houses, apartments, foods, clothes and stations for the rabbits such as bath and diner... then there is more pens with ducks and geese with rabbits and mini pigs.. a small home with fish and reptiles and a tumble room with music and bounce areas for the kids... my daughter and I absolutely loved this place. Very nice. And "Mrs Nature Lady" was extremely sweet, very welcoming. We will be back!!