Go anywhere else! Stay away! They are liars and scammers! Completely unethical and unprofessional!…read more 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.

Took my kid in for a swim assessment today. He was in the water for less than 5 minutes before they…read moredecided 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.

My husband and I really enjoy their swim program, shout out to the Swim Director, Kevin! He's…read moreawesome and our daughter has been enrolled to their swim program for over 2 years now. My husband and I also use their gym facilities and the machines and equipment are all well kept and maintained. It's also nice that there's a kids area that we can drop off our daughter while we work out. Our daughter enjoys the kids center because the staff are really great with kids. We just wish the kids center has more open hours.

For the first time in about 10 years, I decided to join the YMCA again, and I had a great first…read moreimpression at the Burbank YMCA. Grace helped sign me up and was extremely polite, helpful, and thorough in explaining everything and getting me set up. The first thing I noticed was how clean the center was, especially the weight room. I was also impressed that members actually re-racked their weights after working out, which is something you don't always see in Southern California gyms. Overall, a very welcoming, clean, and well-run YMCA. Thank you, Burbank YMCA!

We loved our lessons with Sun Rays! We did a group lesson, 8 sessions first and then ended up…read moreadding 8 more. Our instructor, Tatev, IS THE BEST. She knew how to speak to our kids, tell them about water safety, and the most important things to know when in the water. The kids loved her! She even handled my child with respect and consideration when my girl completely shut down and freaked out - Tatev knew how to handle her, and always communicated to me that it's normal and that my girl will swim with confidence - and she did and does! We cannot thank Tatev and sun rays enough. Now we love the water and feel confident that our kids know what to do, besides have fun :) yes, swim lessons take time, consistency is key...and a heated pool helps A LOT!

We've had an absolutely wonderful experience with Christiana as our swimming instructor at Sun Rays…read moreSwim Academy. From the very first lesson with my toddler, it was clear how passionate and skilled she is at teaching. We tried group lessons with 3 other kids in our family, in the comfort of our own home pool. Christiana has a warm, encouraging approach that helped build confidence quickly, especially in the early stages when things felt a bit overwhelming for us mamas. She's incredibly patient, always attentive to individual needs, and finds the perfect balance between pushing for progress and making sure her students feel safe and supported. Whether it was mastering a new skills or simply getting more comfortable in the water, Christiana's guidance made all the difference. Each lesson was thoughtfully structured, fun, and productive. It's rare to find someone who combines technical knowledge, teaching ability, and genuine care so seamlessly. We can't recommend Christiana highly enough -- she's a fantastic instructor and a real asset to Sun Rays Swim Academy! We can't thank you enough!

My son started swim school when he was 3 years old with in 1 year he swims on his own special…read morethanks to teacher Mai she's amazing with kids!!!! Highly recommend

Our baby girl has been coming to this swimming class for almost 3 years now. I can't say enough…read moregood things about the staff and coaches specially Carlie. Keep up the great work.

We love this swim school! The instructors are the best! They treat each child as if they were the…read moreonly one in the class. They are very good at their job. The owner is very hands on. He will return calls should you have any questions. My granddaughter loves going here and is doing great as a swimmer!

My kid has always struggle with swim class due to motivation and anxiety. BSS instructors met my…read morekid where they were at and provided caring and motivational support to help them succeed. Now they can swim better and with more confidence.

While I really enjoyed the workouts and my fellow swimmers, I left because I was unhappy with the…read morehigh fee, $338-$710/year higher compared to other local master clubs in the area. They also have a ridiculous $35 drop in fee when others charge only $15-$20. As a non-profit, I would encourage you to look up their Form 990EZ filings with the IRS and see how they are spending their money. It's disheartening.

I was considering coming here until I made a visit and over…read moreheard the swim coach being disrespectful to a student/member. That's definitely not how you coach and i don't understand why you would want someone working for you who's like that!

I brought my 4-year-old son to Aqua Buddies for swim lessons. At first, everything seemed fine…read more During his initial lesson, he worked with one instructor and learned basic skills like blowing bubbles, which was a positive start. However, as we continued, each lesson was with a different instructor, and that lack of consistency made my son increasingly uncomfortable. At his age, familiarity matters, and it became clear he wasn't settling in the way I had hoped. What ultimately led me to write this review, though, was not the instructors--it was the customer service. My interactions with the scheduler/representative regarding scheduling, missed days, and invoices were unpleasant and rigid. There was very little kindness or willingness to work with me, and the communication felt cutthroat rather than supportive. Because of this inflexibility, my son essentially missed out on continued lessons. Instead of working with me as a parent trying to navigate life with two young kids and a disabled husband, I felt pushed out over a missed appointment. In retrospect, I now see how much that experience negatively impacted my son's relationship with the water. I'm writing this while watching my son thrive at Water Wings, where he is happy, confident, and excited to learn. Seeing the difference has made me realize just how behind he became due to how things were handled at Aqua Buddies. Thankfully, there are other options in this city. I truly wish Aqua Buddies placed more emphasis on compassion, flexibility, and customer service--especially when working with young children and families who may need understanding, not rigidity.

We had a great experience with Aqua Buddies. I found them on…read moreYelp when I was looking for a swim instructor to come to my home to teach a toddler some basic swim skills. We had a lovely instructor that was kind and patient. Unfortunately, our little one did not take to the lessons and we had to call it quits. Aqua Buddies were very understanding and offered a refund for the lessons we did not use. Next year when our little one is older, we will be calling again to set up lessons.

Megan is a wonderful swim teacher to my son. She has been so awesome at teaching my son how to…read moreswim and, he now is able to swim all the way across the pool with no assistance and is able to float on his own and has overcome his fear of the water. I am very grateful for finding her! she is a gem of a teacher!

Megan was working with our 4.5 year old daughter over the summer. We did 2 lessons a week for a…read moremonth, and I can't be more happy with the experience. Megan was awesome! Very professional, always on time, great communicator and an experienced coach. She used play elements to keep our daughter excited but pushed her technique and performance so we saw improvement during each session. Our daughter always had a problem opening eyes underwater without goggles and 4 years of teaching her myself and with swim instructors nobody was able to get her to comfortably take them off. Megan got our daughter there in 2 sessions - wow! Just for that she gets 5 stars from me:-) What's most important is that our daughter improved a lot AND she still is looking forward to each lesson with Megan. Hard to keep that balance and Megan definitely has the winning approach.

My 10 month old son has been going here for 10 weeks. He has so much fun and loves the water.read more

My daughter has been going to this swim school since she was about 6-8 months. She's 4 now and is…read morestill attending. The staff is GREAT. She loves her some Ms. Monica! It's just soo cool to see kids grow in things they love to do and to have a school to help her become great at this feat makes me feel excellent as a parent. I'm sure we'll be here for years to come. Thanks JHSS

Soooo this was such a fun workout class! It was different, because we were on harnesses and bungee…read morecords. This allowed us to combine cardio and aerial type workouts. The instructor was patient; accommodating; helpful; and high / positive energy. The studio is clean and spacious with one restroom and caddy storage. They offer other classes and would love to return to explore other types of classes. Parking can be found in front of their building or streets.

My mom was getting bungee reels on her Facebook and asked me to find a class for her. We were…read morefortunate that this location was close to us and had beginner classes. For context, my mom's NEVER worked out in her life before. I also had surgeries (most recently October 2025) and have been unable to exercise since 2024. We took Christina's class on a Saturday morning and it was everything and more than we expected. Vera also assisted Christina, and they provided such an open and inviting environment. We were out of our comfort zones, but we were guided and felt safe throughout the whole way. It's silly, but I'm scared of heights (and falling) and genuinely thought that I wasn't going to be able to have my feet leave the ground. Vera and Christina's knowledge and warmth quickly disarmed my fears. I was still holding back, but I knew that we were secure and in good hands. Also, in my opinion, this was a GREAT beginners workout. My mom and I are not in the best shape, but Christina also educated us about modifications to the movements we were doing and the whole experience was accessible and inclusive. For the first time in such a long time, I was able to actually work out without having any complications after the fact. The videos make it look easy, but you're definitely still getting a workout. I also want to recognize how they were always engaging and attentive to our needs. At some point, my mom did have to take a break and step out, but Christina and Vera checked on her during and after class. Also, they airdropped us some class footage for free, which we appreciated. To call the experience welcoming would be such an understatement. It was our first time, but Christina and Vera were approachable and really made our experience unforgettable. Looking forward to take more classes!