We enrolled our son in Watermelon Swim school this past June and have been incredibly happy with our experience there. The staff members are incredibly kind and supportive. If I ever have a question or concern, the Melon team members (especially Jos and Christian --I think that is the other gentleman's name) working at the front desk provide quick and helpful responses. I'm particularly impressed with the progress my four year old has made since joining this organization. In just under three months, he moved from Level 1 to Level 4 and is continuing to excel under their coaching and direction. When you sign up, you receive a Watermelon Swim bag, t-shirt, and booklet that includes helpful "I can..." statements for guiding your child's swimming journey. The Watermelon Swim app is incredibly handy and allows you to sign your child up for make-up classes if he/she is expected to miss a regularly scheduled class. What I like most about this swim school is their flexibility. They have classes during evenings and weekends, which is helpful for the working family. I would recommend Watermelon Swim (Lutz) to anyone who is looking for swim lessons with trained instructors for their child. read more

I can't say enough amazing things about this business and its employees. The swim instructors who work here love what they do and it shows in the classes. I've been taking my daughter to WS for two years now, ever since she was 6 months old. She's only 2.5 years old and is in a Level 3 class. On the rare occasion when my daughter has had trouble with a skill, a deck supervisor has jumped in to give her one on one time to help her gain confidence again. My daughter loves Watermelon Swim, but has a special love for her Ms. Lizzy and Ms. Madi! Thank you for all that you do! read more

See all

We love Watermelon Swim! Our two and half year old has made so much progress working with the Watermelon swim staff. His instructor Miss Rowan is wonderful, she's very kind, knowledgeable and fun. Our son loves having swim class with her. Definitely check out Watermelon Swim if you're looking for a great place for swim lessons! read more

We love Watermelon Swim! We took advantage of the free Water Babies program which is a parent-baby class that you can start as soon as baby's umbilical cord falls off. We started our little one at 2 months and she loved it. We are now in Parent Tot level 1 with Caitlen. Caitlen has been amazing and has a special bond with our little Niko! We look forward to seeing Caitlen each week, because we love seeing how happy Niko is in the water with her. All of the staff is friendly and welcoming and they all seem to truly care about the progress their students make. Go Niko Torpedo!!! read more

Watermelon Swim - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Lutz, Florida

The teachers are great and they take such good care of my son. I can tell he enjoys the teachers and even when he is crying they take the time make sure he is okay. Update to review: our son just leveled up and we asked to keep Miss Hailey because she is that great and he absolutely adores her! read more

As of May 2025 I am adding/editing from previous review below. Watermelon Swim has unknowingly just improved overall. We took a break but swam back to our Watermelon Swim. We hate we missed last years pumpkin patch/Fall Festival fun. With any business although you aim to please you will not be able to please everyone. But acknowledging and offering help to make it better is a plus. There are even more new faces to us. There are some OGs still around and even the then Rookies are hanging in there with some newbies. Its amazing to see the Rookies transform as they trained and held co-classes with their trainers to now having their own group. I've watched kids with a variety of autism and physical limitations come in and have their swim time and leave as happy as they can be. We love Ms. Maddi and she will ALWAYS be our favorite instructor. For the most part she has pretty much been our son's instructor his entire Swim journey till now. She is so great with him, challenging him, encouraging him and genuinely caring for his well-being. It's so heartbreaking warming to see their bond. It's just who she naturally is as you see other kids hug her unexpectedly and just cling to her. Her group wants to make her proud because she pours so much into them during those 30 minites. She is their biggest cheerleader. We have notice Jos & Christian at the front desk. They are new to us but have been so attentive and genuine. Getting to know my son and genuinely making sure we are good. Taking the time to talk to the family is such a warm welcome. Accommodating and showing their persistence to get it right. I appreciate Ms. Amy who took her time explaining to me throughout our son's levels and his learning. Understanding our brief break. We miss some faces like Ms. Sam, Ms. Hannah and Ms. Melanie. Ms. Maggie (visitng manager, think she filled in while Ms. Amy was out) We really miss Ms. Olivia who also was getting to know our son, helped juggle my life calendar trying to plug in tokens and multiple level ups! She was understanding stayed late when she shouldn't just to make sure we were good. I've watched Ms. Robin, Ms. Cathy and Ms. Caitlin have so much patience with these children and each time I am praying for their continued strength to make it through. Ms Ciara was a savior and almost made me switch locations so she could help our son. He was having trouble with his side breaths and just could not get the technique down. She took him aside and within 15 minutes he did it! I didn't even recognize my son swimming from one end to the other in the seperate pool area. I was wondering what did she do because this was not the same kid! If you ever see Mr. Elijah you can see he is so passionate. He does soo much. I see him either coaching instructors, helping a child with a skill, or defusing a disruptive child, he's on deck checking off skills giving cues and tips to instructors and kids. He is making sure that things are running smooth. Kudos to the water watchers, love this idea. As we know even in a small close group a child could get away from us and wander. Mr. DD is another phenomenal instructor, but he's also his mentor, big brother and friend. Mr. DD made it so much fun for our son. They equally played around, however he helped him so much with his skills. We were so bummed when he left but glad to see he's back even if its for a short while. Watermelon Swim is growing. They need more changing rooms. I thought it was bad during the lower level time, but worse with upper levels. They start and finish pretty much at the same time so you might not get a room to change your child or tween or teen. You can't hear the instructors as multiple maybe talking or parents running up to get their child and hear their child's progress separately. There are just too many bodies in that little space. Nevertheless Ms. M. Seal you have an amazing business which you know with several awards and acknowledgements of the goodness and contt6/ of your organization. This only means you have an even better staff that works for you an their respective communities. It helps that some of your very own children work here. Management you are doing great things at Lutz, the teamwork is great. Keep improving. Google Review This review was a year ago with 2 stars--- Within the last three months there has been some major turnover in instructors. You have instructions getting promoted and out of the water and you have instructors leaving. My son has had too many instructors and no consistency. I need the leadership team to zoom in and focus on this. The kids deserve better. I watched a kid and a mother have a melt down because his i instructor was out. Mom says they keep changing his teachers and he won't get in the water. One of the staff offered options however none the mother could think would work and she wind up pulling her child out all together. I had this concern for my son although he does ok with other instructors it affects his progress. read more

Great place to learn how to swim! My son started at 2 years old & went to 5. My daughter started at 18 months & is currently 3.5 years old at a level 5! She looks forward to swim class EVERY DAY! She always asks if it's swim class day! We have had several of the instructors,who have either moved up in the company or who went off to college (we miss Ms Shaela!). My daughter LOVES coming & her favorite Ms Maddy at the front desk (always comes in looking for her & gets a hug). She currently has Ms Ellie & Ms Kaitlyn since we go 2x a week. She loves her instructors. They all do such an amazing job pushing the kids & helping them grow. It's so essential for them to learn the survival skills & how to be when in the water. We love watermelon swim & tell everyone about it. read more

Watermelon Swim - My daughter leveling up! - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Lutz, Florida

See all

3 years ago I started my daughter here to learn about water safety and being comfortable in the water and safe around water and now my son and nephew both swim here! The progress my nephew has made is leaps and bounds bc of the amazing instructors here. From Caitlyn S. (Who was my daughter's level 5 teacher) Ms.Gabby, Ms. Daliya, and now Ms. Emily we absolutely love it here. read more

See all

We've been taking our sons to swim lessons here for 6+ months and couldn't be happier. The instructors are fantastic--knowledgeable, patient, and great with kids. The facility is always clean and well-organized, creating a comfortable learning environment. What stands out is the exceptional customer service. The staff goes above and beyond to ensure a positive experience for both parents and children. Special shout-out to Madison B., Caitlyn S., Rowan S., Melaney M., Brittney R., and Lizzy R. Our sons have made tremendous progress and we look forward to continuing their lessons here. Highly recommend! read more

We had been to Watmelon swim before when my oldest was in waterbabies and now we're back for Level 1. We had to take a hiatus for a while but we returned and happy we did. My 4 year old is timid around the water and I was really nervous that she would refuse to put her head underwater. Mr. Kyle was very informative but also helpful in catching us up on the changes for when we came back. Especially since this would be the first time my kid would be swimming without me with her. Her first class last GREAT and Ms. Briana was great. My kid warmed up immediately and was ready to go. I still can't believe that she did all of the instructions that involved going under and that showed me that Briana was very welcoming and trained well with kiddos. We love being back! Shoutout to Ms. Amy too! read more

The skills and staff at Watermelon Swim (Lutz location) are amazing. My son has been swimming with them for 3 years and my daughter for 6 months. My son is not only safe in the water, but his swim strokes are chef's kiss. He is 100% a better swimmer than I am, at this point. My daughter was initially a big stick in the mud about swim classes, crying at every class. Miss Rowan showed my daughter SO much patience, kindness, and positive energy every single class. Of course, Miss Rowan wore my daughter down and now she LOVES swim class and swimming with her brother. Watermelon Swim's program truly works and we cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for our kids. Sending extra hugs to Miss Maddie and Miss Rowan! read more

We've had such a good experience with Watermelon Swim. The teachers let my son be himself while also pushing him outside of his comfort zone. I feel so much more confident about his swimming abilities. Mr. Frank is so patient and really knows how to work with the kids to get them prepared for being in the water. read more

Love Watermelon Swim and so does my daughter! She's learned so much from great instructors like Miss Katelyn and Miss Ciera! The front desk staff Miss Melanie and Miss Maddie B are so helpful and sweet! Manager Miss Nicole is always knowledgeable and professional. My daughter looks forward to coming each week and has improved her swim and survival skills so much in the last year. read more

We started taking our first born Leo here when he was 4 months old. They offer a free course called water babies from birth to 6 months old. Now my second born Skyler is in water babies and started at 2 months. We also took Leo to parent tot 1 and 2 and now he's in level 1 by himself. Would definitely recommend because they teach hea submerging and not just life saving skills some of the other places teach. read more

See all

The progress we've seen in just a few weeks at Watermelon Swim is astounding!! The instructors are kind and patient and really tailor their approach to your child's learning style. I highly recommend! read more

We love our instructor Lizzy. She's been the best we've had so far. Teaches great water skills. However, need to push to get leveled up when your kid is ready! read more

I could not be more impressed with the operations at Watermelon swim Lutz. I was anxious to start my 20 month old in swim classes but know swim skills/water safety is so important, especially living in Florida. As expected, the first class was a struggle for my toddler due to separation anxiety; however, the staff, in particular Morgan, went above and beyond to make sure my daughter had an easier transition the next class and we couldn't be happier. The low student/ teacher ratio make for a very safe and personalized experience! I know my daughter is in great hands and can't wait to see how much she learns! read more

We have loved watermelon swim school since we started taking our son there around 2 months old. Ms. Alyssa has been our primary instructor for water babies and parent -Tot class and we truly enjoy each class with her. She is personable, friendly and knowledgeable. Lincoln loves seeing her each week and learning from her. read more

Our experience at Watermelon swim in Lutz has been so great. We have seen so much progress with our 1.5 and 3 year old in a short amount of time. It is very structured and consistent. Shout out to Miss Katelyn and Miss Gracie! read more

My son has been taking lessons from about a year old until now almost 3. When he was 2.5 we were at a friend's pool and he fell in while I was about 10 feet away. He easily grabbed the wall, pulled himself up, and wasn't afraid. We frequently get compliments when neighbors see him swimming in our neighborhood pool at what a strong swimmer he is. He loves swimming and we look forward to more years of lessons to hone his skills. read more

I love this place! In a few months my 2 years old was swimming and now I can rest assured that she won't drown.. and she loves her classes, she is always asking for more!! Can't recommend enough! read more

All of the instructors are amazing! Shaela, Lizzy, Ciara, Mackenzie... all of them! They all go above & beyond! All of the staff are friendly & so easy to communicate with. They will answer any questions & if they don't know it, they will find the answers!! This place is the perfect place for kids to learn to swim! They even have swim classes for Adults! It's a great brand but a better company! read more

Have been going to the Lutz location with both my children since we moved to Tampa 3 years ago. Excellent staff and my 5 year old is an excellent swimmer now. They also have several events throughout the year that really make it a fun community. My son who is just over 1 has been swimming with Sam in Parent Tot 2 and I cannot recommend her enough. She is the best of the best! read more

Cori Harris My daughter has been going here for 2 months and she absolutely loves swim class!! She has had the pleasure of working with Ms Robin and Caroline (sorry if I misspelled any names). Both are great instructors and make sure they spend equal time with each kid no matter if it is 2 or 4 in the class. I highly recommend trying this swim school. read more

My both daughters started with Miss Elyssa since they were in water babies class. They both love her so much! Miss Elyssa is GREAT with kids. Super patient and very caring, nice, knowledgeable and she knows how to handle things very wisely. She's definitely a great teacher and a great addition to the Watermelon swimming team at Lutz :) Thank you for all you do, Miss Elyssa and keep shining! read more

Ms Hannah is awesome we love watermelon swim and my kids has been doing awesome with his skills

A greedy company more interested in taking your money than teaching your child to swim or provide a safe environment. The instructors are great (if you're willing to be on a waitlist for the experienced ones). Unfortunately the policies and management are a very different thing. First, the changing area's floors are obviously always wet. Half the floors have mats to prevent people from slipping. The other half do not. My child fell hard enough they received a black eye. When brought to management's attention, they were very concerned, wrote an incident report, yet nothing has changed. People still constantly slip and fall. No additional mats, nothing. I suspect it would cost money to buy more mats. Secondly, if the pool is unexpectedly closed, or any other reason the class is canceled, your account gets a "makeup token". However the makeup token can't be used for your regularly scheduled class with the regular teacher. It must be at another time. If you have a demanding schedule that doesn't fit their openings, oh well. You can't get a credit on your account. Oh, and the tokens expire. I have 5 current tokens and 4 expired ones and we have never missed a scheduled class on our part. Most instructors have full schedules (hence the waiting list) so a makeup day will be with someone who doesn't know your child. The front desk is completely inflexible and can't understand why I can't move my entire schedule around when they cancel a class. Why not credit my monthly account and pay less that month? Not happening. They hope you can't use your tokens and have them expire. Finally, each class has 4 students for 30 minutes. At BEST, that's about 7 mins of focused instruction for your child over 30 minutes. The changing rooms are dangerous, the policies are inflexible, and the cost is expensive for the what you get. read more

My child learned how to swim and is a good swimmer now so that is a plus, it is a good school. My child was there since 2 yrs old. It was called seal swim which was a better name in my opinion more parking and less crowded. But I don't know what is going on in there now it is super over crowded, no parking, no where to dress your child. I have to dress my child in a corner outside in the open. Come on do you think I want everyone to see my child naked. They really need to get things under control it is starting to look like a zoo in there. I might have to look elsewhere ifit keeps happening so sad they let it get to this point. I kinda liked when one parent was allowed only. read more

Just started coming here and so far our kiddos have enjoyed their session. They are all very kind staff. But I would like to add if they added the changing station to the bathroom. It would be such a relief especially with newborn babies. read more

Great swim school for kids. Each group stays together with the same instructor over the course. They have two pools, one for the very young beginners and a larger one for the older children. They offer private tutoring as well. The place is jam packed with kids so don't expect to get any reading done while junior learns to swim. read more

Watermelon Swim - swim time - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Lutz, Florida

They are highly rated and professional coaches and the front desk are really friendly. The managers are really kind and polite. Kids love it read more

This place is a money grab. It's goal is to keep you child in as long as possible. It will take 10x as long for your child to learn to swim. Please stay far away from this place. read more

We've been bringing our kids to SSS for a few years. We don't own a pool and swim infrequently outside of their lessons. When COVID caused the school to temporarily close we began to swim at a relatives house. It was amazing to see our little guys swim freely and confidently. They put all that they learned on display and it was awesome to see! The school is now reopened and we are glad to see that the precautions they're taking are beyond measure. Maggie and team are awesome! read more

We are back for the second year in a row. Our little one was young last year- not even 1- so it was a good start to introduce him to the pool. Now, at 2, it has been a little difficult. He was very apprehensive and fearful of the pool. However, the instructors here are phenomenal and so patient- even with loud, crying toddlers. We signed him up for one month of group sessions and he was just getting it at the end. The head of the school approached us and was able to work with us to arrange private lessons the following month. We are seeing that with the extra time, he's gotten much more comfortable and confident and today he swam independently for a few seconds. Absolutely love this place and will continue to bring him back here in the years to come! read more

Best swim school in the area. I swam here as a child and I have always been a great swimmer.

Not going to knock them a star for price because I have found that most of the time..you get what you pay for! We started in the mommy and me class to get water basics and have been with them through level 3 so far. We swim twice a week and I couldn't be happier. Highly recommend Ms Maggie, Ms Amber and Mr Julio! read more

We take our little one swimming every Monday for free swim class. We didn't realize that this was offered until we saw something about it advertised. You can sign your baby up for their swim school and go once a week until they are 6 months old and then they "graduate". It's really great for getting them in the pool with mommy or daddy as well as other children their age. You get to sing and swim with your little one, pretty awesome. Floating, tummy time, kicking their feet and splashing in the water are some of the things that they get to do to get used to being in the water. The instructors are caring and show great interest in what they are doing. The instructors are in the high school age range. If we have another child down the road we would participate again. read more

Not happy with the service. First of all it takes forever. I've been taking my son for over 6 months now and he really hasn't improved very much from his first visit. Month after month they do the same thing, and I never get any kind of progress reports. He certainly can't swim and he remains scared of the water. Every morning when he wakes up he begs me not to take him. It's also not a good value. $25 a lesson, and you share that time with around 3 other kids. So that's about 7.5 minutes of individual time, each week, for $25. No wonder he's not progressing. Oh and if your kid ever gets sick (which all kids do), they still charge you for the lesson you missed and don't credit your account. I tried calling to cancel this month and they said you can only cancel on the first of each month, so they're taking another $100 from my bank account for lessons I don't want! read more

This is a great swim school with great instructors. If you are expecting your child to know how to swim in 1-2 weeks then this isn't the school for you. They teach kids swim skills by repetition, rather than dropping them in. Our daughter comes once a week and looks forward to it. I do have to admit during her level 1 and level 2 classes I was getting frustrated that the process was too slow. However, Maggie, one of the deck supervisors talked to me as well as my daughters current level teacher and I decided to continue. I'm glad I did. Once past level 2,the teachers push a little harder and she has been doing great. read more

I can't tell you how much I love being able to take my little 5 month old to Seal Swim School and getting to swim with her. She takes so much pleasure as she does the various activities with the instructor guiding the class. She gets to float on her back, participate in sing along children songs while kicking her little legs and so much more. It's really awesome that they allow people to take their children here until 6 months of age for free! The instructors are nice and everything is organized so well. read more