Goldfish Swim School – Ann Arbor

Great staff, patient teachers (Ms. Jeanne even got my two year old to wear goggles!), and they are very forgiving with rescheduling. 4 stars because it feels a little pricey, but the kids love it.

I have recently had some great customer service here and want to update my review to 5 stars for the great service. The staff at the reception desk is wonderful and is very understanding and accommodating.

I love this swim school. My son has been here for over a year, and I could not be happier with the lessons and service that I have received here. He has had 5 different instructors (Three different from changing class levels, and two from staffing changes) and while some I would consider extremely dedicated, they have all been very good with my son. My only wish is that I had started the lessons sooner! I was honestly a bit hesitant for a couple of years due to the price and the continuous lessons, but I now know that it is 100% worth it. The year round lessons have been very helpful and it has just become part of our weekly routine. They have many events that are included in the «membership» and even Kids night out events where you can bring your child to have fun while you have a «night out.» The staff is so patient with the fussiest of kids, and the teacher/​student ratio of four is just the right amount for kids to really get personal attention. I would highly recommend this location.

The best place, honestly. We have been going for about a year with our children, ages five and three. Our youngest started in the baby class (plus an adult) and LOVED it; now she is nearly swimming independently in her group class. My son is five and is autistic and was very scared of everything for several months. The instructors were AMAZING with him — always kind and patient and really just fantastic with him. He was very scared of the drains on the bottom of the pool and the instructor noticed and she made sure that he was changed to a new lane, which I found to be very proactive. He is not making as much progress with swimming technique, but he is no longer anxious or scared and LOVES his teacher with all his heart. He loves going and we are going to have his birthday party there this year. I feel like not only has he learned water skills, but he has learned to handle anxiety, wait his turn, communicate verbally with teachers and so many other subtle skills. He is a champ and I really credit Goldfish with being his secondary Occupational Therapy stop each week :) Thanks for being so wonderful to all children, especially special needs children!

We had gone to swim lessons at another place because I couldn’t imagine paying the cost at goldfish. Needless to say, after one lesson elsewhere my four year said he was done with swimming lessons. He was terrified of the water after the lesson. He said he was cold, scared the teacher would drop him, and didn’t ever want to swim again.
I convinced him to try goldfish. At first he stood on the side and refused to get in. Within ten minutes he was all the way in the water, and waved at me and gave me a thumbs up. He floated on his back, kicked and paddled. When he got out of the pool I asked him what was better about that lesson. I kid you not, my four year old said,“I trust that teacher. He knew how to hold me so I would be safe, so then I could try things out. Oh, and he made me laugh.“
So, in the end, Goldfish was worth every penny! I’ll update if that changes after more lessons, but watching the other teachers and kids, I think my kid is going to continue to enjoy swimming lessons!

My 3 year old was very enthusiastic about learning to swim and enjoyed his first 3 lessons. Then, something happened during his third lesson that SCARED him. He wouldn’t get in the water for subsequent lessons and is worse around water than he was before we started lessons. Because of the 30 day cancellation policy, we still had to pay $$ for lessons we couldn’t use (because they made him too afraid). It clearly must work for other kids — they have a thriving business. it just really didn’t work for our boy! I wish we never signed up.

We love Goldfish Swim School! My boys have improved so much in just five months. Staff is very friendly, knowledgeable, and great with the kids. They are also very flexible and accommodating when we need to reschedule. We LOVE that there is a max 4 kids per class. The water is warm and the facility is clean. I highly recommend swim lessons at Goldfish!