Aqua-Tots Swim Schools Ballantyne 11926 Providence Road West, Charlotte, NC 28277

"We absolutely love this swim school; our baby has so much fun every time we go (as made evident by the huge smile you'll see in this photo!). We also feel that we as parents learn methods of safely introducing swim to her, and hope that with the upcoming years she will become a strong, confident swimmer. The staff are always friendly and professional. The facility is well maintained and it's truly a smooth operation in terms of getting in, participating in the lesson and getting out. Thanks to the team for always doing so with a smile too!!"

"Safety Concern- My child is 2yrs old and learning to swim. She was in a class with 3 other kids. She lost her balance while sitting on the bench inside the swimming pool. The instructor was busy with the other child, teaching to get out of the pool which takes time. She was not paying attention to the other kids. I luckily saw that my child was submerged in the water and since the door was locked & I did not know how to unlock, I signaled the supervisor to pay attention to my child and pull her out. Supervisor immediately pulled her out. Just because I was attentive towards my child, any accident was avoided. Cannot imagine what would have happened otherwise. When I complained to the front desk they were apologetic and said the instructor is new. This was our only negative experience with aqua tots."

"1. During the time I was with the membership, I had several class cancellations, according to them due to pool maintenance, but they never took the time to notify us starting in the morning, but only 30 minutes before the class... several of us arrived at the place. 2. On one occasion I scheduled two classes on the same day, the first at 3:45 and the second at 4:30. The teacher gave only 20 minutes of class justifying that my daughter was the only one in the class and I am supposed to pay for 30 minutes regardless of the number of students; She is a 5-month-old baby and the time between one class and another did not allow us to stay in the pool area that does not have air conditioning so as not to have to change it and then prepare it again for her class. 3. I had a class where the instructor was reading all the time what she had to do, we paid to have classes with a person who is prepared, not so that during the class she is looking at what she has to do."

"Today my son had his second lesson with a different instructor. Both instructors are absolutely fantastic! Sonny (the one he had today) was absolutely exceptional. My son tends to hyperventilate/panic in anticipation of submerging his head. Sonny was relentless in a GREAT way!!!!! She didn’t give in to his fear and I think this is what he needs! She kept it up and kept explaining to him that he needs to breathe to calm down and explaining that she was going to put him under and what he would need to do! She was tough but also sweet with lots of reassurance. I feel that between sonny and Elissa my son is going to become an excellent swimmer. Thanks for making this experience great for us (more me than him right now lol). I would 100% recommended this school and these two instructors!!!!! Thank you. I’m one happy mama and excited to see what the future brings. I see some of the negative reviews and I’m surprised by them but to each their own I suppose. Unfortunately my son is four and I’m starting now and because I have started so late I see the fear of being submerged which, in my opinion has to happen for many reasons! The main objective for me is to diminish if not completely abolish his fear of going under and from what I’ve seen from the instructors at aqua tots this will happen in no time!"

"Took my daughter for her first lesson today. Literally watched her almost drown. The instructor was teaching Level 1( no swimming skills) and only had two kids in the group (there were two no shows). The instructor took the other child off the bench in the pool and my daughter of course wanted to join in and got off the bench and went right to the bottom of the 4 foot pool. The instructor didn’t notice for about 10 seconds. My wife is frantically banging on the glass the parents watch behind, I’m running into the pool, and the instructor is oblivious. We’re not dramatic people. I picked up my daughter, told the assistant manager we would not be returning and wanted our money back. Refused to issue a refund or cancel our autopay. I completely understand there’s nothing good to say when when of your instructors let’s one of the children almost drown with a room full of parents watching, but she went with “ she’s a newer instructor and didn’t do it on purpose”. I also understand their refund policy, but this isn’t “ we’re not happy with the lessons” this is you let our daughter have a near drowning 5 minutes into her first lesson. Personally, I would strongly urge parents to look elsewhere if you have a child that needs to learn how to swim. I’ve never in my life seen a child focused business this unsafe."