Saratoga Star Aquatics-Live 12230 Saratoga Sunnyvale Road, Saratoga, CA 95070

"Coaching for beginner levels (small pool and instructors in the water) was good. Another plus is well heated pool. That’s it about good stuff. Coaching in full lanes (starting from Navy level) is barely existing. Instructors don’t correct wrong technique and just watching kids. But what makes this place truly awful is their front desk and policies. Rude, non professional , very rigid (and stupid) policies. It was a pain to make any changes, communicate or just ask simple questions."

"I have signed up the 3-person monthly plan for my wife, my kid and me. We go swimming on weekdays after 9pm so it wasn’t busy. The indoor swimming pool is probably the best and biggest around this area given there aren’t many indoor pools around. The big pool is of good size for adults to do laps and the smaller pool is perfect for kids to have fun/practice/learn swimming. The locker room condition isn’t the greatest, but acceptable. I don’t have experience with swimming classes, but overall it exceeds my expectations."

"TL/DR: This place is not equipped or staffed for young kids with little to no experience. I came here with my 3yo for the mandatory assessment. First of all, I KNOW my daughter should be in the red class because she has only taken group swim classes for a couple of months. Anyhow, it's mandatory so I got her all dressed for a less than a minute evaluation (which she was very upset about btw because she thought she gets to play in the water cause, you know, she's THREE!) We got there, and it's super unorganized. We were first being told to sit by the side and wait for our names being called, then 5 minutes later was "you here for assessment? Go inside!" There's no introduction, no tour, no explanation of the process or the facility. Just "get assessed and then sign the registration form. But make sure you read everything on the form before signing!" My 3yo daughter and this other older girl (maybe 4 or 5?) were told to be assessed together. I overheard the father of the other girl saying to the teacher that she has no experience at all and she refused to get in. I encouraged my daughter to get into the pool and she did. The instructor, who's clearly a high school student, asked my daughter to float on her back. My daughter didn't want to do it, and I tried to encourage her by saying, "you have done this before! Just try!" The teacher took her and just made her float; obviously, my daughter tensed up and grabbed onto her arm. After 10 second, the teacher was like, "ya she's red. Just go outside and let them know." Just that couple of minutes of interaction with the teacher confirmed my hesitation. Anyone who has dealt with young kids knows they need to warm up. Let them play in the water for a little bit first! Also, if the kids don't react to your verbal command, demonstrate! My daughter used to take classes from Goldfish, and the instructors always demonstrated while providing instructions because it's hard to gauge young kids' language skills. Last but not least, I KNOW she's red because I told you already! Now I have a toddler who was originally all excited about going swimming, got 10 seconds of time in water, and I need to clean her up. Then the changing room, it's just wet all over with limited space. Again, it would have worked for kids who can take a shower and change on their own, but hard for parents to work with younger kids. After we're done, I went to the reception and ask for the next steps. I was instructed to fill in the registration form right there and will receive a schedule. I asked for the class schedule for red and was told to fill in the form. I was like, "how can I register if I don't even know if we can attend any of the classes?" The guy reluctantly listed out every option possible. I thanked him and asked if I can take the registration form home so I can read it over (by that point, I have an annoyed and hungry 3yo and also an impatient baby). He told me I cannot take the form home, and that must be filled in on the spot. That, for me, is the last straw, so we politely excused ourselves and left. I came back and read most of the online reviews, and they confirms my observation: disorganized front desk, rude lady/manager, and questionable billing practices. Maybe the instructors are great for older kids, but the few I met today and the overall operations of this place is not suitable for young kids who are still trying to establish their comfort level with water."

"I have experienced several issues with Saratoga Star Aquatics. Communication Problems: The fact that I had to make multiple calls and were unable to speak with the manager is a concerning issue.The key to resolving customer concerns and ensuring a positive experience. Customer Service: Good customer service is essential for any business, and it appears that Saratoga Star Aquatics fell short in this regard by not addressing customer's concerns promptly and professionally. Lack of Flexibility: It's unfortunate that the staff at Saratoga Star Aquatics didn't display flexibility in accommodating my cancellation request. In situations where customers have genuine reasons for wanting to cancel, businesses should strive to provide reasonable solutions. Given my experience, it might be helpful to consider leaving a more detailed review on social platforms. This can serve as feedback to the business and may also help other potential customers make informed decisions. That is the reason I am posting this."

"The biggest issue here is the swimming teacher here is not consistent, the teacher change a lot, sometimes they don’t have teachers and merged two classses, the new teacher have no clue where are the kids were before, therefore a lot of chaos. It greatly slow downs your kids’ pace and progress. My kids are at white class, because of merging classes she is suddenly go back to practice red class stuff. Learned nothing for the consecutive two lessons so far because of that. I strongly suggest the management layer get into this issue, because the younger kids are making less progress it affects your high level classes as well. Think twice before you sign up."