They have canceled our last 3 weeks at the last minute. They send an email and then call without leaving a message and when I call back to inquire about the cancellation policy, no one answers. 🤔 When our favorite coach left, we had several different coaches who all taught differently. No consistency and it makes it hard for my kid to keep learning. So sad how this place has gone downhill in less than 2 years.

Eva is the best. She is pure sunshine, you can tell she genuinely loves working with children. My son is on the shy side but not when he is with Eva, he has so much fun with her. Danny has come so far under her direction. I can’t say enough good things about Eva, she is awesome!

My kid has a medical issue and I wanted to cancel class. Girl who seats cant give me credit of miss class because 30 days policy. Even I had a doctor notes with me and told her medical issue. How policy cant have some class. At last I walked out by saying keep my money. But never going back because of bad and rude behavior. I was not asking refund just credit of classes my son missed. And I told girl ones He will feel better he will join classes. Still they cant accommodate kids with medical issue. Seriously I am very disappointed.

The staff are very friendly and they make sure that they give you a report about how your child is progressing and what they need to work on

Coach Kelsey was the absolute worst. Hard to deal with. Very argumentative. When I asked to speak with a manager about her behavior I was told she was the manager. If thats the kind of leadership you guys use for your staff its no wonder I almost jumped in after my sun went under.

Love this place. Always smile staff, really great atmosphere.

If I could give this company 0 stars, I would. Zero interest in anything but the money. Emergency equipment was expired or lacking. They dont properly train new hires. The DM and upper management in general is a complete joke. They cut CDC required cleaners in the middle of the pandemic due to budget which seems to be their go to excuse for everything. If you actually want quality lessons at a clean facility, where your child isnt rushed through the program and the staff actually treats you like family and not just a payment GO TO FOSS SWIM SCHOOLS. And before you jump to me being an angry ex employee, not only was I the longest standing manager in my facility alone (at only 1.5 years), but I have email receipts of all the stuff Ive stated above as proof. Dont waste your money. They may end up double charging you anyway!🤣

Umm sweet kids to of them have a crush on me...

5 star for coach Viki. She is very helpful and effective. I can see tremendous progress with my daughter. Mikes coach is great too.

Gave this place a try and I highly recommend NOT wasting your money

Dont work here. Dont bring your kids here. Just dont do it. Youd be better off at the park district, or spend the same money at a better swim school. Their slogan should be the opposite of Nike, Just DONT do it.

Our son has made great progress over the past year or two, and its an improvement over the park district (albeit a bit more expensive of course). The facility is quite nice and the teachers are all friendly.

Update 12/2018We took a year break. Lessons still a 5 star.Cleanliness and maintenance is 2 star. 3 broken sinks (out of 4). Cannot wash hands in actual bathroom. I’ve discussed with management and no difference after 5 weeks.———————We have been going to Bear Paddle Bloomingdale for 6 months. Swim coaches are excellent. We have had our 3 and 5 year old in other schools and the difference in progression at Bear Paddle is remarkable. Progress is monitored by supervisors with tablet devices and make sure to ask them once or twice a month on how your child is doing. We found that communication of progress was not communicated otherwise.We noticed several broken items around the facility (shower handles, towel hooks, lockers, etc) and reported them but it often took several weeks before they were fixed, if ever at all. Also, we often noticed food and crumbs in the changing areas.We can be tough critics, but for the price, we had higher expectations for facility maintenance and cleanliness. Again, on the bright side, the quality of teaching is top-notch.

Had very bad experience with the place twice . Not a clean place , prices are too high.First when I missed the class and call them to ask about family swim instead they told me to come without the appointment at any time ( in fact it is only after 3 pm ) , my bad I had not checked the website. But when I came no one was at the reception, we started to swim , there were several couches but they did not told us a word , in 2 min the woman came and asked us to leave , as it was only 2 pm. If you have children you probably know how difficult it is to get a 6-months ready and then take out of the water after 2 min.Then my son had been sick for 3 weeks , so obviously we missed the classes . But they cannot compensate as I did not call, did not check the website for the polices . Sorry , when my 7- month child was sick I was not able to think about swim lessons .

Clean facilities and my daughter has become an excellent swimmer! She loves her teacher and the staff is very friendly. They are also very accommodating if you contact them ahead of time to reschedule a class that you cant make. Highly recommend them!

Great Place! my daughter started when she was 2 years old and now she is 6 years old and bear paddle has really made my daughter fearless in water. clean place and very good coaches

While the facilities are clean, and the staff is friendly, I just dont think this place is worth the price tag. The teachers are rarely consistent from one week to the next. I dont hear or see them make adjustments, correct the children, or find new ways to have the kids understand their lesson. The classes are also incredibly repetitive, isnt engaging enough for our child week after week.

They least care about you, there was a power outage last to last week, we waited for 45 minutes with my 3 year old daughter, they did not bother to accommodate in next batches though there were two batches with only 2-3 kids showing up in those batches, they said its full and ask me to book a make up lesson however last week they added one more girl in to my daughters batch , there are now 4 kids and two instructors in the class, it is so overcrowded for the size of the lanes they have. After the class the shower rooms are so full that my daughter needs to wait 10 minutes with her wet dress to get in to them. Not a pleasing experience anymore, I am going to cancel and find another place.

When my granddaughter started classes at age 4 she was basically afraid to put her face in the water let alone go under or not hold on to someone in the pool. Now a little over a year later she has progressed through 4 levels and swims like a fish and loves it. She has a new found confidence in the water and in life. Thank you Bear Paddle and Staff.

Great swim center! My daughter learned not only to swim, but to swim confidently. There were 2 people that appeared to run the center, that were especially helpful, and provided information on a weekly basis, on my daughters progress. I highly recommend!

We love this place, they have excellent instructors and customer service, a great warm pool and flexible classes and policies. Highly recommended!

Great programs! Coach Viki is one of the best coaches here!

Great place and staff, both my kids love it. Weve been going for over 2 years and weve seen plenty of instructors come and go so you cant get attached to one. Floors in the changing stalls, showers, actually pretty much everywhere are dirty, very noticibly dirty. Scrubs the floor, you cant just put water and squeegee it off. Food left in the stalls, parents changing kids right in the middle of the locker room - put up signs, let people know, to change their kids in the stalls; no need for naked kids running around...seen it more than 3 times already. Also, there should be a deck manager around the pool at all times. Sometimes my kids go without being seen by a deck manger for a whole class time. Overall this was the best and closest to our home and Ill continue to recommend bear paddle; which many have come due to us, since my daughter party there. Im just hoping you guys fix a few things and make it better. Thx

Bear paddle is an awesome experience and makes learning fun!! My kids love it and are more confident with the water and even okay with water on their faces!

Now on to the third child learning to swim at Bear Paddle. Overall been very pleased with all 3 kids experiences and progress!

Great swimschool, clean and organized , the staff is very accomodative and helpful, my kids have had lots of different teachers and all of them do a great job ...

Very bad place to learn to swim

Great teachers. My son has so much more confidence in the water and in himself.

My kids were afraid of the water til we came here, and in just a few months not only could they swim they love the water . The instructors are attentive and great with kids. Definitely worth the money!

I have 3 year old daughter, she loves it and teachers are great

The beat place for kids swimming lessons.The Ian R is outstanding coach!!!!!

Great instructors ! My son loves going every week. Prices cant be beat!

They have recently changed their policies and raised their prices. Scheduling to come here is no longer an option.

Evie loves to go there and is progressing well.

Consistency of instructors and communication could be improved.

Awesome, happy, caring, educated staff!!!! So happy with swimming experience results !!!!!!

There was no ball to play with!

Everything awesome

They cancel classes frequently due to inadequate staffing. Instructors vary wildly in quality. The parking lot will wreck your suspension.