S L V Swim Center

I can’t say enough good things about SLV Swim. My daughter was absolutely terrified of the water. She cried and screamed when we started. Yeah I had «that» kid.
If she got splashed in the face she would freak out. She wore her swim belt (which they use for beginners) but would hold on to the teacher for dear life.
I was almost ready to just give up and say my kid will swim when she is 30. This is our second year here.
But we kept at it and now my kid has no belt, will jump in and get her face wet. She still won’t do the slide but maybe by summer.
I can’t say enough about SLV Swim. I tell anyone who is considering swim that even if you live in Santa Cruz they are the best place ever. If you want a great swim place where your children will learn new things and thrive this is the place.
Karrie and the other instructors are just amazing.
One tip. Sometimes phone calls don’t get returned super promptly. I just call back or email. Not a big deal to me.

We have been going here for a couple summers now and both boys are now confident swimmers. The teachers are great, and pricing, I feel is well worth it. Donna is alway just a phone call or a text away for scheduling and she works with whatever we have going on.

Held a swim party here. Paid for two hours of private pool time with two lifeguards. As the party was in full swing, one of the lifeguards asked us when we were going to be having cake and I explained 30 minutes prior to the time the two hours was up.
At that time, the kids came out and had cupcakes and then wanted to jump back into the pool, but the pool was populated with lifeguard students… although I paid for two FULL hours.
For $ 115 an hour of PRIVATE pool time, I feel like I was gyped. Although the kids were allowed to go back into the pool for the last 20 minutes of the party, the slide was shut down and the lifeguard students were in there. There needs to be clearer explanation that two hours of paid private pool time is really only 1.5 hours.
The lifeguards were nice and booking the venue was simple.

My now 9 year old has been struggling with swimming for a long time eventhough I’ve had him in swim lessons since he was 6 months old. I brought him to SLV swim center and now he can do laps !! I am so happy with his progress and grateful to Donna and her team.

We have gone to SLV Center for years with no problems. The staff had a way of changing guidelines they had set down (like how much time the kids had in the pool) that was pretty arbitrary but I rolled with it because my kids were finally learning how to swim.
This last session we signed up for was an absolute nightmare. I don’t think I’ve ever been treated more disrespectfully and discourteously in my life. We had 4 of our children signed up for lessons. One of my children started throwing up right before the lesson so we had to cancel. something we had never had to do before. The lessons at the SLV center are not a set schedule, by the way. We called and figured out a time that would work best for us, when we were setting up our classes. I received a call from Tanya, one of the instructors, that next Tues. We set up a make-​up for the next day, and since none of my other children had shown any signs of illness (a 4 day gap) I felt pretty confidant about going ahead with the make-​up. Well, that night two of my other children got sick, so we canceled again. When I called to reschedule the make-​up class I was told «We don’t do make-​ups for make-​ups» When I tried to advocate for my children, I was told that if I had been nicer they would have been willing to work with me, but they were choosing not to honor their obligation because I wouldn’t let the issue lie. I was completely respectful the whole time, but I wasn’t about to let my children get cheated out of a lesson. Up to this point, we had highly regarded the SLV center, enough to drive all the way from Soquel to swim there.
We went to lessons the next Sunday, and I was approached by Donna, the owner. I tried to talk to her about the make-​up class and she told me «I don’t even want to talk about this. You are just making me angry. » She then tried to make me pay for the lesson my 4 year old had missed because she was puking her brains out. Our other lessons were covered through Ocean Grove, and they had already been paid. She then told me that she just cared about getting paid, and didn’t care if we showed up or not. When I reminded her that we had gone there for years, she responded, «well, a lot of families have come for years» It really sucked. Enough that I told her to take us off the schedule and I just gave up on the rest of the lessons. The other clincher for us too was the way they taught my older kids during the lesson. The instructor just swam off and left them treading water for half the lesson
This business has obviously gotten complacent and arrogant. Money seems the biggest factor, not the children. The sense of entitlement was disgusting. I had previously referred everyone I know to this business. I am a walking commercial.
The total lack of even bring willing to work something out and the immediate attitude killed any respect I have for Donna and her children.

My three and five year old have been taking swim lessons here for about a year. I love their methodology and the fact that the pool is covered during the winter so we can swim year round! My 5 year old is doing great swimming on her own now and my three year old is going to be doing the same any time now. Tanya, Donna and Max are wonderful teachers and I definitely recommend this swim school!

My daughter is taking her swim lessons here and she loves it! All of the instructors are awesome!

I have been teaching for 11 years with Donna smith at slv swim center formally Donna’s swim school. Teaching has been a passion of mine for a long time. I welcome you to join us and get you or your kids swimming in no time! I cares about every child or adult I works with and I take my job very seriously. Being very personable, loving and friendly. I love what I do and it shows! Hope to see you this summer!!!
*Tanya