It is completely disheartening to watch my child get skipped over during her group sessions week after week for not following along. When i asked for 1:1 swimming lessons I was advised they were short staffed. if she isnt following along, then i would have expected them to propose an alternative solution instead they punished her for not following along by excluding her from the exercises.Reported the incident and was advised I would get a call from a manager. Lauren called once and left a message and hasnt reached out since. nor does their location pick up the phone when i tried calling them back. Its been 2 weeks.**update: Apparently Bear Paddle swim school has a rating of a F with the Better Business Bureau. Incidents and complaints have been made against them from other parents/customers in the past. And to date (its been a few weeks) no one has reached out by phone or email to address my concern.

The facility is nice and clean. The staff is great. The lessons are a bit expensive compared to park district programs (though I think theyre on par with other swim schools), but the program is well worth the money.

They never answer the phone or return your call. Also their are not enough changing tables for babies

This place was okay. The staff were not friendly and there were kinda rude, when we arrived we saw two girls drinking Starbucks and completely ignoring us. but anyways, after 10 mins of waiting the one girl came and looked she did not want to work there.then after the lesson I was kinda mad those girls were so rude. Like FIRE them.😆Thank you!From, your guest, Stella your “Your nicest customer” OMG. 🙄Bye Mean School :(

I had signed my daughter up for a complimentary 30 min class. After the class i had every intention on signing her up for weekly classes. However, after our experience today, i decided not to join this facility. Our class was scheduled for 3:40, we arrived 15 min early as requested and we got ready and sat by lane 1 like we were told, waiting for the swim instructor. We sat there until 4 before i went to the front desk asking what was going on seeing that another class started coming in and getting into lane 1 where we were. I was then informed that the swim instructor was running late to work but not to worry another instructor came in early and she would be right with us. She was great, however the problem was was that she was only in the water with my daughter for maybe 8 minutes and told me she did great and to sign her up for level two. What? We came for a 30 min class and got 8 mins.. i drove 30 mins to get there for an 8 min session?? No apology nothing.. just oh well? This is how you want your business to be portrayed? You actually think people will come in and join your classes after being treated like this? Sad, because my daughter was so excited. But i refuse to pay for classes now in fear that our time is not important. Because today, we were clearly not important.

They have good instructors but good luck getting in touch with somebody!! Left messages and emails, no replies!!! Terrible customer service!

Breanna and her staff are absolutely amazing. I had a concern about one of her classes, she listened and figured out a way to solve the problem. Thanks so much for listening and working with me. My son loves his swim class.

I have had my three children at Bear Paddle Orland Park since summer 2016, they came in with no swim experience ages 4,4 and 5. They started learning to swim by taking two summer camps, I would highly recommend this because they got to jump start quickly and after 4 weeks (2 camps) were able to swim. The instructors are all amazing, and no matter what time of day you make your lesson, they are energetic and helpful, and very patient. My kids loved going to lessons, and we feel much more at ease knowing they can swim. For this age, 30 min is plenty of time. It is also great that they use salt water, they get no rashes or eye irritations when they finish swimming. I would highly recommend Bear Paddle.

Our grandson has learned how to swim at Bear Paddle Swim School. We like the staff. They are always friendly and helpful!

My daughter had a genuinely amazing time taking lessons at Bear Paddle this summer. Over the course of a couple months, she went from being quite reluctant about swimming to being a Level 5. The concentrated intervals of different strokes truly made all the difference. I had not experienced swim instruction of this style before, and we loved it so much. She had instructors on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays...all of them were highly enthusiastic, encouraging and patient. Thank you again for a wonderful experience!

Bear Paddle Orland Park is taking COVID very seriously and making sure we all feel safe returning. Ive been super happy with their safety precautions which are above and beyond what I could have expected :-)

Started off there October of 2018 paying $90 a month for 4 lessons a month. Their new policy has made it to where they still charge $90 a month but want it paid for 3 months in advance ($270). From the looks of the pile of account withdraws sitting on the counter when I went in to withdraw my son a lot of people have issue with their new billing as well. They do offer to split it in two (but when they actually billed me they charged me the full amount). If I wouldnt have caught it, they wouldnt have made any attempt to correct the problem. When I called, their answer was it was some type of glitch that was charging everyone full price. They also were offering a special to customers via email that would have saved $5.50 off per lesson ($66 dollar savings over the 3 month billing period). But they didnt bother to offer it to existing customers that they charged the full price for. When I called on the phone and spoke to Casey about my charges, I was spoken to very rudely. After I then stated I would be coming in to cancel my account I was told by Casey Im looking forward to it! Not the best attitude, and comments for their business. Their locker room/changing area isnt the cleanest, and they do have a tendency of ending lessons CONSISTENTLY a few minutes early (3 minutes 10 lessons equals another whole lesson). Now on the other hand there are some very nice and polite people who work there. Matt and Brianna were very nice, and helpful teaching my son ( just a shame theyre teaching there).

The teachers here are great.... Thats the only thing I enjoyed about going here. This is not a personal issue with one person but a Corporate mentality around customer service that is astonishing. Ive put up with a complete lack of flexibility that wont allow you to ever reschedule anything... Its costs me money and a lost lesson when my daughter is sick... Fine. The fact the facility had to close and canceled my daughters lesson, and still wont let me reschedule or refund is utterly amazing!

Our daughter (4 years old) was nervous about starting lessons but after day one, she’s been enthusiastic ever since! In the last 6 months (since she began) she has developed confidence and eagerness to advance. The instructors are knowledgeable and bring various degrees of fun to the lessons. They challenge my daughter in ways I would never think of. I’m so grateful to have been referred to Bear Paddle by my friends!

Brandon is absolutely amazing! On the second visit for my child swim class he remembered my family and instantly noticed the comfort and progression my child made. He always tell me if I need anything please ask him and he also make suggestions to myself, my husband and my childs teacher to encourage comfort. I love this school and enjoy sharing my experience with my family and friends. The front desk staff is amazing as well. The staff with the blond hair and glasses, I believe her name is Amanda, always speak and answers all questions and concerns. I am really glad to have found this swim school.

My daughter (6 yr old) has been with Bear Paddle for a little over a year now and they have helped her blossom. She loved it so much when she started a year ago that she decided she wanted her birthday party to take place here. I have been very pleased with her instructors and my concern was addressed when we finally came across one that needs some coaching up (which happened just this week). Perhaps the young person was having an off day and I hope that he will have an opportunity to turn this around. In any case, I have unfortunately had to withdraw my daughter because at the level she is in now, there is simply no time frame that will fit in our schedule. I would highly recommend Bear Paddle to anyone.

I signed my son up for the free class. I was very impressed, within the 30 minute session, he was flat on his belly with his face in the water paddling his feet. He learned more in that 30 minute session that he did for months when I had him signed up at the community center. I observed that the class size for each class is very small so each child gets a nice amount of time to practice with the instructor. I also like that they have a shared changing room for families. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the school.

Our experience here has always been positive. We have been through 5+ classes and a camp or two or three. The instructors are kind. The small class size (3-4) allows for maximum repetition and practice time. The warm water makes it easy for the children to enter the pool. I have always found the Orland Park facility to be clean.

My grandson has been attending Bear Paddle since he was about 20 months old. He loves it--and so do I! Salt water pool heated at 90 degrees! The school is clean, safe, and most accommodating for children. The staff and coaches are simply wonderful! They are all professional, knowledgeable, personable, courteous, trustworthy, and most helpful. They take the time to explain any questions you may have, and give great advice for your childs enrichment. My grandson had a really hard time moving to the next level, as he turned 3. That meant I could no longer get in the pool with him. Because of that, and the fact he has a socially developmental delay, he suffered from severe separation anxiety, and cried and stopped participating. I, and his mom were so worried! The staff explained it would take time, that they would work with him and assured me he would get over it. They were so right! So... now he is back to himself and fully participating again! I just cant say enough great things about Bear Paddle.I highly, highly recommend Bear Paddle!

My child is doing okay in his swim class. His coach is slowly but surely getting him used to what scares him. I like her a lot. Over all the swim school is cool and good for teaching kids to swim.i have only encountered one problem since my child been attending the school. With a coach that isnt his own during a private swim. I didnt like the way he handled my child. The problem was fixed thanks to a worker that walks around and a manager. Very sweet ladies as well as his swim coach. I will continue to keep my son enrolled as long as Im able to fit the classes into my schedule.

Amazing staff, the quality of lessons is amazing and my daughter loves it there! She has improved so much over the past few months and already graduated a level!

My son has a great time here. He thinks it’s fun. His favorite thing is diving for rings at the end of his lesson. The instructors here are always engaging.

The instructors at Bear Paddle are wonderful. Both of my children are showing steady signs of improving, just in time for summer at the lake! The front desk staff is extremely helpful accommodating our needs, which is no easy task when trying to find two different classes meeting at the same time. Great job Bear Paddle!

My son has been swimming since the beginning of May and has made a huge difference in his confidence and has even helped his little sister in the bathtub! Looking forward to future lessons to come!

Big Problem With their Withdraw policy. I signed up for 12 weeks for my toddler, no issues with the lessons or instructor. Bear paddle auto bills you monthly if you do not fill out a withdraw form in person. I was not aware of this and even though I still have 4 lessons left they billed me for the remainder of the month (last week in May). They would not return the $ when asked either. Thank God it was only 1 week they charged me. They would charge me the whole month of June without contacting me first they said. Shady!Tip: when u sign up, fill out a withdraw form as well..

The staff is very good with children and helping them feel comfortable in the water. I watched them calm a screaming toddler and get her in the water after she told her dad she wasnt getting in the pool. They make learning fun

Fantastic experience from start to finish. Every time we go, we are greeted and we always have a successful visit. Thank you for exceeding my expectations.

Not the best experience. My children were put in the wrong class on day 1 so my child left crying and more afraid than she was previously. Then they switched teachers at least three separate times which also didn’t help the situation.My daughter is still afraid to get in the water. It was a waste of money. I think the YMCA or some place else may be a better fit. I definitely would not recommend.

My 4 year old loved his lessons. He talks about them and everything he has learned all the time. The staff are great with the kids and the facilities are amazing/

We love Bear paddle. Learning to swim is such an important part of any kids life and we are glad our children are learning at bear paddle.

Excellent instructors and a great facility. There parties are also very organized and the kids love it.

I like it. Its really clean and nice.

Both my sons attend and every week I can see their progress. The instructors are great and work well all the kids and show a tremendous amount of patience.

I didn’t quite understand a lot of things, here are some questions.1. Can you pay all at once or does it have to be separate payments?2. How many kids are in a level one class?3. What should my kids bring to their first practice?4. Can I watch my kids in the pool or not?5. What’s the difference between camps, clinics and sessions?6. If I signed my daughter for the 5-6 year old class and towards theend she turned 7 would she stay in the class?Please respond.

Great place for kids to learn how to swim

My children love to go to lessons at Bear Paddle in Orland Park. They have so much fun and have always been able to apply what they have learned in other pools around. We are very happy with everything that Bear Paddle has done to teach my children.

Instructors are great and know how to motivate the kids. Very happy with my daughters progress since starting.

Very caring and patient instructors.

My daughter was scared to swim at first but the instructors are amazing and they are so much fun. My daughter loves to go swimming now.

Perfect, clean, the kiddos love this!!

Worst customer service ever!!!! I called and spoke with one of the staff members there 2 days ago and told her that my mom and I will be stopping in to view the facility and learn more information about it and when we arrived there doors were locked they didn’t have any signs on the windows saying they were closed and then that’s when I seen 2 staff members walking around and my mom knocked on the door and I started calling and no one never came to answer the door nor answered the phone to tell us anything they just watched us knock and stand outside worst first impression ever terrible experience terrible staff very unprofessional!!!!!!!!

I love this place! Clean and the staff is very frendly. My daughter went from being terrified of water to being able to swim short distance unassisted in just 5 classes.

Salt water pool that is always warm. My son would be distracted by the cold water at his previous school and it would interfere with his lesson. Bear Paddle is clean and the staff is friendly. They could use more changing rooms but that is my one and only complaint.

Like the place, great teachers, friendly front desk people . Wish they didnt have coe ed-changing and shower areas tho. Uncomfortable.

Pretty crowded and not sure lessons are that great. It is enjoyable for the baby though.

Crowded, 4 students per teacher which is not fair for the student,bad policies, expensive, nice staff

Excellent place to teach everyone to swim.

Swim instructors are awesome

Very good place

It is very clean and the teachers very friendly!