About
Goldfish Swim School - Boise, located at 1001 N Milwaukee St, Boise, ID, offers a unique learn-to-swim experience for children ages 4 months to 12 years old. It provides a safe, fun, and friendly environment with small class sizes, highly trained instructors, and a focus on water safety and skill development through its proprietary curriculum.
The pools at Goldfish Swim School - Boise are consistently heated to a comfortable 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), designed to create an optimal and enjoyable learning environment for all students, especially infants and young children.
What are people saying (AI review summary)? Goldfish Swim School receives mixed reviews. Many parents highly recommend it, praising the effective teaching that enables children to progress through multiple levels, and highlighting the kind, well-informed, and collaborative staff, particularly beneficial for neurodivergent children. Positive aspects also include small class sizes, convenient scheduling, warm pools, excellent facilities with ample amenities (parking, seating, changing rooms), and strong leadership. Some parents noted their children starting as babies and progressing significantly over years. However, other experiences detail significant dissatisfaction. Concerns include a lack of consistency in teachers, which can hinder progress for children (especially those needing stability), leading to some kids not learning to swim despite over a year and substantial investment. There are also complaints about disruptive classmates impacting lesson quality for others, a strict no-refund policy even for unused classes, and questions regarding the value for money due to limited individual instruction time within the 30-minute lessons.
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Accepts Credit Cards
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Accessible Entrance
Reviews
Listing Reviews
August 8th, 2025Bree
So we had my daughter attend Goldfish for 1 year +. Between ages 2-3. Over 1,000 dollars and she never actually learned how to swim. She never went up a level. She had literally different teachers every single week. My daughter is neurodivergent and extremely shy and only does well with consistency which Goldfish just never was able to provide. She did learn how to kind of float on her back but that’s really it. We finally pulled her out over a year ago and last summer just in our pool by our house she learned to swim on her own. This year she is diving under water and is an actual fish. Maybe goldfish helped in some unknown way but I can’t give them credit for anything recent because it’s all her. I’ve actually been seeing a lot more parents frustrated their kids never really learn how to just swim here without basically paying for them to go for years. Our account is under her dads name: William Merritt I also provided a photo of a swim lesson
August 26th, 2025dakota Campbell
I recommend Goldfish to everyone I know with kids. My oldest started at 3y/o in Junior 1 and is now on Swim Force at 7! My younger son just hit Glider 3 and he started in the Mini baby classes! Each level builds on the next so the skills last. Full transparency- I worked there for 4 years and it’s also an excellent place to be an employee!
July 20th, 2025Paloma A.
My daughter had a wonderful first week of Jump Starts, and a very unfortunate second week. There was a student in her class that was terrified to put her face in the water, and would scream and wail and cling on to the teacher for dear life. It was so uncomfortable to watch and I was so concerned for the little girl, not to mention that it took away a lot of time and attention from the other swimmers. After experiencing this for a week, my daughter did not want to return to swim, no matter how much I tried to convince her. I paid for three weeks of classes, but am now unable to return for the third week, and management refuses to provide me with a refund. I'm just so disappointed. Be forewarned that they do not provide refunds for any reason. And also be aware that while class time is 30 minutes, the last five minutes are reserved for progress reports, so the instruction time is 25 minutes divided by four students. That's six minutes of instruction per class. I'm not sure the cost is worth it.
July 8th, 2025Valencia
I am absolutely impressed with the Goldfish Swim School. Their staff is not only well informed and kind, but they all work together so well. The instructors do an incredible job teaching, never making any of the students feel inferior or left behind. Being a Momma of a neurodivergent kiddo with some developmental delays, I am always searching for places that don’t single her out for her differences or feel inferior to those around her- because she is capable of and does so much more than some people give her the chance to do. My daughter has soared through two levels so far, and we have been going since June. If you have been looking for a swim school that truly cares about properly teaching your kiddo to swim, celebrates the differences in each child, AND encourages your kiddo at each class, getting them excited to do/ learn more, then Goldfish Swim School is the place to go!!
May 5th, 2025Amy A
We have had the best time at Goldfish Swim School in Boise. We tried swim lessons two other places before getting referred here and this is the place for us. The class sizes are small, the class times are convenient for our family, the pool is always warm, class times are not too short and not too long, and the people are a huge reason why this place is so great. Each team member is ready and prepared. I always know who my kid's instructors are, substitutes are communicated via email and day of, each teacher is familiar with my kids and their skill level and is prepared to take that class. The teachers know the progress each kid has made and encourages them as they get better and better. My little 2 yr old is a runner and the on deck team has always been prepared to jump in at a moments notice or able to get her if she takes off running. The on site manager Katie is so much fun. My kiddos love her and love to come in and give her a high 5. She remembers their names and gets excited to see them and they get excited to see her. Having quality leadership and team members makes all the difference I think. The people really truly make this a great experience for the kids and parents. Also, another great aspect is there is plenty of parking, plenty of parent seating, plenty of changing rooms, plenty of hair dryer stations, and plenty of bathrooms. My biggest pet peeve other places was not having accommodations for parents to sit and watch (bc I'm sure as heck not leaving my kids...) This place is excellent in that I'm never made to feel in the way. There is plenty of all the things you need to have a good experience. This is going to be where my kids learn to swim and I can't thank them enough for providing a safe and fun learning environment for them to learn this skill. Excellent leadership, staff and customer service Excellent facility and accommodations
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Opening Hours
| Sunday | 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 9:00 AM – 8:15 PM |
| Wednesday | 9:00 AM – 8:15 PM |
| Thursday | 10:00 AM – 8:15 PM |
| Friday | 9:00 AM – 8:15 PM |
| Saturday | 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM |
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