About
Bear Paddle Swim School in Mason, OH, is a dedicated facility offering year-round swim lessons for children of all ages. They focus on teaching essential water safety and swimming skills in a fun, engaging, and safe environment. The school is known for its state-of-the-art facilities and commitment to developing confident swimmers.
Bear Paddle Swim School features warm, 90-degree saltwater pools, designed to provide a comfortable and inviting learning environment for all students.
What are people saying (AI review summary)? Reviews for this swim school are sharply divided. Many positive experiences highlight rapid progress, increased confidence, and effective skill development through a mastery-oriented program. Parents frequently praise the coaches for being amazing, patient, caring, and enthusiastic, noting their ability to help children overcome fear of water and enjoy classes. However, a significant number of negative reviews express extreme frustration with a perceived lack of progress, with children being stuck at the same level for over a year. These negative reviews often cite inconsistent skill assessments, where skills are marked complete and then incomplete, and accuse the school of employing 'shady tactics' and upselling strategies (e.g., suggesting more expensive packages) to 'milk money' from parents rather than focusing on actual learning. Some reviewers found the experience to be a 'total waste of time and money,' leading to children losing interest. A minor complaint about cramped facilities was also noted.
Location
Gallery
Amenities
-
Accepts Credit Cards
-
Accessible Entrance
-
Accessible Restroom
Reviews
Listing Reviews
August 27th, 2025Emre Safak
My child has gained much confidence while making rapid progress since joining, thanks to their mastery-oriented program, which makes learners concentrate on one small skill at a time. She went from level 1 to level 4 in a few months, after years of floundering elsewhere. She is looking forward to learning the butterfly! My only peeve is that it is a bit cramped.
June 24th, 2025P Behera
AVOID this place — total waste of time and money. My child has been stuck at the same level for over 1 year and 4 months or more. I understand every kid learns at their own pace, but this swim school seems more focused on milking money from parents than on actual progress. They use a shady tactic: one month they’ll say a skill is complete, then the next month they mark it incomplete again. This back-and-forth has been going on for at least six months, and it’s incredibly frustrating. One time, they even sent a progress report without doing any assessment! When I questioned it, a staff member casually suggested I upgrade the package to get an extra class a month — as if paying more magically makes kids learn faster. It’s just a constant stream of excuses and upselling. If you value your time, money, and your child’s actual progress — look elsewhere. This place is all about keeping you on the hook, not helping your kid learn to swim. Check this for the last 3 months — and honestly, I could go back a full year and see the same pattern: • April: He was doing well with “Extend Both Arms Out”, and the only focus was on “Belly and Hips wiggling.” • May: Now suddenly, “Belly and Hip wiggling” was fine, but he needed to work on “Extend Both Arms.” • June: Now both “Belly and Hip wiggling” and “Extend Both Arms” were marked as needing work — as if he “forgot” everything. The inconsistency is ridiculous. They’re clearly dragging it out just to keep billing parents month after month. Also my kid is losing interest because he’s stuck at the same level, and every week I have to push him to come to class. I need to find an alternative option.
February 28th, 2024Melissa Leonhardt
Best swim school around! We tried other places but no luck. Because of Bear Paddle, my daughter went from fear of the water to being comfortable and now confident in the water in a matter of 4 months. She is almost ready to pass her BSA scouting swim test in a month and take her next steps towards earning her Eagle. Thank you Bear Paddle! I totally recommend!
March 17th, 2025Cassandra Osborne
We started our son right at 6 months. We’ve had him in for almost a year now, and he loves it! We look forward to it every week. All the coaches are amazing. They are so patient and caring.
November 18th, 2024Monica Himes
We’ve been a bear paddle family for about 5 years. Only with our daughter’s recent coach, Abdallah, have we felt compelled to write a review. He is the best coach we’ve ever had at bear paddle and we are so thrilled with his engagement and enthusiasm with the younger kids. His demeanor as kids nervously entered the pool quickly put them at ease. He truly is a wonderful person with a great sense for making kids feel comfortable. Other coaches have been good with the occasional member we were totally happy with. Overall though we’ve had a positive experience and are happy with the skills our kids have developed while with the organization.
Leave a review
Opening Hours
| Sunday | 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Monday | 3:30 – 8:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 3:30 – 8:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM, 3:30 – 8:00 PM |
| Thursday | 3:30 – 8:00 PM |
| Friday | 3:30 – 8:00 PM |
| Saturday | 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
Drop Us a Line