About
Goldfish Swim School - Upper Arlington, located at 2199 Riverside Dr, Upper Arlington, OH 43221, USA, is a dedicated facility offering swim lessons for children. It provides a tropical, child-friendly environment with small class sizes, highly trained instructors, and a focus on water safety and skill development in a fun setting.
The pools at Goldfish Swim School - Upper Arlington are consistently heated to a comfortable 90 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 32 degrees Celsius) to ensure a warm and inviting experience for all swimmers, especially young children.
What are people saying (AI review summary)? Goldfish receives largely positive feedback, with many parents praising the friendly, patient, and hands-on staff, clean and well-maintained facilities, and effective teaching methods that help children quickly gain comfort and confidence in the water. Children often look forward to their lessons and show noticeable progress, with specific instructors like Mr. Daryl being highlighted. However, one significant negative experience details a serious safety incident where an apparently untrained front-desk staff member, covering a class, held a 4-year-old child underwater for a skill he was not ready for, causing distress and leading to immediate cancellation of services and concerns about staff training and safety protocols during staffing shortages.
Location
Gallery
Amenities
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Accepts Credit Cards
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Accessible Entrance
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Accessible Restroom
Reviews
Listing Reviews
September 10th, 2025Ladi Di
I just started my grandson at Goldfish and was really impressed with the hands-on teaching and the friendliness of all the staff. From the beginning they helped navigate us through the facility (which is very nice) and how things operate. I love the progress reports given after each lesson. Needless to say my grandson loves it and looks forward to his lesson each week.
August 7th, 2025Jacolyn Wagner
Yesterday was my daughter's first lesson and I was so impressed! The swim instructor and deck supervisor were so great with her and patient while she was being shy. Our goal for the first lesson was just to get her in the water and they had her in the water swimming and learning. They were phenomenal. I loved the little feedback session at the end of the lesson too.
April 25th, 2025Rachel Pratt
We love Goldfish! The facility is very clean and well-maintained. All of the employees are so friendly. We really enjoy the parent + child Mini lessons. After starting lessons, my daughter quickly became extermely comfortable in the water--a few months before her first birthday, she even started holding closing her eyes and holding her breath before going underwater!
June 20th, 2025Elizabeth
My kids loved taking swim lessons at this location and had some truly wonderful instructors throughout last summer. The program helped build their confidence in the water, and we were very happy—until one deeply upsetting incident changed everything. Once school started back up in the fall, I began to notice the staff seemed stretched thin. One evening, we arrived for my 4-year-old son’s class and saw that the woman who had been working the front desk all summer was now in the pool teaching his lesson. I was surprised but tried to stay calm, thinking, “Surely she’s been properly trained.” Unfortunately, I'm not sure that was the case. During the lesson, she held my son under the water to get him to pick items up from the bottom of the pool—a skill he had never done before and was absolutely not ready for. I immediately jumped out of my seat and rushed over when I saw him choking and visibly distressed. Afterward, he told me how terrified he was because she held his head down, and he tried to hold his breath but couldn’t. He ended up swallowing a lot of water and was shaken by the experience. When I told her he wasn’t ready for that kind of skill, she looked surprised and turned to my son, saying, “Why didn’t you tell me that, buddy?” As if it were my 4-year-old’s responsibility to explain his swim level to a brand-new instructor. That was the moment we canceled our membership. I’m not sharing this to take away from the excellent instructors we had in the past, but to warn other parents: trust your instincts and stay alert. Safety and proper training should never be sacrificed due to staffing shortages—especially when it comes to young children in the water. I struggled with anxiety about this incident for months afterward. To make matters worse, the same woman was back at the front desk the following week, which confirmed my fear that she had only been thrown into the water last-minute to cover a staffing gap. This is not acceptable and we won't ever be back.
July 28th, 2025Heather Steen Dyarmett
We’ve had a great experience with Mr Daryl at Goldfish! Our son has learned so much from him and loves coming to his weekly class! Mr Daryl is a great teacher!
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Opening Hours
| Sunday | 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM |
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| Monday | 10:00 AM – 8:30 PM |
| Tuesday | 10:00 AM – 8:30 PM |
| Wednesday | 9:00 AM – 7:30 PM |
| Thursday | 10:00 AM – 7:30 PM |
| Friday | 9:00 AM – 7:30 PM |
| Saturday | 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM |
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