BKLA Swim Academy

About

BKLA Swim Academy, located at 1561 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY, is a swim school dedicated to teaching swimming skills to individuals of all ages, from infants to adults. It focuses on providing a safe, comfortable, and nurturing environment with certified instructors to ensure effective learning and water safety.

The pools at BKLA Swim Academy are heated to a comfortable temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 32 degrees Celsius).

What are people saying (AI review summary)? The reviews for BKLA Swim Academy overwhelmingly detail a significant decline in service quality, particularly after the closure of their Paerdegat location and the transition to a new facility. A dominant complaint across all feedback is the severe lack of communication, leading to persistent issues with scheduling, last-minute cancellations without proper notification, and a complete unresponsiveness to customer inquiries, especially regarding refunds. Many customers reported extreme difficulty, requiring numerous calls, emails, and even in-person visits, to obtain refunds for prepaid lessons that were either not delivered or became inaccessible due to inconvenient new locations and class times. This unprofessional and unorganized conduct has led numerous clients to feel their money was stolen, prompting some to consider or file complaints with organizations like the Better Business Bureau. Despite these significant operational shortcomings, several instructors, notably Jai, Jaden, and Jordan, consistently received high praise for their teaching skills and engagement with the students. However, these positive instructor mentions are overshadowed by the widespread disappointment and frustration with the academy's management, disorganization, and perceived dishonest practices, leading most reviewers to strongly advise potential customers to seek swim instruction elsewhere.

Location

Gallery

Amenities

• Accepts Credit Cards
• Street Parking
• Accessible Entrance

Reviews

Listing Reviews

August 6th, 2025

Asha P

While I can't comment on the instructors. My experience with this facility has been a great disappointment. Specifically, with regards to communication and scheduling. I signed up for swim classes for this summer and had to follow up several times via emails and telephone calls before I got a call back to schedule a session, and this was after I asked for a refund. I agreed to the scheduled sessions. After my second session was canceled due to a kid throwing up in the pool, which I can understand is not within anyone's control. I agreed to reschedule to another time. Since this incident, it has been over two weeks now that I have followed up, not once but six times via email and phone calls and have not got a response to confirm or schedule my remaining sessions and summer is about to be over! This is very unprofessional to say the least. I DO NOT RECOMMEND this school. Save your money and your time and go somewhere else! I hope the owner is taking serious notes to turn this around!

July 6th, 2025

Sasha Fletcher

Stay away! Back when they had the Paerdegat location this place was fine. But NOW?! I’m annoyed that I bought a private package. From the very beginning there was a lack of communication to get the lessons scheduled. One day I was notified 30 minutes before my lesson that it would be cancelled and today I left my home and went all the way to the pool to be told my lesson was cancelled and the director forgot to call me. Very full of apologies. There needs to be competent communication and better scheduling happening at this place. In addition I started with Jai, a very invested swimming instructor that I really liked and was told after two lessons he wouldn’t be there the rest of my package. It probably would have been better to put me with someone who would know my progress for all 5 sessions. No? For all this I could’ve tried the YMCA but thought because I’ve used BKLA previously this would be fine. WRONG! Go elsewhere.

June 27th, 2025

Blessed & Prosperious

When I first started attending BKLA Swim Academy, everything was fine. However, they lost their license to operate out of the Padagate location and offered me a refund since their new location is a bit too far for me. Since then, I’ve called over ten times, emailed, left multiple messages, and even went to their new location in person to speak with a manager—but have yet to receive a response. This level of unresponsiveness is completely unprofessional. Frankly, it feels dishonest. They took full payment for winter classes, and now we are well into summer and I still haven’t received my refund or been contacted by anyone. Do not bother working with them, save yourself the hassle.

April 18th, 2025

Gani G

I have been calling and leaving messages for months about refunding my money. My daughter never received her lessons because they switched locations and had us showing up for classes that weren't set up yet. I spoke with someone and requested a full refund, to which he said yes, but I haven't heard from anyone in months. This is absolutely crazy because they were really good at the other location. Now I feel like they have stolen from me.

February 24th, 2025

Florentine Fritz-Ulysse

I am writing this review as a frustrated and disappointed parent after my experience with BKLA Swim Academy. My daughter started swimming there, and right from the start, she connected with her initial instructor, Jaden, and later with Jordan. Both of them were wonderful with her. Additionally, Jai, the swim academy director, was always helpful and seemed genuinely invested in the kids' progress. However, everything changed in December when the academy suddenly closed with little to no communication. I found out only because I called to confirm a session time and was then informed sessions were suspended. The lack of communication has been appalling, and parents were left scrambling for information. Staff members I spoke to seemed to be just as clueless and in the dark as the rest of us, which is completely unacceptable. It wasn’t until I had to repeatedly call them that I even got a response — and when I did, I was told that it would take up to 45 days to get a refund for prepaid private lessons. What’s worse, the new location is significantly farther away, and the available swim times have changed to evening hours, starting at 6:00 p.m. or later — not what we signed up for. My daughter had classes at much more convenient times before, and the change is extremely inconvenient for our family. Calls to BKLA Swim Academy have gone unanswered, and there has been zero effort from their side to proactively reach out and resolve any of these issues. As much as we loved the instructors, the organization as a whole is poorly managed, and the lack of communication is disgraceful. I am thoroughly disappointed with how things have been handled, and I will be reporting BKLA Swim Academy to the Better Business Bureau. Parents deserve better than this, and I strongly advise others to be cautious before enrolling their children here. As of 2/24/25, I have yet to receive my refund or have anyone respond to the emails I've sent. The instructors we had were great, but the establishment itself is a complete letdown.