British Swim School at 24 Hour Fitness – Potrero Hill

About

British Swim School at 24 Hour Fitness – Potrero Hill, located at 1645 Bryant St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA, offers year-round swimming lessons for infants, children, and adults. Focusing on water safety and survival skills, followed by stroke development, the program utilizes small class sizes and a heated indoor pool environment within the 24 Hour Fitness facility to provide a comfortable and effective learning experience.

The indoor pool at this British Swim School location is typically heated to a comfortable 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit (29-32 degrees Celsius), which is ideal for infant and child swim lessons, ensuring a warm environment for all students.

What are people saying (AI review summary)? Reviews for British Swim School are largely negative, highlighting significant concerns across several areas. Many reviewers criticize the school's rigid and often undisclosed billing and cancellation policies, leading to unexpected charges and parental frustration. Facility issues are frequently mentioned, including small, unsanitary pools, and uncomfortably cold water that causes children to shiver; there are also complaints about AC and fans blowing on cold children. The effectiveness of the lessons is questioned, with many noting slow learning progress, insufficient swim time (e.g., 5 minutes in a 30-minute class), and large class sizes. Some toddlers reportedly developed increased fear and anxiety around swimming, and adult classes are deemed unsuitable for improving technique. Customer service and administrative attitudes are also frequently criticized as unhelpful or unresponsive. Despite these widespread issues, a few reviewers acknowledge that some individual instructors are nice, professional, and patient, with one positive review praising the school for effectively teaching a 4-year-old to swim confidently in a few months.

Location

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Amenities

• Accepts Credit Cards
• Accessible Entrance

Reviews

Listing Reviews

August 1st, 2025

anne84664

This school is probably fine for kid classes but as an adult not a great choice. Pool is small, and 2 instructors with kids sharing the lane so no way of swimming a full length, it might be ok if you are new to the water and trying to get comfortable but definitely not if you can swim already are looking to improve technique as you can’t really do drills, oh, and the facility is pretty disgusting. The instructors were nice.

August 8th, 2025

Richa Sharma

BEWARE – Hidden Billing Rules, Rigid Policies, and a Crying Toddler 😡💔 We took our toddler to British Swim School in SF thinking we’d try ONE class and then decide. Instead, they charged us for three right away. From day one, our child cried his heart out the entire time. We asked to be in the water with him to help — they said yes… then changed their minds the next class saying. Later, they told us to be completely out of sight. Each time, he screamed at the top of his lungs, and my heart broke watching it. 💔 Here’s the kicker: after those classes, when we wanted to cancel, they suddenly mentioned a “one-month cancellation notice” buried in their terms. I was NEVER shown this before paying. Classes are non-refundable and non-transferable, so we’re now paying for classes we will not use — and they’ll still charge us again. This has been mentally exhausting — not just for my child, but for us as parents trying to protect our child’s well-being. Also, I am surprised to see the progress report after every class: it says my child is learning whereas I can see from my own eyes that its not true AT ALL. Our toddler came away from these classes with increased fear and anxiety around swimming. Parents, please learn from us: demand every policy in writing before you pay. And think twice before trusting a place that’s quick to charge but slow to listen to a child in distress.

August 9th, 2025

Brandon Nguyen

The teaching methods are good and a bit more organized compared to other places we have been to. I chose this place bc it's indoor and my kid gets cold easily. However, the kids are all FREEZING cold, and my kiddo often refuses to go - bc the water is NOT warm, AND the instructors insists on the kids sitting OUT OF THE WATER, with their lips all PURPLE and SHIVERING due to loss of heat to evaporation and convection, while they OPEN the door to the pool area to let the AC and the fan blow directly on the kids!!! They said they MUST open the door, so that they can avoid the 'bleach fume' from ‘burning their eyes.' lo!! I am looking for warmer facility that’s open on the weekend if anyone has recommendations. Thank you.

June 3rd, 2025

Amy Padula

my children were in classes for over a year and it has been disappointing on so many levels. it's the slowest progress of learning i've ever seen, mostly due to swim time of 5 minutes for a 30 minute class. despite some of the teachers being great, the whole business model is focused on profit and not teaching children to swim. it's ok for those looking to get children to float, but not to learn to swim. the policies around make ups and cancellation are just terrible and the customer service falls on deaf ears. the class size for turtle onward are simply too large (6 kids swim one at a time!) and even the teachers agree. all around bad attitude among administrative people involved and very slow progress in the pool. stay away! the pools in SF are also gross!! i'd recommend any other swim school - la petite baleen, the bay club, anywhere else!

November 5th, 2024

Aye Sandy

The best swimming lessons my son has ever taken. He’s only 4 years old and he has been taking classes at British swimming school a few months, yet he can confidently swim. The teachers are professional, patient and they know how to teach. Also they are kind, warm and love kids. Thank you so much teacher Anthony, Kaitlyn, and Leah for putting a lot of efforts to help/ teach our son.