Hands down this place offers the BEST children's swim lessons in Charlotte-- and I know because we have tried what seems like all of them!\n\nThe indoor pool area is great, with shower facilities and a locker room that are clean and a good temperature for freezing kids getting out of the pool.  The pool is an Olympic sized pool and is not kept freezing (like at MAC) but is cool enough for the children not to overheat.  The deep end has a ledge around the sides that the children can stand on while receiving instruction.  There are several diving blocks they practice on as well.  The seating is great... concrete bleacher-like seating that is in the pool area and divided by a smallish wall.  While the area does have a strong chlorine smell, it is nothing like other area YMCAs that have the indoor pools and water parks... my eyes do not sting while there nor do my clothes smell when we leave.  And, while it is warm in there (thank Goodness!), it is not sweltering.  The parking is awesome here.  There is never a crowd.\n\nOk, on to the instruction, which is great... I have enrolled a 4 year old and a 9 year old in this program.  My 4 year old could doggie paddle and swim just well enough to jump off the diving board, my 9 year old needed a refresher for the swim team and was mostly doing \"illegal\" strokes that would get her disqualified in a meet.  The lessons are at 6 week intervals, which is nice as really long-term commitments freak me out a bit (commitment phobe!).  They are so reasonably prices compared to what we have paid at the stand alone swim centers, I almost felt guilty.  This guilt increased when I found that my 9 year old was in a class with only one other child. The instructor was fantastic!  He pushed them enough to work hard but feel accomplished.  And he got her strokes totally straightened out (no more lifting her head to take a breath in freestyle).  We did 2 sessions (one 6 weeks, the other 5 weeks (even better for my commitment issues)), and my daughter ended up in the All Star swim meet after summer swim team.  Which was a bonus, I just did not want her to be embarrassed swimming.  The 4 year old?  After one 6 week session, she was doing a version of freestyle, jumping off the diving board and I felt totally safe letting her swim this summer without having to be in the pool with her at every moment.  \n\nWe will be there this Winter doing their little Winter league swim team.  Look for us, I will be the mom reading her book on the concrete bleachers and my daughters will be the ones splashing around and having a blast!