Puddle Ducks at Voco Hotel Reading
Puddle Ducks teaches its 0 to 4 programme in a warm hotel pool by Reading's football stadium, with a parent in the water for most classes and exclusive use of the pool.
Who it suits
Parents of babies and pre-schoolers near the M4 in Reading who want a warm, shallow pool and don't mind getting in themselves.
Why it stands out
- Pool averages 30 to 32 degrees C and is only 1.2 metres deep, so a parent can stand for the whole class
- Puddle Ducks has exclusive use of the pool for lessons rather than sharing it with a public swim session
- The first payment covers whatever lessons land before the next month's billing date, then it settles at four lesson fees a month
- Free parking at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, including overflow space when the main car park fills
- Only the 0 to 4 programme runs here; Swim Academy for 4 to 10 year olds is taught at other Puddle Ducks pools in the area, not this one
Our verdict
Nineteen pounds a lesson is a lot for half an hour, and you are paying for a small, warm pool with exclusive use rather than a shared leisure centre session. That suits a nervous swimmer or a baby who needs the water calm, and the depth means you can stand throughout rather than tread water holding a toddler. Don't book if your child is past four, since Little Dippers is the top band taught here and Swim Academy runs at other pools in the area. Puddle Ducks doesn't publish a class size cap for this specific pool, so ask before you commit if that matters to you.
What it is
Puddle Ducks runs its 0 to 4 programme, Floaties through Little Dippers, in a private pool inside the Voco hotel next to Reading’s Select Car Leasing Stadium. The pool is kept at 30 to 32 degrees and just 1.2 metres deep, and Puddle Ducks has the water to itself for the hour, rather than sharing a public teaching pool with a wider swim session.
Who should book
Parents with a baby or pre-schooler who want a warm, shallow, calm pool close to the M4 rather than a big leisure centre. A parent is in the water for every class up to Little Dippers, so this is not an option if you were hoping to sit poolside and watch. Free parking at the stadium, including overflow space, makes it an easy stop if you are coming straight from the motorway.
What stands out
The billing is spelled out clearly on the venue page: your joining payment covers however many lessons fall before the next month’s billing date, and after that it settles into four lesson fees a month, paid in advance. That is the same structure Puddle Ducks uses at its other Reading area pools. What is missing is a published class size for this pool specifically. Puddle Ducks says elsewhere on its site that classes run to a maximum of ten children company wide, but nothing on the Voco Hotel page confirms what actually happens in this pool.
The verdict
For the money you get a warm, shallow, exclusively booked pool right by the M4, which is worth it if convenience and water temperature matter more to you than price. It is not a bargain against a council pool’s baby session, and Puddle Ducks’ own Trustpilot reviews, while mostly positive about the instructors, include a few complaints about last minute class cancellations, so ask the local team how often that happens before signing up for a term. Once your child turns four you will need to move on, since the school age Swim Academy classes run at other Puddle Ducks pools in Reading, not this one.
More Puddle Ducks venues
All Puddle Ducks venuesPuddle Ducks runs its full 0 to 10 pathway at Everlast Fitness in Hartcliffe, from parent and baby classes through eight levels of Swim Academy, in a warm 1.2 metre pool.
Puddle Ducks runs its 0 to 4 baby and pre-school classes on Saturday mornings only at the Everlast gym pool on Coldhams Lane.
Puddle Ducks has sole use of the Novotel Cambridge North pool on weekday mornings for its 0 to 4 baby and pre-school classes.