Turner Swim at Dolphin Square Club and Spa
Turner Swim teach adults only, one to one, in a 17 metre members club pool in Pimlico, with the founder on weekday mornings and a senior instructor two evenings a week.
Who it suits
Adults who cannot swim, or who swim head up breaststroke and want front crawl, and who would rather pay for an hour of undivided attention than share an instructor with a class.
Why it stands out
- Every lesson is a full hour and one to one. There is no group option at any Turner Swim venue
- Around half of Turner Swim's clients are adults learning to swim from scratch
- You do not need to be a Dolphin Square member, and pool, showers and changing rooms are included in the hour
- Members of the club get 10 per cent off by emailing a photo of their membership card
- Less than five minutes walk from Pimlico station, with Victoria and Vauxhall about fifteen
Our verdict
This is one of the most expensive ways to learn to swim in London, and it is priced like specialist coaching rather than a lesson, because that is what it is. If you have tried adult group classes and got nowhere, an hour with one instructor will move you faster than ten weeks of sharing one. Do not book if you are buying lessons for a child, because Turner Swim only teach adults, and do not book expecting flexibility, since the cancellation window is 48 hours and lessons are non refundable once bought.
What it is
Turner Swim are an adult only swim school that rents lane time inside London hotels and members clubs. Dolphin Square is the Pimlico venue, a 17 metre pool in a health club with natural light, and one of only two places where you can book the founder, Andrew, who teaches here on weekday mornings. Senior instructor Alice covers Monday and Thursday evenings. Nobody else teaches here, which is why the prices at this venue start higher than the Turner Swim London rate you will see on the price list.
Who should book
Adults, and only adults. The school has been running since 2013 and says roughly half its clients are learning to swim rather than polishing a stroke. The other common request is turning a head up breaststroke into front crawl, which they treat as a breathing problem before a technique one. If you are anxious in water, the useful detail is that you get an hour rather than the thirty minutes most beginner classes give you, and nobody else is waiting for the instructor’s attention.
What stands out
The booking mechanics are unusually transparent. Availability shows four weeks ahead, you can book up to 24 hours before a session, and credits expire on a published schedule rather than a vague one. Buy five hours with the senior instructor and the rate drops. Everything, including the towel and the use of the club, is in the price, so there is no separate day pass to sort out at reception.
The verdict
Eighty nine pounds an hour is a serious number, and the honest comparison is not with a council adult class at a fiver a session. It is with paying for ten weeks of a group class, getting nowhere, and paying again. Where Turner Swim earn the premium is the hour length and the fact that their instructors do nothing but teach adults. The founder rate jumps to £250 an hour between May and mid August, which is worth knowing before you plan a summer of lessons.
More Turner Swim venues
All Turner Swim venuesAdult only one-to-one swimming lessons in a 20 metre hotel pool at Worsley, about fifteen minutes from central Manchester, with your own lane and kit included.