Cottonwood Recreation Center — Attraction in Cottonwood

Would like to give a good review but the lying of the staff all the way up to the aquatic center director is just laughable and ridiculous! It started the first time I went to take my child to the indoor pool. He doesn't know how to swim yet but is tall enough for the indoor slide. I asked the one male lifeguard if I could go down the slide with him due to him not knowing how to swim yet. He said no but I could wait by the bottom of the slide and catch him, awesome. My son then proceeded to go down the slide for the next 30 min continuously. Once the next female lifeguard came on I was then told I couldn't stand and catch him. I told her exactly what the other lifeguard had said and she still said no even though for half an hour we had been using the slide with no issues. Strike 1 in my book, be consistent it's not that hard.

Then we looked into Survival Swim Lessons. Called the REC CENTER, and they put us in touch with an amazing instructor there. First we were told we would not have to pay entrance to the rec center for private lessons. The next phone call to the Rec Center to get on the schedule for lessons started the lying again. We were then told the kids would have to have day passes bought, but not the parents watching the lesson. Ok so we set up lessons. Went to the first lesson and they tried to charge my husband and I to go watch. Negatory, we were told that there would be no charge, then just the kids. So we did pay for the kids for the first lesson. Come to the second lesson and and went to pay for the kids day passes begrudgingly, but the cashier said there was no charge for anyone taking private lessons and let us all go in with no charge. So back to the original thing we were told yet again. Then the 3rd lesson we were then told by the cashier then the aquatics director that we would all have to pay for day passes since it was a private lesson and not one from the Rec Center. How is it not from the Rec Center???? We called the Rec Center to set up the lessons, not a random ad online or from a paper, we called the REC. CENTER and they had an instructor call us. Finally they said we could continue on with what we were first told for the duration of our lessons. No day pass fee for any of us since they were the ones that can't seem to keep a story or policy straight. Well this week would have been my kids last lessons and their instructor is heading to college anyways. But I was just informed YET AGAIN, the aquatics director and the guy over the swim instructors has changed their story. Shouldn't surprise me anymore right. But even after it being written down at the front that we are not to be charged they have changed their minds again and for our last two lessons if we go we will all be charged day passes. I'm about to call and talk to said lying aquatics director again as he is the one who said that for the duration of their lessons there would be no day pass fees.

This is utterly ridiculous that not even their management can keep their word for one...

I've never had such a bad experience taking my kids swimming. They do not allow kids to wear life jackets. I was told this is to "encourage parent involvement". I have a 1 year old and 4 year old. It is extremely difficult for one parent to watch two kids that can not swim on their own. My 1 year old fell down in the 1 ft deep kid section twice and could not get back up on his own. He inhaled water both times, something that has never happened with a life jacket. I tried to take them around the lazy river and holding both kids in the swift moving water was difficult and extremely unsafe. There was one lifeguard on duty the entire time I was there, sitting on the opposite end of from the kiddie area. If one of my kids had slipped under for 10 seconds while I had my eye on the other, there is no way they would have noticed. I was shaking and very upset when I left. The front desk told me the the Red Cross recommends pools don't allow life jackets. I looked on their website and it specifically says children SHOULD wear life jackets when in the water. I feel like the rec center is going to have a lawsuit on it's hands if the policy doesn't change soon, this is very dangerous and something is bound to happen. A simple solution would be that parents are required to be in the water and no more than 10 feet away from kids that can't swim. This would encourage parent involvement, and still keep kids safe by allowing them to wear...

I’ve always loved the recreation center however today I realized that it’s really catered to older adults and children barley come second. They refuse to turn the slide on until 12:30pm which is the same time kids are allowed in the outdoor pool. So for 5.5 hours each morning the entire indoor/outdoor pool is for older adults. The slide doesn’t effect or bother anyone and that giant play center doesn’t necessarily need to be on unless there are enough kids to use it. They do swim lessons in middle of afternoon and take up the entire indoor area when they could easily use the lap lanes for those lessons. I’m all for lessons and all for people using the facilities but when I took my kids to swim lessons years ago I drove an hour each way and they started at 6am. Again you’ve closed off the pool to the rest of us, adults and children, for no good reason. I would have never realized kids aren’t a priority had my granddaughters not visited. I think it’s time to rethink these ridiculous rules. The adults have indoor and outdoor pool privileges that children do not. Very...