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Swimming Pools

Royal Commonwealth Pool

πŸ“ Scotland

β˜…4.5(2,559 Google reviews)πŸ‘ΆAll ages

Olympic-standard facility in Edinburgh with a 50m pool, teaching pool, diving pool, Aquadash sessions, soft play area (Clambers), gym, three fitness studios, and over 750 weekly fitness classes. Pre-booking essential.

βœ“ 50m Olympic poolβœ“ Aquadash sessionsβœ“ Swimming lessonsβœ“ Birthday partiesβœ“ Call ahead for availability
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β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…Featured review by Shlok Tekale

This pool is so amazing for young and old swimmers, inexperienced and experienced. I’ve heard that the Aquadash is really really good too, and is amazing to hold birthday parties at. Every time I’m taking my son to the swimming lessons, I’m seeing a birthday party table with someone!s name on it, suggesting that Aquadash is popular. Their swimming lessons are at a reasonable price with good teaching. Personal swimming is also fun, but I personally didn’t enjoy it too much,

πŸ† Family Action Verdict

Best for families committed to regular swimming lessons or planning a birthday party in the Aquadash area β€” the facilities are genuinely Olympic-standard and the lesson programme is well-regarded. Drop-in family swims require advance confirmation as the pool is often in lane or event use.

ℹ️ What to Know Before You Go

πŸ’‘Call ahead to confirm pool configuration β€” lane-only or event restrictions apply regularly
⏰Register your vehicle at the front desk on arrival for complimentary parking
🎟️Remove shoes before entering the pool area β€” this applies to all visitors
πŸš—Swimming lesson subscriptions auto-renew monthly; cancel in writing if stopping

πŸ’¬ What Families Are Saying

View all reviews β†’
4.5
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2,559 Google reviews

Olympic-standard facilities40%
Swimming lessons and Aquadash30%
Birthday party destination20%
Lane restrictions catch visitors out10%
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Shlok Tekale

3 months ago

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β€œThis pool is so amazing for young and old swimmers, inexperienced and experienced. I’ve heard that the Aquadash is really really good too, and is amazing to hold birthday parties at. Every time I’m taking my son to the swimming lessons, I’m seeing a birthday party table with someone!s name on it, suggesting that Aquadash is popular. Their swimming lessons are at a reasonable price with good teaching. Personal swimming is also fun, but I personally didn’t enjoy it too much,”

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Jordan Croal

2 months ago

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β€œI have been going to the gym for 2 weeks and am probably not a gym type but am trying to learn on my feet. I went to the gym on Friday The 30 th of January and I personally think jordi who is one of the trainers in the gym was so helpful and friendly I would like to say a big thank you for helping me do the machines right because I am nervous and don’t want to bother the staff but he was great.”

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Lucas Mallon

5 months ago

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β€œthe commonwealth pool is a very fancy nice place with a well stocked cafe and olympic sized with great aquadash, I've only been there once for a gala event but intend to come back soon it's just really nice”

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Silke Salavati

3 months ago

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β€œThe pool is fine and probably one of the better ones for public swimming in Edinburgh. Still find the custom that you have to take your shoes off outside pretty weird (instead of having the changing rooms set up so there is a 'dry' and a 'wet' side). There are cubicles for changing and showers both at the poolside as well as a few individual cubicles. You can punch your car reg plate in on a tablet at the desk so you get the 3 h free parking. The pool is halved to give 25 m long laps. There is a cafe and seating area upstairs. Didn't check out the gym. Die to all this being very acceptable I'm able to give 2 stars, but the experience of customer service I had was not great at all. I booked in for the advanced adult swimming lessons. Firstly, entirely unclear on the website that you pay a monthly fee that just rolls over if you don't cancel it. That's fine, I phones in about it beforehand and that was explained. However, while my breaststroke was deemed better than beginners by the coach on the day, I wanted to learn front crawl. After the 50 min were up we hadn't made much progress with this and I felt my couch was a bit out of ideas as he suggested I should join a beginners class for this, which I was willing to do. However, what was not explained to me was that a) as he deemed the level of class not appropriate for me, I could not return to the class and b) there wouldn't be a refund (I was pointed towards the TS&C's) but c) there were also no places left in the beginners class that I would be able to attend (the only one not during working hours). So I was basically supposed to accept to not get anything for my money this month. After a lot of emailing back and forth it was agreed that I could get 2 free entries to the normal public swimming instead. But this was not offered voluntarily, I had to literally bargain for it. As a side note due to a 'event' and the Xmas closure I would have not been able to attend even the adult lessons every week. Apparently also something that I should have just accepted, and that would have been calculated in would my next direct debit come round in January. And what if I had decided to only do this for one month??? Overall while I accept it is my duty to read the small print I find that a rather uncaring approach to customer care and service and while I will take the 2 opportunities to swim (for more money than I would have to pay for single entries), I will after that not return.”

Reviews from Google

Overview

Royal Commonwealth Pool is Edinburgh's flagship public swimming facility. The 50m pool, teaching pool, and diving pool serve competitive and recreational swimmers, with Aquadash sessions popular for birthday party bookings. Clambers soft play provides a non-swimming option for younger children. Shoe removal is required before entering the pool area β€” changing rooms are not split into dry and wet sides. Swimming lesson subscriptions auto-renew monthly unless cancelled.

πŸ• Opening Hours

Monday07:30 – 20:00
Tuesday05:30 – 22:00
Wednesday05:30 – 22:00
Thursday05:30 – 22:00
Friday05:30 – 22:00
Saturday05:30 – 22:00
Sunday05:30 – 20:00

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