Crocs Playcentre Knoxfield — Attraction in Melbourne

So I really wanted to give this place a 4 or even 5 star review, but after my experience today I have to give it 3 stars unfortunately. Firstly we recently had my daughters birthday here, and it was great! Everyone had a terrific time (including the birthday girl) and all the parents/adults commented on how great the coffee from the cafe was! Host was good (be it a little bored/off in La-La land during pass the parcel) but helpful most of the time.

Fast forward to today and our experience wasn’t as great. As I approached the front desk I was holding a shopping bag and my backpack on my back. Before I was even properly greeted I was met with a grave stare at my Woolies bag and a stern “you can’t bring your outside food in here.” (No hello, no smile, no pleasantries in general. I just handed over $650 to this same man just last week but no worries)

The week before with the party we bought in a few chocolates, donuts etc for the kids and weren’t told to leave them at the door so I didn’t think anything of it when my girls wanted to take a couple yogurt pouches and some fruit. Anyway I did as I was told and left my bag with the food patrol and went in. Looking over their menu though, there wasn’t any appropriate options for myself (a diabetic) or my baby (who has dietary restrictions and intolerances) so essentially had to cut our visit short due to hungry tummies. If you are going to insist on no outside food, you really need to cater for everyone- babies, toddlers, diabetes, gluten free, nut free, the list goes on. So many people have food intolerances, allergies, strict dietary requirements. In this day and age you either cater for everything and everyone, or make exceptions to the rule.

I meet up with family at least once a week in the area at parks or playcentres, so we could have become regular customers,- but alas we’ll be returning to the playcentre couple metres down the road for our regular weekly catch ups. Cheaper entry, run by a friendly local family and you can take...

*edit: the saftey lock is now COMPLETELY missing from the toddler area, this now an absolutely unsafe area for under 4s and easily accessible to older kids who run in and out constantly. We gave it another try and it is SO MUCH WORSE! it’s filthy, even more dilapidated than before and it smells awful. Parents do not watch their kids here either, there is only one staff member and absolutely zero enforcement of rules. Never again.

I had once given this centre a 5 star review but sadly, it has gone downhill very quickly and severely since then. It is in DIRE need of maintenance and refurbishment. The trampoline, which was awesome has been removed and is now an empty space There are various sections where the padding is coming off the metal bars and are held together with string and cable ties (pictured) There are cable ties EVERYWHERE which defy the point of soft padding. Parents wedge the saftey gate open in the toddler area so their older kids can come and go freely… this has never been stopped my staff. There are dangerous areas ie: between the slide and ramp in the toddler are where babies can slip through. This has happened to by child. There are so many patches and holes, it’s just grubby and gross. I’m so sad it’s gone...

Came here for a birthday party with my 4 and 1.5 year old. Had to catch a door being swung wide open by an older kid coming out of the under 4 year old area from hitting my 1.5 y.o. when my wife and I brought up the issue with management, he told us the child safety lock was removed from the toddler area due to parents sending their kids unsupervised and their kids being stuck inside despite signs informing parents to supervise their children in the under 4 toddler area. Frankly, if there's no lock then better off removing the gate completely which would make it safer as the gate is no longer fulfilling its purpose. It also baffles me that this is the ONLY playcentre in Melbourne where the child safety lock has been removed from the toddler area. If parents are willing to let their children go unsupervised in a supervised area then that's their choice. It is still upto management to enforce that rule instead of parents who are doing the right thing having to worry about the safety of their children in what is supposed to be a "family friendly"...