Hardrock Climbing | Melbourne CBD — Attraction in Melbourne

In short this was the last time we'll go to this place.

We had a disappointing visit a year ago and my wife and I decided to chance another trip after going to the comedy festival tonight. The staff at reception were friendly and easy to chat with, but it started going downhill from there.

I went to the bathroom to change and it was like walking into the alleyway toilet that has been converted into a makeshift heroin injecting room. It was tiny and dirty. A basin had an out of commission sign on it, the soap dispenser wasn't working and the soap pump next to the basin was watered down and didn't give out any meaningful amount of soap. With no room to get changed I squeezed into the unclean stall and gingerly balanced my clothes to make sure they didn't touch whatever was on the floor. On the brighter side my wife didn't have to go through this as apparently the women's toilets were fine.

I'm an untalented beginner climber with about a years consistent climbing under my belt and trying to work into the intermediate range. At Hard Rock I really struggled on grades I'd normally breeze through at Urban climb. The holds are old, slick and covered in chalk. There is so much chalk on them it's often impossible to see what colour they are which is important when the purple route and the blue route both look white at points and you don't know which holds are yours. The holds look so old I suspect like they haven't been replaced since the centre opened 30 years ago. While old holds aren't a safty issue - they're so run down it makes you wonder if they've skimped on replacing ropes and other safety components. My issue with the holds might not apply if you're a complete beginner - and have bigger holds to work with - or an expert where you have forearms like Popeye and can get a crimp on the dimples on a golf ball. Either way they were an issue for my wife and I (she's the better climber)

The climbs I did do weren't set in an imaginative way and felt very mechanical. My wife described it as "if I just wanted to get a pump I'd use a hangboard."

The positive stuff: -The staff were friendly, easy to engage with and responsive. -The location is great and very convenient if you're in or near the CBD and want a top rope experience.

The negative: -The holds are old, worn slick and covered in chalk, making them very hard to grip. Every climb seems much harder than the rating and it's hard to know which hold is belongs to the route you're climbing. -The climbs we did are difficult in a strength way without challenging your climbing skills -The mens toilets are an unpleasant experience.

The most charitable interpretation I can make is that CBD rent is so high they can't spend any money on the holds or route setting. Regardless next time we'll spend an extra 15 minutes and drive to a gym that's had a bit more...

Currently have week to week membership, been going for a few months, considering cancelling ($150 fee to cancel?) .

The good: staff are all fantastic, location very convenient. Good place to try climbing as they offer good instruction.

The problems: for regular climbers this gym doesn’t offer much that sets itself apart from its competitor. Only 4 auto belays (one has been out of action for months so only 3) that are almost always crowded with school groups struggling to clip in and out, the auto belays have not had any new routes since I’ve started, staff say it’s unlikely they will be changed for a while. Competitor has more frequent route changes, and moves the auto belays around the gym to other walls. Holds are terribly worn on nearly every top rope wall except new or difficult (20+) runs, no gym equipment whatsoever, no easily accessible water taps( fill up in the toilet sink), the last few times I’ve gone the shower would not put out any hot water no matter how long I waited (was fine when I started here) and no good place to store your things, I am always worried a misbehaved kid from a school group is going to pinch something

If you are signing up on your own I would strongly suggest against this place, weekly membership through a uni club is the same price as a day pass, and terms say there is 4 week cancellation period + $150 fee (enough for 6 sessions on its own), look at other options. Even if you are okay with the same auto belay runs, you will very quickly run out of progression, there are a few runs 14-18 but then there is a large gap with the next...

Great climbing spot that is close to the city. The bathrooms I believe are in reno which I think it does need a bit of work. Anyway, me and my friend as an experienced climber enjoyed our climb but I have serious safety concerns.

It is a weekend and it is super busy I get it. Please do not get me wrong as I think the staff are trying their very best to accommodate everything but there doesn’t seem to be enough staff to watch the floor.

A big group booking attended on this busy Saturday and seemed to have all the attention from most staff members which again I get it but the rest of the floor was unsupervised at most time.

I spotted a dad watching his daughter climbing on ropes and his little son decided to go free solo behind him. He was already at the height between the first and second quick draw without any ropes or realistically anyone watching. I had to pause my climber to intervene and yell at him to come back down myself while this should be a staff’s job shell there were more of them.

I also spotted some beginners who got to mid-way of the climb and decided it was too hard so they picked another colour to climb. The only problem is that the other colour finishes at the adjacent anchor. They got to the top and tried to lower, and guess what, they let go and got swung to the other side.

Again, staffs were amazing and trying to do their very best but just doesn’t seems to be enough of them with the amount of guests. Perhaps not to take a big group booking on a weekend as there are already alot of people or put caps in the gym if the number of staffs are...