Coral Reef Waterworld — Attraction in Bracknell

My son and I visited on the 30/08/2025 after my toddler said he'd like to go swimming for the day. Soon after researching different pools I opted to bring him to Coral Reef Water world. Reviews are hit and miss so decided we'd make our own mind up. My son loved his day out though for me I couldn't help feeling concerned and worried throughout our visit. My first thought was 'are there any adult members of staff'? This to me is a massive safeguarding concern as it seems like a lot of other establishments now that employing a certain age demographic you can get two to three members of staff rather than paying for one adult with life experience. All members of staff are polite however being so young simple things are being missed and when something goes wrong who has the experience to deal with that? Prior to the hour and half swim time we visited the restaurant for a bite to eat, being closer to 12 I was expecting some hot food for us though this was pre-served, sitting for a while and luke-warm. Again there was plenty of staff (as previously mentioned) yet it wasn't organised. The restaurant it self was dirty a severe lack in cleanliness. Tops of tables were dirty, sides of tables stained, a fridge standing empty broken and floors filthy. Luckily we were already dressed after quickly dumping our bags in the locker, and whipping of our t-shirts soon we got to start our session. An hour and half soon flies by so I strongly suggest revising the timings, If the owners/management care more about people's experiences rather than profits I'd start by cleaning and revising timings. Within the pool now on first sight things seemed okay, smaller than what I had imagined though still large enough to fulfil the time. As time went by I soon started to notice how things are becoming run down, damaged and dirty. I'm sure the parameters and Ph levels are fine with the water though everything needs a deep clean followed by a refurb. The splash pad floor is peeling away, the splash pad doors are insecure meaning a child could fall down the stairs and the grime everywhere is frankly disgusting. How was the rubbish beside the pool one asks and again there is plenty of staff yet a lack of incentive and proactivity. Within our time slot we managed to use one flume, the qué was rather long and the child friendly slide is anything but that, the qué was ridiculous, the husband of the lady behind me waiting managed to use three slides in the time we waited for the one, people along with their toddlers were becoming stuck with in and then the pool that you come out of at the bottom was simply dangerous and an accident waiting to happen. The lack of urgency from the life guards is very concerning too, again may be due to a lack of experience. As my boy and I finally came out of the slide my only priority was his safety yet I was under water, Keeping my arms straight I knew his head was above water though for me I simply couldn't get a footing, my feet kept sliding on the thin layer of filth after about 10 - 20 seconds of struggle i was able to stand. The husband of the lady was making his way into the pool and asked if we were alright. I am eternally grateful to him and his family. In the time of that all happening sitting in the high chair without a care in the world, hadn't even moved from their relaxing position was another member of the life guard team. A few times in different places around the pool you'll feel the grime, it's literally a thin layer of silk that needs cleaning away without doing so the algaes' starts to grow. After our session ended my boy was disappointed he had to go so I was happy he had enjoyed himself. Into the changing room. This must be the worst experience of it all. The family room I was in can't have been cleaned in a week then dirt building up in the corners, filth and rubbish along with other people's hair was everywhere, this i felt was worse than almost drowning, I knew I had another minute until that happened but the changing rooms was horrendous. I do hope all points above are...

On entering Coral Reef, I was filled with naive optimism, by the time I was exiting I was longing for the asteroid.

In a word, I would describe the experience as ‘depressing’.

Seeing places like this reinforces the broader reality of the UK, I.e. that we’re in a state of managed decline.

It’s embarrassing how badly we seem to get things in the UK… I can but only imagine the horror on the face of an American tourist if they made the mistake of stumbling into this place.

It’s in a terrible state of disrepair and dirty throughout. Pink mildew on the tiled walls and limescale adorns the walls. The wooden bridges are rotting, out of order signs stuck on lots of things. Queues outside the toilets, showers running cold with the attachments, control dials, hoses all broken, leaking or both.

Everything looks desperately tired and in desperate need of refurbishment.

The Jacuzzi is luke warm, bits of rubbish left strewn on any of the ‘islands’ dotted around the place, and which have clearly been left there for some time. Fake plants which were dotted around the place are all trodden flat or again, randomly dumped in places like rubbish.

The entrance fee of £50+ for two adults and a child for 90 minutes is robbery, let alone for the quality of this place. In reality, with the queues for the rides (which arguably shouldn’t exist if there’s a limit on tickets) mean that you might only get in 3 rides and your 90 minutes is GONE. Is that worth £50+? Absolutely not.

We paid for two sessions and with food that Came out at £137.40 - just let that sink in.

The food is the usual, nutrition-free, over-priced prison food slop: chips, beans and chicken nuggets for the kids and pizzas. Healthy options are pre-packaged stuff you’d find in a supermarket but over-priced.

It’s interesting when you walk in, you can see that the reception and gift shop area is the best looking part, and has clearly seen some investment. Rather than focusing on how to squeeze more margin out of patrons with overpriced tat in the gift shop, and average food, they need to get back to basics and focus on cleaning and refurbishing everything and training their staff to focus on standards and taking a bit more pride in where they work. I noticed a lot of people were walking around the changing areas in outdoor footwear and staff weren’t pulling customers up on it. It’s not helped by the fact that they don’t provide the blue plastic overshoes before you walk in, so arguably, they’re enabling it also. Pretty gross to be honest.

I’m genuinely amazed that this place hasn’t been shut down given the...

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Amazing Family Fun at Coral Reef Waterworld!

My family of three had an incredible 90-minute session at Coral Reef Waterworld and we were thoroughly impressed! As Bracknell’s largest water park, it’s got everything from gentle play areas to thrilling slides  .

🧒 Great for families The interactive pirate ship, bubble pool, rapids, and fountains kept our little one entertained, while the kids’ area – Little Corals – offers safe, shallow water fun . There was a lovely mix of gentle Aqua Splash and more intense slides for older kids.

🎢 Fantastic slides We totally recommend the adrenaline‑pumping Cannonball (simply called Cannon on site) and the swirling Maelstrom – both gave enough thrill but weren’t so extreme that we couldn’t ride together. The slides aren’t too crowded and queue times stayed reasonable throughout our visit.

👨‍👩‍👦 Not too crowded Even mid‑afternoon on a weekend, it never felt overcrowded plenty of room to move, and slides had short wait times. Perfect if you want that family fun without long lines.

💷 Reasonably priced We paid under £50 for the three of us, and that included our waterslide session and pool access. With Family Swim tickets just under that mark (online booking applies) and session durations of 90 minutes , it felt like fantastic value compared to similar attractions.

🍽️ Handy facilities Changing rooms are great – family cubicles, toddler seats, lockers – and the poolside café is a saviour for coffee and snacks while watching the kids .

⸻

Why you’ll love it: • Tailor-made for families with varied attractions for every age 🌊 • Excellent slide options from gentle to thrilling (Cannon & Maelstrom are big hits!) • Efficient online booking, relaxed queues, and just-right crowd levels • All-inclusive experience for under £50 for a family of three

If you’re after a fun, hassle‑free day out that keeps everyone, kids and adults delighted, Coral Reef is the place to go. We’ll...