Guildford Spectrum — Attraction in Guildford

The swimming pool/leisure complex is absolutely rank. I have visited many different leisure centres throughout my life and this was by far the worst & grossest one. We booked a session at the leisure pool and left after 10 mins, requested a refund & will not be coming back.

On arrival the changing rooms were so disgusting it was honestly impossible to find a piece of floor without a dirty nappy, a used pad or other dirt on it. Many of the changing rooms had broken doors and it smelled like urine so I asked one of the lifeguards to call somebody and clean a bit. She said shes on it but 15-20 mins later as we were changing & leaving still nothing was being done... Instead there were 8 other lifeguards sitting, laughing and discussing their weekend plans at the front desk.

Both jacuzzis were broken but this was not mentioned on the website. Half the slides were either not working or shut for no reason. There were some fake eyelashes floating in the water. The leisure area was so overcrowded it was impossible to get to any of the very few activities. We thought maybe we can at least use the time to go for a swim in the main pool but no - it was closed off for lessons which also wasn't mentioned on the website. The images of this place available online are either AI generated or were taken at least 20-30 years ago because nothing looks the same anymore. Slides are covered by rust and the place is extremely dirty. There is lots of mould , hair and body fat on the floors and in the showers. The water in the pool has so much chlorine I could barely keep my eyes open... maybe those who run this place think that topping up chlorine but not actually cleaning anything else will do the job? All the lifeguard are kids around 15-17 years of age and all mostly clueless. There are no adults around to keep an eye on whats going on and the duty manager was sitting at main reception upstairs chatting away not bothered by anything. When I went to speak to him he wasn't even slightly surprised by anything I said and gave me the requested refund (the only reason why I...

August 2025 Update:

Returned with the family for a day of swimming and bowling as the Summer Holidays are almost over! As with previous visits, the girls had a brilliant time. Whilst the activities are not particularly cheap, you can't beat having so many activities all in one place with options for food too. A large free carpark is also a bonus. All in (with food) we got through £100 here today and that included a 90 minute session in the pool and a game of bowling. The girls are very keen to come back again soon!

I personally want to come back to take in a game of ice hockey at some point in the future. And maybe catch a football match on the same day at neighbouring Guildford which is on the same site!

As only my second visit to Spectrum, I wanted to explore the facility a little more.

We went for the leisure swim with my 5 year old and there was plenty there to keep her occupied for 90 minutes (booking slots are an hour and a half and indicated by different coloured wrist bands). There were plenty of lockers and family change units available at the time we went which was handy although at busier times I guess this could be an issue. The range of water slides and 'fun' elements was good although the waves weren't working on our visit. It was about £30 for the three of us which I thought was quite steep but can't really compare as there is nowhere else quite like this nearby to where we live. We travelled 45 minutes to get here.

The centre has a gym, adult swimming pool, ice rink (we saw Guildford Flames in a training session from the observation area), a ten pin bowling alley and more. There are a number of eateries to choose from and we ventured down to the ten pin bowling for a quick lunch. Pleased with the pricing and food choices - my daughter wants to come back and try the bowling as she has never done it before.

Outside, there is a huge green park nearby and I believe an outdoor splash park, ample parking and the whole place is easy to find. All in all, well worth a visit and we will come...

On Friday the 5th of Jan'24 at about 4 pm, a young boy puked in the jacuzzi of the leisure pool. He was tremendously sick in the pool. I was appalled by the lack of training the staff had to handle such situations. The so-called lifeguard once notified they didn't show any sense of urgency( some serious training issues!) . They never informed other people in the leisure pool of the incident. They never shut the entire pool section. Too slow to react, no manager was informed about the incident until I insisted on calling someone responsible who could make sure that people were informed and stopped from going near the infested water. There were 2 members of staff who stood by the jacuzzi and tried to do something, and in less than 20 minutes, the entire pool area was restarted, including the jacuzzi. By the time I took my kids out from the changing area ( without any shower time), I could see more kids and adults in the same jacuzzi where the child had been sick. Without going into too much detail, I was standing very close to the child when all this happened and offered his mother some help, and one could tell the child was sick after a meal or so. I am very sure there was more than just water that his body rejected, and it's impossible to clear the are within 20mins. I spoke to the centre manager about the whole incident and the way it was handled and didn't get any reassuring response as she said she is going to investigate what was actually done to make sure that the pool was safe for other kids and adults to go in( apart from asking the child if he was sick prior to going in the water - the manager said as the child was not ill or had any symptoms but was sick due to gulping too much pool water they were happy to reopen the pool). My concern still remained unaddressed when I asked her if they made sure there wasn't any solid waste in the pool before reopening the pool area to the public! I am so disgusted by the whole incident and have lost my complete faith...