Whitley Bay Ice Rink — Attraction in North Tyneside

AVOID at all costs!! We booked our 7 year old daughters birthday party here for 15 children. On the website the party package states you get a dedicated helper for 10 children within the party package and then any additional helpers would be charged at £10 each, it also states your deposit is transferable. We visited a few weeks before the party just to get a feel for it and were in complete shock. The place smells unbearable, is filthy and completely run down. There were a few teenagers zooming around the ice rink without any disregard for others and one boy was going so fast he just missed a young girl’s hands who had fallen down. There were no marshals to keep the rink safe for others. There were also figure type skaters on the ice during this public session practising tricks, swinging their legs around, jumping and twirling, again not being considerate of others around them. After our visit, I called the venue to explain that we no longer felt it was safe to host my daughters party there, explained why and requested our £50 deposit back. The lady on reception was very abrupt and told me that the manager had said they wouldn’t give a refund and the money couldn’t be used for anything else other than to book another party, not even for another public session for us to use, so the deposit is then not ‘transferable’ as it states on the website. Also we were told that actually no helpers are provided with the party package and that all helpers are at an additional cost but that you have to pay for at least 1 helper for a group of 10 children on the ice (from as young as 4 years old) with no aids provided unless paid for additionally. It is not safe for 10x 4 year olds to be allowed on this rink during a public session like the one I witnessed with just one helper and no aids (or even with aids). It’s truly concerning how this business is being run with no obvious safety regulations in place it seems. I have taken matters further and reported them to trading standards among other organisations, we just hope our review stops others from making the same mistake we did, it won’t be long before a child gets seriously hurt here, if they haven’t already. Not safe and...

The place has had no investment and looks identical to when I was going there as a kid in the early nineties, apart from being 30 years more battered.

The perspex screens around the ice (which were installed in the mid nineties) look as if they've never been cleaned or replaced since. Don't know how anyone in the front rows for the ice hockey can see anything.

The cost for ice skating does seem expensive but having checked it is comparable to other rinks around the country...though most of those are cleaner and more modern.

The service is poor. Queueing for 30 minutes to get in then another 30 minutes for boots and the same again to return them. There must be a more customer friendly way to run the sessions. Also the balance aids now have to be paid for, but you have to do so at reception and there's no obvious signage to indicate this so ended up having to totter back round to reception in skates (half expected them to refuse to take a card payment for the £2.50 (Inc £1 deposit) as the sign said minimum £10 for card payments). No obvious staff presence around the ice other than at reception and serving hatch.

Unfortunately at the moment the place is a stark reminder of Whitley Bay's recent dilapidated past. A business that has stood still and is stuck in the eighties. This wouldn't matter so much if it was redeemed by good customer service - but it's not. Ripe for someone to come in and give it a spruce up and customer service overhaul so it can be another attraction for the town rather than an embarrassment. Wouldn't even need to spend that much, and it would probably pay for itself in increased income from return family custom, which I feel is probably quite minimal. The problem is that there's no competition so the place is still undeservedly busy and there's no impetus for change. (No competition other than the temporary rink at Centre for Life which is a different audience and, to be fair, double the cost).

Overall, disappointed because it could easily be so...

Came for the Warriors game. First time we've been to the hockey and first time in ages to the rink. Game was excellent. Great atmosphere and very entertaining. The rink was absolutely dire. Ceiling looks about to collapse, filthy and mouldy. Seating is poor. Cramped and uncomfortable. I'm 5'2 and my knees were in the back of the person in front of me. No routes across the seating without making whole row stand up. Needs much better signage or something in the external route around the rink so you can work out which section you're going to end up in. The toilets were abominable. No locks on several doors, falling apart, filthy, one way in so you have to squeeze past the queue to get back out. Just hideous. The whole place looks like it's falling to bits it's embarrassing. This is the only facility like this locally and it should be amazing. The organisation on the way in was also poor verging on dangerous. Started in a queue outside which just went to hell halfway to the door. Free for all piling through the entrance. We had bought tickets online but got to the inner door before being told to go back to a particular desk. Impossible! Hordes of people everywhere. If I have online order why do I need to pick up physical tickets?! Just give us something scannable or that can be checked by the staff manning the doors. Parking was also a nightmare. Not a chance of getting in the rink carpark because was full from open session at ice rink when we arrived at 3.30. We got parked in the overflow opposite Aldi but it was filling up quick. The rest of our party arrived at 3.50 and it was full as were all the streets around the rink. Really offputting. All in all the centre needs to be much better geared up for the number of...