Tinside Lido — Attraction in Plymouth

Really disappointed... Been coming for years as we live near to Plymouth. So today we paid for parking in Plymouth for the full day, to be told when we arrived at the lido that they had put in 3x (2 hourly) sessions for the day, which is still going to cost us the same amount as a full day ticket!! Then, next thing that annoyed us the most was that they then informed us is that we could only purchase admission online and that they were fully booked!! I checked online and it never said anything about you have to pay online and online only!! Surely it would be a good idea to keep 80% for online booking and 20% free for walk-ins?? We were then told that there was availablity for the 3pm sessions so we said we would go and have a think and came back 10 mins later to then be told they have nothing available until 5pm!!! Very disappointed kids and family on a rare day off from work. Maybe you could state on the website that we have to buy online or no entry, to stop people from wasting their time, especially for the people that have driven some distance! And another thing, if you are reducing the hours into sessions then reduce your prices to fit this??...

My partner and I booked the 12.30-14.30 slot today and, to be honest, I don't understand why the website even bothers having slots when people can clearly just show up whenever they want. My partner and I arrived at 12.20 and there were people who had blatantly been there for a good while. As a result, people who pay to use specific slots have no chance whatsoever to get a sun loungers or deck chair, as staff aren't enforcing the time slots, nor do they have any way of keeping track of who has attended when, such as wristbands. There was no one monitoring the small pile of remaining deckchairs either, therefore meaning it's pointless charging for these. The first set of people pay for them and then others can just freely use them, which means you're technically ripping people off. I understand it's all about making money, but the system you're running is appalling.

Give out wrist bands for anyone that arrives within that 2 hour slot and change them at every 2 hour slot. Ensure that customers who have actually booked have a fair chance of getting a...

A beautifully kept outdoor lido filled with seawater, (not heated), fountain, indoor lockers, changing cubicles (including family changing rooms), indoor communal showers hot), toilets & small kiosk selling snacks, ice creams/lollies, hot & cold beverages. The pool has a large border/walkway around it's circumference with built in stone seatseats. Shallow area has depth of 2 feet (0.61m) accessible by steps, with deeper area of 9 feet (2.7m) & is 180 feet (55m) long. A roped partition at shallow end provides an area for children under 8 (including non swimmers) to splash about safely & benefit from one of several durable foam floats. Small inflatables are permitted within this area. Pool is monitored by 4 lifeguards located on each quarter. Tinside Lido was built in 1935 & is one of top 10 outdoor pools in Europe. It is also part of the Everyoneactive group, meaning if customers hold a current Everyoneactive membership card, they can use pool as per any Everyoneactive centre. Staff are very friendly & helpful....