SEA LIFE Centre Weymouth — Attraction in Weymouth

This goes against the grain because I don't like leaving negative comments, but given our experience adds up to a bit of a disappointing day I felt it important to leave feedback. We found the place quite easily good parking plenty of spaces, in general the place was clean and staff on the whole friendly. Unfortunately that's the only positive comments I can provide. We didn't book in advance for a few reasons, our car has proven unreliable hence we were only in the area for a week and didn't want to waste over £60+ by booking ahead. We didn't mind paying the extra either as the total cost was not much more £71. But the attitude of the women taking our money left much to be desired, she give the impression it was too much hassle to take our card payment she borded on being patronizing. We entered and had to wait for a previous customer to have their photos done, again the woman doing the photos showed the same signs of disapproval when we said we can take our own photos as we walk around the site. Not a good start, nevertheless we walked on, the weather was appalling but we were determined to make the most and accepted the heavy rain as UK weather for the time of year. Given that rain it is typical for most of the year having more than two locations to sit eat and get out of the rain would have been good. The place wasn't busy mostly families with kids under 5's. We came from Wales with our granddaughter hence Easter Hols started earlier. But the cafe and coffee bar was rammed with people standing hovering over tables waiting for others to leave. We ventured out into the rain again to cross the bridge to look at the other aquariums that were not accessible when we arrived these too were full of people sheltering from the rain. On the whole we spent 3 hours wandering around several times trying to see into places full of wet people and stood in the pouring rain to watch the sea lions and penguins feed. Why only two stars given that no one can control the weather and only two awkward staff members you may ask? It's because of the lack of information about the exhibits and animals, the screens were too high for some kids, plus the screens changed every few seconds too quick to read and you had to read it several times to get the basic information. Many of them that were reachable had limited interaction, very few staff on attendance around the park to ask questions those that were present were not easily to distinguish from the customers. Given the vast variety of seas life and different species I would've wanted more information. Instead I found the signs to be too focused on the commercial aspects of attempting to be entertaining more than informative. Yes it's good to know the animals are well looked after and the threats to their habits but the only additional information came from the girls feeding the sea lions and penguins which was excellent. We visited Monkey World a few days earlier, every exhibit had signs and information boards, photos and background stories of how each animal came to be rescued. There were staff in attendance working and mucking out the cages but they stopped and asked if we needed anything or had any questions. They had covered shelters with plenty of seats so no need to look for the main cafe. We had the same weather conditions with the same issues of trying to shelter yet we were able to occupy ourselves even if the animals didn't venture out in the rain. I wasn't asked how we found our day when we left Sea Life, there was male at the gift shop, two at the entrance counter and two at cafe, all but one was either preoccupied with their counters or looking at their phones. So we left as we entered feeling that we were in the way. At the risk of contradicting myself we did enjoy our visit and recognize that the cost has to match the up keep hence we accepted the price but it could have been so...

We visited this place 10th June 2022, booked via my discounted blue light discounted service online the evening before which saved us a family of 3, 2 adults and 1 child who is 6..... roughly around £20 however if you don't have access to this service booking online before is always and highly recommended to save money but also to ensure access during busier seasons.

The place itself was really well set out with inside and outside areas. The coloured footprints 👣 on the floor between each different section is also very useful especially with children and trying to keep them close by but personally I liked this as it ensures you don't miss out on certain attractions which is easily done in places like this when your busy keeping an eye on little ones.

There were also areas dotted around the place where you can refill water bottles, apply suncream and sanitising stations. Massive thumbs up for this facility. Especially when you've had a holiday like we had where the weather was quite mixed and unpredictable.

On our visit the sun came out so being able to apply suncream to my little one throughout the day, being able to sanitise our hands often between attractions after our little one was forever hands up to the glass areas peering through to get a closer look and saved us money by refilling our water bottles aswell.

Talks were available at various times during the day and well informed helpful staff were also very efficient, helpful and friendly.

So the personal faves for us and a massive hit for us with our little boy whos 6 and has recently been been diagnosed and started medication for adhd... were obviously the sealife itself, massive safe play area in the centre of the attractions as we stopped for a coffee watching our little boy run wild and the splash zone area. Luckily we had our beach gear, equipped with a change of clothes so he could get soaked with other kids enjoying themselves without worrying about drying them off.

Changing rooms are available so if your organised and have swimwear then the splash zone will be a massive hit...

I would say though this area is numbered on the map as one of the first places to visit but I am glad we left this area to the end of our visit as it most definitely worked well that way for us on our visit.

I would recommend bringing along a picnic if possible and it's predicted to be a dry and warm day as personally the food and refreshment services didn't have a great variety of different meal choices but plenty of snacks. I don't know if this is a new or current thing due to post covid however on our visit this was what was all that was available at this time.

Only a few bug bares during the visit which was the council run carpark. As it is a pay & display carpark with signs everywhere which threatens penalty charges if you fail to pay and display yet none of the machines were in working order so you couldn't pay with cash or card which is what you would do normally but there is an app you can download to pay by imputing your car details and location details which you find on the side of the machines and pay that way.

Overall the whole experience was good and we enjoyed our visit, making memories together...

Smaller than expected, and wished the enclosures were bigger. I did expect the tanks to be much bigger than what they were, which made me quite sad to see. One of the turtles' tanks was so small that it just sat there as it couldn't swim anywhere, which was quite shocking. The seal harbour housed 4 seals, and their tank was smaller than your average swimming pool, and the seals swam round in the same circles over and over again!

I do, however, want to point out the positives. The interactive rock pools were great. There was knowledgeable staff there who made sure none of the animals were being mistreated and made sure everyone was gentle and respectful. My son loved finding out what different star fish felt like. There was a stepping stone area that simulated a real tide, as at timed intervals, the stones would be covered in a rush of sea water (staff made sure no one crossed at these points) which made the experience more immersive.

The pizza was really yummy and appeared to be made fresh. The chefs burnt the first batch, and instead of giving it to us, they threw it, made us 2 more pizzas, apologised, and gave us free drinks for having to wait a little longer.

There is wheelchair access pretty much everywhere and vantage points at all angles!

The most impressive aspect of our visit was that upon entry, the staff recognised my son was autistic, and immediately loaned him a sensory pack free of charge, which had a story board inside which was clear and informative and prepared him for what he would see, hear and smell! There were ear defenders, sensory toys which came in so handy, and stickers he could choose to place on himself to let people know how he was feeling in certain moments. I honestly feel like this is an amazing idea, and it made such a positive impact on my child. He utilised all Fidget toys, placed a few different stickers upon himself, had ear defenders on the whole way round, and read the story board! The member of staff who recognised this for us needs a raise because he was amazing and informative, as well as respectful and caring. Without this sensory pack I recon my child would have opted out of half of the experiences, so I really want to emphasise how this is such a positive thing to offer autistic children, and having the staff who are educated on autism makes the world of difference. Other businesses should take note and follow suit for sure.

My son really enjoyed his time here and made memories. I just wish the enclosures were bigger than...