Simply Play Plainville — Attraction in Plainville

I wasn’t going to leave a negative review and I had told the owner this but the handling of planning my son’s birthday was so poorly done, and left me crying. I could not reach the owner to get questions answered about the party as well as add some more. This left me in limbo for other things I needed to do. I wasn’t sure what I should do next to get this party together. I had emailed her, but then reached out to them on Instagram twice and a follow up email within a week. I got a call at 6pm, but missed it because I was doing my son’s night time routine (I thought it was inappropriate and unprofessional to call without trying to schedule a good time to talk in detail). I called back the next day, went to voicemail. Left a message and email. Called back a few days later, left a message. I left an email just voicing my concerns and just letting her know that I’m struggling a bit as a first time mom and I really need some help here. Nothing back. I am now panicking. I’m trying to find a back up venue that luckily I was able to book. Most places were fully booked so this was some added stress. I’m having family fly in that do not get to see my son and my home is not big enough to accommodate. I called the actual location phone number. I let the woman there know that I would like to cancel the event. I also emailed the owner. I didn’t get any apology from the owner… any acknowledgment that the lack of communication shouldn’t have happened. I feel incredibly let down. I feel embarrassed. I feel like I was forced to cancel and now I’m out $250. I checked the calendar to see if the party was taken off, it was and it just makes me really upset that I didn’t even get an email, phone call or anything just apologizing at least. I’m sorry if I was such a bother but I just wish they would have just cancelled it because they don’t want to work with me on my son’s special day rather than ignore me. Maybe they are really busy, but just let me know. Give me times that work for you and I would have planned ahead to accommodate your busy schedule. I’m just incredibly upset and confused of what I did so wrong to deserve this. I just want to caution people to ask questions before booking. It might be that you’ll have a great experience. I really hope so for others. I should have researched more. Had I done that I probably would have flagged that they didn’t want me to book there. Ugh I don’t know. I’m just upset really. Not even mad. I’m rating 2 stars because I do think the space is beautiful and clean and a great place for parents to connect. My son really loved the ball pit and I was hoping he would get a chance to play on his birthday. I would have really loved this place to be where I can maybe connect with others but I now feel really uncomfortable going. I really hope no one else has that experience and this could work out for...

I really wanted to love this play center because the concept is great, and it was clearly designed with thought and a modern feel. The staff member/owner we met was also incredibly kind. Unfortunately, I don’t feel it was worth the money, and I had several concerns during our visit.

For children three and under, there weren’t many toy options available. I also couldn’t find a designated basket or bin for toys that went into my toddler’s mouth, which made me question how thoroughly items are cleaned and sanitized between uses.

The space itself has a lot of wear and tear. While it was thoughtfully created, it didn’t feel as well-kept as it should be for a children’s environment. Safety was another concern: the kitchen/snack area cabinets were unlocked and filled with items toddlers could easily get into, which meant I had to constantly redirect my child. I believe these cabinets are better off being locked. Another issue I had was that the bathroom doors were left wide open, and with kids not wearing shoes, it felt especially unsanitary and like a real hazard for little ones to wander into.

While the play center has potential and the staff were doing their best (even while dealing with a stressful pee in the ball pit situation), the cleanliness, upkeep, and safety issues make it hard for me to recommend at this time.

Another thing I noticed is that the owner (or staff member) brings her children to the play center. While that wouldn’t normally be an issue, it felt unprofessional when I saw her changing her child in the open and her kids climbing over the reception area as if they were...

We visited Simply Play several weeks ago. My son (2) and I are familiar with indoor play places and we're looking to try somewhere new. Overall I would say that the aesthetic was cute, but I had several issues with the cleanliness and quality of toys. The snack area is within the play area, so we found numerous crumbs in the rugs under the different play areas. There were no sanitizing wipes/sprays visible in the food area for families to clean up after themselves (I did see an employee spray & wipe the tables once while we were there) There are a TON of toys, unfortunately a lot (maybe 50%?) were broken and/or missing pieces. I understand that many kids play here, but maybe a smaller number of toys out would help maintain them. There was one other thing, and this is a personal pet peeve, but most mothers/grown ups were not watching their children. I was with my son in the art area and a mother left her young child (maybe 10 months? She wasn't walking yet) with us while she took her older child to the bathroom. When I say "left" I mean left. She didn't check with me about keeping an eye on her and I had to remove potentially dangerous items (sharpened color pencils for example) out of her reach. One last suggestion, maybe look into installing a proper changing table in the bathrooms? The flimsy fold-down style doesn't seem sufficient for a clientele that is mostly in diapers. I wanted to like Simply Play in Plainville, and I think that my son had a good time, but I found myself feeling forced to stay to justify the $18 entrance fee in a space that felt...