Scallywags Birmingham Ltd — Local services in Birmingham

My review is mixed, like any place it's got is pros and cons. This used to be my go to place and although there are a lot more perks than before. The role play and activity centre part which my daughter loves, we had to stop coming for a while because she got bored of the climbing area so this gives your kids a lot more choice but there are things that drive me wild!!

The music is FAR to loud to the point I couldn't hear my kids talking to me without shouting. Sometimes particularly myself although I expect kids to be running around and making noise, I go to these places for my kids but it ends up being to much going on. I came out with a migraine. There's just no need to have music that loud. Also if your like me and you have more than one kid running around it's impossible to keep an eye on both of them. I tend to stay with my toddler as she needs the most eyes but I like to be able to hear as I know my kids call or cries. Any parent will get that.

Also some staff just look like they can't be bothered. I ordered a toastie with a side of crisps that was £5.50 when it came it was tortilla chips that tasted like they'd been left out all day. I politely asked if I could swap them for crisps and the response I got was unenthusiastic. Maybe put tortilla chips on the menu and not crisps.

The ultimate thing that drives me wild the most is people don't watch there kids, so be prepared to have to parent someone else's child when they're trying to take food off your table or rip your child out of a car or off a toy. Majority of the parents sit on their phones. There was a baby no more than 9months old, walking around and his parents was no where to be seen. He was trying to take Crisps off our table. I stood up trying to figure out who's baby it was and 10minites later his dad came over when he took him back to his table over the far side of the play centre, where his mom and 3 other women was sat ( on their phones and chatting). That to me blows my mind. Children cant get out but there's nothing stopping an adult picking up that baby pressing the button and walking straight out. It infuriates me. Also too many times have I had to pull someoens child off mine because no one is around or enforcing these rules of supervision. Im not your baby sitter and it's not Jon to dicipline someone's child but your almost forced to sometimes, so watch your kids and make sure your staff are enforcing parents actually supervising their children. It's not a day care. Parents should be there to intervene if there child miss behaving or even worse gets hurt.

If you catch this place around 2pm than it's...

Disappointed and Embarrassed

I bring my little one here every weekend (well, used to!). Due to starting homeschooling, decided to change day to middle of the week. I rang them earlier to enquire prices and was told for age 5 before 3pm, it's £3.50. That was great news as I only had £5 until I got paid on the 1st. I signed us in around 1pm as I waited for someone to greet us, which took far longer than it should of as it was not busy at all (kids were at school, mainly toddlers there). The young woman approached with a friendly manner, asked for age and said £6. Bemused, I explained what I'd been told over the phone and that I only had £5. To which she became quite blasé and unbothered, that a small child was being refused entry. Not even the offer of a shorter playing time.

Well, it is a business after all and a child's needs is obviously not at the forefront of what they do.

Will I return? Highly likely when invited to a birthday party. Otherwise, no. In the future we'll only go to Monster Mayhem. The SW prices have gone up and almost matches MM anyway, plus they have more to offer. The only thing really going for SW is the choice of foods and drinks. Note: to the staff who lick their fingers when cream or syrup is on it - STOP! It's unhygienic.

I suppose the experience wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't witnessed by other parents, that being said, its not about me and my feelings. The disappointment in my childs eye's after being filled with so much joy of being told where they were going, just to have it shattered by the misinformation given to me over the phone, not acceptable Scallywags!

A quick note about the parties, if you are considering it. They will have quite a few running at the same time. The last time we came for a party, it was suuuuper busy. The party area was crammed. People bumping in to each other. When I spoke to a member of staff, they said 6 - 8 parties could be at the same time. (Keeeerching!)

My little ones party was here 3 years ago and it was lovely. Staff were very attentive at parties back then. Now...it's like a 'get them in get them out policy'! The children don't mind that of course but if you want the experience to be a bit more special, shop around. If you won't quibble about the quality of service, this is the place for you 👌

(* Absolute credit where credit is due Scallywags. I have said a few nice things. One star is better than customers having the option to select 0/5. Let this be a learning experience going forward. It has definitely been an eye-opener for me....

I have visited this place previously for parties and thought it was decent enough. However after bringing my children on two separate occasions more recently we definitely will not be returning. The first occasion, we were overcharged which I didn’t realise until we were leaving when I saw the admissions prices on the wall. When we arrived she told us the price I paid and I didn’t question it. However the price she stated was more than what was listed on the wall. The manager came and could clearly see the discrepancy but still refused to refund the distance? Instead we were provided with a free return voucher.

On the second visit - my observations are that the toddler area really isn’t fit for purpose. The area is for under 3s yet there are tons of children aged 6-8 running around making it unpleasant for the babies and toddlers, but also quite unsafe as the older kids are quite rough. There is no staff presence to monitor the situation and when you approach them they seem unbothered!

The equipment in the toddler area is old and tatty. The only decent thing for toddlers is the slide which gets boring for them after they have been on it a few times.

Also weekends in my opinion appear to operate over capacity and multiple parties going on etc. the chaos may be suited for older children but most certainly not a nice place for babies and toddlers and I do not recommend.

Whilst this place is convenient, I will now prefer to spend my money else where travelling a little further for a more quality and safe experience for...