Winter Gardens Blackpool — Local services in Great Britain

I have been here a few times recently, and all three times it has been wonderful. The character of the old building with so much history and charm makes a trip to this theatre even more enjoyable. There is a selection of bars and also a piano bar, perfect for pre show drinks. We ordered a large G&T (which was top brand fever tree tonic) and a pint of cider which came to £17, this was in the piano bar. On many occasions, there has been live music playing in the piano bar. There are also a coffee shop and consessions stand selling ice cream, popcorn, drinks, sweets, etc. The prices are reasonable. The staff are all very friendly and help full. The shows we have seen here are excellent. The Opera house theatre within the Winter Gardens is very old with its curved gold ceiling. The top balcony is high up but still gives a great view of the stage. Although if you don't like heights, grab a seat in the stalls on the ground, or the Circle, which is a balcony mid level. The seats are the original seats in red velvet with arms. They aren't the biggest seats but they are roomy enough for most people (me included being a plus size) I do tend to lean over to my plus one so I don't take the space of the stranger sitting next to me. Or I get an Isle seat, and then I can stretch my legs out. If you are seated in the stalls then in the intermission the staff stand at the front with ice cream drinks and snacks to buy, I love this as its a bit of tradition and it all adds to the experience. There is often dance competition on in the Empress ballroom, and there's also a conference and exhibition area. Parking is easy. If you park on houndshill car park, then it's right next door. There are plenty of small bars and restaurants in the square down the side of the Winter Gardens. The newly opened Abingdon Market has a food hall with loads of different vendors. This is just a two minuet walk away. All In all, a great theatre with lots to offer, easy for parking, and a pre show...

A nice surprise.

We went here to see Paloma Faith.

It looks awful outside, but inside it is quite pretty with a selection of places to eat and drink whilst you wait.

The venue itself is just silly.

The seats are laid out illogically so the users (unusually rather old for this type of concert) spent a long time wandering aimlessly looking for their seats, and they were in very long rows, much longer than normally found in a venue.

Unusually tight seating. Very uncomfortable and not a great space for when we got up to have a little jiggle when the concert got going.

During the interval, well. Words almost fail me. They actually had young girls appear with little usher trays of ice creams at the same time as 2000+ pissed concert goers ran to the bars.

The bars seemed surprised that people may want to order a drink and moved like an arthritic ant with heavy shopping, with super ineffective organisational skills.

Toilets had exceptionally long queues,and you could smell where they were, signage not required.

We had only a short walk home and were very chilled, so couldn't give a monkeys on this particular occasion therefore I found the experience hilarious, plus I got to touching distance of Paloma Faith, AND found a venue selling late night dhosa on the way home!

Would I go to this venue again?

NEVER!

Only if it was as part of a joke.

It is endemic of why Blackpool is failing and a demonstration of how not to run a concert venue. A really good example of what Fawlty Towers would look like if...

My first time here after living in Blackpool for a year. It was a charity dance show in the Empress Ballroom and I had been excited to go. I saw the Morecambe and Wise statue but then struggled to work out where I was going. The ladies toilets were upstairs, Billy Ocean was on in the main theatre and I couldn't see the ballroom til I walked down to the other end of the building. It was almost heatwave weather but there was no air con in the ballroom at all. The bar man who served me was miserable and abrupt. The seating layout was terrible for a dance show. There was no signage for block 1 which I'd booked my ticket for. Some had names on (VIPs) but it didn't say you could sit in any seat without a name reservation. I didn't see anyone who looked like staff who could help. The seating was the same level as the dance floor so you couldn't see the dancers legs and feet. Many people stood up to film and take photos during the dances so then you couldn't even see the dancers heads! Some people decided to watch from the bar which is up a step to get a chance of seeing anything. For a venue that hosts summer dances I'd have thought air con was essential. I wasn't impressed and I left two hours before the end of the show. I might go and see a show in the main theatre and hope that this dance show was run by a third party and not the Winter...