Avago Indoor Karting — Local services in Rotherham

Some positives, some negatives. 3.5/5 would probably be fair, but I'll have to round it down to 3/5. I was in a group of three which joined seven others for a 10-driver, 30-lap session (Saturday PM).

I'll start with the positives: 1.) Brilliant, well-maintained track. Great mix of fast bends and hairpins, different levels, etc. A lap takes 30-35 seconds on average, and you can really get some speed up! Overtaking is sometimes tricky but perfectly doable. Ideal. 2.) The pricing is pretty reasonable, particularly as there are often deals on. 3.) The karts themselves are quick and in good condition. 4.) The overalls, helmets, etc. are clean and of a very good quality. 5.) The bar is surprisingly cheap. 6.) They have lockers for your keys, phone, etc.

The negatives are: 1.) SOME of the staff (not all) clearly just can't be bothered. They're mostly in their late teens or early 20s and do the absolute bare minimum. This appears to mainly be an issue with the male staff members, as the two female workers we spoke to were perfectly pleasant and helpful. 2.) The safety procedure consists of a fairly brief video in a room, which is fine, before a very brief talk just before you race. However, the guy doing the talk mumbled for about 20 seconds before giving up and letting his colleague finish the job. Again, they just couldn't be bothered. We're paying customers yet, at times, some of the staff acted like we were a massive inconvenience. At no point did they ask us if we had any questions, which seemed a bit strange. 3.) The red/amber/green lights rules were poorly applied. Supposedly, when the amber lights flash, we're supposed to slow down to walking pace and not overtake. However, many people did overtake. Also, neither the video nor the on-track talk made any mention of what to do on the steep hill when the amber/red lights were flashing. The karts were not powerful enough to drive up slowly, and you need a run-up to get up. Therefore, if you're on or near the hill and the red or amber lights start flashing, the marshals shout at you to go full blast up the hill, ignoring the lights. Why wasn't this explained to us before we started driving? Multiple drivers became stuck on the hill because they didn't know what to do and didn't want to get a warning. 4.) We were told in the video that go-karting is a non-contact sport, but that's simply not true. Intentional contact is against the rules, sure, but you could tell that some people were panicking about making any contact whatsoever, even though the karts are surrounded by thick bumpers purely because contact is inevitable. Again, this should have been explained to people who had not been karting before. 5.) The amber lights were on FAR TOO MUCH. Even if someone bumped the side and was seemingly OK to sort themselves out, the amber lights would come on immediately and everyone would have to slow down. It needlessly spoilt the flow and obviously had a massive effect on our lap times. I did 32 laps and 11 or 12 of them were completely ruined by the amber lights. If there's a big crash and there are lots of karts nearby, sure, I can understand the amber lights, but 80% of the time, it was completely unnecessary. 6.) As soon as we had left the track, we were pretty much ignored by all staff members. Everyone was waiting to find out the stats, but they didn't appear on screen (at least not while we were there) and we only received our individual stat pages when the girl behind the bar asked if we'd like them (while we were collecting our valuables). Again, it just felt that they were all keen to get rid of us and get the next lot of drivers in. I wasn't expecting a red carpet, but it would've been nice for someone to have at least said thanks to us and let us know when and where our stats were going to be available, etc. Again, it was very much a case of doing the bare minimum. 7.) It would've been nice to have had somewhere to put our coats (which you have to either leave in the car or in the bar seating area).

In summary: a good experience, but plenty of room for...

We are fairly well experienced at a number of karting venues in the South, and as a surprise for our boys over the Christmas holiday whilst visiting family we thought we'd add this.

Unfortunately the staff seemed disorganised and poorly managed. It was difficult to say whether or not anyone in particular was in-charge. At times we were unable to find any staff members at either the reception or the bar area, as everyone just seemed to disappear. When we did find someone they were either patronising, unhelpful, surly, or had a conflicting opinion from ourselves and the rest of the customers who were watching. Customer service skills were severely lacking all round, nigh on non-existent.

The equipment - especially the Karts - are poorly maintained, one of which broke down 3 times, after our son had already changed from another which was supposedly exactly the same yet noticeably slower than the one his (larger and considerably heavier) brother was using. On the third breakdown, the marshals were unable to restart the kart and our son then had to change to a 3rd kart, where he was made to walk across the track to the pit area which was then counted as a lap!!!

The track itself is very small, a lap can be completed in 20 seconds in an adult kart by an inexperienced user, and juniors are not allowed to use the bridge - which is not the case at another venue we use regularly.

Of the large group that were on before us several commented on the inconsistencies between the karts, so it's a case of pot luck as to whether you get a decent one.

One of the rules is that sliding is not allowed, yet our eldest and most experienced son said that on two of the karts he used the tyres were so worn that it was impossible not to.

The 'Family Room' was scruffy and in need of a clean.

From the point of view of someone who has never been go-karting you may find it fun and enjoyable. From the point of view of someone who has been to several venues, both indoor and outdoor before, Avago really need to up their game, as what we witnessed was amateurish and not particularly good value. Do yourself a favour - look elsewhere.

We did receive a 50% refund, but only after making a fuss. We will not however be visiting again, instead we will 'avago'...

We took the children here as an experience. We've been go-karting quite a few times at numerous venues - it was the first time for the girls (aged 16 and 18). We all thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a great track, first one we've been on with a bridge. There's a lot of packages to choose from - when we went we were the only ones on the track so 5 of us had the track to ourselves and drove around for the full half hour . Prices vary depending on what you want - all the prices are on-line. It was the cheapest place we found and just as good as some of the more well known places - we all had a great time. You have to arrive a little earlier for the safety talk. There's a viewing area with a little bar and cafe for spectators - a few games in there as...