Playpalz Party and Soft Play Centre — Local services in Tendring

Beware of food allergies, my nephew is severely allergic to anything containing sesame seeds and sesame oil. The ticket includes a child's dinner so we asked the staff and told them that he cannot have food that contains sesame seeds or sesame oil or food that's been prepared in the same area, we were told it was ok and we ordered him a gluten free chicken nugget meal. My niece had the burger, after an hour the burger came out with sesame seeds on the bun! The plates had touched and a couple of seeds were on his plate! Unfortunately he could not eat here and yes we had his EpiPen but we were not going to risk putting a 3 year old through it, so we cut our trip short and left. In the main play area there were 2 teens running around taking photos/films, bumping into the children, blocking slide access and laughing at the children, my 5 year old niece was too scared to go in by herself. Bearing in mind you are in socks, when going to the toilet the floor was wet. My nephew is big for his age and was in the under 3's area, he is 3 so we thought that was ok but a member of staff came and said this area is for under 3's only you need to get out, I can not explain how embarrassing this was especially with two other parents in there with their unders 2's. Whilst there a child kept trying to get the cakes on display and even opened the kitchen door, this shocked me, the door from reception is on a buzzer and they do not press the buzzer until payment is received even with crying children but yet the kitchen door is not on a buzzer or key lock bearing in mind the dangers of a kitchen with knives, hot pans etc. Even the counter to the food and drinks is a walk in one, other play centres have a lift up hatch with a stable type door or a mag lock. The play equipment itself wasn't the cleanest. We were very disappointed but luckily my niece and nephew are too young to pick up on this and we left with two happy children but a very disappointed mum and auntie. We spoke to our brother and he had similar feedback as well as our cousin who works in an infant class, they went for a trip here before Christmas and left disappointed with the prices and one member of staff's attitude towards child with SEN, they said they had used this place all the time especially before COVID for special treat trips, staff were friendly, would talk to the children, some would play, they would allow access into the under 3's area if the children were 1:1 and would do a group discount as they would be there for an hour max so they were pleased when it did stay open as it was an amazing place to take the class too and with understanding staff of the children's needs. Unfortunately this doesn't seem to be the case on the day me and my sister visited. Hopefully with time it will improve and with correct staff training (some staff were ok) it will go back to the amazing play centre it once was. I took one star off for lack of food allergy awareness, another for the rudeness of a staff member and another for the facilities, they need a clean and monitoring as parents we know little ones will miss the loo but I don't fancy using my sock to clean another parents...

Today my daughter had her 5th birthday party here on an exclusive deal and I can't praise playpalz enough. The staff and especially both lady owners were very helpful, honest, friendly and hardworking professional people who take pride in there business. Playpalz the venue was very clean and they had the party lights on which was great fun for the kid's. All the kids said they had a great time, everything was well organised and communicated so it was a stress free for myself and very enjoyable party for all the kids. This is the second party I have had here for my children and whether you get an exclusive party or the standard package your child is having a great birthday experience. Thank you playpalz! And if your reading this please do consider booking them for a party or a soft...

I try and take my daughter weekly as she has so much fun at playpalz. She asked to have her birthday party there. I’m delighted to say she and all her friends had an amazing time. Started off with a session in the main playpalz activity area,then through into the party dinning area for food and birthday cake. Once the little’ns had finished there chosen meals it was then through into the Disco room for dancing,party games and a very special visit from frozen characters in our case. The kiddies are then back into the main activity area to run,climb,slide off all there new found energy. A huge thank you to all the staff for helping to make my daughters birthday party so fun filled and memorable. Value for money...