Derby Arena Reviews Summary

Venue and Facilities

Pros:

• "This was a decent venue for the event."
• "The building is spotless and quite beautiful."
• "The facilities at Derby Arena are superb. Very clean and new."
• "Facilities include toilets, seating area, lobby with electric points to be able to charge devices mini cafe, water fountains and a car park."
• "The arena itself is modern inside, well presented and clean."
• "Great facilities and the toilets are very clean!"
• "The changing rooms and gym are very clean."

Cons:

• "The bar was minimalistic and overpriced."
• "The cafe was pretty horrible."
• "The seating was too small and to close on the floor area."
• "But the seating is Very Narrow because they don't have space between chairs."
• "Venue fine but cannot believe all drinks are served in single-use plastic containers."
• "The venue is a bit basic, with seating that tests your resilience to breaking point."
• "80% of the main seating was on ground level not tiered so up until the interval we only saw the top half of the performers bodies."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "The staff/volunteers were really helpful."
• "The staff inside were brilliant and I thank them for what they are doing."
• "All the staff were very friendly and helpful."
• "The staff and volunteers created a very professional, welcoming and relaxing atmosphere."
• "Receptionists are friendly and helpful."
• "The staff are helpful and there is usually an offer or promotion on to use the gym if you want to try."
• "The staff were superbly welcoming and accommodating."

Cons:

• "It's quite obvious that they plot against one individual person."
• "After trying to reason with them they agreed to open the bar so guests could at least get some refreshments."
• "closed for vaccines today despite people having appointments - not their fault but the rude scruffy lazy staff on the door should have some info to give people who's appointments were NOT cancelled and who were not Notified of this."
• "Shame the staff at the arena were so miserable."
• "Gym staff don't look overly interested when they're there."
• "Car parking is totally inadequate, screening of the speaker was virtually non-existent, attitude of staff was rude and dismissive."
• "The visit was slightly spoiled by a jobs worth in the car park."

Entertainment and Events

Pros:

• "It was amazing to ride like a pro and get to experience the thrill of cycling down the banking at high speed."
• "Went to see the Production of Jack and Jill, was absolutely fabulous."
• "Fantastic set and flying carpet."
• "The atmosphere was excellent."
• "However what a great evening's entertainment we had."
• "Great to be back at a live event! Brilliant set from Jimmy Carr."
• "Fabulous panto with my son, grand daughter and husband."

Cons:

• "It did detract from enjoyment of the show and will make me think hard and look for alternative venues before booking a show here again."
• "No incline or decline bench, at all, none."
• "Not enough toilets to cope with performance break rushes."
• "What a terrible place for a concert £33 a ticket and then they charged £5 parking, you are shuffled in a back door into a horrible, badly laid out area with an excuse for a bar."
• "It's a shame that the bar remains open during performances, people were leaving their seats to get drinks which in turn interferes with peoples view of the stage."
• "Not a great place for a gig."
• "The main downfall is concerned with the car parking facilities, which are truly awful."

Parking and Accessibility

Pros:

• "Ample parking."
• "Ticket pick up was simple and easy."
• "A big area with a large state of the ark cycle track."
• "Great spacious parking - there can be a fee check before you park."
• "Great and easy access with a large parking area."
• "Parking was simple, we pre-booked so just needed to show the attendants our parking booking."
• "A good car park system for arena users where you key in your registration number for 3 hours parking."

Cons:

• "Car park is impossible to get out of when 2000 people are all wanting to leave."
• "Excellent experience, but traffic management was appallingly bad, we waited for 50 minutes to get into the car park and consequently missed the first 10 minutes of the show."
• "Parking was an absolute nightmare and poorly organised."
• "Never got a consistent explanation of parking arrangements for people with Disabilities."
• "Took 35 mins to crawl at a snail's pace into the car park."
• "Be aware that there is an extortionate £5 additional car parking charge on top of your ticket price."
• "Parking ticket machine only accepts cash!"

Food and Beverage

Pros:

• "The coaches are excellent and we are all really enjoying the experience."
• "Great food with excellent presentation."
• "There's a nice cafe for a coffee."
• "A good cafe, namely cafe 42, which served quickly and the food was good."
• "Wonderful staff. Great food with excellent presentation."
• "The gym facilities are great."
• "The gym equipment is of a good quality."

Cons:

• "The man serving had to check for the food we wanted, again and again."
• "They needed more food, so probably bigger hot holding facilities out front for larger quantities as some items ran out pretty quickly."
• "Cafe is a bit overpriced however that is the same at all of them (gym cafes) and food isn't anything special run if the mill basic fare."
• "However, the toilets were crowded and they only allowed you to get drinks during intervals which was a bummer due to the queues."
• "Bar prices bit expensive.. (£9 for can of Budweiser and can of Strongbow)."
• "The food before was expensive £6 for a small burger and a basket of fries with a little salad, also sweet pots £3.50 each the size of a can of pop!"
• "One of the toilets was blocked and overflowing with the auto flush not working."