Substation Brixton Reviews Summary

Space and Layout

Pros:

• "This space is amazing, the centre is huge and is on different levels which makes it spacious and airy."
• "The children had fun climbing and used both climbing walls on the ground floor and upstairs."
• "Really big climbing wall, with good range of climbs and good route setting."
• "Absolutely love the studio at substation."
• "One of my favorite bouldering places in London. Large and airy centre and very creative route setting."
• "I really liked that the bouldering area is large. A lot of different problems with good level of difficulty."
• "A fantastic climbing centre with lots of space."
• "Huge bouldering place with fun and modern setting, plenty variety and really lovely staff."

Cons:

• "Some big walls are missing routes, and those that do have filthy holds."
• "A pool table? That’s cool as hell."
• "However it is still a building site, so one questions why they opened the doors to the public without a functioning cafe, faulty toilets and no private changing area."
• "Prices are reasonable and there are student / concession prices. Which are different: student 7.50. Concession 11."
• "Onto the quality of the space itself, it is very much an unfinished space."
• "The only downside is there's no internal cycle storage, you have to lock up outside in the industrial park."
• "The only issue is the lack of interesting (or correctly graded) climbs in the v0-v3 range."
• "Great new centre. Certainly more expensive than other centres, but the size and variety of the climbs adds up."

Staff and Customer Service

Pros:

• "Beautiful place, great climbing and the staff is incredible."
• "Had a beginners intro lesson with Kirill a few weeks ago. I've never climbed before so I was nervous but Kirill was patient, informative, relaxed and kind."
• "I havent actually been yet but happy to say that after an initial issue that resulted in the cancellation of a party I had booked, the owner called me to explain and was very kind in offering my family a session to make up for the disappointment."
• "A shout out to Substation staff on last Friday the 13th October. There were so many kids running riot with absent parents just catching up with each other. Amar and Ariel you guys did a wonderful job."
• "Great facilities, helpful staff. Location easy for access by public transport."
• "Really loved it. The facility was great for beginners and the lounge is very clean and relaxed, with games and lots of seats."
• "Great new climbing centre. There is a nice looking cafe at the front opposite the reception."
• "A fantastic climbing centre with lots of space. The route setting is really good with a lot of fun climbs and a massive overhanging section."

Cons:

• "The staff approached me only continuously asking that if the children continue to play then we will be asked to leave."
• "To the owner enquiry about my 4 stars: -1 star as the guy at the reception kinda treated me in a childish way as it was my first time bouldering."
• "Just the staff were very stand-offish… guy on reception just made us feel like we weren’t really welcome on first visit presenting many hurdles."
• "However, in general terms, the gym is awesome."
• "However Kirill from the staff team helped me find a new pair of shoes which took ages since I have very specific feet shape (long and thin with super long toes)."
• "However, a few of things have put this review at 3 stars. Firstly - and this will come as absolutely no surprise - this is the most expensive wall I climb at, and that's climbing as a concession."
• "However, the routes are reset VERY infrequently. There's about 10 weeks in-between resets which seems to be a huge amount of time compared to other walls."
• "However, when my partner bought a coffee from the cafe a little while ago and needed it in a takeaway cup, the snotty response about takeaway cups being 'against the mission statement' was rude and not very nice."

Pricing

Pros:

• "I really like the spacious feel of the venue and there’s a good variety of routes - though maybe graded just an edge lower than other walls."
• "We come to the Sunday family sessions and they’re very good value! You need to book early to secure your spot though as they’re very popular."
• "Visited ages ago for the preview day, and the introduction of an off-peak entry promoted me to revisit."
• "Prices are reasonable and there are student / concession prices."

Cons:

• "It was very quiet when we came which was great, but the price is very much on the high end."
• "So what do you get for your £16 (yes that's right, £16!) entrance for a relatively new London gym?"
• "Entrance is blocked by many parked cars, bikes and mopeds and is quite treacherous with many moving vehicles in the industrial estate."
• "Now the most expensive bouldering gym in London as a peak entry is £16."
• "The price is actually pretty steep too :S"
• "These crazy prices mean I cannot afford to come back. Really should introduce off-peak and super off-peak pricing as other London climbing gyms do."
• "First off - this is a great space, brilliant climbs and some interesting extras. Why two stars? Climbing is already a pretty inaccessible and expensive sport."
• "Big space with really nice staff and some great climbs. The music situation needs work and drops the rating for me!"

Climbing Experience

Pros:

• "This gym is fab, absolutely massive, you could spend a full session here and still have routes leftover."
• "One of my favorite bouldering places in London. Large and airy centre and very creative route setting."
• "I've been to about 15 bouldering gyms across London and this is by far the best."
• "An amazing place! An introduction to climbing was given to myself and my ASD son (3.5 years old) by Kirill today."
• "What a great vibe. Amazing walls with routes that are updated often."
• "Great space - especially love the roof feature & really nice staff."
• "One of the best centres I've been to in London. The vibe, space, wall geometry, setting, facilities and cafe are all absolutely exceptional."
• "Love it here! It’s got so many great facilities and I love the setting. Some really interesting routes."

Cons:

• "Some big walls are missing routes, and those that do have filthy holds."
• "I’ve only used their yoga studio (I don’t climb), but so far it’s been a poor experience."
• "Kids enjoyed a supervised session while I climbed on my own. Very impressed with the centre and will come back."
• " Huge space with lots of fun to be had over two floors, modern setting with interesting problems, loved the cafe too and the changing rooms are hands down the nicest I've seen at any wall."
• "I have very mixed feelings about this climbing wall. I do like the space, the roof is really cool and I really enjoy the upstairs area with lots of slab climbing."
• "The main gym is reasonable, nothing majorly inventive from a setting standpoint however the 45 degree wall is a fantastic and just so lovely to have a long roof and worth a visit for it."
• "In the centres current state, I will not be returning as a paying customer to Substation with the culmination of issues as stated above."
• "Climbs were great and its amazing there is so much space. Please don't just use it to benefit one demographic of people."