Whitley Bay Ice Rink Reviews Summary

Skate Rental

Pros:

• "Very cheap skate rental."
• "Some of the rental skates are fine."

Cons:

• "The skates shrank your feet by at least 2 sizes and the blades were so blunt."
• "The rented skates were completely blunt, and when I pointed it out, I was told it is for health and safety reasons."
• "Skates are hanging on for dear life just like the building."
• "The rental ice skates are in terrible condition, some have Brown rust on them as well as scratches all over."
• "The hire skates were awful and should have been retired years ago."
• "Hire boots never been sharpened EVER went through 4 pairs for each of my two children not a single edge on the blades."
• "Expensive with old and rusty skates."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Great friendly staff."
• "The staff were friendly however during some days."
• "Over all the staff are amazing and will help you out if you need it."
• "Everyone was very nice and the man at the skates box very polite after asking him to change our skates for like 3 times."
• "Really friendly staff and the rink was great and well cared for."
• "Staff here are really friendly."
• "Thumbs up to the young gentleman who was helping in one of the shops..Well done."

Cons:

• "Honestly terrible staff even said people dont last more than twenty mins on the ice."
• "The lady on reception was very abrupt."
• "The manager was very unhelpful and ignored us."
• "Terrible attitude and service !!!!!!!!!!!! 0 stars we visited for a family birthday and had 8yo twins one with autism."
• "The old woman was making every excuse to not have out money back."
• "The way we were spoken to by an old woman, who worked behind the desk was vile."
• "The abrupt and rude staff basically tried fobbing me off while a cheeky old man stood doing the same."

Facility Condition

Pros:

• "Proper old school ice rink - ice quality is great overall however not the best by the boards as the ice layer slowly declines there."
• "Great rink, excellent catering facilities (non vegan)."
• "The actual ice rink is great & everyone was friendly & the skaters had fun."
• "It's also a reasonably big rink and while it isn't new it's perfectly functional."
• "Nice place to skate. Good prices."
• "The small cafe was friendly and good."
• "It's an old ice rink that's a little bit tired but it's the only one on Tyneside and it supports figure skating lessons, public skating and the only ice hockey team in area."

Cons:

• "Stuck in the 1980's practically no investment since, it's a dive the only reason you end up there is there's no alternative."
• "The place itself stinks of wee everything’s rusty smells."
• "And seems like the top of the building will collapsed soon."
• "The whole place is dire. It is quite expensive for a family and the whole place needs a revamp and clean up."
• "The toilets are a health hazard. The smell is so bad you can taste it and its difficult to breathe."
• "The rink has a dangerously large dip around the outside which leads to falls."
• "The whole place was minging."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "£7 for a 2 hour session is good value."
• "Great value for money, especially at a time of year when all of these pop up ice rinks charge more for one hour that Whitley Bay does for two."
• "Prices are quite good in comparison to other activities in the area."

Cons:

• "Conclusion: you pay for very bad quality skating boots that will kill your feet."
• "The whole place is dire. It is quite expensive for a family and the whole place needs a revamp and clean up."
• "The food and drinks are overpriced for what they are."
• "I unfortunately had to pay £1.70 for a 500ml bottle of coke.... I'm sure you can buy a 2ltr bottle for less."
• "It costs 7.50 to get in but they claim they can't take anything less than £10 on card for undisclosed reasons."
• "Expensive with old and rusty skates."
• "Completely worn out. Needs a complete revamp and huge investment."