Hastings Aquarium Reviews Summary

Accessibility

Pros:

• "Parking is nearby on the sea front and is all day, but can be expensive."
• "Parking was easy and couldn't have parked any closer."
• "Parking on site so no walking and you can exit and come back as many times as you like during the day without paying again."
• "Pushchairs can be left in a pushchair parking bay inside if required."
• "Apart from one small section of the aquarium which involves steps down to the underwater viewing tunnel, there is disabled access across the rest of the building as it is on one level."
• "The aquarium is wheelchair accessible and the staff are very friendly and helpful."
• "You can park at the area (at a fee of course), finish the tour, and head to the beach if you want."

Cons:

• "No disabled access for the Tunnel which was extremely disappointing as had to leave a family member by the exit while I took the children."
• "There's also no buggy / disabled access (steps only) to the under water tunnel which is a shame."
• "Disabled access good except for steps up and down to underwater tunnel."
• "No disabled access for the tunnel, I'm on a mobility scooter so I had to sit by the exit and wait for my family."
• "Very disappointed... No disabled access for the tunnel."
• "We clearly had a child in a special needs large buggy and yet at no point was it mentioned at the front desk that there are steps down to and back up from the tube."
• "There are steps down and up from the huge perspex pipe that you can walk through and see the fish all around you. This makes it difficult if you have a pushchair and impossible if you are a wheelchair user."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Good price for the size specially when you look at prices of other aquariums."
• "Better value for money if you buy a triple ticket which includes admission to the castle and the Smugglers Experience also."
• "We used our Tesco vouchers which worked out well."
• "I would suggest getting an annual pass as it's good value and if you have young kids then you'll be back again."
• "Plus with unlimited entry for the day ticket makes brilliant value for money."
• "Tickets are roughly £10 for an adult which seems reasonable enough."
• "The family ticket is reasonably priced, and the shop sells a few interesting items."

Cons:

• "Absolutely disgraceful pricing. Really not worth the money."
• "It's a nice Aquarium but, it's very small. Took less than 20 minutes to do a quick walk round... for the extortionate price it is not worth it."
• "A great shame the entry price is relatively high for such a small venue."
• "Considering it took us less than an hour to walk around and that was taking our time, it is far too expensive for what it is."
• "What a disappointing attraction. This attraction is far too small and in no way is this reflected in the price of the tickets."
• "I don't feel the price was correct either. I wouldn't visit again, especially for that price."
• "The price is a bit expensive if you think that you are not spending more than 30 minutes in your visit even if you comeback in the same day especially because the toy shop is really expensive, London prices!"

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Staff were very friendly and welcoming."
• "Finally, the staff is super friendly and welcoming - Fred and Liam are AMAZING, thanks guys for such a great job!"
• "On arrival was greeted to a lovely young lady who was very helpful and polite."
• "The staff were friendly and knowledgeable, the tanks clean and stocked to show off happy, well care for fish."
• "The staff also super friendly."
• "Staff very friendly and will help you if you want more information."
• "All staff are super friendly, welcoming & helpful."

Cons:

• "Staff could have been a little more child friendly when my 3 year old son was talking about all the animals he knew to the cashier she didn't seem overly interested in him."
• "The lack of knowledge of the staff makes a difference."
• "Very little 'interactive' stuff, no staff around to ask questions."
• "1 rude assistant who appeared more interested in cleaning her worktop & abrupt manner than any customers."
• "Unfortunately the woman on the front desk came across quite rude."
• "The experience in the sea life centre was good, however the cafe was dirty, no clean tables, and was not even busy. Asked the girl behind counter if she could wipe our table. It seemed too much trouble and her whole attitude was rude and arrogant."
• "Staff very unwelcoming."

Facilities and Exhibits

Pros:

• "Lovely aquarium, with amazing animals and enclosures."
• "Lovely little place with beautiful big fish tank, which you can admire from every angle."
• "Lovely aquarium with clean tanks, beautiful creatures, and some amazing exhibits I’ve never seen before, like the giant clam."
• "Great walk through tunnel under the big ocean tank. Sharks swimming over head was a good experience."
• "Took my Mum and sister and Nephew here as it was raining. Glad we came, an excellent assortment of fish in nice habitats."
• "A brilliant aquarium with great variety of sea creatures and reptiles."
• "This is a beautiful aquarium with a wide variety of sealife all clearly displayed."

Cons:

• "I was disappointed that the giant octopus was missing, one of the attractions we had told our granddaughter about."
• "Very small inside, 35 minutes and you're done!"
• "It's a great little aquarium, nothing on the scale of sealife centres but definitely able to squeeze an hour out of it!"
• "The stapled on images of fish were pretty scruffy and budget."
• "Underwater tunnel very underwhelming."
• "Noticed that a few of the smaller displays were too high for young kids to properly see."
• "The whole place is just a bit tired and needs updating to offer value for money."