Jolly Roger Adventure, Swindon

booked my sons birthday party for 13 (unlucky...i should have known) children and all was going well, food the same old stuff i've come to expect from these places but the kids seemed happy enough, good choice of play equipment and the staff we dealt with during the party were very polite and helpful. when the party ended we took 10 mins to get the kids bibs off, shoes on, party bagged and handed over to mums and dads. Another ten minutes wiping the tables, scraping off plates, picking up rubbish and returning any crockery and equipment to a member of staff. My 72 year old dad had a 3/4 hour drive home so we vacated the party room and went and bought a coffee (another tenner gone) when within 5 minutes a really rude young lady mob handed with two other members of staff basically told us to get out our party had finished. i explained we'd just spent most of the time after the party cleaning up for her and had just bought a round of drinks before we set off. we eventually got her to conceed that after selling us drinks they could at least let us finish them and whilst we did so we'd gather up the the four kids. after ten mins we were just putting on the kids shoes when a young gentleman strolled up to our table brandishing what i am assuming was a list of the play centre rules and said in a really loud voice " it's gonna be another 4.60 per child or were gonna call the police". I couldn't believe their attitude, as i stood up to leave i said could i just explain to him why i was feeling aggreeved at the moment and he basically said no it didn't matter we had to leave now and he wouldn't let me speak at all. i was made to feel like a criminal, the girl who obv thought it was a bit of excitement in her otherwise day couln't stop shouting "i've called the police" ,"i've called the police" talk about over kill, i don't like raising my voice but i find it infuriating when common sense is completely ignored and "jobsworth" mode goes into play. I for one will never step foot in the place again which is such a shame because until that point my son and his friend had a lovely time. this seems to be a problem when you give youngsters with no training on how and when it's appropriate to apply the rules. They have no people skills whatsoever .

We visit the Jolly Roger every now and again, it’s very handy in wet weather. In busy times the play time is limited to an hour and a half which is a bit short so we try and come at the quiet times (early morning at the weekend is good). There is lots for the kids to play on but the games machines cost extra so I try and avoid these. The food at the café is OK and the seating area is a good size. Parking is quite limited though so you may find it difficult to get a space during the holidays.

This is a large soft play area and is probably the oldest one in Swindon. It’s a bit scruffy in places and the décor could do with tidying up but the kids have great fun here and it’s the only soft play area in Swindon with bouncy castles. There is also a vertical drop slide which my son was desperate to go on but they only open this at certain times of the day depending on what staff they have in. We waited until lunchtime then had to leave which was a bit of a disappointment.