Withdean Sports Complex - (Near East Sussex, UK)

3 /5 Giulia Paps: Went to the Level Up soft play but I wasnt really impressed. The main soft play is on a few levels opposite a small area with 4-5 tables, but once the kids go in you cant really see them. The ball pit is made of giant transparent soft balls but better suited to the older kids as little ones get stuck between the balls (so may get a bit scared). From the seating area you can see the Toddler area inside, it has a small trampoline but the whole area is quite small so older toddlers tend to get bored quickly (my 3 year old lasted 10 minutes) and want to go in the other section which isnt really suitable for 2-4 year olds. Also the cafe and snacks bar is OUTSIDE the soft play room (in the main reception) so you cant just get a coffee/snack/water while the kids play. You have to get the kids out of the soft play, walk out of the room to the main reception, get what you need and then go back to the soft play room. It didnt quite work for us.

5 /5 IGK I (Daydreamer): This is best leisure center for Brighton even without a swimming pool. It has gym, indoor-outdoor tennis courts, modernized gym, football-running field, many squash courts, many special classrooms, sauna, a pub and even climbing wall…. Some more maybe I’m not aware. Big free parking space. Staff very friendly and problem solver. Clean, warm and not annoying busy. Open till 10 pm. What else; go and try for free! They have plenty options for membership. Go for it you’ll not regret it!!!

1 /5 Joanne: As someone who visits Brighton several times a year, I usually choose this gym because of its convenient location. In the past, my experiences have generally been positive. Unfortunately, my most recent visit was very disappointing. A front-of-house staff member wrongly accused me of not paying—an issue I quickly resolved by showing proof on my bank app. However, what was most upsetting was the rude, dismissive, and unprofessional manner in which I was spoken to. I would strongly urge management to provide proper customer service training so staff can handle interactions with members in a more respectful and professional way.

3 /5 Claudia Pritchard: Great complex with excellent facilities but the receptionist was unnecessarily rude and obnoxious. Maybe she was having a bad day but when I pointed out that the parking machine possibly wasn’t working and taking a long time to load, I got a snappy “well, are you here for more than three hours?” and “It’s fine, you were being impatient”. I was treated as an irritation and the response was totally unprofessional.

1 /5 Grace: I am writing to formally complain about the completely unacceptable experience I had at Withdean Sports Complex this evening. Yesterday, I specifically phoned ahead to check whether the track would be open and available for use this evening. I explained clearly that I intended to come down to train, and I was explicitly assured that the track had no events on and therefore would be open and that I would be able to use it without issue. Based on that assurance, I attended this evening, paid to use the track and began my warm-up. During that warm-up, I was interrupted on three separate occasions and repeatedly told to leave the track. The reason given was not that the track was booked or in use for an event, but simply that there was no event on that evening and therefore your team did not want to turn the floodlights on. This is despite the fact that the floodlights had been turned on just five minutes earlier and were then switched back off again. I find this completely unreasonable. I paid £6.15 at the front desk on arrival to use the track. At no point was I informed - either during my phone call yesterday or at the point of payment - that track use was conditional on there being an event, or that lighting would be withheld at management’s discretion. To make matters worse, the manager’s solution was to suggest I use the gym instead - I did not come here to use the gym when I could have used a gym for free at home. I paid specifically for track access, which I was denied after being assured it would be available. I was also repeatedly told that it was a “health and safety hazard” for me to run in the dark. Yet, despite this supposed concern, once I made it very clear to your team member that I would not be leaving (given Id paid to use the track and already been assured that it was open for use), I was allowed to continue running in the dark for over an hour. This contradiction seriously undermines the health and safety argument that was being used to justify removing me from the track in the first place. In summary: I was assured in advance that the track would be available; I paid to use the track; I was repeatedly interrupted and told to leave purely because your team did not want to switch the floodlights on, citing "health and safety" concerns; The decision to leave the floodlights off presumably to save costs, despite my continued use of the track, demonstrates a blatant disregard for health and safety and exposes a troubling inconsistency in how risk is assessed and managed on site; I was offered a gym as a substitute for a service I did not pay for; and Health and safety was cited inconsistently and unconvincingly (if your team were so concerned about health and safety, they surely should have just kept the lights on) This experience was frustrating, disruptive, and entirely avoidable. I expect a clear explanation of why paying customers are permitted to use the track only at your discretion, why staff are providing misleading information, and what steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again.