North Herts Leisure Centre

This place is going more and more downhill every time I go it seems. I spent 20 minutes on the phone waiting for an answer this afternoon and eventually gave up. Would have been quicker to drive down and enquire. The cafe is awful with incompetent and rude staff that clearly don't want to be there. The food is below average. The swimming teachers are great, but that's really the only good thing I have to say currently. It's a shame as there is such potential for this place, but the staff just seem uninterested. Also, the chairs in the learning pool are in shocking condition. A good amount of then are broken and have been taped off for weeks and weeks. There aren't usually enough seats for parents to sit down.

Our swim teacher for our 2 year olds is great. The centre management is abysmal. In today's lesson, 12 of us were crammed into a third of the training pool, while 3 children used the other 2/3. This has happened over the past month. I called to complain about the lack of space and - after being cut off three times - was told by (presumably) a manager, that we should be grateful that we normally have so much space and that we should get used to it. It's a shame that the people who respond to the many negative reviews understand so many people's concerns, yet noone acts on them.

We also visited on Easter Sunday and it is interesting to read that another visitor had the same impression of the reception staff. I have submitted a complaint to the centre directly and was offered a free return visit. However, I would not return after our last visit. My husband asked to speak to a duty manager about the attitudes of the reception staff and unbeknownst to them, my mother heard the reception staff and the duty manager laughing about him and the complaint as she was leaving the centre. There are many other young people out there that would probably jump at the chance of employment. It is concerning that despite several complaints (as seen in other reviews) the centre would choose to to employ these individuals in front-facing roles, as they are the first point of contact for customers and therefore shape the initial impression of the facility. Had we not already paid, we would have chosen to leave. The changing rooms for significantly better than our first visit a few years ago. They no longer smell like raw sewage.

Reception staff are unfriendly and far too busy on their phones. I appreciate it’s Easter Sunday and you probably wish you was off work today, but a little smile and manners go along way. New changing rooms look great however the floor around the pool is awful and full of dirt / hairs. Improve your reception staff and get some cleaners and you can achieve a better star review. Seems like these issues have been consistent for months based on other reviews