Costa Coffee at the Leisure Centre

[girlfriend44]

The cafe at the local leisure Centre and Pool is a Costa and its very expensive.
AiBU to think it dosent really fit in that venue anyway.

Didn't we just used to have vending machines etc and shouldn't there be free water at a place where they are doing gym and sport and swimming?

Do you really want to sit down for an expensive coffee and cake when you've been in the gym?
All added expense etc, the kids drinks are really expensive too.

What do you have at your local pool/gym etc?
The cafe is the only waiting area too?

You can have a coffee without a cake. And vending machine coffee is usually horrible.

Our local “council” leisure centres mostly have their own cafes which are a bit greasy spoon but ok for a hot drink. My last gym had its own cafe which went down hill after lockdown when they went from freshly preparing food to everything pre made and then paninis or toasties were cooked (they used to be nicely served with salad and crisps but then came just plonked on a plate) . Current gym is in a hotel which has a Starbucks in the foyer.

They will give you cold water for free

Costa isn’t the best, but have you never been to Starbucks? I refuse to get coffee from there any more as it always tastes burnt - possibly because it’s designed to have all the sugary flavoured crap in it for people who don’t like coffee.

We have a lovely independent cafe in my gym (which is a low cost PFI/council place with amazin facilities) run by an Italian guy called Gino who makes the best coffee I have ever tasted. I think it's about 2.50 a cup.

Ours used to have the vending machine for hot drinks at reasonable prices, then it upgraded to costa and its omg.

Wrong. https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/19210946.remember-chip-vending-machine-bath-road-stroud/

And https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fry_vending_machine

We have no idea.

Maybe talk to someone who could do something about it, rather than randoms on mumsnet.

I'm intrigued by the French Fry vending machine that's apparently from the 1960's when apparently they weren't invented until 1982?

Ahh @teenysaladandsniffofarose I thought I was the only one! Tea only for me there.

Well it could be worse and be a Starbucks , you would need a second mortgage for a coffee there.

Costa would be a lot better than the shit cafe we used to have at our leisure centre. Or vending machines and nowhere to sit!

A Costa is much better than a crappy vending machine or a cafe selling machine coffee. I think it helps attract people as lots of users at my leisure centre meet there after swimming or classes for coffee or lunch.

True but then for better prices and to make it more affordable to all, a basic cafe model would be better than Costa prices'

That’s someone recollecting

I posted a National newspaper article

member Marion Hearfield said they had received one reply.

😂

I went to a pool that had a similar style vending set up. There was a kitchen behind and they would fill the slots from the back and you'd put your money in and open the little door. Like a FEBO ( Dutch place where you buy hot food from a vending machine).

Definitely prefer a Costa over a bad coffee machine.

Love the costa at my gym.

Much nicer than those souless vending machines with their plastic cups. I would rather do without.

Don't blame Costa.

The contracting out of leisure centres is the issue, and the impacts are far worse than an expensive cup of coffee.

Highlight of school holiday day for my DCs is swimming at the leisure centre followed by their lunch. Not Costa but they do have good coffee. They also have a soft play and a clip-and-climb so parents need something to do while waiting I suppose!

Of all the silly things that people complain about on Mumsnet, this has to take the prize.

The Daily Mail are wrong, then - whoever could have guessed that?

The one reported on there definitely isn’t a world first. Here’s an article from another national source that proves it http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/8653364.stm