Indoor Play Centre

[Motherandbusiness]

Hi All!
I hope everyone is managing to keep safe!

I am interested in setting up my own Indoor Play centre in Surrey, after being to so many with my two children (5 and 3) I really feel like I can create something that both Children and Parent's will love.

Just wondering what is important to you all when choosing to go to an indoor play/ soft play centre? (If you go at all)!

Hello,
High standards of hygiene
Separate area for younger children (baby/toddler area)
Adequate heating and air con, the one we go to is cold in winter and boiling in summer, always one extreme or the other.
Good selection of snacks and drinks

Also parking

I have never been to one that's warm enough in Winter

No music playing. It's not needed and just adds to the overwhelming noise level.

Decent coffee and clean loos.

Decent coffee and a decaf option.
Definitely good cleanliness, especially the toilets being cleaned/checked regularly throughout the day.
Supervision of the baby/toddler area to make sure older children aren’t in there.
Healthy drinks and snacks, plus homemade cakes.
Enough table and chairs.
A low down sink in the toilets for children to wash their hands properly.
We have a brilliant place in a nearby town that’s run by a charity and if it were nearer we would visit a lot more often. It has an outside play area too that is always well used.

Nice dampened down acoustics.
Healthy, delicious snack plates for kids with fresh organic food. Natural light and pale colours, not all this tin noise and primary colours. So unpleasant for adults.

All on one level so you can sit looking into the soft play with a coffee but not have to go in.

The most classy one is Rheged in Penrith.

Not charging £4 for a machine made coffee or £1.50 for juice.

Natural light and pale colours, not all this tin noise and primary colours.

I agree with this.
One of the best soft plays in my area is fantastic for kids but honestly an eye sore.

Decent food and drinks - esp coffee (loyalty card) Meal deals.
Homemade cakes/brownies etc.
Toilet checked regularly.
No loud music.
Baby section cornered off properly to save older children coming in.
Comfortable seats for parents.
A big enough gap between seating area and the actual soft play.
Natural light.
Autism nights. (These have been popular in my area recently)
Membership scheme.
Lockers.
Role play area.
Sensory room/area

Tables that are constantly cleared and floors that are swept. Friendly staff who actually like kids. Easy parking. Bins that are not overflowing. Loyalty card. Monthly discount membership.

I'd add that the play structure itself needs to be big so that it's entertaining for the children - not just one route up to the slide & done.

Also make sure it's constructed so that adults can use & move around it if they need to supervise younger children or get to an injured/upset child. One near us has made the back-forth levels too narrow for most adults & no steps to the upper level. If I needed to get up there I'd probably have to climb the slide!

If you make a separate baby/toddler section put in small slides etc, not just a handful of sit on foam toys/ ball pit.

Cleanliness & Hygeine & whether everything is safe.

Natural light - would be great but the sun usually fades items like softplay so careful placement to make sure you don't ruin your investment.
There is a reason primary colours are used. It's good for the children, they recognise the colours, they are learning them and know them, it's educational. Jump to the red bit is easier for kids than jump to the pale aqua bit.
Pick an age range. Don't have kids aged 1-14 together.
Think about the size of your equipment and if you want the option to do things like adult party evenings.
Keep food simple and don't overcharge for basic stuff.
Pick an accessible site via public transport. Lots of one car families now with people feeling the squeeze. In the week if the car is unavailable, accessibility is key.

Warm floor. Everyone has their shoes off.

The best soft play place I think we've been to is a cafe and play place in Kingsbridge in Devon. Quite small, but great. Front half of the place has seating and counter with sandwiches/cakes etc. Back half separated with a low gate, then soft flooring with a small soft play climbing frame on one side and lots of toys and books over the rest of the space. DS and I were in there 3 hours, easy. He loved playing with the toys and one of the tricycles rather than the soft play. I could see him the whole time from my table and spent my time drinking nice coffee and reading a book. And at lunchtime all the kids came and sat at their respective tables and had sandwiches and fruit (kids lunch offer). I'm sad we don't live anywhere nearby!

Bumble, it's called. Great place.

I'm always gutted when there's a mahoosive food area and the child play bits are squashed to the sides.
Um... what's this called and who is it for?!!

I've been to one recently that has a 3 and under section with a gate on it so no escapes, my friend with twins loves it also as really handy to keep the mayhem locked in when we're all together 🤣

It's Clean
Engaging Staff
Good food

We have one near us which is fab, it's quite small but great value for money. They have one side which is soft play (usually £3.50 entry but often have weekday deals of either £5.50 for after school play and a meal or £1-2 entry). They have another room mainly used for parties but mon-fri they also use it for a stay and play playgroup - £2 entry 9:30-11 with a cuppa for the adults and toast for the toddlers. My DD loves it when we go as it's just a huge room filled with toys and books, when it's finished they let you into soft play for nothing as well which was a great way to introduce it to DD as I didn't have to commit to a full session.

There's another play centre near us which is beautiful, has lots of natural light and is designed as more of a imagination centre (lots of role playing toys rather than soft play). They have beautiful home made cakes and artisan hot drinks but it's more expensive at around £8 a visit (before drinks/cake) so it's a rare treat that we go there. Even though the cheaper option is louder and more full on I'm much more likely to visit there regularly because of value for money!

My Dd always comes back from soft play with a cold ….so strict hygiene

Sorry to be a pessimist, but don’t do it! Heating bills for a large place like a softplay is going to put so many out of business in the next 6 months to a year.

@MishWoking

Sorry to be a pessimist, but don’t do it! Heating bills for a large place like a softplay is going to put so many out of business in the next 6 months to a year.

Yeah I think this too.

Warm
Clean
Good coffee with plant based milk available.
Baby area with actual toys in it.
Fruit for sale to eat
Adults allowed in to big kids area.
Clean toilets that don't smell.
Enough parking.
Warm (putting this twice as they are always freezing).

Have you considered a role play village instead or as well?

Haven't read all the other posts, but the general things like safety/ hygiene etc. But also I definitely agree with no loud music. Either really quiet or none. I struggle with sensory issues especially loud noises and this would be amazing for me.
Also a few tub armchairs or sofas are more comfortable for parents.

My son is 5 but can be quite worried about not being able to see me so having some seating close to the older children's area would be great, as my son will happily play on his own along as he can see me and wave to me etc.

Hope all goes well for your new business.

Good visibility of the play area and the exit. There's one near us where the seating area is the opposite side from the exit, which is well hidden by the frame. Your kid could easily get out and you wouldn't know. I hate it and don't go willingly but it's popular for parties 😭

Added to that actually, there's one we go to where you can only get out if he staff let you out (they have a button under their desk). Much better than places where they expect parents to lock the gates behind them - there are an incredible number of parents who don't!

@Legoisthebest

No music playing. It's not needed and just adds to the overwhelming noise level.

I disagree - I would have some calming background music on, just not the radio or anything that’s loud!