Rock Up! The latest soft play in Town.

So this afternoon we decided to pop along to 'Rock Up' in Whiteley, Hampshire.

We walked past last week and saw the climbing walls (which by the way look awesome!) but didn't realise it was a soft play centre as well until we heard from a neighbour.

This was just what we wanted to hear! There are no soft play centres where we live, the nearest being a good 25 minute drive to Gosport or Fareham.

Rock Up is literally 12-15 minutes drive for us and is at a really central location of Whiteley shopping outlet, so there's lots more to do there including shopping, dining and a new cinema being built. There are parking zones with 3 hours free parking on top of this, a real bonus as this makes a trip to the soft play centre really affordable.

This review is purely of the soft play, not the rock climbing facilities, as we were not visiting for this purpose.

Tariffs:

On entry we didn't have to wait long, the tariffs for soft play are divided into peak and off peak charges and categorised for <6 months, pre walkers and walkers. 

<6 months are free
Pre walkers £2 
Walkers are £4 (off peak) or £5 (peak).

Peak times according to their website run from 3.30pm on a Friday until 6pm Sundays and on all bank holidays and school holidays.

The play area:

The soft play area is divided into two clear areas, the baby area which is from 0-2 years and the remaining area which is for those aged 2-5. The two areas are clearly marked with a big sign to highlight the baby area. Because Oscar is only 13 months I will be concentrating my attentions on the baby area as this is the part we used.

The baby area included a hovering ball feature, soft play foam pieces with various textures and patterns, some puzzles and books inside the play area, a ball pool and a slide (Oscar's favourite)

The baby area is nicely separated from the other area which is a real bonus. The area is not too large so you can easily keep an eye on your babies without having to enter the soft play yourself.

The only problem we had is that despite the areas being clearly labelled older children were entering the baby area, at times Oscar could not explore and play because older children were running up and down the foam slide stairs and circling the apararatus. On occasions I had to literally intervene to make sure he could use the facilities. There did not appear to be anyone monitoring the baby area to ensure age appropriate children were playing in there.

To be fair this is a problem we have seen in every soft play we have visited. Older children who are confident in the soft play seem to explore all areas of and don't appreciate that younger children in the baby and toddler sections might be a little more unstable. If parents do not ensure their children are playing in the correctly designated areas this can limit the experience for babies and toddlers who have their designated area of play especially at busy or peak times. Parents can of course accompany their little ones into the soft play which helps to alleviate this somewhat.

Facilities:

Rock Up had a cafe opposite the baby area which we just had to try having spotted a large chocolate fudge cake on the counter. We ordered a drink to share, some Pom bears for our little rascal and 2 large slices of cake (perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon!)

Service was very quick, the assistant was friendly and efficient and recommended the chocolate fudge cake. We found a table easily and there were plenty of high chairs to use. It was nice not to have to search/ look around for a high chair or have to pinch one from someone just as they're finishing their food. There were lots of high chairs available and they were neatly stored just adjacent to the cafe.

The cake was delicious! (if you're going along please try it) a goey chocolatey melt in your mouth cake with lots of chocolate buttercream. Yum!

The cafe was serving numerous hot cooked meals listed on the blackboard, paninis in in the counter and crisps, chocolates and snacks as well as a range of Ella's kitchen baby food pouches. So you could easily enjoy a lunch here as well as a visit to the soft play. There would be no need to venture outside of Rock Up to have lunch if you didn't wish to.

There was plenty of seating between the soft play and the rock climbing areas so you can watch the children play or climb the walls (whichever activity you're there for)

We didn't use the toilets or baby change so I cannot comment here.

Overview:

All in all we throughly enjoyed our visit to 'Rock Up', it's so nice to have a soft play centre nearby so this is definitely now our 'local'. The prices are competitive and a real plus is the location, there is 3 hour free parking (so no additional hidden costs to your visit) shops and restaurants are on site as 'Rock Up' is located inside the Whiteley Shopping Village. The luxury here is you can combine a soft play session with a trip to the shops or a lunch out with friends, 'Rock Up' is not situated on it's own or away from other facilities but is in the centre of the hub of Whiteley within the local community.

It makes a lovely place for families to meet and is refreshing to see such a fun and unique facility right on our doorstep. They're open as late as 6pm so perfect for a late afternoon play session (I've found most toddler groups run in the mornings or around lunchtime but haven't found much to do later in the day so a local soft play centre open until the early evening is ideal to make a fun filled afternoon)

They also offer children's birthday parties too!
http://www.rock-up.co.uk/parties/

'Rock Up' certainly gets the thumbs up from us! Welcome to the neighbourhood :)