Overview

I was in a group of 10. There was 3 carers and 7 elderly people 4 of whom have dementia and needed constant supervision. We had 3 in wheelchairs and the rest were walking...the actual exhibition was amazing and everyone in our group was absolutely mesmerised and thoroughly enjoyed watching all the sealife, nobody fell asleep or asked to go home, they just had an amazing day out. However, when we first arrived at The Deep we had just had a 2 hour journey which is a very long journey for our clients whose ages ranged from 80- 96 and all everyone wanted when we got there was a cup of tea! We found the café and so nobody was separated we pushed 2 tables together so we could all sit round them together. We also had with us a bag of snacks as one of the people we were caring for was a diabetic... I put the bag on a table while I was arranging the wheelchairs and were just sitting down when a member of staff came over to us and said " you can't eat a picnic in here" we said we weren't having a picnic and was just going to have a cup of tea and then they said " and you can't put tables together either" ...this caused some difficulty for us trying to arrange our clients around 3 separate tables. One carer went to fetch the drinks for everyone which left 2 carers looking after 7 residents who were all spread out across separate tables and all had varying needs. There was no negotiation and the staff concerned insisted we had separate tables or we would have to leave. This was not helpful or supportive and I felt put a real dampener in the visit. It was very busy and I know staff would be under pressure, but so were we as carers trying to give our clients a nice day out. Overall it was a brilliant day out but the attitude of the staff was really disappointing and they didn't meet the needs of our group.

Transport & Parking

We hired a coach that could accommodate 3 wheelchairs for our disabled clients

Access

We brought our own wheelchairs with us

Toilets

It was easy to find, there was no soap for hand washing but we managed ok with our own wet wipes and sanitiser. It was very busy though as it was the school holidays

Staff

Some were really kind and helpful but some were unpleasant and made assumptions that we were trying to eat a picnic in the café when they spotted a bag of snacks which we brought along for a diabetic in our group! And then refused to let us move 2 tables together to make enough table space for our disabled group.

Photos

Venue Manager responded to this review

Dear Mariah, we are very sorry to hear about the issues you experienced in the café, but we really appreciate you reaching out with feedback from your recent visit. We always strive to work with our visitors to ensure that space within our catering areas is accessible and for those who choose to bring in their own food, we are more than happy to accommodate. There is limited space within our café areas, particularly when it is busy in the attraction, however we will always do our best to make room for visitors who wish to be seated together. We generally ask that tables do not be pushed together to allow space for visitors with push chairs or large mobility aids to move through the café easily, and to ensure that key access points such as fire exits are not blocked off for health and safety purposes. Usually, our team work with a lead in the group to assess the most suitable space depending on the size of the party. We understand that our main café at this time of the year can also be very busy during peak times, which is why we do encourage visitors to make use of our picnic area within the attraction and also the seating at the Halfway Café. We would like to thank you again for providing us with feedback from your recent visit, it is greatly appreciated and will be used to help ensure that our standards of service are continually improved for visitors. Understandably, this may not have changed the experience you have had with us, but we do hope we can welcome you back again in the future.