Review Visit | Manchester Ice Rink at Media City

Last weekend we were invited over to Media City in Manchester to try out the recently installed Manchester Ice Rink. A temporary ice rink set up as part of the Winter Village at Media City, it's completely under cover and family-friendly, with plenty of seating and space for spectators.

Manchester Ice Rink is very easy to get to, a couple of minutes walk away from the Media City Tram Stop. You can see it on the right hand side, just before your tram pulls in.

When you go inside, the ticket office is to the left, and the Retreat bar area is to the right, with lots of benches for changing footwear in the middle. It's a really big space and wasn't at all cramped, even though loads of people were changing at once. It is understandably noisy though.

My boys have only been ice skating a couple of times before, and I'm not really up to falling over spectacularly, so my daughter and her boyfriend came with us to help on the ice and have some Winter fun.

The Ice Rink is through the doors, and there were loads of staff on hand. I was really impressed at the level of supervision, and the care and attention paid to guests. Almost every time someone fell over, or even if they looked unstable for a while, a member of staff would check on them.

They were offering advice and help,whereas previously I've always thought of ice rink staff to be there for maintaining order and stopping rowdy big people from tripping over little ones. It was really nice, and appreciated by all of my lot.

There are a couple of benches near the ice, plus obviously a lot of seating in the Retreat and shoe change area, but for luxury go through the doors at the right into corridor and along to the 'Manchester Ice Rink Spectator Lounge'. I don't know if it's called that, but it should be.

Inside are several large tables, loads of space and that all-important view of the ice rink. The whole venue is temporary, and housed in canvas and plastic, so you will probably need your coat on, but it was comfortably warm and popular with people on babysitting duty while the rest of the family skated.

There's a good view of the ice and you can even take clear photos when it isn't raining. Skaters can't see you as well as you can see them though, and definitely can't hear you, so you'll have to tell your friends and family where you'll be or they might not find you.

Every hour the ice is swept down and this was a great time to try out Retreat to see what was on offer. The choice of drinks is brilliant and it's really festive! My daughter went for warm cider, which she thought was the perfect drink to go with skating, whereas my partner is adamant his mulled wine wins.

My 11 year old and my daughter's boyfriend both chose hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and there really was something so perfect about that. Draft beers, soft drinks and even hot Vimto are also available. Bellies warmed and rested, they were all keen to get back out there.

There are a number of the penguin and other animal-shaped characters for novice children to use for support, and both my boys had plenty of opportunity to use one. It did really help, especially when one of them had fallen and lost confidence a bit.

We all had a great time, and the verdict on the rink is that it was a really nice surface to skate on. The boots haven't given anyone blisters and everything seemed nicely done, and very clean. The staff really were just lovely, everyone was grinning and it was a lovely atmosphere.

My one downside would be that they do not have a toilet, so you have to put your outdoor shoes on and go to Pret-A-Manger next door. However, Pret-A Manger really didn't mind, and it's only a few steps, so it's only a niggle. I'd advise you make sure you go beforehand - especially with youngsters.

Manchester Ice Rink at MediaCityUK is open to the public until 5th January 2020. Monday – Friday: 3:00pm – Last Skate Session ends 20:45. Saturday and Sunday (and school Christmas holidays): 10:00am – Last Skate Session ends 21:00. “The Retreat” is open to everyone. Happy hour offers from 5pm till 7pm  Monday to Friday

Prices for an hour £13 Adults / £11 children / £40 family of four. Students tickets are £10, and only available in person at the rink from Monday to Thursday up to December 21st. ID must be shown. All tickets add £1 booking fee. 

To book in advance and to find more information, see manchestericerink.com

We were guests of Manchester Ice Rink to review.