Kingfisher Leisure Centre

Fantastic experience: Well kept equipment , helpful staff and good facilities

Negative experience: The worst Santa experience ever so so depressing no Christmas experience at all no gift! No arts and craft , no shelter to spend 30 minutes with the reindeers and only one reindeer ate carrots !! Nothing was as stated on their post on Facebook !! just a dark hall with Santa behind some boards it’s scared my daughter so much she ran out please do not go here all the parents in our session was just as upset waste of money and time truly disappointing and depressing

Positive experience: Soft play area is perfect for little ones. Lovely place, friendly staff. Good value for money

Fantastic experience: Especially good for weekend with family.

Fantastic experience: A great place for a good workout. Nice friendly staff

Negative experience: staff are very rude and not polite

Fantastic experience: Always a treat to go there, very good Gym with help and advice from the staff, good range of opening hours.

Positive experience: I go to kingfishers with my club and everything is amazing the lifeguards and other workers are splendid and kind also the slide is great but on thing they was gum on my changing room door but overall it was amazing

Fantastic experience: Staff very friendly and helpful and it's very clean has lots to offer to family and all ages it's so worthwhile to give a visit

Positive experience: A decent swimming pool at a fair price. You have to pay to park, but this is free on a bank holiday.

Fantastic experience: Decent place, watched someone else swim.

Fantastic experience: Better than Colchester's leisure world. Cleaner with better changing facilities especially for disabled people.

Negative experience: Dirty floors,kids running and not being told not to by lifeguards parents walking with dirty shoes around pool area?!

Positive experience: Me the wife and 3 year old go to the floats and fun and really enjoy it

Fantastic experience: Great swimming pool, 2 slides, eaves, floats and good shallow to deep areas

Positive experience: Really good facilities and clean

Fantastic experience: Great for a swim & the staff were helpful. Update 19/02/24: I had a scary experience that occurred here, but the staff were very apologetic & friendly. I also received a free months membership for my troubles, which was very kind of them.

Negative experience: Arrived to be told that softplay times that were advertised were cut short due to a booked party with no notification on booking. We would have booked another local softplay with 2 hours of play had we known (we were limited to an hour and booking said 90 minutes). Insufficient staff - waited 10 minutes to be served (which I wouldn't mind but to have no apology and a rude member of staff serve added insult to injury). We will avoid and go to the other softplay in future.

Negative experience: The website and app are a joke. Half broken and badly managed. You can become a member in a few minutes but you can't use the facilities until you've had an induction. The Junior inductions are all within school hours. Genius. You can't set up a child's account using your own email as suggested by the website/app. It will instead complain that email is already in use. So you need to use a separate email for each child. Then when you can add them to your family to presumably book activities together, which takes forever to sort as it keeps crashing out. When you finally get it sorted, you can't actually book as a group anyway. So you end up trying to book each account separately. All are compounded by the fact nobody answers the phone!

Fantastic experience: Moderne complex.good snacks.beverafes.good services.

Positive experience: Quite a few of the treadmills and bikes are out of order and have been for some time since joining around 4 months ago. I'm not sure how often the gym is cleaned as the machines always seem quite dusty. Also the fact that children are allowed in the gym section is really off putting as they just mess around on machines. The swimming pool is decent with ample changing rooms. Sauna has been out of order since joining which is very disappointing. App is good and easy to use - I've done a couple of classes. Clubbercise and Zumba are absolutely amazing with Ellen, and I really enjoy aqua aerobics! Overall a decent gym just needs to be properly maintained.

Fantastic experience: Lovely helpful young lady/life guard on desk as first time of visiting was very polite .went on 4th of Jan at 1.30pm with my daughter loved it

Positive experience: Good gym area, and canteen, but the swimming pool and sauna area really do need renovating. I do hope this will be something Kingfisher plans on doing in the near future for the community and its customers.

Negative experience: Took our 3 yr old grandson today because it was too cold for outdoor activities. No heating on in the soft play, absolutely freezing, no explanation from the disinterested staff, despite taking the £7.00 admission charge. Not good enough! Need to do better!!

Positive experience: The Leisure Centre is very clean and in a good location with plenty of parking. The gym equipment however is old, and there are no mirrors, so you can't check your posture when you're using free weights.

Fantastic experience: Great fun, we took our 8 year old granddaughter, she had been before and loved it, we went to the 12 o'clock wet and wild and stayed in for an hour and a half so the wave machine went on twice which was fab, plenty of floats and rings and also a big inflatable obstacle course, would deff recommend.

Positive experience: Went to soft play. So nice because you could see your children all the time.

Negative experience: Annoyed that in the kingfisher play area they taking card only in the cafe area. This is very limiting. Wanted to get a drink for my daughter and they don't take cash. I do not wish all to be tracked & traced just to purchase a drink. Cash is King. Very controlling.

Positive experience: The Kingfisher pool is great for kids and well designed for those learning to swim. The pool looks like it needs a bit of TLC with missing tiles etc. but that seems to be the case for every public building/institution. However, the website and booking system is possibly the worst designed UI i've ever encountered - how could anyone possibly get away with being paid for designing such a thing? IJL Web Solutions and Legend Online Services should hang their heads in shame for providing such an awful experience for those wishing to look at information or book a swimming session.

Positive experience: Nice place, Gym extended more machines, Highly recommended!

Negative experience: Has anyone ever tried to phone them before? It’s worse than getting through to the doctors. The gym is closed annoyingly more often than anywhere else I’ve ever known about.

Fantastic experience: Decent pool, good size, clean changing rooms, wasn't too busy, kids flumes and waves at certain intervals. Cafe on site . Happily go again

Positive experience: Bit disappointed the slide was closed. It was the last session but no indication they would use that time to put everything away.

Fantastic experience: Wet and wild!!!! It sure was, floats and inflatable assault course and not to mention the wave machine & flumes. Fun for all ages

Positive experience: We love this pool , wave machine, plenty of floats and a giant bouncy castle . What more is needed

Negative experience: Booked to go swimming on Sunday morning. Firstly, for 2 adults and a 5 year old it cost £21 for a 30 minute time slot, which is already a bit steep, but we paid it as our 5 year old wanted to go swimming. Got to the swimming pool only to be greeted by a sign saying due to maintenance work that the pool would be cooler than normal. There was no mention of this when we booked online otherwise we wouldn't have booked. Got changed and waited to get in and noticed that the pool wasn't anywhere near as full of water as normal. We got told that there was no jumping in today due to this which wasn't the end of the world. While waiting i noticed a sign saying the toddler flume wasn't operating and turns out that went for the other bigger flume as well. We eventually got into the water only for it to be freezing cold. By the time we'd got used to the water temperature it was time to get out. A very underwhelming experience and certainly won't be rushing back anytime soon.

Negative experience: a pool thats open for kids would be a good idea ,always closed or lane swimming they need to make more time for family swimming

Positive experience: Lovely pool! Shame toddler slide wasn't working.

Negative experience: TOP PLACE. LOVED WATCHING THE UNDER 5 SESSION LAST FRIDAY

Negative experience: "Customer service"? No, haven't heard of it. Waited for 30 minutes in vain for someone to appear at admin's desk to ask about aqua aerobics.

Positive experience: Excellent swimming teachers changing room floor could do with a clean, enjoyable swim though. Water temperature nice and warm as were the showers .

Negative experience: I do not have any experience of this place as it is impossible to book online without the app installed dispite having an account with them. I will not install apps if they refuse to provide me with the coding language used for my platform which when requested is meet with a blank look. I could give a review of the swimming pool from a couple of years ago with human/medical waste in pool & changing areas, but I will wait until I am able to experience the new & apparently easily accessible facility for myself.

Positive experience: I'm a regular gym goer here and it's a bit lacklustre. It is missing some essential gym equipment in my opinion, plus there is only one cable machine which is hard to spend time on, as even in the quietest hours of the day as some people will do their entire workout on this machine. Ideally needs more machines / free-weights given the number of people that are there even at the quietest times - but they're very limited in terms of space. Dread to think what it's like in the busier hours.

Fantastic experience: Kingfisher is by far the best place for going swimming, I absolutely loved it 30 years ago & now my children all love it too!!! It's incredible how nostalgic I felt going there again. We went on a Sunday afternoon and there are plenty of free big, small, shaped floatie boards, fun multicoloured hoops, and not forgetting the wave effect once an hour!! The flume slides are also brilliant! So much fun had, very decently priced, lifeguards are present and making sure all safety rules are followed. Good job! I'm definitely rating 10/10!! The little café is very cheap too, considering the cost of living inflation. Also, café items can be enjoyed at your leisure poolside at a table watching your family, friends & loved ones in the pool. Loved every second there, can't wait to return. Plenty of changing rooms & showers very clean and tidy. Large area with 3 hair dryers, which were free to use, with 3 daughters this was a last great touch.

Fantastic experience: Part of the reason why visiting family in Sudbury always feels like a holiday. The family sessions are good fun if you've got kids, weekend mornings are busy but towards lunchtime a bit less so. The wave machine and slides are a big hit with my little one.

Fantastic experience: Lovely clean pool love taking my 4 /5 year old here. :)

Positive experience: Lovely pool area, friendly staff, nice changing area but the pool is way too cold

Fantastic experience: We visited for the 1st time today with our 4yr old Twins. We were very impressed. Changing areas were clean, tidy and warm. Pool was great, good temperature and nice depths so that the kids could still touch the bottom whilst building their confidence with swimming, but then deep enough for us not to be dragging our knees along the floor and then with the coloured fixtures in the middle for them to hold onto when trying the slightly deeper end. It is a 30min drive for us to visit but we'll definitely choose to visit here again rather than our local pool that is 5mins away and disappointing and grubby.

Fantastic experience: Clean and the staff are more friendly and engaging then they where 4 years ago. Mostly new staff.

Fantastic experience: I take swim lessons here. The pool depth is the same for each lane. This helpful for getting lengths in while I build confidence. There are deeper lanes for more seasoned swimmers. The instructors are great too.

Positive experience: As leisure centres go it's good but lacking in organisation regarding clubs

Positive experience: Lovely pool especially for young children - the parking outside is free on Sundays and the old railway line next door is a great family walk A real asset to Sudbury

Fantastic experience: Lots of 0600 swims done here this year. The pool is a good temperature. Must swimmers pool etiquette is good but there is the odd one who should clearly be in a different lane but the lifeguards never enforce common sense.

Positive experience: Absolutely freezing in Soft Play area today (Sunday 11th)! Heating not adequate or simply not working. Breastfeeding Mum sitting in cold - not good enough. Spoilt an otherwise happy experience with four year old grandson. Needs sorting Kingfisher!

Fantastic experience: Used to come here as a kid, now 40 years later bringing my kid.

Positive experience: Used the swimming pool and was pretty happy overall with the facilities, receptionist was helpful and friendly too

Positive experience: Large pool, a little crowded.

Positive experience: Lovely little pool. Has lanes and plenty of space for kids with a nice gentle slope entering the pool.

Positive experience: This place hasn’t changed since I was a child, it was clean enough but the booked times of one hour are just a bit silly at this point and just seem like more of a money making venture to get you in and out. They didn’t have any arm bands available for sale which seemed a bit silly given they are a pool. No flumes operating, not even the small kids one, wave pool apparently doesn’t work anymore? I’m not sure but overall it’s ok but it could be longer

Positive experience: Good sized family pool, gym, sauna etc. It also has a small child's soft play area so you can have a cuppa while your little ones have fun.

Positive experience: Swimming pool is great. Good wave machine and the kids like the slide. Slightly chilly but fine if you keep moving. Nice clean changing rooms. The cafe is an absolute shambles though. Wrong drinks orders delivered and chips that never arrived. Had to go to Waitrose across the road for lunch. They even struggled to give me a refund

Fantastic experience: Loved my swimming session today...also very hot latte and snack from cafe enjoyed in comfy chair..

Negative experience: I went to a 'wet 'n wild' swimming session. It was incredibly over crowded, the whistle of the Life guards was blown near constantly at times, and generally it wasn't well organised or worth the money I spent on it.

Positive experience: Very busy on a Sunday at 2pm today. Not entirely disabled friendly or for those who have high sensory needs but we thought we would try it out. Maybe not for us again. There was many things to play with in the family fun time though.

Fantastic experience: Not a very large pool but great for kids and non swimmers to learn in x

Positive experience: Wet and (not so) wild session booked. Flume was open and woggles and other floating aids were tossed into the pool for entertainment. The swimming lanes were not in operation to enlargen the play space. The children were still disappointed that the large inflatable was rolled up and not deployed. The session does state that certain elements might not always be in use, but the inflatable is a key element, many children were exclaiming their disappointment. Better advertisement of the actual features offered should happen, or at least notification from the reception desk. An hour is long enough for the session. Amenities are in great condition and the free parking a very pleasant bonus.

Fantastic experience: Have been swimming at this centre since I was a kid. Now taking my kids. They loved it.

Positive experience: Invigorating swim. Pity the changing rooms are not more hygienic

Negative experience: Really bad customer service, didn’t explain correctly when the pool shuts for lessons so we had to get out after 10 minutes of paying full price .wouldn’t recommend to anyone pool is very small and staff are quite rude .

Fantastic experience: Really good experience. Probably the best pool about. Great for the kids

Positive experience: Free parking, loads of room to play and swim on family fun days. Wave machine and slide only seem to be available once an hour. Life guards are on top of safety so great for kids.

Fantastic experience: Great place to take the children, pool, soft play and a cafe.

Fantastic experience: Took my kids to the Kingfisher swimming pool. Kids had a great time there, they had fun with the floats. Wonderful!!!

Positive experience: Friendly staff and nice and clean. Pool seemed to not be as warm as it did on previous occasions.

Positive experience: Booked a float and fun swim session, not enough floats to go round so had to buy 2 which cost me £12 , my boys were very disappointed when they only got 2 gos on the slide cause they only opened it for 15 mins , prob would go somewhere else next time .

Fantastic experience: Great pool, we had coloured bands so we thought we'd get told to leave after a certain time but we didn't. We had a good couple of hours in the pool, the flumes were on the majority of the time and the waves went a few times. Great time had by all ages.

Negative experience: I’ve seen the changing rooms bad before but today were disgusting. Mud everywhere and whole place smelled of urine. Sundays definitely to be avoided

Negative experience: Would not reccomend im new to area no idea expected somewhat some support didnt get that i made the error on the booking page they couldnt or accomadate or refund would not reccomend heard whilst at the reception equipment was broken they didnt know whats wrong with it think u will stick to what i know in the future

Negative experience: Arrived with two kids that can swim on a Sunday at 8am pool opening time. Adults swimming in the pool already, told we were not aloud to swim until 10am. Pretty poor not to show this on the website ! Two disappointed kids now.

Positive experience: Staff always friendly. Not always the cleanest considering new changing rooms but it is hard to keep pool sides clean all the time. Great children's swimming lessons and teachers.

Positive experience: I've loved the kingfisher ever since I was little, the only problem is it would be nice I'd they updated the pool some how as its been the same pretty much ever since its opened. They've spent so much money vampire up the gym and changing rooms but the pool is being forgotten. The soft play area although small is interesting for young kids. The food and drink is good.

Fantastic experience: Wave pool, small slide, big slide, large inflatable, zero entry. Lots of fun!!

Fantastic experience: A relaxed atmosphere and the swimming instructor is lovely. My son has made fantastic progress

Fantastic experience: Great, clean, and brilliant new lay out

Positive experience: Usually very clean and have the odd enthusiastic member of staff, but not many. You gave to pay now for only an hour, yes 1 single hour which is overpriced for a family of 5ije ourselves. The wave machine wasn't on today so kids had to contend with the manky part chewed floats.

Fantastic experience: Lovely pool that my kids love!!!! And now the changing rooms have been refurbed it's my go to pool for a fun family swim!!!!

Fantastic experience: I'm a member of Abbycroft Leisure and attended an Aqua Aerobics class here this morning. It's a lovely friendly atmosphere, friendly instructors and staff and I would definitely recommend this leisure centre and the Hadleigh leisure centre to others.

Fantastic experience: Swimming lessons are brilliant. Always clean changing rooms too.

Negative experience: Swimming pool is way to small. Paid a lot for a family ticket for the privilege of what seemed like swimming with the entire population of Sudbury. I couldnt move more than a meter before having to navigate around someone; I might as well have been in my bathtub at home! Lifeguards are always on hand to shut down and iota of fun being had by kids at wet n wild

Positive experience: Much better since the changing rooms have been refurbished. April 2023, £6 for a child to swim is a bit expensive. And the WiFi is shocking, constantly dropping out. No good if you need to work whilst your child is swimming.

Negative experience: As per all abbeycroft pools in the area, if you are a swimmer who trains and hence uses fins, paddles, snorkel etc, just don't ever go there or bother trying. The pool, ironically does not allow any equipment to be used. If, on the other hand you are a leisure swimmer who is content with strolling up and sown the pool aimlessly then this is your place !

Positive experience: A great splash about. We went for the 3.30-4.30 session. Really disappointed that the café was closed once we were out.

Fantastic experience: Great fun. The kids always love it there.

Negative experience: One hour session is a joke as soon as kids are having fun it's time to go, then one go on the flume then they close it.

Positive experience: Systems in place re Covid are really good. Pool is pleasant, clean and a good temperature for swimming. Only complaint is people are obviously wearing outdoor shoes while using the toilets making the floor dirty, though changing cubicles and walkways are usually clean.

Fantastic experience: Excellent pool, perfect for all ages. Good service and family friendly

Fantastic experience: Wonderful, helpful and friendly staff and excellent classes and gym

Negative experience: I’ve spent nearly an hour trying to book a swimming slot online. The website forced me to join and become a member before it would let me past the booking a lane bit. Now that I’ve joined it’s simply impossible to book a swimming lane/find any prices as it keeps redirecting me to my account but has no option to then make a booking. The website/booking system is completely unusable and not fit for purpose! I’ve given up! Looks like I won’t be going swimming!

Fantastic experience: New renovations have enhanced an already excellent leisure centre. There is an extensive programme of activities for all ages and tastes. The staff are very friendly and helpful, especially after the national lockdown. Very simple to book online for one off visits or memberships. The cafe is good for drinks and light lunches.

Fantastic experience: A great pool! Super organised and great that you can use your own dedicated changing room before and after your session. Love the family bubble sectioned off pool.