Granby Fun Factory in West Dorset

Visited the Fun Factory on a rainy day with my baby. To book in, other children in the waiting area were running into his pram. The gates were hard to open. Upon arrival, we were told, that the only available tables were upstairs and there was no lift! I had to carry the baby and pram up the stairs. Walking through the downstairs department was like trying to run through a jungle. We finally got to our table which was covered in what looked like chewed food and saliva and all over the chairs too. I am aware that soft play areas are noisy but this was more than that. I took the baby down to play in the under 3's section which was a tiny cage. There weren't many activities for him to play with. The baby mirror in there was dirty, the ball pit was over crowded. To get on the slide, it was a climb and with a baby, it proves impossible. Older children were coming in the baby section and scaring him and leaving the gate open which I was furious about. The sensory toys were broken. A 7 year old girl was in there throwing balls at him too and I had a go at her mum and told them to get out. I told a member of staff and they did nothing about it. He also had some lunch there which looked cheap and processed. You could literally see the fat dripping off it. You are apparently allowed to take the babies in the older children's play area but I was straight away put off when i saw the filth on some of the children's socks and the rate they were running around! In order to make this a better place you really need to add a lift, make a better play area for babies, get friendlier and more helpful staff, healthier food, clean the place and maybe even give it a revamp, buy more toys for the baby area and in general make it more appealing. Until Fun Factory up their game, I'm certainly not going back. Unless you want your babies to have a day of being in the worst play area of all time, don't come here!

The main area looks like a lot of fun for the kids but could be a lot for younger children just a very small pen, food and drinks are ok but a little on the expensive side

Staff nice and friendly, kids love the play area . There was a bouncy castle and zip wire outside which they also enjoyed. Very good value for money

Visited during a rainy day on our holidays. Boy I wish I hadn't googled this place! The worst soft play area for a toddler you could wish for. It was clear the place was out of control and at maximum capacity to be fair to them but it was also dangerous for our 3 yr old who was hit twice by much older kids!! The toilets were a disgrace for youngsters with urine all over the floor and resembled a ice ring it was so dangerous, hardly any staff very concerning. Not safe

Decided to go here today after a recommendation from a friend, although after reading the reviews I was slightly put off by the comments but I decided to try it for myself and I'm so glad I did. The staff were very friendly. Everywhere was really clean one member of staff even came and wiped our table as we sat down. All of the children (8,5,2 & 1) all loved it. The food which was all home cooked was really nice and there was a lot of choice. I can't recommend this place enough and we will definitely be returning in the near future.

This place has gone downhill. The food is overpriced and not cooked well. The kitchen staff are very unhygienic and place is not clean. There is an accident waiting to happen with hot drinks being carried to tables when children are running around. Children are not supervised and bigger children run around and knock smaller ones over. It is a cheap place to take children to as long as you don't eat or drink.

was a lovely find on a rainy day. my son loved it and it was nice and cheap to enter. didnt have anything to eat but did have a drink. was very clean and high on safety of the children which i thought was lovely

The kids really enjoy themselves here, it is always a enjoyable experience for all and feel 100% percent safe letting the children run around. Only thing I would say is I think the food and drink has become far too expensive for what you get in the last few weeks.

I'm torn to write this as we have been here on a few occasions and while yes it's dusty & there are great thick cobwebs in all areas from the play area to the toilets, we've always had a good time, the time previous to this visit they were very helpful with my allergic baby to cater a meal to his needs. However, this time it was by no means as busy as I have seen it in the past, the girls who are so usually 'on it' were messing around behind the counter & as a result there were dirty tables everywhere, the tea & coffee station was grubby & the toilets were lacking a certain attention to detail (see review of soiling on toilet walls!) one girl actually watched a very aggressive fist fight between two boys in the foot ball area, and did nothing, in the end we looked for the parents & broke it up, but all of this I would have brushed off if we hadn't been treated so rudely. We met some family for a play and brought with us more adults than children! Might not have paid much in terms of entry - but they certainly made their money on the rounds of coffees drinks etc we ordered at £18 a pop! It was my daughters birthday so we had a little cake - warning - you aren't allowed to turn three at the fun factory unless you pre book it! I asked one of the girls if we may light a candle on the cake to which I was told, it sets off the fire alarm, we can only have candles in the party room. Fair enough, no candle to blow out, sorry baby. Next thing we know a different older lady is coming up to us & saying we aren't allowed the cake either, as we haven't PAID for it. We are also told that the girls didn't want to come over & tell us as they were scared to speak to us! Bearing in mind we are a group that included an 80 year old & a 7 month old, and the fear the girls had I can only think must have come from the way in which we stirred our tea or sipped our cappuccino!!! We actually asked if they had a cake we could buy so we could still at least not dissapoint the birthday girl to which we were told no. We don't do cake. While I appreciate they cater for parties and that is a good source of profit - perhaps that is something we would have considered in the future when our daughter knew more children than adults! It is more the manner in which it was dealt, it was embarrassing, it was accusational at behaviour we had not demonstrated and worst of all it upset the children.

Food is fast and fairly cheap so ok, what do we expect? Only downside we were sitting next to the open kitchen - the kitchen 'helper' had very long hair in a pony tail no hair net , bunch flying all over the place and sitting here now (29/10/14 @ 13:50) I have just watched her eat something, lick her fingers and then start to prepare someone's French baguette with no hand washing or gloves- I'm glad I ate my lunch earlier before I was bored and stared into the kitchen.

My niece had a birthday party here, she loved it but the facilities for waiting family not so good. We were stuck in a cramped corner. That's my only gripe, other than that the kids had a blast.

Have been going here for years, but it's getting really tired & grubby. I have on nearly every occasion seen poo on toilet walls, unflushed toilets, plus the loos are so small you have a job sitting on it & closing the door, I am slim so god knows how larger people cope having a pee. I have even seen a child come out of the main soft play with poo from another child on their clothes, staff were told there was obviously a poop in the play area but they didn't seem too concerned. Healthy choices for children on the menu are limited & they serve the worst coffee. Having been to numerous stressful childrens parties here, I would be reluctant to let my child have one here. You do get bigger kids aged 11+ tearing round the place knocking small kids 5+ over. The table & seating area isn't organised too well & the chairs are breaking now, I'd recommend seating a bit more streamlined, even lockers to pop coats etc in might be a good idea. That said, children love this place but parents hate it & leave stinking of chip fat.

It's a good size and lots for the kids (mine are 2 and 6) to do. Went on a rainy afternoon and didn't feel too crowded. Thought the refreshments were good and reasonably priced (but that's compared to London prices......locals may feel differently?). Staff really helpful.

We went twice during our stay in this area. Grandchildren aged 2 and 5 had a great time, friendly staff, clean facilities, lots to do including a quiet craft area for a few minutes break from the hectic life in the soft play.

Went with a group of friends,as we do often!decided to treat my family of 5 to lunch from a very expensive menu,saw hot dog chips and salad for great value of £2.75 so ordered 5, due to a mistake on the menu this price was wrong! A friend pointed out that as that was the price stated on the menu then this is what we should pay! The lady manager was more than happy with this but the chef was appalled, he stood and stared at us constantly what made me feel very uncomfortable then when the meals were ready it was a basic tinned sausage and chips! No salad! Just so glad we never paid the full price of £4.75! Would never eat there again!

Took my girls along for the first time today, ample free parking and clean venue. Stall great and well trained. It was very busy but this didn't deter the staff who work hard. Food was ok and well priced, overall a good value for money day out, a bit noisy but expect that with loads of kids running around

Great for a rainy day. Difficult to go as a group of adults because trying to talk through all the noise is hard work! Take a book and let the kids play. Coffee is good. Meals are great, all adults meals can be made smaller for a reduced price for the kids. So the kids can have proper food from the usual chicken nuggets/sausages and chips. The jugs of squash/water are brilliant, huge for just a £1 - ample for the kids to drink while they're running around. Extremely popular party venue, parties happening every hour on the hour at weekends! Staff friendly. The staff have an anti-bullying policy. If any child is being a nuisance or particularly nasty, they may be asked to leave. Seek a member of staff with a blue or yellow shirt on and report any bad behaviour. Today was particularly rife with difficult children being left to their own devices and all three of my children received a punch in the stomach, slap across the face and threats of being punched in the face! Absolutely disgusting. Need-less-to-say my husband was in like a shot and sorting the culprits out. No idea where these children come from but the staff were apologetic and informed us of their policy so we feel obliged to share this information onto others. Apart from that, the place is large, the kids have ample to do and you could almost spend a large portion of your day there on a rainy day.

We went on a Friday in term time. Admission included a hot and toast. The food was of excellent quality (we had a cheeseburger and a chilli) and decent price, about a fiver. Better than many pubs. Soft play was of medium size, clean, not too busy.

Great soft play, but can get very noisy (but show me a soft play that doesn't!). Kids love it, the coffee isn't bad and good for a wet day.Toilets could do with some maintance as there were 2 out 3 toilets missing seats.

Fantastic deal for some horrible weather. £3, free cup'o'tea for the wife and free toast for DD. Our 2 year old gained noticeable confidence by the time we left the place approx 4 hours after we arrived. She progressed throughout the play area from the small toddler area right up to the wavy slide in the older children's area (with our supervision)Great service and the only downfall would be dirty tables for 30 mins plus. Otherwise would award 5/5

We regularly go with our grandchildren and the kids love it.The location is perfect, near town centre, without getting stuck in traffic and free parking.The biggest local play area for children. Very clean, bright.Food is good and not expensive (I like the cakes and coffee).

its overpriced massively, miles away from town, the food is poor quality overpriced and tasteless straight out of a packet..

Brilliant place to take your children. Its approx £3, and unless busy, you can stay as long as you like. There is a cafe that serves both food and drink and the staff are brilliant.I enquired and apparently it is in the plans to get WIFI in the future, as this is about all its missing!.My only quarrell isn't with the company as they are great, its with other parents who keep leaving the baby and toddler playpen door open, my 20 month old baby keeps trying to escape and it gets really annoying having to keep jumping up to stop my child from grabbing someones hot drink off a nearby table, so i hope parents will be more responsable.