Canolfan a Llyfrgell Star Centre and Library is an impressive, purpose built leisure centre and…read morelibrary complex situated on the main street in Splott. The centre first opened in 1981 and was taken over by the Council in 2001 when it underwent minor refurbishment. It has recently undergone a further, more extensive refurbishment programme, which has led to the development of a modern Fitness Suite, as well as a disabled lift that is sited in the foyer. This phase also saw the incorporation of the new Splott Library. Splott is considered to be a 'problem area' and suffers from high unemployment and the associated social problems of economic privation. A small number of the kids in Splott are responsible for some pretty anti-social behaviour, and the sports centre is one of the local amenities where it's hoped that children from all backgrounds can meet and have fun. It offers an extensive programme of activities for children throughout the summer, including indoor athletics, football, badminton, baseball, basket ball as well as more creative pursuits that come under the general banner of arts and crafts, and include things like jewellery making, glass bottle art and clay modelling. In a bid to try and constructively engage the local under sixteen's at the weekends, (when trouble is most likely to erupt), the centre holds a youth night every Friday. Facilities: 6 x Badminton Courts Basketball Netball Indoor 5-a-side Fitness Suite Classes: swimming, gymnastics, soft play, yoga etc... Group Fitness Sessions: circuits, aerobics, boxercise Children's activities: including children's parties and holiday programmes. Full disabled facilities and changing room Food and Drink: hot & cold vending machines, snack machines, and fully licensed Bar Meeting rooms Function room . Membership/Savings: The Max card or Active card membership schemes offer the opportunity to save money on all council leisure activities. Useful Info: Bus Numbers: 11,12,13 Car park at the rear of building, with disabled bays and assistance where required. Email. STARCentre@cardiff.gov.uk

The Star Centre is the hub of Splott! Staff are so friendly. I have developed a friendship with the…read morestaff in the library. They're extremely helpful and polite. They go out of their way to help the community. Staff in the library help children with their homework and entertain teenagers with hilarious stories. Its such a shame that the Star is closing down and it will never be the same without the great local atmosphere. The Star holds events for families which I have taken part of and deeply enjoyed. There is also a gym. I hate to mention a small complaint. 2013 I joined a martial arts class in the Star and it was not very helpful. I learnt the language-not the art of physical activity. It wasn't memorable experience Other that that the Star is a great local place to meet up and have fun!

This leisure centre opened late last year, it has good facilities including a gym, a large pool…read morewith a water slide, cafe etc..There have been a few problems with the computer system and things when i've been there but that can only be expected as it's new, the staff always try to be as helpful as they can.

Fantastic facility just outside of the town centre in Merthyr. It has had some teething problems…read morewhich are to be expected of a new facility. The gym here is fantastic and has all the top of the range equiptment. The joining fee here is cheaper than other gyms in the area!

St Cenydd Leisure Centre is a council run fitness facility on the site of St Cenydd Comprehensive…read moreSchool. In an area of town that doesn't have a lot to offer within walking distance, it provides a great service to the surrounding residents, with a gym and dance studio upstairs and a large hall downstairs that can be hired out for football, netball, etc. The gym has a good selection of utilities to get a full, effective workout done, with a full dumbbell rack (with weights ranging from 7.5-45 kilos), a lat pull-down machine, leg extension and leg curl machines and a chest press, as well as various cardio equipment and rowing machines. However, as it is a council run gym, there are some factors that can be quite annoying at times when trying to fit in a consistent training routine, such as frequent holiday closures. Also, as it is used by the school during school times it means that facilities are closed to the public in school hours. One of the main let-downs of this facility is its lack of a swimming pool. With most other leisure centres in the surrounding area owning a pool, it's a black mark against this venue; which is a shame as it could have easily made this good leisure centre a great one.

I didn't even know this leisure cente existed!!! I was looking for a venue to host my little boy's…read morefirst, proper birthday party. This place was recommended by a friend. They have a fantastic dance studio which is hired out for parties. It is light, airy and spacious. The receptionist is first class at her job; she is very helpful and friendly and puts you at ease. There is a fantastic atmosphere as you go in and the place is buzzing!! It is extremely well used and very popular! I am so glad I have found this gem of a leisure centre!!!

Oh, wow. I love…read morestumbling across old childhood memories and getting ridiculously excited about them all over again. Llanishen Leisure Centre is one of those places. As an excited child, I recall this place seeming like it took over an age to get to, so was surprised to drive past it the other day and discover that it wasn't 20,000 miles outside Cardiff like I'd always imagined. In actuality it's an easy 15 minute drive from the centre. Who knew? Llanishen Leisure Centre has the most spectacular of swimming pools. Oh, the fun and jollity I did have there. There is a fountain and hundreds of floats and giant balls the big kids always tried to stand on (I was resolute that I was not tall enough/I was a coward). There is also, majesty of majesty, a wave machine. A giant wave machine! The pool itself has a gradual incline from one end so you can walk in as you might walk into the sea. This means that the pool is great for all ages, and it's easy to keep an eye on the extra small ones with the help of the ever present lifeguard. When the siren for the waves (yay!) goes off, they actually break and roll up the side of the pool, making great sport for active imaginations. Llanishen Leisure Centre also has a whole heap of badminton and squash courts, a gym, yoga, swimming lessons and a pool-side cafe and pool tables. Did I mention the wave machine?

Tried to book a handful of slots on their shockingly slow, clunky and useless website. It only gave…read moreme the option to book one, impossible to book more than that. Thought I'd try phoning the helpline to speak to someone who could talk me through it. Spent ages going through all the options only to be hung up on after requesting to speak to an advisor. Appalling customer service the last time I went there, but thought I'd give it another try. never, ever again. Anyone wanting to go there should look at all the awful reviews online about this place and make their mind up.

Penarth leisure center is great value for money if you're looking to get fit or loose weight…read more It has a decent sized gym with a good range of equipment, a large pool and a lifestyle/wellness suite. There are also a huge range of fitness classes that run daily at the center. In recent years the place has undergone a revamp and so there is now a sauna, steam room and jacuzzi next to the pool in the wellness suite. (Full disabled access) Once a week there is even a ladies only session so the more body conscious or religious females don't have to miss out on the facilities. Prices are okay, for an off peak swim and relax in the wellness suite you pay £6.15 but if you become a member you can use the gym facilities, the pool and the classes from about £23 a month without getting locked into a contract. Bargain.

This place is pretty crumby …read more... The building is old and showing the signs of wear and tear. The changing rooms are quite grubby with a very odd aroma. Lots of the lockers are broken. The pool is unpredictable. It has a children's area and a hydro slide but I have never worked out when to guarantee that they are operational. The adult pool sometimes has lane swimming and sometimes not. It is 25m.

Glamorgan University Sports Centre is found on the campus of Glamorgan Uni…read more Sitting right next to the newly built Student's Union, the leisure centre offers a vast array of activities for both students on campus or in the surrounding area, as well as the general public. The venue itself has a large sports hall, numerous squash courts, a fitness suite and a weights room, in addition to spa facilities, that include a steam room and sauna. There is also the more unique feature of a rock climbing wall at the far end of the sports hall, for those wishing to brush up on their climbing technique. While membership varies depending on student status, particular membership options, etc, it can be an expensive hobby, particularly for students and despite offering a "membership", members are still expected to pay an additional amount upon each visit to the gym. Another problem I encountered during my time at Glamorgan was the rules regarding gym usage. Firstly, gym users were designated a one hour time period to train, starting on the hour and ending 60 minutes later. This meant not only did my sessions have to be routinely rushed, but sometimes cut short with me being asked to leave the gym as my "time was up" on a handful of occassions. This is not what you want nor expect to hear after having paid to use the facilities (on top of the initial membership "deal"). Also, users of the weights room were only allowed to use the weights equipment if accompanied by a partner, unless it was between the hours of 2 and 4p.m. when a member of staff would be on hand to supervise. While I can appreciate this was due primarily to health and safety, the amount of times I found myself training in an empty room between those hours dispels this ridiculous rule. Despite these restricting and, at times, extremely annoying rules, the facilities offered at the leisure centre provide a great service to the surrounding area, particularly the students. With the nearest local gym miles away on Treforest Industrial Estate, it can be a long walk for those students who don't drive. The Glamorgan University Sports Centre fills a gap for students who can't drive to another gym but still want to live an active lifestyle and want to make the most of having a gym right on their doorstep.

This is an indoor entertainment complex packing in all the elements you'd expect from a place like…read morethis, such as a cinema, a bowling alley and lots of restaurants - plus it's also home to one of South Wales's best-established radio stations, Red Dragon FM. It's located just a short walk from the main Mermaid Quay area of Cardiff Bay, and offers a warm refuge from the harsh weather that often hits that part of the city in the winter. It's open seven days a week and is home to Wales' only IMAX cinema screen (within the Odeon cinema), plus the 26-lane Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, Grosvenor Casino, the Doctor Who 'Up Close' exhibition, and lots of restaurants - including big chains such as Bella Italia and Chiquito. There's also a Cadwaladers ice cream parlour, an Indian and a Chinese restaurant, and a family sports bar with loads of screens and pool tables called R Bar. Overall it aims to offer a variety of things to do, all in a dry, indoor environment. It's not a particularly exciting venue, but on a wet and windy day it's an easy place to park up for free and take your family for some entertainment or food. Sometimes - particularly during school holidays - they have special events such as craft workshops, live jazz, or even anti-bullying workshops.

This centre is sometimes over looked due to Mermaid quay's reputation shining a little brighter in…read morethe world of attractions for visitors to Cardiff Bay and yet its only 5 minutes walk away. You can watch a film do some bowling and eat and drink to your hearts content, whether it be Chinese, Italian or plain old pub food. It also undercover, which in our Welsh climate can sometimes make the all the difference between a happy day and a cold miserable day. Parking also costs nothing as long as you patronise one of the establishments within the centre. Why wouldn't you want to go there?

The Xbox sponsored Power league is the only Power league venue in Wales. Self confessed 'state of…read morethe art facilities' means it has plenty of flat astro turf pitches, floodlights and changing rooms. You don't get that in your sunday league do you! What's great about PL is that it is open for all ages and sexes, there are loads of leagues running everyday of the week and you can also hire a pitch to have a kick about with your mates, The pitches are a little small and you really can score from anywhere if you toe punt it hard enough, makes for a less skillfull game. Some leagues are pretty naughty as you will find yourself getting kicked about or getting in some sort of argument, but hey ho thats the fun of the game for me. As far as facilities go, this is a great place to play football the right way instead of lumping a ball 50 yards up a uneven muddy pitch.

Bill Shankly said "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very…read moredisappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." Or words to that affect. Though this may be somewhat hyperbolic some people seem to take their football very seriously. Powerleague offers a congregation of such people. They run leagues almost constantly throughout the year on every day of the week. So if you're hoping to play a one off match then you've really got to book ahead on their website or on the phone to find out when pitches are available. It's around £40-50 quid to book a pitch (depending on if you're a student or have any other kind of discount) so the more people you get along the cheaper it is for all of you. It can be a great way to get some exercise and have some fun with mates. If you fancy your chances in a league then they're always looking for more teams to part with their cash. If you get five or six people together you'll play as a team on a weekly basis and have a chance to get promoted (or risk the chance of being relegated) to other leagues if your skills are good enough (or, evidently, aren't). I'd recommend having at least six of you available for matches as playing the full game without having a reasonable break here and there can be an absolute killer.