We went here today with my two children aged 6 and 2. It is a holiday at her school so it was a quiet afternoon with hardly any people about.
The Watford branch of Gambado is brand new, so everything is sparkling clean and attractive to look at. The whole area is large and well spaced. Taking focal point was a massive playframe. There was a large four-lane slide as well as some of those rotating slides (not sure what it's called). There was a seperate area for under-2s. Tame enough to keep older kids away but still fun for the younger ones. They had large building blocks too, a nice touch. Next to the playframe was a climbing wall.
The cafe was okish, nothing too great. Food was well presented but limited in variety. The only hot meal options seemed to be pizza and sandwiches. There were some nice salads too. The cafe had nice seating, transparent rounded chairs in different colours. Very well spaced out tables, not your typical softplay cafe. Prices were a bit on the high side.
They had some areas with big chalkboards for the children to scribble on. And another place for musical experimenting, different things to bang on and make sounds. They also had some magnet play. Under some clear glass thingies were magnet shavings, pins etc. that children could pull a magnet over, causing patterns. There was also a fairly large track for dodgem cars.
For adults there was a seperate lounge. There were computers with internet access, newspapers etc. It didn't look like children were allowed there, the notice said Adults Only. Strange that, who'd be watching the kids while the parents sat in a seperate area?
It cost £15 entrace for me and the kids. By far the most expensive place for this sort of activity. You didn't have to spend any money inside though (unless you want to eat), everything was unlimited. There were plenty of lockers, clean and spacious, to deposit your belongings. It is free to use and you only need a £1 coin cif you want to lock it (it is refunded). Toilets are reasonably clean too, but I don't know if that is because it was a quiet day.
Would recommend it if nothing cheaper is close to you. Works out quite expensive for a small family even. read more