Lovely pool for the day out. Book to avoid disappointment! Mondays and Fridays are late swims.

We booked a 9:00am swimming session yesterday via the SDL app. At no point during the booking process was it made clear that the pool would close shortly afterwards or that swimmers would be required to leave at 10:00am. Based on our previous visits, where a morning booking allowed us to remain for the day, there was every reason to believe this booking would operate in the same way. Had this information been displayed clearly, we simply would not have booked the 9:00am session. (Also note: I witnessed 6 others being turned away after us who had also booked for 9am and were turned away.) Instead, after spending approximately £20 on an Uber and setting aside the morning for what was intended to be a family day out, we arrived just a few minutes after our booking time only to be told by the receptionist that the pool was about to close and we would not be permitted to enter. The inconvenience itself was frustrating enough. What turned an unfortunate mistake into an unacceptable customer experience was the complete absence of empathy or accountability from the staff. The receptionist was dismissive and offered no apology whatsoever. When she called the duty manager, I had hoped the situation would be handled with understanding and professionalism. Instead, the manager was equally unapologetic and spoke to us in a manner that came across as rude and dismissive. At no point did either member of staff acknowledge that the booking information may have been unclear, recognise the unnecessary expense and inconvenience caused, or attempt to resolve the situation constructively. We were simply told to leave and return at 12:00pm. Our booking included another family—a mum and her three children, including an infant—meaning that four children in total were inconvenienced by this avoidable situation. Despite this, there was no apology, no acknowledgement of the disruption caused, and no goodwill gesture offered. That lack of ownership was, frankly, more disappointing than the original booking issue itself. Unfortunately, the experience deteriorated further later that day. When the pool was due to close at 5pm (again, this was not indicated in the app during booking whatsoever and we were given no warning throughout the day), lifeguards began blowing whistles and shouting repeatedly for swimmers to "GET OUT OF THE POOL." There appeared to be no advance warning that the session was ending. Rather than giving families a few minutes' notice and politely asking swimmers to exit, the instruction was delivered abruptly and aggressively. The most upsetting aspect was the way my nine-year-old daughter and her nine-year-old friend were addressed. A lifeguard shouted at them to "GET OUT" (without any awareness that their parents were standing nearby and witnessed this behaviour). The children were genuinely startled and upset. These are polite, respectful children who have always followed instructions. They were not behaving dangerously, ignoring staff or causing disruption. They simply deserved to be spoken to with the same courtesy and respect that any adult customer would expect. A calm, polite request would have achieved exactly the same outcome without frightening two children. While observing the pool, I also witnessed similarly hostile interactions between lifeguards and other children whose parents were not close enough to hear. This gave the impression that speaking sharply to children had become commonplace rather than exceptional. That is deeply concerning in what is intended to be a welcoming family environment. I would therefore appreciate it if you could investigate the following: -Why the SDL booking app did not clearly communicate that the 9:00am session would end at 10:00am. -The conduct and customer service provided by the receptionist and duty manager on the morning of our visit. -The communication style used by certain lifeguards, particularly when interacting with children. -Whether further customer service training would help ensure all visitors are treated with professionalism, courtesy and respect.

Hampton Pool is a lovely outdoor swimming spot with a really nice, relaxed atmosphere 🏊‍♂️🌤️ The heated pool makes it enjoyable even when the weather isn’t perfect, which is a big plus 🔥💦 Staff are generally friendly, and the facilities are well kept and easy to use 😊🚿 It can get busy at peak times, but overall it’s a great place for a swim in Hampton

Lovely warm pool that you can enter without a membership. Do book in advance though as we only had an hour slot and had to book. Not sure if always like that, but definitely in summer! Plenty of lifeguards and segregated free play and swim lanes.

This is a lovely pool, in a lovely setting, and the facilities are good, but unfortunately it's obscenely busy. I visited with my son during may half-term and the weather was warm, so I expected it to be busy (I knew our time slot was full), but the pool was so overcrowded it was unpleasant. I have a suspicion people had over stayed their session times (this wasn't been managed), but even so, the booking capacity should never have been that many to start with. My son didn't want to do lane swimming, so we booked in the general session and we had 2.5 lanes out of the 7 lane pool; I honestly think the number of people in our section would have been too many for the entire pool. There were plenty of lifeguards, who were doing their jobs well, but it was impossible to swim, and very hard to go more than 30 seconds without bumping into somebody.