Manchester, The Chill Factore www.chillfactore.com

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Manchester, The Chill Factore www.chillfactore.com
★★★☆☆
3.0
61.0% of users recommend this
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  • Value For Money

Summary

The Chill Factore is the UK's largest in and outdoor Ski village. Based in Trafford on the outskirts of Manchester the Chill Factor promises to give the real experience of a ski trip without going abroad.

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Latest Reviews

“rubbish website”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 27/05/2013

went to book lift pass after loads of messing around on their website they had four prices for the same ticket. I filled out all details including credit card details the website timed out and said the transaction was not complete and to rebook my tickets,so I did. The second transaction was complete telling me I will receive an email to comfirm the booking.I checked my emails and a few minutes later i got two emails telling me both tickets had been booked thats the one I wanted and the one that didnt go through. I try to get intouch to tell them so they could refund my card but nobody seems to want to answer the phone and they havent replied to my emails either.really poor website.. really poor customer service...

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“ Complaints handling”

★★☆☆☆

written by Ink_pixie on 20/12/2012

I bought my boyfriends 2 kids for a taster lesson and was told by instructor that to book a beginners lesson would be £89 per child. As I had no money at the time to do this I tried to book online, nowhere could I find this offer, I tried calling chill on at least five occasions at varying times of day- no answer it just rang out endlessley. So I decided to make the 75 mile round trip to speak to someone in person and book the TWO beginners courses. When we got there somebody new was handling our complaint and couldn't help us!!!? ? No one senior was obtainable and her fellow colleague clearly couldn't be bothered. I have sent several emails one as a sarcastic thanks for a lovely time - to which I had a 2 minute response the other 5 were genuine complaints - which after almost 4 WEEKS have not warranted a single reply! Who runs this place!? How do I get to speak to them??? Despite all this I am Stlll prepared to spend my hard earned money here!! But not at the in agreed price of 300 quid instead of the 89 each as promised! Kids xmas present ruined !!! Thanks to NOBODY dealing with me! I explained at the time when I came in to book in November it was intended for Xmas !

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“Expensive and difficult to organise for large groups...”

★★★☆☆

written by flyingdreamer on 14/02/2012

My extended family (13 of us) went to the Chill Factore in the half term holiday to celebrate my birthday. The day was fun but you didn't get much "bang for your buck" so to say on the activities and unfortunately there was no group discount and despite there being a special offer advertised on their website and in the press "half-term children go free" because I had booked slightly before the offer started they wouldn't give me the discount - which I think is very unfair given I did ring and ask about discounts and we spent a large amount of money. I rang Chill Factore groups booking telephone number from the website when I made the booking to get some assistance as we were a large group. I was told there were no discounts and you had to use the regular webpage and try and see what you could get activities wise, each activity needs to be booked separately and there weren't any activities available for all of us to do together. The booking staff were polite but couldn't actually provide any more assistance than that. After a lot of trial and error on the activities booking webpage, I managed to get a time slot available where some people could do the luge whilst the others were on the slope or in the snowpark. The luge is 45 minutes, of which 5 mins was waiting for the instructor to take us onto the slope, 10 mins was getting everyone clued up on what to do and safety etc. So you actually get 30 mins real activity time which equates to about 8 goes down the slope. The skiers got an hour but that amounted to about 10 goes down the slope also with waiting time for lifts. The snow park ticket for the younger ones is for just 30 mins. So we spent time in the cafe waiting for the others to finish (spending more money!). We had dinner at Nandos after the activities. Again I rang in advance because we were a large party. They told me they couldn't make a reservation as they didn't do reservations but they would keep some tables for us. In fact they did keep the tables and although it takes some organising to get the order together and take it to the till as there is no table service, the staff were excellent, very accommodating and the bill was very reasonable. So in conclusion, if you are a large family group wanting to celebrate an event then a day at a water-park or even alton towers offers a lot more value for money than chill factore and is certainly a lot easier to book and to get discounts for a large group.

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“First class ski instructors for beginners”

★★★★★

written by mazzzer33 on 02/02/2012

myself and my partner who are both novices went along for a full day ski beginners day. Noel and Andy are both fantastic instructors and made the day what it was. Very easy descriptive instructions given with patience for all to the group . Treating everyone as individual learners going at a suitable pace for all. Nothing was too much trouble for either one of them and were passionate about sharing their years of knowledge and expertise. By the end of the day we were confident to move on to the next level 4 5 and 6. so back next week for more. Great atmosphere for all ages and really looking forward to our first skiing trip to Switzerland knowing that by the time it arrives we will be able to enjoy it . HUGE thanks to Noel and Andy.

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“Fantastic Snowboarding day lesson”

★★★★★

written by f_malkinson on 01/01/2012

The snowboarding beginner day experience was fantastic. This was due to the enthusiastic and positive persona of our instructor - Mini. Through his patience and excellent coaching advice this allowed us to enjoy our snowboarding experience to the full and learn a lot along the way. His coaching advice and one to one instructions allowed all of the grouop to become recreational standard. We will definately be coming again and would love to request Mini as our instructor.

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“Development Day”

★★★★☆

written by breesedoc on 27/12/2011

Excellent day with super instructor, Mel. She took time to assess each of us in group and planned day accordingly, depending on differing levels of ability. It was Boxing Day and thankfully quiet, as most people next door at Trafford Center- shopping:((( and special deal meant only cost £70 for whole day,including lunch. I learnt a lot and developed my basic skills thanx to Mel I have my own boots, but one member of group had really poor fitting boots hired to him and I urged him to change them,but even after changed still not much better. I really think if you going to enjoy skiing and go away, investing in your own boots is really worthwhile! Was so impressed by Mel that booked 2 private lessons before I hit slopes again in Saalbach next month.

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“Poor customer service - no response to emails”

★★☆☆☆

written by microdot on 15/12/2011

Took my daughter and her friend here for my daughter's birthday, booking everything in advance online on their website - including clothing hire. We were somewhat surprised that they advise arriving a whole hour before your alloted time, just to get your clothing but it turns out you absolutely need to! Why do you need to? Because the staff don't seem capable of looking at the labels in their own clothing and handing over age appropriate items. Sounds simple but apparently it isn't. Took three trips back and forth to the counter just to get trousers and jackets for two ten year olds. The clothing originally handed over ranged from age 12 right down to age 3! Later we had to go to another desk to get helmets for tubing - and the pantomime continued - wrong size helmets, helmets with broken chin straps or straps which had been tied in knots to try to make them usable presumably but which ended up having the opposite effect. I emailed them the day after explaining what had gone wrong. They never replied. They did manage to send me an email offering discounted ski lessons if I booked within a week. I replied to that email address, forwarding a copy of my original email to guest services and guess what - that went ignored too. Looks like they couldn't give a hoot.

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“Nowadays people are quick to complain...”

★★★★★

written by Katehumble on 07/12/2011

Nowadays people are quick to complain and when something is great they do not take the time to shout about it so I have decided to leave a review on my experience with the Chill Factore. I booked the Chill Factore through one the amazing deals they sent me after I signed up a few weeks ago. I have my first skiing holiday booked and wanted to learn the basic before I got there so booked onto the Beginner Ski Course. I thought the Chill Factore was fab- the whole experience was so enjoyable and considering my nerves before heading for the slopes I was surprised how quickly I started to relax and really enjoy myself. I had a brillant, fun and patient instructor called Ian Baxter who made the whole day even better making us all laugh and enjoy learning to ski! All the staff working there were all really good fun and welcoming- even when I spoke with the customer service team via phone- they were so easy and friendly to deal with. I would have no hesitation to recommend the course and the Chill Factore to any friends and family- It is so rare nowdays to find such a great attraction which is brilliant value for money and the customer service is outstanding. Thanks again for a great day and I am signed up for the Improver course and guided ski lessons as I enjoyed myself so much! Kate

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“Visit to get our ski legs back”

★★★☆☆

written by on 07/12/2011

Visited the Chill Factor on Satuday, as an alternative to our usual indoor venue at Castleford. We liked the ticket system at the ski/boot desk for weighing and measuring. The toilets and changing area were clean, however the lighting in the changing area was poor. The slope itself was quiet (which we liked) The access to the button lift on the left as you look up the slope was bad, there was a step up to it and we (and everyone else) had to turn and side step up to the button. The slope itself was ok, however there were 3-4 foot wide areas on either side and a 2-3 foot area in the middle where the snow was rough and therefore everyone avoided them. The slope itself needs policing more, there were one or two people there who obviously didn`t know how to turn and were just snow ploughing straight down from top to bottom. The extra half hours ski on top of our 1 hour was good value for money. We enjoyed our lunch afterwards in the Trattoria upstairs where we were served politely and courteously with nice food in a clean restaurant. We travelled from Sheffield, however we`ll continue to go up to Castleford for our indoor skiing (about half the distance) as the Chill Factor does not offer any more than Castleford does.

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“Santa's Grotto 2011”

★★★☆☆

written by trax0201 on 02/12/2011

Disappointed by a recent visit to the Chill Factor. We booked the play in the snow/visit santa grotto event. The play in the snow was great, however the experience was spoilt by a 50 minute wait to see father christmas. All the children in front of us had at least 5 minutes with father christmas, however when it came to our turn and the people after us, we only had approx 2 mins with santa. It was obvious that they had decided to shorten the visits due to the increasing length of the queue. Also the present we received was not great - it was a cheap colouring book but they did not include any crayons! We were also advised by a member of staff that the session had been overbooked due to a technical problem with the booking system and that people normally didnt wait that long. They should have made you aware of the wait time to enter the grotto before you booked. If I had know we would have to wait for 50 mins I would not have made the booking.

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“i think that will be a good plan and arrangement ,i...”

★★★☆☆

written by zutou on 15/11/2011

i think that will be a good plan and arrangement ,i hope to join there !~

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“Santas Kingdom”

★★★★★

written by ImeldaWilcock on 14/11/2011

I just want to say what a fabulous time we had yesterday at Santas Kingdom. I particularly want to say a massive thank you to the 'Elf' who took the time to colour with my daughter Phoebe. She was an absolute superstar. The elves all made a great experience, all smiling and happy (exactly what you would expect working with Santa LOL). Phoebe didnt like Santa though, his room was a little dark for her and I think his beard was a little wrong compared with pictures of the man himself. But all in all a super day with Peppa Pig thrown into the mix. We had a brilliant day - well done :)

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“Excellant facilities but a little expenive”

★★★★★

written by Jettillery on 07/11/2011

Really enjoyed the day snow boarding lesson day that we booked. It was half price, £85 for a full days tuition including lunch and tea breaks. The instructor was great and we learned the basics well enough by the end of the day. Up side was that the facilities are excelant, really geared up for all skill levels, skiing and snowboarding. Equipment was great and we wil be going back very soon as lift passs are not very expensive and there are always some good offers if you are internet savvy. Down side is that the lessons are very expensive considering you have to share the day with so many others. 10 people on our lesson all paying £170 full price is a bit extortionate! But as with most things all good things come at a price! On the whole, we'll be going back soon and booking a holiday snow boarding in he near future!

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“snowboarding lessons”

★★★☆☆

written by robisona on 03/11/2011

Hi i booked my son in for a junior beginners snowboard course which consisted of 3x 2hr lessons.even though i thought the tuition looked ok there was no consistency with the instructors. He had a different one every lesson.It wasnt untill the last lesson when the last instructor who i thought was very good ask for his progress card which i new nothing about and so did a few of the other parents aswell.The last instructor thought the kids should have progressed more than they had and that might have been due to different instructors every week,subsequently he failed level 3.And it has now cost me further £60 to take level 3 again which i think is a very excessive. THANKS ANDY.

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“A brilliant slope”

★★★★★

written by customjones on 01/11/2011

I'am an advanced snowboarder casi level one. My partner has had her lessons upto recreational standard at milton keynes. I personally think milton keynes isn't a bad little slope to be fair but natalie was apprehensive of the icy patch that appears at the narrow exit to the slope. She wanted to give tamworth a try after about four sessions at milton keynes.I told her that tamworth is just an ice rink on an angle and wouldn't recommend it for learners as the pain tends to put them off and it's usually got ten million learners right across the slope as you come round the bend(ok not quite ten million)Also tamworth couldn't give a toss about safety which really bugs me.So we went there once...i think that tells you enough about tamworth. We went to manchester primarily to see" beth jeans houghton" at the deaf institute on the saturday.But i was keen to have a look at chillfactore on sunday.SOOO glad we did. It was a longer slope than milton and tamworth.The snow looked good with a sufficient covering and no sign of ice.although the lifts had plenty of riders on them there only seemed to be half a dozen riders on the slope at a time which meant lots of space for nervous beginners.Iwas impressed with what i could see of the slope without actually going on it. So i suggested to natalie we come riding the following week,and she was well up for that. Riding at chillfactore was really enjoyable...no arses thinking there cool by riding fast and totally out of control.slope was well groomed and we rode for four hours and the slope remained good with no patches of ice coming through.the lift staff were vigilant and very helpful towards any riders struggling with the poma. I found chillfactore a really good all round slope for beginners to advanced riders.enjoyable to ride and i felt the staff take safety more seriously here compared to the competition. Very roomy slope and not bad value either(even better if they send you offers) Definately the best of the 3 i've riden so far and to be honest the only one i'll ride now even though it's the furthest away from my house. SO get your board upto manchester and shred the white stuff...i promise you'll love it.

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“Poor Quality Ski Taster Lesson at Chill Factor Manchester”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 30/10/2011

Booked a ski taster lesson at chill factor manchester during kids half term for my children aged 10 and 8.I was very disappointed with the overall value for money that chill factor offered.The equipment that my children hired was of poor quality and my 10 year old had an issue with a ski that kept coming of his ski boot continually throughout the lesson,the ski instructor spent more time trying to fix the issue than he did teaching the 10 people that had paid for the lesson.Hence when the lesson had finished 8 out of the 10 people complained. The only good thing i can say about the experience is that when i complained and asked for my money back they where very good and obliged. All in all the ski slopes had to many lessons on,the snow was of very poor quality,the instructors have no way of communicating with the office whilst they are on the slopes and there was people that had paid for an hours skiing flying down to the bottom completely out of control but there was not a single chill factor employee to be found.I would have loved to have written a positive review.

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“Woeful freestyle at chillfacore”

★☆☆☆☆

written by wheelspin.plus on 13/10/2011

Why do I bother going here! Staff unhelpful, slow checkin, Poor snow conditions. Icy landings from jumps / features that r for begineers. Very long queues. Hated every minute.

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“Better this time but still poor”

★★★☆☆

written by on 08/10/2011

Chill factore has the potential to be fantastic. However, the whole clothes/boots/ski hire process is slow and laborious. I had to find someone to get my friend's child ski clothes and by the time we were sorted out he had lost 10 minutes. We always bring our own gear so that helps is but it is clearly not very organised. The snow was better this time but we have frequently been and found loads of ice - surely in a controlled environment this is not acceptable? The lift machines ALWAYS go wrong when we are there and the ticket doesn't open the turnstile. It has been years and this is still happening, and I have had to come off a few times and take my gear off the get the ticket reprinted. Also, why oh why do you have us climbing narrow slopes on skis to get to the lift? Surely it could all be done on a gentle gradient? And the mats are exposed at the top of the lift which wrecks my skis. As I say, it could be fantastic but there is little attention to detail. Take a leaf out of Walt Disney's book where no detail is forgotten and you will have lasting success. Have you skiied in America/Canada? They really do it well. The managers need to experience it from the stance of the paying customer. Its really not cheap and should be smoothly run and just better.

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“Childrens Snow Play Party - Avoid!!”

★☆☆☆☆

written by aisforandy on 02/10/2011

We originally called in in person to discuss a childrens party for under 5's which included disabled children. We explained this to the member of staff we spoke to who said we could have 1 adult for every 2 children as part of the booking to make sure children this young and with needs were properly supervised. A few days later we received an email saying that there were places reserved for 4 adults. We were concerned at this so phoned up and were told that this was a standard email and because of our circumstances the already agreed number was fine. On the morning of the party a couple of parents had asked if they could also attend so we phoned up to add their names only to be told there were only 4 adults on the list. We tried to explain to the member of the staff on the phone but he just said that it was 4 adults and there was no way they could let any more in because of health and safety - and nobody had made a note on our booking of our situation - despite confirming this twice - once in person and once on the phone. However - we were told that we could pay to add extra adults. We pointed out that he had just told us there were no more places to admit adults at the time of the party, he said yes this was the case - however, we could pay for more. I pointed out again, either there was room to add extras or there wasn't to which he replied (again) "there are no more places available to let adults in at that time - however, you can pay extra to let them in" After going round in circles like this for a while I explained that there was no way I was sending 18 kids under the age of 5 and with special needs to play in the snow with only 4 adults supervising them, and neither was I paying extra for something I had already been assured I would receive. By this time some of the parents had decided not to let their children go if they could not be supervised and we finally agreed to reduce the children to 16 and allow 8 adults in. This took an hour of angry phone conversations to arrange. When we got there the chap on the desk was very helpful and polite and a credit to the place. However our party was herded into a disabled toilet to change together. Not very pleasant or hygenic. The snow play was brilliant and we really enjoyed it. When that finished we went up to the party room, however the group was again totally unsupervised with no staff member present to check customers were happy. Birthday decoration consisted of a single balloon tied to a single chair . When all the food was finally finished we waited an age for the cake to be brought to the table, partly because we thought they would bring it themselves (like we were told) and partly because we couldn't find a staff member to ask. By this time half the party had left and this made for a very quite Happy Birthday song. They then took the cake away to cut and wrap to put into the already prepared party bags - another 20 minutes and more people leaving until we received them back to give out to the kids who were left. Only to find half of them missing and had to track down a member of staff again to retrieve the rest from the kitchen. The whole day was a comedy of errors and the only redeeming parts were the actual activity itself, the member of staff who booked us in (and later came to apologise about our experience) - and the staff member supervising the snow play activity who was very helpful. However, we won't be booking again and neither will any of our guests - which is a shame because everyone enjoyed the activity so much.

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“Stinky Rental”

★★★☆☆

written by Chrisja on 16/09/2011

The staff were on the whole good. Prices were steep particularly given the size of the instruction groups meaning not as much time as necessary to practice sufficiently. The traing slope was also too busy. Renting the clothes was terrible, some items stank, other peoples snot rags left in your pocket etc. Come on dry clean. Also with their clothes you have to get changed to go for lunch otherwise the alarm goes off. What a stupid lazy design.

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