Sunderland Live - Houghton le Spring

M B.

Just been to the 'winter wonderland' start with the good. We went to see Santa and although quite pricey the kids enjoyed themselves. Decent present off Santa, nice interaction with the kids by the elves whilst waiting on line. Now for the the bad! The rides very overpriced baring in mind there is an entry fee. The rides are still on average £3.50 per ride costing us £10.50 each time we put our 3 kids on and they are only on for a matter of a minute or so. Food and drinks are overpriced too I understand places need to make money but not by ripping peoples eyes out. Neither wonder the place was nearly empty maybe charge less and you will make more. I went with £350 in my pocket and through principle walked out after a couple of rides had they been reasonable I would have spent every penny. Got 4 hot chocolates from the pictured van charged £18 and it was pure water. The picture included is not water it's actually my hot chocolate tipped on the table. The attitude of the woman working there was as disgusting as the hot chocolate. Said we were the only people to complain. No we weren't not a chance we heard several people saying theirs was like water too. Please reconsider if you are thinking of going here looking at their Christmasy promos and videos. It's nothing like the vids or promos waste of money over priced and dirty

Umar Z.

We recently attended a wedding at a live venue in Sunderland, and it was amazing. The venue was intimate yet stylish, with great sound that made the live music unforgettable. The staff were attentive, ensuring everything ran smoothly, and the atmosphere was perfect for both the ceremony and the after party. It was a beautiful setting for a memorable wedding day.

Adam O.

Absolutely amazing... Staff, location, venue all out of this world everyone went above and beyond to make our football presentation for Coxhoe United the best we have ever had

Thank you Jay and the Team

ashley L.

We drove up from Leeds (1hr 30mins) we attended the horror car wash, the whole experience overall was amazing, the only reason it drops points is because of the pot holes when looping round in queue, they could've been filled in to make it more safe.
Apart from that, it was extremely satisfying, character's were grea, and we went home laughing.

Tori G.

We had tickets to see Paul smith but the venue was dirty, toilets absolutely stank of bleach and the security staff resembled something out of a bad comedy. Not a friendly vibe and poor food offering. We left after twenty minutes before the gig started

Kirsty L.

I went to see Taylormania, a brilliant Taylor Swift tribute artist which was incredible but the venue was a shambles. It was a seated event but the aisles were absolutely blocked with kids and adults standing, the front barrier was packed and kids were standing on seats blocking everyone’s view. Seems like there was zero staff inside the venue controlling the crowd, it was an absolute free for all. I heard people complaining but nothing was done about it, first venue I’ve seen that allows this.

Joe P.

We got asked to produce their panto by Teresa, who seemed very dodgy. I’m very glad we declined and question their name change from Rainton Arena to Sunderland Live Arena. It’s worrying to see a venue have this bad of a reputation and people not being paid for work done. I also noticed they were using a picture of The Regent in Stokes panto to promote theirs.. I got blocked when I questioned it on Facebook. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until this venue is shut down permanently!

El B.

Visit Santa at £22.50 a child was the worst experience. Turned up to the car park not much around apart from lots of overflowing rubbish we went into the old entrance to be told it was the wrong side. Huge guard dog going crazy through the glass. Walked to the actual entrance it all seemed just a bit botched. They let down the gate at 3.50 said we had to wait until 4 which was fine but they started using a grinder to fix the broken ramp in front of the little ones waiting: then told at 4 we had to wait whilst they did safety checks. U then have to walk the full winter wonderland rides and then the full food stalls, where most the staff were standing smoking just to reach the grotto so our 2 year old was cold and sick before we even reached it. One elf told us to go in and have a look at the decorations whilst the other elf was with the other family. When she came she took us to some interactive reindeers pressed the button and was off again. After that one minute we walked round the corner to some more decor, including red bull cans. All this was on old dirty carpet. When we arrived in santas room it was a bit nothing. He didn’t know how to be a Santa there was lots of awkward silence asking inappropriate questions to our 2 year old like do you have a boyfriend. It was just terrible. Really avoid if you want to keep the magic of Christmas alive. I’m so pleased our little one isn’t at the age of questioning is this real as it would definitely give it up.