With covid restrictions, I was aware that my boys hadn’t been swimming in a long time so as soon as I learnt that Coral Reef in Bracknell had reopened, I booked us a slot online for a Friday after school treat. This meant all the facilities including their amazing slides would be open which I knew would please my 9 year old.
All photo credits: Everyone Active
Coral Reef is one of the most impressive indoor leisure pools I have visited. It is in fact one of the largest in England! It has 5 water slides of various speeds, a toddler splash area to explore, tall decorative snakes that squirt out water, a jacuzzi, a meandering rapid water area, an erupting volcano and best of all – a pirate ship!
Check in was extremely quick. They have staggered time slots with coloured wrist bands which means it doesn’t get too busy and is a much more enjoyable experience.
We followed a clear one way system to the changing rooms where we could quickly change and pop our items in a locker. These require a £1 coin to use and was large enough for the 4 of us with coats.
Once the boys saw the pirate ship they were extremely excited and headed straight for it. You can climb aboard and use the shooters shaped like mini cannons to squirt people in the water below. There is also a small slide for under 7’s attached which is situated on the same side as the toddler play area. The toddler play area, which is designed for under fives, has some great colourful interactive play equipment. Located in slightly warmer water, it consists of small slides, drench buckets and water trough.All of which builds children’s confidence in water.
New since July 2022, is the splash pad. It’s brightly coloured with lots of water jets and ideal for toddlers.
We also very much liked the lazy river feature which we loved meandering along under some wooden bridges, as well as the faster rapids. For a bit of a relaxation, they have a jacuzzi style (maximum of 10 people) to chill out in or watch the erupting volcano nearby.
My nine year old was very keen to check out the water slides. With a large variety to choose from of different speeds and experiences, they have something perfect for a families or for those more thrill seeking. Aqua Splash was one I went on with my three year old. This was perfect for younger children with it being a more family friendly gentle pace. They then have the more adventurous slides called Cannon, Storm Chaser, Poseidon’s Peril and Maelstrom slides. Some rides include inflatable single and double rafts with changeable music themes and lighting. It really is very impressive!
Our band colour was called out via the pool announcement system to tell us when our session. They do ask you to leave promptly to keep numbers to a minimum. We easily found changing rooms to use before we headed off.
The pool isn’t particularly deep with its range between 0.15 and 1.35m. Even so, any children under the age of eight must be accompanied in the water by an adult aged 18 or over, with at least one adult for every two children.
There are a few different sessions you can book on to which include a flexi ticket family swim session with waterslides. They are also trailing parent and toddler swim sessions and special SEN sessions. Check their website for the latest pricing and tickets must be booked in advanced.
We all had a wonderful time as a family with something for us all to enjoy and will definitely return.
