The Refuge Manchester reviews by real event-goers

Review of Eurovision Screening Party

Not what the advert said at all. Seats were placed so you couldn’t see the screens meaning we sat on the floor. The pizza wasn’t loaded with chips and meatballs and wasn’t a HUGE slice like it said but a sliver. Bucks Fizz was just orange juice. The drag queens did one song and then just sat down the rest of the night, not hosting like the advert said. The downstairs of refuge was cramped and decorated poorly. Really not worth the £20, we all left after an hour

Review of Eurovision Screening Party

Was a rip off, felt exploited.

Warm orange juice with splash of alcohol was given on entry - not 'bubby' as advertised.

No drinks menu , long wait at the bar and the prices were hidden on the machine (had to ask how much before I tapped- prices do not reflect quality)

Cold, hard and small slice pizza given , not representative of the brand (was portion control lessened for the evening?) tried to address the issue on the night but management shrugged it off, with first come first serve stance. This was not in advertising

Performance were fun but should have had a stage with lighting.

Has potential to be a true gem but has so far to go.

Review of Eurovision Screening Party

Expected a little more pizza than one tiny slice. It took ages to get served at the bar, the bar staff had no idea who to serve first and it caused all sorts of issues with people, they were also rude when it was pointed out that people had been waiting and they were serving others before them. Sadly, didn’t think it was very good value for money. We left the party and went to the bar upstairs which is always very nice.

Review of Eurovision Screening Party

Left after 10 minutes, absolutely awful

Review of Eurovision Screening Party

You couldn't hear the TV at all and even though you were promised a table there was none

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum\'s & MC Kwasi

Statement by organisers of the Playhouse Project.

" Playhouse Project and the Refuge would like to apologise for any inconvenience or disappointment caused by an unavoidable, last-minute room change at the much anticipated Easter Sunday event. The negative implications of this manifested in various ways throughout the afternoon, especially with regard to buggy storage and overall audience movements, which became problematic for both the organisers and some of our much-loved guests. We would like to thank everyone for making it such a great party despite these issues - your constructive comments and continued, passionate support are hugely appreciated".

The event is a family friendly RAVE aimed at the parents of 0-11 year olds, specifically parents that used to enjoy clubbing, therefore the music is for the parents not the children. We have never held an event that plays children's music that is simply not our concept!!


It is your job to look after your child, we do not look after children at the event or during activities. We ensure that there is adequate signage and information prior to the event stating this.

Music is always set to the recommended level for young children and is monitored throughout using a sound level meter. If your child is under 3 years old or sensitive to noise we recommend ear defenders.

If you would like to contact me please email carlieashcroft@gmail.com

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum\'s & MC Kwasi

Top party, not much to say other than CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE!

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum\'s & MC Kwasi

As a family we love The Playhouse Project, always a great day and Refuge was a really beautiful venue. Our 3 year old danced, enjoyed the foam, lights, play doh and everything else. A fantastic way to spend Easter Sunday with friends, their kids and we were able to have a drink too. We will definitely be at the next one and will recommend to friends too.

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum\'s & MC Kwasi

Such a brilliant event! We went as a group with 1 year olds and a 4-year-old. Something for all the kids, from Bloom sensory to crafts and dancing with amazing lighting and disco ball our little ones loved. We will definitely attend another event!

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum\'s & MC Kwasi

Had a fantastic time with our 4 month old at Playhouse Project!
We will definitely be returning to future events!

Plenty of activities for different ages.

A bit of a mixup with the Bloom class venue - but, neither Playhouse or Bloom were to blame for this and it was resolved in the end as the venue found another room last minute.

MC Kwasi was brilliant as per usual and a big shoutout to the Playhouse team for putting it on!

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum\'s & MC Kwasi

I was expecting a party catering to children 0-4.

The process for checking tickets to the venue was messy, blocking the area to store the pushchairs. The pushchair storage was a shambles. The location from baby sensory to the mini disco wasn't simple, especially as I had more than one child of different ages .

The baby sensory however was lovely and peaceful but quickly got very busy and over populated. The lady running it was friendly and welcoming.

Initially, staff gave very confusing directions for where everything was. I was told that one area of the venue had been double booked, which was the reason for a last minute change. There seemed to be confusion of where things were located when talking to different members of staff. It felt very stressful to navigate around the venue. Something shared with other parents I spoke to.

The Disco was located in the basement. It was hot and the music seemed like a hodge podge of funk and soul, not catering at all to the young party crowd that the DJ was meant to be catering for. Aside from the dancing robot and the face painting, it was as if the additional 'fun things' for the kids to do was arranged that morning. It seemed poorly planned. One table had children (the party was for 0-4) sat around it with hammers, square cloths and flowers. It was assumed that the cloth was placed o top of the flowers and them pummelled with a hammer. Another table had the means to make seed bombs but with no one there to explain, children were left to assume what the activity was. There was no adult supervision until I arrived to supervise my own child. Nor was there anyone around until later to give guidance. There was clearly older kids allowed into the mini disco too, and with the blow up toys, it got a little rough at times.

The people working were lovely and very friendly but the event was confused and chaotic!
Additionally, I believe that at the beginning there should have been a person overseeing the pushchair storage room guiding people straight through, advising parents to fold their pushchairs for safer storage and someone up to an hour before the event ending to also assist, maybe using a one way system. The room was crammed with deployed pushchairs, many blocking a safe passage in and out.

There should have also been a clear point to check in, away from the pushchair storage and entrance. This area got backed up quickly, with pushchairs , visitors to the bar, the parents and children attending the event - no one was there to co ordinate traffic or assist. A manager did come by once to tell the people in the queue to stand to one side as we were blocking entrance into the bar before he very quickly disappeared.
The check-in was a small table, a piece of paper and one woman in the middle of this mad scramble!

I was glad to leave. The event was overpriced for what it was or wasn't. It won't be back for this event and I won't be recommending it. With better preparation and thought, it could have been great in its own right. It felt like a money spinner and the paying guests were clearly the after thought.

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum\'s & MC Kwasi

We were really disappointed with the event. It really did not seem like a baby or child event but a rave and drinking event for parents. It really wasn’t a place I would want to take a baby and in my view not baby-friendly at all - the music was so loud and it felt like a club. Not what we expected and we found it really stressful.

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum\'s & MC Kwasi

Rubbish

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum\'s & MC Kwasi

We’ve been to a previous Playhouse Project event in the Refuge’s ballroom which was amazing - yesterday’s event in the Vault fell far short of expectations unfortunately. It felt cramped, too hot and lacked atmosphere. The sensory play area being so far from the main event made things an absolute pain to juggle between our three year old and six month old.

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum\'s & MC Kwasi

It was incredible! We had the best time- kids entertained with crafting, play dough and other activities. We loved it… great music, they had the best time on the dance floor, with the robot, inflatables… all super cool and creative! The bar was good, they provided great service.
We can’t wait for the next one! Definitely will tell friends about the next one!

Review of The Playhouse Project Easter Rave w/ Disco Mum's & MC Kwasi

The event was OK but it wasn't really what we expected. I feel like a huge grump saying it but the music was too loud for children. We felt it was too busy for the room, which wasn't spacious enough for activities available.

Review of Viva la Refuge

It was not New Year’s Eve music. We left early as we could not enjoy it. Paid £60 for nothing.

Review of Viva la Refuge

A very nice place to hang out. However, the music wasn’t so great!

Review of Viva la Refuge

Review of Viva la Refuge