Aliso Viejo Ice Palace

The ice rink is nice here and I enjoyed the night skating with the lights dimmed and video screen.
The review I have is for the skate shop and the service I received while purchasing some ice skates.
The man that helped me was friendly at first and I explained that I was new to skating and wanted to purchase some skates.
He helped by placing my foot on the measure and brought out and laced up a skate. I tried to shove my foot inside but my foot was just too wide. The kindness the man had, simply disappeared as he said «why didn’t you tell me your foot is wide?» Um, I didn’t know to say that. Then I thought to myself you saw my whole foot as you measured it.
He grabbed another type of skate and it fit perfect.
As part of the purchase, the blades were going to be sharpened and so he went into the back and began to do that. While he was back there I kept hearing some choice words being spoken and when he came out he placed the skates on the floor, not in the box, and he said «here you go, I’m late». Apparently he was late to teach a class, but really how was I supposed to know his schedule? I didn’t come in at closing time. I didn’t expect exceptional service, but you can certainly do better than this.

It looks a little run down, but it was fine for our first time as a family skating. $ 42 for two adults and one 3 year old, which covered rink time and skate rental. A little over an hour is all we needed before our toddler had enough.
They turn up the music and dim the lights for some extra fun, which is cute. Staff were really friendly. I would consider coming back since it’s just around the corner from me.

The café is an absolutists dump. The kids behind the counter are on their phones and don’t wash their hands. The tile and floor sinks are dirty. The windows are dirty. The walls need paint. The restrooms and beat up. Gross. Norovirus concerns. Need more disinfection.

Took 4 year old daughter here. Convenient, close, friendly staff were helpful. I hope they keep this place going for years to come.

All in all, it’s a pretty good ice rink. It’s usually crowded if you come on the weekend, but other than that you usually can enjoy it with not too many people. This place has gotten a lot nicer over the years, except for the heated lounge. They need to do some serious work there. Not too expensive either. I would suggest this place to other people.

Nice facility and really good price. Took a few neighbor kids for an impromptu bday party. They were cool about bringing out own food and cake. Will be back

Most people don’t remember Ice Chalet or Skate Ranch or any of the other cool places that made Orange County so great years ago. Many have been replaced by malls (Costa Mesa), volleyball facility (Huntington Beach), even a freeway off-​ramp (Santa Ana) but this place is still going strong. First, let’s get real about the bathrooms. Any time you have little kids running around at a birthday party or hockey players or a busy Saturday afternoon, you’re going to have messy bathrooms. The building wasn’t built yesterday, either. Deal with it. I have been there when the crew’s been busily mopping the floors in the early evening and they do keep the rubber as clean as they can.
Also, the snack bar serves very tasty treats at reasonable prices and on a rainy day while your kid skates around, it’s heaven to sip and read at one of their comfy tables. Since the last reviewer complained about the stools, they have been recovered with new black seat covers so that review isn’t representative of the current state of things there.
My son learned to ice skate here with Stephanie and has gone on to their hockey program with Warren and I honestly have to say their classes are a great value. Free skates are offered with one 8-​week program and in addition to a half hour of ice time in class, he also gets a free skate pass each week and believe me, he takes advantage of it. He’ll go as long as he can out there and that’s how you get good. Ice time. The coaches and staff are amazing; we’ve even taken a private lesson there and were impressed with what Kevin was able to teach our son in just the half hour he spent with him. Sean, head of the hockey program there, returns texts and calls and the shop, run by Adam, is well stocked with the basics.
It’s true that there are other OC ice rinks: Westminster, Anaheim even the other end of Lake Forest has a rink but in my opinion, the ice quality, convenient hours and location and amenities are great! Thank you, Ice Palace, for many happy hours of skating through the years!

The owners of the building and the owners of the business need to come to agreement over who is responsible for the upkeep, repair and cleanliness of this building

One of my kids played for the OCHC Bantam B team that won SCAHA in 2014. I have spent a lot of time at this rink. It is cold if you are not on the ice working out. If you are watching a game, the sight lines are mediocre. It is best to stand at the glass, or stand on the top row of the seats. There are support posts that will block parts of the ice from the stands.
My kids claim the ice quality is excellent. Again, one of the m skated here two or three times a week for an entire hockey season. They have free wifi and the staff is nice.

Well the place was dirty like everyone else noticed. I would never eat the food here. My biggest issue was with the skates you rented. They were either too lose or they were too tight. I only went around the rink a few times before I had to take off the skates and leave. They need to invest in better skates and fixing up the place.

We take our granddaughter there every weekend for private lessons. The coach (Miss Libby) is great. The lessons have done a lot to help her self confidence and she seems to have natural ability to learn the sport. It does get a little crazy on the ice when it is free skate. Overall, we have had a good experience and everyone seems pretty nice.

Well, it’s been about a year since I was last here. The ceilings have been replaced and it looks as though it has a fresh coat of paint! I haven’t been in the bathroom or the party rooms yet. The fire extinguisher sign has been removed. Good for the Ice Palace! I’m glad to see they took care of a few things!

Coaches and staff are amazing. The facility is disgusting as others have called out. No consideration for people watching. The stools are shredded, most of the padding is gone and the vinyl and falling off. The snack bar is a joke and the snack bar area is usually filthy. Unfortunately it’s the only game in town so we deal with it but it’s obvious the owners know we are a captive customer base given the lack of consideration for the folks spending money there.

Monday afternoon is the complete opposite of what I’ve written about Saturday and Sunday free skate, which was:
An accident waiting to happen. I’ve attended the free skate with my child several times now and it just seems to get worse with every visit. The staff seems to be comprised of unsupervised high-​school age children with all of the attention to detail and quality that that entails. The ice is almost always super crowded, with little kids, struggling novices and older hot-​dogs who roar around the ice like they’re in a race, weaving in and out of skaters as fast and close as they can without a care in the world. Nobody stops them; the only thing I’ve seen anyone get scolded for was picking up ice shavings. Perhaps once one of these 200+lb speedsters plows into a kid at full speed and someone gets hauled off in an ambulance someone will start to care. I’m sure the ensuing litigation will bring attention to the problem.
Off ice isn’t much better. I would compare it to being at the airport during rush hour. People stand and chat inside of doorways, walkways, entrances, etc, completely oblivious to whomever needs to pass. Most frustrating are the parents who stand in the entrances to the ice, taking videos of their kids. The rink is surrounded with transparent glass, but for some reason that’s the hot spot for stopping and taking pictures. And again, nobody on the staff bothers to try to clear the area — too busy chatting up fellow staff members, it seems.
Eat before or after you go. The concession stand charges movie house prices for junk. Not that you should expect quality food in an ice rink, but just be aware.
Finding (and exiting) a parking spot can be a real chore. The lot has about 75 spaces, and all of the surrounding buildings have signs threatening to tow you if you dare park there. So if you can’t find a spot in the lot, and don’t feel like gambling with the neighbors, it’s a hike to find a spot on the street that isn’t adjacent to a red curb.
If you’re going to go, go on a weekday. Other than the food, the experience is quite enjoyable.

I definitely have a thing for small ice rinks, mostly like because that’s what I am use to. I didn’t grow up going to one of these fancy smancy rinks that the NHL teams own and operate or anything like that. That being said, this rink made me feel right at home on the ice, and really this rink isn’t that small. It has plenty of places to sit and watch people skate (bleacher type seating), a little restaurant, a pro shop, and the upstairs are offices and locker rooms for hockey. The ice isn’t great, but it’s not terrible. I enjoy skating here. The people that work here seem nice, and there seems to be plenty going on. Nice job AVIP.

Ice Palace used to be THE place I used to go to for ice skating when I was a kid. I recently came back here to support a friend at his hockey game and my my has it changed.
Location: The location is tucked behind the Aliso Viejo library, near some business buildings, and right next door to a police station. It is not very busy in the surrounding areas for this reason.
Parking: Parking can be an issue if there are parties/​games going on. There are only certain designated areas for you to park if you are going to be visiting Ice Palace, so park accordingly and come early if possible.
The Mood: The quality of the way Ice Palace is seems to have gone down. Restroom facilities and the cleanliness of the place just seems old and worn out and is in need of a paint job. It also certainly doesn’t seem quite as «hip» as it used to be. With places such as Irvine Spectrum who has different eateries and nice surrounding environment around, Ice Palace will need to do something more to make them stand out from the competition.

The location is nice– however the ice is not Rey well taken care of and neither are any of the oter facilities. If you’re here to washcloth hockey bring a blanket and your own snacks and drinks.
If you play hockey– be sure to suit up properly because the refs do not have your back. They miss calls– they don’t pay attention — and they’ll make calls in favor of their buddies.

The kids really enjoy the rink and it is a family fun center
If you decide to come keep in mind it will be hard to find parking, food is expensive, limited seating for parents who do not skate and dress warm.
As a parent who does not skate 2 ½ stars.
On behalf of my 7 year old 4 stars. Food is still expensive and my kid will starve until she is ready to leave.

Not the greatest experiences here so far:
ice is usually soft, destroyed, or both.
water fountain was broken for weeks. ONLY water fountain.
«coaching» staff during sticktimes is often rude, or more interested in skating around and shooting for their own benefit than allowing paying customers to enjoy themselves.
contacted adult hockey staff multiple times to inquire about playing. no response. then forwarded on to general management as no one has gotten back to me, no response there either. lame.

Why I love Aliso Viejo Ice Palace:
Open Skate for the public on Friday evening from 7:30 — 9:30pm, Saturday and Sunday from 12:30−3pm.
$ 15 per person for admission and skate rental.
Music and disco lights.
Ice Skating really is a great workout.
Super fun!
Being able to witness girls and guys who are super good at skating and doing mad tricks.
Watching little kids go out on the ice for the first time – their expression is priceless.
Staff is really friendly.
They host birthday parties for the kiddos.
Overall, just an amazing time and oh so fun!
Did I mention what a good workout it is too?
Happy Ice Skating Everyone!