Skate San Diego

Staff was nice. But the facility is in need of serious tlc. Except for a couple of short games no staff is in the arena. People were out there dancing with no skates and some young man started bossing people around. The arena is not smooth and the lighting is terrible. After saying this the four 9 year olds I brought had a blast. I loved skating as a child. Wish there was more interest and there fore more and better places to skate.

Going roller skating in San Diego is like choosing between the lesser of two evils. You can go to the place with the really nice rink and risk being robbed in the parking lot. Or you can go to Skate San Diego and risk killing yourself somewhere in this lawsuit waiting to happen. Whoever thought taking some pegboard and make it into a skating rink should have their fingers ran over with all four wheels! That is only the beginning of this disaster of a skate rink. The DJ/​music is horrible. In the 4 hours we were there, they played the same looping tracks over and over again. No variety and also nothing fun to groovy skate to. They stopped a few times to play games with the kids with the winner received a pass good for $ 10 skating. All of the winners gave their prizes away and said they would not be coming back. There are no half sizes, so bring extra socks if you needed. The only seating area is also the only viewing area, one single bench seat along the wall. I was going to take a picture, but there is no lighting, which brings me to the next point. Once you get past the lobby, the whole place is dark minus the glow of the lights coming from the skate rental area. Its like a horror movie waiting to happen and at some point I expected a crazed maniac to spring out from the dark corner with blunt object in hand ready to bludgeon me to death. If by chance I could run away, I’d be extra careful not to fall on the concrete floor surrounding the rink or get a splinter on the unfinished wood steps leading from the seating area to the main floor. Of course I’d escape the killer and need to hydrate (because there is no AC and its 1000 degrees inside). But there is no snack bar and only a broken vending machine. I told the lady at the front desk that I was going next door to buy something cold to drink and she told me no outside food or drinks are allowed. Great, I escaped a murderer and now I’m going to die of heat stroke and dehydration.
One star for it being cheap. I got a deal on Groupon $ 23 for 4 people including entry and skates. Kids wont notice so much of the risk for bodily injury and you can plan ahead to tailgate in the parking lot. I wouldn’t pay any more than that and I also won’t go out of my way to go there again. Another star for location. Under the right management they could have a great school trip, family and also adult night spot.

Worst fucking place ever! They deserve no business! They have the worst equipment and nasty everything. The back of my truck with tools are more clean then this dump. Don’t go here seriously the worst place ever.

This is not a real skating rink. The floor isn’t even real. Terrible!!! I will never bring my kids here again. The floor is plastic with holes in it, no air conditioning, snack bar nothing!!! It wasn’t worth the 10 dollars per person If it was free it would still be too much.

Went here to celebrate an adult (ahem, kid at heart), Birthday party. The location was a little hard to find. Parking lot was not well lit at night and the signage of the building was not noticeable. The party room was equipped with tables, chairs, pizza and drinks. The skate rentals were included in the party package. I haven’t gone roller skating in years! I’m sure glad I didn’t fall! The rental skates looked worn out. The wheels on the skates I got didn’t roll that well. The floor of the rink was a bit unusual. It wasn’t smooth at all. I remember skating on smooth wood floors back in the day. It was fun to skate for a little bit, but my body doesn’t move like it did when I was younger. Not sure I’ll be back here to skate. If I do, I might invest in my own skates and get some exercising done.

Have not been skating in years, this is close to my home so took the family there, it was 97 outside and 96 inside, we paid $ 10 each for the four of us and by the time we put our skates on we were all wet from sweat, went onto the rink some air on one end of the rink but way too hot, we left 5 min late, what a waste, never go here again…

Employees were nice, but the music was crappy and there’s no air conditioning. Also it’s not even a «roller skating rink» it’s more and a roller hockey rink and it’s not comfortable to skate on. It was overall too hot, too slow, and not functional.

We went here Sat for my son’s 10^th bday. It is in definite need of work. There is NO AC. It was super hot, everyone was sweating. They put a fan in the birthday room, but that was honestly not good enough. We brought in another fan. I wanted to love this place. It is so convenient. There is no snack bar, not a deal breaker, but still that is a big deal. The only saving grace for me was that the staff were super accommodating. They told me they don’t really allow outside food and drink. I am glad I still brought a few things, because I had no clue they didn’t have a snack bar. They allowed us use of the fridge to keep drinks cold. For the price, I expected a bit more. They do let the kids have fun, which is great. If we go back, I will know to bring plenty of drinks.

I really really wanted to like this place because it’s the only roller rink in East County. But the place is terrible.
The skates are in terrible shape.
They don’t have half sizes.
They don’t have rollerblades.
They don’t have a snack bar.
The roller rink flooring is the stupidest ideas I have ever seen. It’s like a plastic mat on top of a concrete floor. Almost like the foam matts on a gym floor; but plastic. It is incredibly hard to skate on.
The only positive things I have to say:
The staff was nice.
The price was affordable. $ 10.00
If they took that stupid mat off the floor I would give this review another star.

I wanted to be happy since this looked like the best of the two rinks (looks wise). Even though we had fun with our friends and their kids for my daughter’s birthday party we will not be returning here and will instead go back to skate land in Linda Vista. Honestly the only reason why I have it one more star was that the host tried to be more accommodating but still not the best service. Very disorganized set up for birthday parties and no privacy for any of the families. There was no direction from the host because she was too busy staffing the front desk too. They also charge and outrageous amount for bringing in outside food.
Agree with others in that the place needs to be safeguarded. Lawsuit waiting to happen. Doesn’t matter that they put a sign up that they are not responsible for injuries. Nobody signed a waiver form they can still be sued. Hope the owner reads this and makes some changes. If they do, then you will get a lot more people who will come to the rink.

I skate here every Sunday for Roller Derby Practice and some Friday Nights there is Open Skate for adults and kids with a DJ. $ 10 gets you a slice of pizza, soda and your skate rentals. The rink is very clean with a sport tack material (not wood surface). Bathrooms are big. Vending machines available inside. Plenty of parking. They do accept credit card payments. Rink is right off the freeway. Staff are very nice.

I remember when this place was a bowling alley. Its kinda well EH! I say that because its a little beat up. However the staff was very courteous and the patrons were also very nice there was a lot of children and adults both skating. One thing that might be a nice addition would be some air conditioning or air recycling. The location is easy to get to and easy to find parking. I think in general it just needs a face lift.
The rink was interesting never been on that type of skating floor. The skates themselves need some care and attention possibly replacement.
Overall I did have a good time, some basic feedback and yes I would return because it was enjoyable.

I brought my kids here for fun with friends. It is good place for kids to play and being active insteads of staying home with video games. They have public skating everyday, special deals on groupon, birthday parties. My kids have so much fun and burn extra calories.

I had the most fun time ever…
The cost: My family and I went there and the price is very reasonable
The rink: Could do much better but it was very easy to skate on
The staff: Young adults or teens unsure which one but very unreliable
The sakes: Be sure they give you the skates that match if not you will find out. They are very old so you are better off bringing your own.
The music: Replayed the same over and over again but workable
Overall: I would go their again because it was the fun I had and my family enjoyed it. I give a four star because the facility need great improvements and new skates are needed big time.
Skate San Diego my family and I will see you soon please don’t close down…

My daughter just celebrated her 11^th birthday here. She absolutely loved it. She had a blast with all her friends roller skating. The staff was super helpful and friendly. Jake and Darcy were our party hosts, they were very attentive and accommodating. The pizza was delicious and the soda was just fine. I was a little skeptical upon reading previous reviews but I was assured everything would be fine and it was more then fine. The birthday was fantastic. I even dealt with Cherise over the phone prior to the party and she was very helpful and also accommodating. I really don’t have one single complaint. All the other parents who attended the party said they had so much fun and what a great idea this was. We will all definitely be back. Thank you Skate San Diego for a successful birthday party.

«My first thought: I’m having fun.
My second thought: this place is a shiz hole.»
— My fiancé.
Yep, this totally hits the nail on the head. It’s a fun place, but it’s a total dump.
We went to Skate City in Colorado when I was a kid. So when I saw the Groupon for Skate San Diego, I got a bit nostalgic and figured it would be a fun and different date night. I know my memory is a little rose-​colored and I know Skate City wasn’t the cleanest place in the world, but it still beats this place.
Skate rentals are gnarly (expected). We ended up doing the $ 10 Friday night special which comes with a slice of pizza and a soda. What they don’t tell you is they buy about 10 pizzas from the cheapest place nearby for everyone in attendance that night. Then they serve it to you from the box elementary school kitchen style. And the soda is cheapo Shasta. It’s as though the $ 10 is a rip off, honestly (unexpected). Meanwhile, teenagers are standing behind the serving counter, eating the pizza themselves, instead of helping the customers.
There isn’t much seating space or room to change into the skates.
Everything is stained. Walls. Floors. Everything.
Bottom line: the place is just nasty.

Great place for the kids, I loved the fact that it wasn’t crowded. On a Friday night it was perfect… Allowed my kids to learn. Great deal on Groupon for 6 people.

This place is great!!! I went on Friday night for the public skating session and used a Groupon. Only $ 11 for two people, skate rental, pizza slice, and cup of soda for four hours! How can you beat that?
The facilities were fine and the staff was really nice. I was very pleased with the music playing — you got very thing from Ozzy to Ice Cube!
I will be returning because this brought back memories from my childhood, made me work up a sweat, and provided a really fun night.

Worst decision ever! Myself, along with other seventh grade teachers, completely regret bringing our students to this facility. Two people were running the place for a field trip accommodating 120 students, their «arcade» included only 2 games, and dead cockroaches lay on the ground. The staff was friendly and apologetic, but we were soured on the experience!

We were looking into a venue for my daughter’s 11^th bday party. A big thing for me was that the place have A/​C, especially in El Cajon, since it would be deep into the summer (August). When I had called last year looking for bday venues, I was told that they were moving and the new place would have A/​C so I figured we’d wait and revisit the option next birthday.
Well, that time rolled around… we went and checked it out when it was still pretty cool, especially for El Cajon, as this has been a crazy mild summer — no complaints. There would’ve been no need for A/​C at that time but I just assumed there was A/​C. When I got everything confirmed and booked, I found out there is no A/​C but they have a special roof that supposedly reflects sunlight or something fancy like that. I was also told there were a bunch of big fans that really help a lot. I was hopeful that the mild weather would hold but had a feeling it wouldn’t, as that’s how stuff like that works, you know? ;))
Wouldn’t you know it, the day of the party (⁸⁄₁₇) happened to be pretty much the hottest day of the summer thus far! It was pretty darn hot from the moment we walked in at 3ish until we left around 7. They tried to be accommodating as possible, providing us with numerous fans for the party room and the common area outside the room, which is where most guests ended up.
The kids still managed to have a great time, which is really all that matters. The staff was very, very friendly and helpful, offering to help me decorate the room, helping out with storage of the cake/​ice cream and a few other snacks I brought, and just overall being available for all of the guests and the kids. It was a great deal for the money — $ 200 covered 12 kids, 2 pizzas and 3 pitchers of soft drinks plus an hour in the room. Luckily, no other parties were booked so we had the whole place to ourselves, and didn’t have to leave the room or accommodate anyone else in the common area.
4 stars are for the staff and the way they really tried their best, my daughter had no complaints beyond the heat and neither did I. I do wish the floor wasn’t the bumpy type, it’s hard to get traction and I’m used to the smoother, wooden (or whatever it is) skating surface. I also wish there was no charge for admission, even if you don’t plan on skating ($ 7). I don’t know if that’s common practice but to me, it doesn’t make much sense. Also, they really, really need to invest in some new quad skates as the current ones are pretty run down… wear thick socks!