Highland Ice Arena

I was really disappointed in this place, having driven all the way from West Seattle. I had a Groupon that they refused to honor. Their explanation was that Groupon just signs places up that do not ask to be a part of the discount. UH — NOT TRUE but I wasn’t going to yell at the teenage employee behind the counter. I got 4 pairs of skates for my family, all of which were old and had laces that had obviously broken at some point and were thin and had knots in them to keep them together. Why can’t you replace the laces??? It didn’t feel safe. When I inquired about getting a walker for the ice for my 3 year old, I was told that their insurance doesn’t allow for them. UH, the ice skating rink at the Seattle Center even has them. What’s a bigger trip hazard — a walker or my 3 year old laying face down on the ice? I feel like the employees didn’t care about people having a good time and the customer service aspect was hugely lacking. I will never come here again.

So today I brought my daughter and friend here for some much anticipated winter break ice skating. It had been a year since we had been able to make it up here so they were very excited! It is not fanciest place but served its purpose in past until today. Let me tell you that excitement was dashed pretty quick by the awful customer service we received from the get go. Both girls are 12 and 13 respectively and I was dropping them off, but first made sure to pay them in. The cashier whom I purchased their admittance ticket from either despises her job or her customers or perhaps both. I had not noticed the skate rental price was not included in admittance fee so when we handed her twenty for 14.00 in admission fees and she informed me I was still 2.00 dollars short I assumed she thought I was skating, so I was like oh I am not skating. She rudely goes I know that but they cant skate without skates can they? I was taken aback. She could have nicely said the 14.00 does not include skates. So we get their admission tickets and skate rental tickets and head over for them to pick their skates at the rental counter. The young man there seems equally annoyed by our presence and stares us down with the same nasty look the cashier had, making me ponder if he was her kid. At which point the only saving grace of this place, an elderly gentleman working at skate rental counter too, jumps in asking what size they need and smiling and wishing the girls a fun time. He by the way is the only reason they got 2 instead of one stars. So I leave the girls and tell them to have fun. On the drive home we start talking about how it went only to find out the vending machines/​change machines not giving change so for their various snacks they have to ask at front desk for change which is greeted with and attitude of being huge inconvenience to workers there. Then the vending machines kept getting everything stuck necessitating the machines to be shook to release their snack.. One of the times the kind elderly gentleman employee I mentioned earlier noticed and helped them shake machine to vend their snacks. The other times they were left to their own devices, which is fine except one of the times they got yelled at when helping another customer shake machine when her snack got stuck. They noted while they were sitting eating their snacks several people had to shake machine as theirs were stuck and to have to get change too. So it boggles the mind why the workers are so annoyed with people asking for change and shaking machines to free their snacks. How about instead of sitting being judgemental jerks you call in repair people and provide functional equipment for your paying customers and then they wont have to «bother» you. Not making the 40 minute drive from West Seattle again to give these rude people my hard earned dollars. Will be looking into other skating places. If only we could convince the one lovely employee to work somewhere with people as nice as him. I wish I had found out his name so he could get proper credit here.

This place is old and outdated. Went with a few friends and we had fun, but we wouldn’t return. The ice was in very poor shape. There were lots of bumps and divots, spots of thin ice, and areas where you actually down hill in the arena. They only have vending machines, so bring your own water and snacks.

Great place to take my son for a boys day out. Although the facilities are dated and a bit «worn», its still fun to get out on the ice and skate. We had a great time!

This is specifically for the skate shop, since I live a bit far and skate elsewhere. The skate shop has a nice selection of products and I got skates for myself and my daughter. The staff are very knowledgable and work very carefully to make sure that the skates fit well, and provide detailed information on how to care for the products. Because skates come in different sizes (compared to shoes) and widths, a pair of well fit skates are money well spent. The price is similar to online price. If you need a pair of ice or hockey skates, this would be a good place to go.

WHERE IS YOUR ZAMBONI?! Ice skating was still a blast! But whoa that was some rough ice. Ice skating is not a common activity for me so this made getting going that much more difficult! BUT I did it!
Music here needs an upgrade! Taylor Swift circa 2008 is just not going to cut it. The staff was friendly and the prices were reasonable. $ 7 for skate rental and $ 3.50 for the ice!
Great time for sure. Don’t come here hungry though as there isn’t much going on other than vending machines and powdered hot coco.

Cute little ice rink — there are a couple of rinks actually — one you can get for a private party or event, and one that is public. I don’t skate much so I’m never very good, but fun nonetheless. It’s a bit worn around the edges — I can’t imagine that an ice rink is a very profitable business. My skates fit great, rental was only $ 3.50, and it was a fun couple of hours!

Consistently crappy ice skates to rent, consistently crappy attitude by all of the employees — not one seems happy about their job or the customers that came to have fun.
The ice??? It’s fine.

Nice rink, the employees were extremely nice. Will return!

My daughter and I love skating here. She has been taking lessons for several months and the instructors are very good. While this place could definitely be improved with a remodel I find it charming nonetheless.

$ 10 for an afternoon of fun? Sure, why not?
The parking lot is a little cramped (narrow slots) and it kinda smells like feet when you first step in, but that quickly gets forgotten after you lace your thickly socked feet into their skates and get on the ice =)
There are hot beverages for sale and lockers for your things ($.75). You gotta do this once in the holiday season!

Shout out to Dylan, who fitted our tot with a great pair of skates. This review has been sitting in my to do list for months. They were super busy for the Christmas holidays but Dylan gave us superior service. He made sure that her skates fit her tiny feet well and handled her with care. When I was joking about the skates not being pink, he offered to go look for a pair. No eye rolling, sighs, or impatience. Just a genuine desire to give us a product we’d be happy with.
6 months later, the skates still fit, which is a minor miracle for growing kiddos. She loves them and never complains about pain with her skates.

I really wanted to like this place more. The people at the front desk were friendly and the pro shop was really helpful. Rental skates looked newish. Yeah it’s sort of rundown but that didn’t bother me because I was here to learn skating, and I just needed a rink with decent ice and convenient sessions.
It totally depends which session you go to, because weekend skates are insanely packed, which is typical of most rinks. Lots of little kids, beginners, hockey players whipping in and out and making you trip, crowding around the doors, etc. The ice gets cut up really fast and there’s tons of snow just minutes after it’s zamboni’d. I’ve also gone at less crowded times when it’s easier to actually try practicing some skills. The ice is better in those sessions, but it’s not the greatest and a corner of the rink slopes pretty significantly.
I was here once in a less-​crowded session when teenage kids were literally competing to hit the glass/​barrier as hard as they could and flinging each other around. Not exaggerating. It was like they were competing to take each other down like bowling pins, and they didn’t care who else they took with them. I know boys will be boys and you have to be ready for a certain amount of roughhousing in a public skate, but things were getting downright harrowing. What really got my goat, though, was that no rink employees seemed to care. This went on for about an hour and a half and nobody stepped in. I know they could see what was going on, but they seemed to think, «Eh, not my problem.» I wasted my money that day and I’ve found another rink.

Stream of consciousness Unilocal review: ice, cold, skating, wobbly, not as bad as I thought I’d be, holding hands, going faster, someone fell, go slower, music, lights go out, disco lights, going faster, fast young boy speeding by, couples kissing, feet hurting, going faster, almost fell, go slower, try to go backwards, she’s talking on the phone, now she’s taking a video of me, try to be impressive, fail, cold, ice, skating, music, lights.

Well, the place is nothing special really. But it is an ice rink afterall… There is the main rink where open skate usually is, but also a little tiny side rink… ice can be pretty uneven in both.
I really wish they had an adult skate time because I get so sick of these little 8 year old kids whipping around people and cutting in really close. Now, I am a pretty confident skater, but when they do that and I am so close that I can’t stop, I feel like I must fall down to avoid crushing them otherwise I am the jerk who ran over an 8-​year-​old…
ANYWAY,
good place to get your skating fix and pretty inexpensive.

Pretty awesome spot! It’s no Olympic rink but it sure does the trick. Each time I’ve been there have been loads of kids and teenagers. I don’t think the ice skaters are problematic though. I’ve never seen anyone too rowdy or annoying. Mostly just awkward pre-​teens going on awkward dates. Holding hands, slipping, falling, laughing, blushing… it’s cute.
I’ve come here with my sister and my boyfriend and well into our twenties (nearly thirties) we all had a blast.
If you’re renting skates, it’s not likely you’ll score a shiny new pair. Much like bowling alleys, this place is a wee bit run down but the price is right, the service is great and the workout is awesome. I went skating for about an hour last week and I must’ve moved some dormant muscles around because my legs were sore for days! It made me want to go back and get another little workout in.
The ice can be crowded with other people but there aren’t any idiots going the wrong way or breaking the rules. On the 3 occasions I’ve visited this rink over the last 2 – 3 years, it’s always been pleasant.

Some other people have labeled this place as «sketchy» and «prison-​like», but to be honest, I didn’t find this place too bad. Yes, the whole building could go for a major renovation, but they provide you with good skates, zamboni’d ice, at not too steep a price. And, to be honest, a dingy skating center can’t really detract from all the fun you’ll have if you go with a few friends.
This place gets super crowded on the weekends, so I’d suggest going on a weekday, or in the early afternoon/​morning on a weekend.
I had loads of fun, and I’m sure that you will too! Just be sure to use the bathroom before you come here, and don’t pay attention to the little bits of grime here and there, and you’ll have a blast.

Holy s***, this place was dingy and worn out… It did have real, authentic ice though… They even Zamboni’d it while I was there. Anyways, I don’t know if just showed up on a bad day, but it was jam packed with n00bz. I’m a decent skater and it was kind of tricky navigating between kids falling over.
If you’re looking for a cheap place to skate, without any «bells and whistles» and don’t mind «taking it slow», then I’d say check out Highland Ice Arena. It’s location is convenient, if you’re in or real close to Seattle proper. Most of the nicer ice arenas are a bit of a drive.

Maybe not the best ice skating rink in the world, but it’ll do. I came back for the first time since high school-​ish and was terrified to get out on the ice and get clowned by eight-​year-​old girls in spandex skirts and tiny North Face jackets and my worst fears were definitely a reality. These tiny girls are seriously doing shit I’ve only seen on TV. I felt so lame trying to stay upright while I saw pink-​clad pint-​sized girls doing double axels. Regardless, it was fun to figure out that it really IS like riding a bicycle. Except for the pedaling part. There isn’t any of that action on the ice.
Prices are meh. With skate rental, it comes out to about $ 10/​person. Skates are old and smell old. My laces were uneven so one side had to be just tied in a knot because there wasn’t enough lace to actually tie it and the other side had to be wrapped around my ankle twice. Definitely gives a weird dynamic. But this place is old and it’s not like I’d rent skates if I came here regularly so I can’t complain about that.
Lockers cost $ 0.75 for EACH TIME you open them. That’s kind of ridiculous. Overall I think we spent $ 2.25 to store shit. LAME.

It looks like a prison from the outside. The parking lot is sketchy. I probably wouldn’t come here if it was dark outside. The inside is dirty. It smells bad. The bathrooms are disgusting. But I had SUCH a blast here, that I barely noticed.
For $ 9.50 which includes skate rental, you really can’t beat it. Well, maybe you can but I’ve never ice skated in Washington before. It was crowded when we first got there around 2:30 pm on a Saturday, but by around 5 pm when we left, it was definitely manageable. Even when it was crowded, it added to the enjoyment and wasn’t so crowded that you couldn’t move. Not that I was going fast anyway.
I think it’d be fun to come here with a bunch of friends over a weekend, just for fun. I had a blast, despite the condition of the place.