The Little Lancashire Village Darwen - Darwen

Bethany

I have been to all 3 of the little Lancashire villages and I love them all. I love how clean it is here I have never seen a spec of dust or dirt here. all staff are friendly and never had a single problem here.
There’s nothing I hate more than taking my toddler to places and seeing that they are dirty as it makes me anxious as I hate having a poorly toddler and this place make me feel completely at ease. On my last visit my toddler was still eating at tidy up time which I tried rushing him but the staff said it was fine and let him finish I have been to other places where you are literally kicked out at the end of the session.
another thing I love here is the facilities for toileting and baby changing, my boy is new to toilet training and the toilet has a baby toilet seat which not a lot of places have! They also had nappies, wipes, nappy bags etc in the toilet so if you had forgotten anything there was no worry! I’ve been there where I’ve forgotten something and there isn’t a worst feeling.
The toys in all 3 of the little Lancashire villages are all looked after, they don’t keep tat! there isn’t toys with pieces missing, everything is as it should be which is rare to see.
This review is based on all 3 of the Lancashire villages as they are all amazing 🤩

Mom L.

Today was our first time visiting the Darwen site - we’ve visited the Burnley site for a few years now, and we’ve visited the Rawtenstall site recently too. These little villages are such a fab, clever, fun idea for young children to explore, play and learn. We’d definitely recommend a visit to all three of the villages.

Roxann S.

An exciting play/learning environment for children from walking age up to 7. Imaginative play opportunities galore for children (and parents alike).
Nice cafe environment to grab a quick bite to eat or drink. Cafe prices did feel a little on the steep side but I guess that's the world we're living in today.

Staff were polite and present.

Toilets were very clean and well equipped with baby change facilities and potty.

Angela H.

Love it here, great place to take little ones, lots of dressing up in the different areas, shops, pizza making, launderette, airport, cafe and lots more. Little cafe for adults to have a brew while watching the monsters play

Sarah W.

Our first time visiting the Darwen branch today for their Christmas event and it was brilliant. A lovely mix of festive activities with their usual high quality role play, and Santa Steve was exceptional.

N A.

We visited the Little Lancashire Village (Darwen) today, the place itself is lovely, with various different zones for children to engage in role play. My son enjoyed his time there.

However, there’s definitely a few points that they could improve on. We visited with 1 child and 4 adults. We purchased a cheese toastie meal, 2 hot drinks and 2 cakes from their cafe.

As the member of staff arrived with our food and drinks she commented on the snacks that were on the table (1 packet of crisps and 2/3 little snack bars we had brought from home, which no one was eating at the time). She basically told us to put it away and said we’re not allowed to eat it in there. Her manner and tone was rude and walked off without even giving us a chance to respond. Considering we paid entry for 1 child and 4 adults plus spent just under £20 on food from their cafe, we thought this was completely out of order. I’d understand if we’d brought actual meals in with us but it was a few little snacks. Like many children my child is a fussy eater and always have to bring food and snacks with us so he doesn’t go hungry. I offered to buy him pancakes from there but he didn’t want it. Even for adults a few little snacks shouldn’t be an issue.

We spotted the man sat on the next table with snacks not purchased from them, however did not hear her say anything to him.

Also whenever I have visited similar places and I’ve been to a fair few, a member of staff has always been at the door, saying bye to the customers. However, here they were nowhere to be seen. I would have liked to actually speak to a member of staff to provide our feedback, however was unable to do so as a result.

Unfortunately due to the points I’ve mentioned above we have been put off visiting any of the villages again.

In response to the Little Lancashire Village’s reply:

As mentioned previously, I have been to plenty of similar play centres and have never encountered this. Even if this is the policy you choose to have in a children’s play centre, then fair enough but the member of staff could have just discussed it with us in a polite manner, there was no need to be rude and just walk off without allowing us to even respond.

1. Actually none of the snacks we brought with us that she was referring to were available to purchase in your cafe. When she made the comment we were not eating the snacks, they were just on the table whilst we waited for the food that we had ordered from your cafe. In regards to your cafe generating an income for your business, we did purchase from the cafe (2 hot drinks, 2 cakes and a cheese toastie meal).
2. We would not be offering snacks we have brought to another child, especially not without their parent or carer’s permission.
3. Your business is a children’s play centre, it is not a restaurant. On many occasions we have taken snacks to restaurants and have never been told to put them away. As previously mentioned many children are fussy eaters and you can’t expect them to starve when they do not want to eat anything that is available at your cafe. Prime example of this is me asking my child several times if he would like pancakes from your cafe, however he refused. The member of staff that was rude is the one who was stood there at the time and witnessed this exchange with my child.

I don’t see how emailing you beforehand ‘so you could have discussed it with the relevant staff’ would have made any difference to the poor customer service we had already experienced. As already mentioned in my original review we did wait to speak to the member of staff in question, however she was nowhere to be seen or any other staff for that matter.

The manner in which you have responded to my review just reaffirms the poor customer we experienced.

Lesley B.

Been to the Burnley one and my grandson loved that. This is newer so had different things and he tried it all. There was a teeny caravan with a barbecue, imitation marshmallows on sticks, a pizza parlour, a beauticians plus much more. He enjoyed it so much my daughter is going to book it for his birthday. There is a cafe serving food and drinks. Just beware of the cakes, they do keep asking to be eaten.

Salma P.

My son always enjoys his visits to the little Lancashire village, I think the kids enjoys it more when they're around 2 and half years old and above. Plenty to experience and plenty time. The food selection is good and the kids box is very tasty. The staff are really friendly