I visited on a Saturday in mid-December and was pl...

I visited on a Saturday in mid-December and was pleasantly surprised to find that tickets could be booked online at short notice (although do book if you're planning to go as a friend tried to purchase tickets on the morning of the session we had chosen and found that they were sold out), and that the rink was not overcrowded. Although not as beautiful as some of the rinks in London, Canary Wharf is a pleasant location, with plenty of bars and restaurants around for pre- or post-skating refreshment. The tickets were well-priced and included skate hire (but take a pound coin for the lockers as no bags are permitted on the ice).

However, there were a few drawbacks. As the ice is used so often, it is bumpy and uneven despite frequent cleaning. But the main problem was the staff. On the ice they behave like menacing, showing off and cutting up other skaters (I am a confident skater myself but saw a number of others stumble due to the behavior of staff members). They were also very disorganised in the shoe hire area and not one of my friends was given back the correct shoes on the first attempt.