Alpharetta Family Skate Center Review

This rink needs some serious TLC and some upgrades.

We have had a great experience playing ice hockey at The Cooler.

Amazing . My grandson and his team played hockey there . So many people enjoying themselves .

Great because it's local but the locker rooms are NASTY and the showers need a fresh splash of bleach

Okay rink. Red sheet has messed up Zamboni doors, the blue rink is the better of the 2. Locker rooms are eh.

I have mixed experience with this facility. The skate coach was nice, staff were generally friendly and my kid had fun learning and playing there. However the business manager was rude, arrogant, combative and lack of civility in enforcing the rules of the place. He should speak to the customers politely and try to offer reasonable accommodation to the customers' situations. Instead he acted as if the customers were criminals. That hurts its business. The place also badly needs renovation: carpets at the entrance is torn, bathroom unclean, urinals dirty and changing rooms have gums on walls and floor ...

My son liked to practice to warm up and he did very well on icey

It was ok you might want to take people that know how to skate because on public skate there is a massive amount of people.

Fun place with great safety precautions. The children loved learning to ice skate!

Went here to enjoy to enjoy a hour of ice skating. Went with some friends too. The rink it self was really nice they don t clean the ice every 30 minuets which is nice because I know some places do that. There wasn t a lot of people but it was annoying some kids who obviously played hockey were doing private lessons in the middle of the rink and I felt pressured not to get in the way. After skating I got a smoothie at the conseshion stand which had a very nice atmosphere! The smoothie was great. I would recommend this place if your bored some day or for a birthday party.

We went to watch a college wrestling tournament. The room was poorly set up. Not enough seating, plus stage platform wasn't high enough to see wrestlers over seated audience.
When it came time for autographs, the entire process was unorganized.

It was such a bad experience, I can't even remember who was wrestling.

Came here on a Saturday afternoon for the hockey finals, tried to get food and drinks at the bar upstairs and there is one person working at the bar and she is slammed (like to be expected)... bad management for not having at least one more server up here on this busy day. People are just standing by the bar on their phones waiting for service... food is pretty good but service is terrible.

The Cooler is an amazing place for people all ages!

I skate here almost every week, and they even have a store (I did not buy anything yet). And is about 15-16 dollars per person including skates for you to use. Overall, great place.

I was standing at the concession thinking I was in line. There was 2 teenage girls in front of me at the cash register. So I stood waiting my turn. Eventually the two girls turned around and the cashier looked at me for several seconds and I felt like I needed to ask if she was waiting on me. So I asked if she was ready for me. She nodded. I took the nod as a yes. I placed my order and then heard a very faint sound. I leaned forward and said excuse me. She said 8.50. So I paid, she gave change and that was that. All the while she was sharing fries with the other two teenagers that I thought were in line in front of me. Maybe I am just old fashioned and expect too much. How about greeting someone? Maybe a "can I help you" instead of a stare would work better. How about speaking up, smiling, and atleast pretend to like your job. Maybe a thank you? All the while the entire thing of ketchup packets have remained untouched since last week,when my son tried to get some for his fries, because there was some goo causing them all to be stuck together in a nasty clump. But its ok, stay on your phone teenager cashier.. It's sad.

Lessons are great. Would be cool if they went old school with the roller rink instead of it just being an afterthought.

I wanted to try my first skates in here and was a good place to start with. The service in here was excellent. They understood my first-time-skate-fear and made me feel comfortable by suggesting in selecting the correct type of shoes.
Thanks for them - I would be skating again.

The Cooler, aka Alpharetta Family Skate Center, is the largest & most serviceable skate rink in Atlanta since it has 2 ice & 1 roller rink. The roller rink isn't fun or interactive compared to stand alone roller rinks, but it is larger.

Although they offer a large range of rental skates in whole sizes for both figure and hockey skate varieties, they do not keep rental ice skates sharpened or particularly clean. Check the edges of your skates and request others when the edges are missing.

Good ice and roller hockey programs...adult pickup hockey is popular here...good learn to ice skate program, but all of this is pricey (it is alpharetta).

Birthday parties offered, but if you're roller skating, I'd choose a standalone roller rink over the cooler any day (pricing to high and interactivity lacking).

Had a blast! It was late and a bit expensive, but we had a blast here!! Great place to go and can't wait to go back again!

Good ice rink, not too crowded, multiple rinks to choose from.

The facility is just ok. The ice could be better maintained,

This is one of the worst managed businesses I have witnessed. I have played hockey here off and on for 15 years and its always the same old story. The hockey leagues are run so poorly. Communication is non-existent. Nobody ever answer the phones and they do not return calls or emails. The leagues are not monitored by anyone and thus you have players and whole teams playing in the wrong divisions. This leads to one or two teams dominating every season. It sometimes takes them weeks or even months to start up the next season.

The pro shop is a joke. More often than not they have a paltry selection of equipment and accessories. When they do get a decent level of inventory it is haphazardly strewn about the place.

The facility is in a constant state of disrepair. The ice and roller surfaces are in need of a refurbish. The locker rooms look like they never get a deep clean. The benches have had screws sticking out from them for years now. The team benches on the ice are almost as bad. The doors are hard to open and even harder to close. They have nowhere behind the boards to put drinks, towels, skate tools, etc. So everything has to go on the nasty floor. There is no circulation in the roller rink. It gets unbearably hot in there. You think they could at least invest in a fan. During the NARCH tournament there was a hard rain and the roof leaked onto the rink. They had to stop the game until the rain stopped. The parking lot looks like it belongs to an abandoned property. It is in desperate need of a landscape crew.

This place was so great when it opened. But as soon as Richey Rich s kids outgrew hockey the owner basically disengaged. And because he is so wealthy he doesn t need this place to be profitable. So there is no incentive for him to fix the widespread problems. Now all that is left is a run down facility full of employees who mostly don t care about its success.

Great place atmosphere beautiful people and drinks OMG the bomb!!!

Nice place but could have been better if there someone at the rental booth. Wasted skating time waiting.

The owner is an extremely nice man with great customer service! He's readily available! You will not leave unhappy! It's family fun! Not overpriced! Snack bar & drinks! Great place for parties! Can't say enough! Must see Joey is an extremely nice & customer oriented guy (was running the skate rentals, not store of title).

Awesome place to skate play hockey and take figure skating lessons.

Always clean. Friendly staff. Good for skating or hockey stick time

This is our home away from home. Terrific hockey program with great coaches, and a great restaurant too!

Great hockey club. Coach Mo and Ray are fantastic.

Awesome spot. You can even enjoy a beer in the tavern upstairs.

Terrible place to go. The management is so arragant. I will never go here again. I had a problem with paying for skating then a parent told my son to get off the rink because she rented the place for a birthday. I'm just curious why then did they charge us to go in if it was a closed party?
I let mangement know and all he did was argue with me. I contacted upper management and he never responed. BTW we bought our own skates because they are so bad both in the ice skating and roller skating. This place is all about profit and not about customer service find another place to go!

I m an adult learner, and I started classes here in October. After only one session of classes, I have already progressed SO much. I am so impressed by the quality of coaches they have here, and how nice everyone is. This is a great learning environment for a learner of any age, and it s also a great place to go to a public skate. The rental skates aren t too bad, and I ve used them for my entire first session of lessons with no issues. Now that I ve learned so much here I m getting my own skates- and of course taking the next classes in January!! I love this place so much and can t express my gratitude for my new love of skating!!

Kind of dreary - not really a fun family place. Utilitarian location for skating and hockey leagues.

We went there a few times when it was very crowded. The price is decent. A few things needed to be noted. My hands got wet and dirty but there is no hand sanitizer available for us, especially when the place was packed with people. I recommend to provide a few bottles of hand sanitizer near the shoes exchanging window. Some of the skating shoes are really old so we had to exchange for another pair. I am not a complainer. I just provide some constructive feedback so hopefully it is a great place for everyone to come and enjoy time with their family and friends.

I never been.But i want to go there and do figure skating

I have been coming here for over a year and planned to be a regular lifetime patron. But after seeing the Cooler s administrative response to Covid, I will not be returning. We are in the middle of a surge with Georgia s number hitting another record high. But here at the Cooler it s business as usual. Masks are not required, number of people in a public session is not restricted, distancing is not required, consessions are open. Skate at your own risk.

Visited with office team mates this Tuesday afternoon. Nice place, had a great time. I don t know skating but learnt a few nice tips from my colleagues.

Nice ice skating rink. Skates are a bit too dull but it's understandable with all the kids running around

Has 2 ice skating rinks, a roller skate rink and another rink which I forgot what it's for. It has a nice food center and decent seating, has a store that you can buy skating, hockey and roller blades equipments - including ordering items and fitting skates.

Very nice and accommodating ice rink. Host team Atlanta Fire were great.

Overall a nice facility, but the locker rooms are all pretty dilapidated. They added individual lockers and cubbies at one point, but they were made so cheaply that they've all just about fallen apart. There's an expensive bar upstairs. Doesn't stay open late enough to accommodate the latest mens' league games.

They have classes for kids of all ages as well as adults. Open ice a few times a week for 2 to 3 hours each. Hockey league and learn to play hockey classes. Shop, skate sharpening, free parking, and free WiFi. Prices are quite affordable and it is busy and lively.

I love that there are snacks and a roller and ice skating rink. The place is also very big and not crowded.

Agree with the other bad reviews completely! Poorly run rink. Bad ice, locker rooms, pro shop and badly run hockey leagues. Obviously kids playing out of their division which sure helps you dominate a season but man come on be fair and let s enjoy an evenly matched game with the right aged kids! Arrogant attitudes as well it s just uncalled for. We don t look forward to playing certain teams and it s a shame. At least our kids are learning something. Much better ice not far from here go check them out. The only thing good here is some of the restaurants food which is where they put their money and it shows.

The Cooler has been a staple of this community for years. Friendly staff and we have made it a family "thing" to come out to the public skate on Sundays, which is the best value in town (3 hours!).

Amazing! Great for late night skating with friends and perfect for family time.

Overall a great place. There isn't really another ice rink around. The staff is nice and the price is low. Definitely the best place I've been to for ice skating

Best ice Quality out of any other rink! So I didn't know how to skate, but learned myself after going here several times. I used to skate here regularly once a week till I got busy. After trying other places, the Ice here is perfect. Not fully frozen, so grippy yet hard enough to go well. It gives you more control and stability

The locker room is HORRIBLE. My husband isn't the picky type, but he hates it when games are at the cooler because the locker rooms are so gross. The whole team talks about it. The ice also isn't always great. Everything else about The Cooler is so nice, it's surprising that the locker rooms are this awful. I'd give 1 star, but everything else about The Cooler is actually super awesome. There is a warm place in a great spot to watch the games, good food, clean bathrooms... Etc.

Ice is usually alright. Locker rooms are a disgrace.

This place needs a facelift and I highly doubt it s up to code. I don t know how other reviewers consider this place well maintained .. There s tons of exposed insulation ripped apart and hanging over the rink. All the exposed pipes are rusted. The windows and floors are filthy and there s trim hanging off the wall. The exterior and parking lot is in desperate need of pressure washing and paint. One of the locker rooms is the size of a closet and a whole hockey team has to change inside (it s literally 7 feet wide). Only giving 2 stars because they have a decent bar upstairs.

Nice and fun for the kids. Needs more restrooms and cleaning everywhere. I like the food and snacks. The skating area really need more improvement and clean up. Kids had fun. I was afraid to touch things and certain areas of the rink need to be cleaned and repaired.

Large facility with a few years on it. Also, has a nice little bar and grill built in.

Love The Cooler. And don't forget to eat there. Seriously, best food at a rink EVER. Beats several restaurants in town for taste, freshness and value.

Old rink but well kept. Ticket for public skate sesson is $9 (without skate rental) for just 2 hours is a little high compare to some other place.

Good guest services, dining, lobby, bar, and bathrooms were great. Locker rooms and actual ice wasn't too good.

This was the first time my kids have been here and loved it! Restrooms seemed clean in the men's room but several of the faucets don't activate. Surprised there aren't more comments about the building and landscape. The landscape needs to be renovated. You have nice staff and apparently really good food. Use that to your advantage and improve the rest and this place will accelerate with excitement!

I will admit the facility this itself is very nice however if you are trying to learn how to figure skate you will be harassed in every public session. I understand that Safety comes first but first of all the cooler should not be allowing 200 people into one public session and not expect things to hit the fan. I recently attended the Sunday session from 2 PM to 5 PM and right at about 4:30 this lady started harassing me. When I went and I expressed my opinion to the lady that worked at the front desk some other guy came from the side in was telling me about how she was just doing her job and he rolled his eyes. Do you know it s hard out here trying to live out your dreams.

Three Star's for the cooler ice not smooth enough need to use zamboni 5 Star's however for the employee named Spencer for his hard work and dedication.

Do you like hockey? Do you like beer? If so you're gonna like this place.

Super expensive and yet it looks like that haven't restocked the rental skates with new skates for decades. The skates are really gross. They handed me a pair and I handed then back and asked for some that weren't so gross that could actually be laced up. They handed me a different pair that were just at gross but could be laced up with some effort. Also, last time we were there we were skating in puddles.

very good hockey program and free skate. the new bar upstairs overlooking is great for watching games. They just finnish renovation a couple months ago. The resturaunt there has good food. I do have to say they dont realy sharpen the rental skates much, but if you bring your own you should be fine.

They gave great coaches. Well maintained rink. Rental shoes needs some servicing though.

The cooler is an activity related place it's for adults and children of all ages one can practice and play hockey on leagues and ice skate.
There is a pub upstairs for the parents to watch their children playing on their league's cheer them on and have a drink and good food while socializing with other parents and friends.

Reasonably priced and the kids loved it. Something different to do.

While it is an ice rink... I would go there for the food. I know it sounds crazy but for a shack or a lunch, the chicken sandwich was fabulous. They use the pizza dough which btw is awesome... And they put fresh grilled chicken breast on the dough with pizza cheese and a small salad onto it and fold it over. It sounds simple but the man who cooks this stuff is an artist. In an ICE Rink. S
Go. Eat. And oh, rent some skates and have some fun.

Some of the locker rooms are ridiculously small. The locker room bathrooms are disgusting. Clogged shower drains, standing water, smell of sewage...I kid you not.

Sure, the bar is great. But, as a hockey player, I m there to play hockey and utilize the locker rooms. I cringe every time an AAHL game is scheduled there. I hope renovations to the locker rooms are made soon.