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January 2024 by Bob Elson
I grew up skating, am able to avoid most beginners falling in my path, and I (we) had a very good time at the rink. However, someone needs to instruct the skating employees on the ice that dudes weaving in and out of traffic at top speed are a danger to others, and negatively affect the overall experience. I never saw any type of "speed" enforcement, which is much needed. There are enough falls and collisions without skating newbies (including kids,) worrying about being slammed-into.
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January 2024 by Jason H
It's great to have ice skating in Southern California, and even better so close to the beach. Super organized experience with reservations that include time and rental skates. The reservations keep the crowd lower than open skating however they still overbook so can get a bit crowded. Also, the ice melts and puddles of water form on hotter days. Nevertheless, this is a great place for kids and adults alike.
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January 2024 by Katherine Konner
This was my daughter's 2nd time to skate at "Ice" in downtown Santa Monica. She had a great time during her 1st visit, so we returned this yr. Nearby parking is convenient w/a small fee. It's a small quaint rink (loved their mini zamboni). Was nice to see a crowd. Daughter had a greater time this yr. The security was VERY supportive of her & her skating skills (they're amazing & noticed how they love to skate). Within 1 hr, approx 15 people surrounded/introduced themselves to my daughter. She tried to help who she could, was so happy to give advice/free skating lessons, & spread the love of skating. The people & staff were kind & cordial. My daughter made new friends & they now keep in touch via social media. They asked when she'll be around in hopes to skate w/her again. She was honored & humbled by this. People can forget addresses, locations, & names, but they never forget how they "felt" at a particular time & location...and that's why we returned to "Ice." We hope this seasonal event continues to be a success.
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January 2024 by Michelle Saltos
Way to monetize and capitalize. The rink is so much smaller, set up for no in and out, or break area, and broken into 1 hour sessions for $20 + fees. You don’t even get the whole hour because you need time to get the skates on, then they do “last call” 20 minutes before the 1 hour session. Really disappointing to see families not being able to afford this outing. Way to go capitalism.
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January 2024 by Mrs. Momma TC
I want to start off by saying it was my first time there and more than likely my last.Although I love the idea of having accessibility to an ice skating rink in the middle of Santa Monica, where it never snows, there were a few things that had me second guessing if I wanted to go again.Number one, it wasn't as clean as I've seen other ice rinks. There was garbage or dirt on and off the rink.2. A lot of people not just myself were complaining about the new changes, because apparently it was under new management. Meaning the cost went up and you were limited to an hour only by reservation only.3. Penguins. For those who do not know how to ice skate, they are based on a height limit and with a cost of 6 dollars. Not really concerned about the $ but disappointed that my kid, taller than your average 9yr old. Couldn't use one.4. Apparently they only clean the ice rink as needed. And so you had dirt AND puddles of water all over the ice rink.
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December 2023 by Josie Vanwagenen
Horrible. My friend is a short person i would say 4'9 but she is 13. she couldn't skate and i wanted to rent her one of the penguin skate helpers. There was multiple other people who were younger (about 11 or 10) but were even taller than her had penguin helpers. they refused to give us one saying you had to be under 4 feet tall but the other kids were obviously over 4 feet. they were extremely rude and dismissive and refused to rent one to us. it would be one thing if they were polite and refused to everyone. but they just refused to use it guessing because of our age. They were blatantly rude and just said "stop you can't have one." at first without a proper explanation why.
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December 2023 by L B
This used to be a local delight. It was plenty expensive at $20 for a tiny rink, but local teens adored it, and lots of people visited multiple times each year. It was always fun. However, since Netflix took the reins this year the price went up to $24 FOR ONE HOUR(?!) and online booking is required. They added a service charge to buy the tickets, despite offering no other method for purchase. There were always local concessions, but they were replaced by firepits for hipsters priced like it's bottle service at a club. ($100+) Smores kits are $40 Basically there is a lot of brazenly displayed greed on the part of the vendor which I'm disappointed to see. On the plus side, According to my kiddo the increased pricing has improved the quality of the ice and rentals. Overall, as the paying adult the current incarnation is a bummer. After years of going, I can no longer recommend.
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December 2023 by Susan Major
Gets busy quick, we got there about 15 minutes early (I believe they close for 30 minutes every hour to run the Zamboni) since we were some of the first people on the ice it was great, but as the hour went on it got pretty busy. This was at 2:30 on a Saturday. It was great skating on real ice, much better than other places that offer a fake ice. Food and drinks are available, as well as socks and lockers for purchase if you need!
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December 2023 by Gloria Tomozei
They changed everything. This place used to be a fun, beautiful place and community in Santa Monica. The past twenty years you could skate all day however long you wanted from opening to closing time for 20 bucks. They changed management and now you pay 22 dollars for one hour session plus fees, and then they kick you out. Not worth it at all. Netflix ads everywhere ruin the vibe. Not to mention how terribly kept the ice is. They now have a "mini Zamboni" that looks like a prototype that takes half an hour to finish re-setting the ice. Horribly choppy end result from that tiny thing. If they had money to make all these changes, they should afford an ice machine that properly paves the ice, and doesn't waste more of your time and money. They are better off closed if they don't go back to the way it used to be, which probably will not happen. I will miss the place Ice used to be.
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November 2023 by Corey Love
LAME! I was excited to see this place open again. I haven’t been here since Covid. Now they’ve raised the prices & shortened your time to just an hour. I’ve never heard of a rink operating like that. Right up until the time we were kicked off the ice (exactly 1 hour from entry— Which is 45 minutes of skating after waiting in line and getting laced up), I was excited to tell my friends about it. Now I would tell them to avoid it, like the plague. Also, an employee was hassling me to get my skates off literally less than 2 minutes after I sat down (I was one of the first off the ice).
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November 2023 by Jeff B.
Last year $20 for all day - now $22 PER HOUR. Do the math on that inflation rate. City council failed here handing out a contract without any regard for the children and families who spent so much time here before. Sadly, ruined.
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November 2023 by saku e.
Went the first day they were opened and it was such a miserable experience. There were no QR codes on our receipts so they had to enter it by name. I had 4 kids with 4 different emails to check in. I had to buy penguins and the penguin qr code was not at the skate rental. My friend who brought three kids missed half her session lacing up the kids' and her own laces. They add Ticketmaster-like fees to everything. The lockers are small and you can only open it once. I'm a mom and need to open the locker at least a few times. I ended up not using our tokens. There were no concessions. Netflix advertising blocked views of the rink from the lacing up area. Also as a mom, I don't love the barrage of advertisement geared toward kids. The only shaded spot was the tree area behind the penguins/kids rink. Also, the penguins didn't work for both the littler and bigger kids. They tipped over. So not family or community friendly. I spent hundreds every year on season passes before. They don't even offer a punch card. It's cheaper to go to Disneyland for the day than to buy all the sessions for one day. They turned what was once a beloved community rink into a price gouging, get in and get out experience.
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November 2023 by Jennifer F.
Tickets are now $22 per HOUR and there is a CONVENIENCE FEE of $6 so it is $28 for one hour!!!! It used to be ALL DAY. ANd 10 minutes before your hour is done they make all kinds of announcements like "Your skating is over in 10 minutes, get ready to depart the ice etc.". A real buzzkill.For my 2 kids I paid $56 for one hour of skating. A total ripoff!
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November 2023 by Jennifer S.
I'm leaving this review to give people a heads-up on the situation at ICE at Santa Monica for 2023-2024 season before they go. First, I want to say that we have been going here every year for the last decade with the exception of during the pandemic, of course. This place is very special to us and I'm sad to leave this review. I took my daughter and two friends to skate on Friday night. (it was their soft opening for the season) My plan was to drop them off at 7:15 PM or so and let them skate for a few hours and pick them up maybe around 10pm. When my kids go ice-skating, they like to stay for a few hours and see all of their friends on and off the ice. I sat in the car and watched them go up to the lady so they could pay to go in. My daughter then came back to the car saying that I needed to scan the QR code on the sign to reserve and pay for their ONE HOUR session from my phone. 3 kids+1 hr. skating =$85 with taxes and fees. They were asked to get off the ice at just before the hour was up. Complete greed.
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April 2023 by Sofia Byun
A great experience to share with friends, family, or a loved one! It can be crowded during evening or weekends, so if you’re able to go during the weekday, it might be better. They go over the ice about every hour so that it’s easier for people to skate on which is nice & the food is very good but also a bit pricey
