Decided on cool de sac even before it opened. This lovely place definitely trounces all the other indoor playgrounds in Singapore with a range of activities to fit kids of all ages and interests.
For little kids under 2 there is a separate padded play area for tots to climb and explore- complete with all kinds of textures toys and even a ball pool. I especially like the fact that the circumference is thoughtfully lined with comfortable places for parents to sit on without infringing on other guests.
For older kids there is a myriad of activities ranging from costume and face painting to Lego, slides, Nintendo wii and a highly popular treehouse playground. What a riot!
My girl unfortunately clammed up for most of party, choosing to stay in the party room and play with the balloons inside. Perhaps she is still too young or too unsociable (like her mom ;)) Her highlight of the party was blowing out the candles on her beautiful sea themed cake and feasting on truffle fries!
I opted for the $700+ theatre room package (after 15% discount) which caters for 20 kids. It comes with kid meals and goody bags, 2 adult platters of light bites and 2 hour planned activities for the kids in the "theatre" room (the smallest but prettiest of the 3 function rooms)
Besides the theatre room package I also booked half of "Bistro Cool" (the in-house cafe) to ensure the adults (esp old folks) were comfortable and well taken care of. Catering cost $20 per pax plus an additional $600 flat fee for booking the space. Well worth every cent.
Pluses
1. Lovely kids facilities. Kids didn't want to go home
2. Good food both for kids and adults. The children party sets had yummy culprits like dinosaur nuggets, hot dogs and fries. Adults gave great feedback on the potato soup, buffalo wings, nachos, cheese pizza and baked chicken leg.
3. High quality goody bags. They didn't stinge on the contents. There were crayola coloring pencils and other solid safe toys which most moms would approve of.
4. Flexible game masters. We were assigned 2 relatively young staff to conduct the children's activities. Their enthusiasm was commendable and when they saw that the kids were not receptive to the games, they were nice enough to open up the 3D interactive floor display (usually chargeable) in the adjourning room for the kids to frolick on.
Cons
1. No in house toilet facilities although there is a baby changing station. The gents is just outside the main entrance but the ladies is quite far away. Bummer!
2. Premise is too big.. It's hard to gather ppl to cut cake and play games. Kids were distracted and running everywhere. Needless to say I too was running around like a headless chicken
3. Teething issues. There seemed to be staffing issues especially at the reception/entrance. When we arrived (with 2 young kids and 4 old folks in tow) we had to wait quite awhile at the entrance because they wanted me to make full payment first. It was super chaotic as it was peak hour on a Sunday afternoon. And there were still mistakes in the bill... To avoid this, they could have just billed me earlier or taken a deposit first. Firming up the final package details also took 2 whole weeks!
4. Timing issues. The cafe was booked from 2-4pm but at 230pm the cafe food wasn't ready yet. Hungry guests were lurking about awkwardly like piranhas. My cool de sac contact claimed they wanted to ensure most of the guests had arrived first to ensure the food was served piping hot. Hmm...
Do also note that the restaurant serves pork and is not halal certified.
All in all a good party. Happy there were no injuries and my little guests has a good time.
www.cooldesac.com.sg
