Waterworld bosses have hit back at online critics who claimed the waterpark was 'overcrowded' and 'dirty'. The resort, on Festival Park in Stoke-on-Trent, has been hit by a number of negative reviews over the past few months, claiming it has poor hygiene standards, contaminated water and 'facilities in desperate need of renovation'.
It comes just two months after Waterworld was evacuated following reports of an alleged chemical leak where two people were taken to hospital and 46 were treated at the scene, reports Stoke-on-Trent Live. The investigation has now been closed by police and the fire service.
And owner Mo Chaudry has hit back at online criticism, some of which he says is "not based on facts". Waterworld has 3,760 reviews on TripAdvisor – 1,295 which are 'excellent' and 1,108 which are either 'poor' or 'terrible'.
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It also has a 3.9 out of 5 star ranking on Google, based on 5,737 reviews. Mr Chaudry said: "Not only are some of the comments unjust, they're actually lies. Very few people complain on the day and when they do we deal with them as best we possibly can.
"We know as a company that we are not perfect, but we are as good as we can be as an organisation. We deal with thousands of people on a daily basis and we do our very best.
"We understand that it's all about customers having a great time but we don't agree that 'the customer is always right'. Customers can sometimes be wrong and we have to deal with that and address it."
Mr Chaudry has previously addressed the issue of 'green water' at Waterworld but says that it is now 'perfect' – and has been all year. He says any recent reviews which claim any different are 'totally wrong.'
He added: "We have invested millions in this business including improvements to front of house, the restaurant, extending the outdoor pool, new waves and disinfectant systems, new changing rooms and lockers and of course the new slides – so how can anyone say it's old and tired? That's just wrong. We have transformed this into an amazing resort.
"As a business we care and it disappoints me that some people will just mouth off, subjectively. We are very proud of this business and what we've done. We have a fantastic business, we attract hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and we're still doing it."
Waterworld director Wayne Goodall says a lot goes on behind the scenes to ensure Waterworld is clean and safe for its 300,000 annual visitors.
He said: "We have a team of lifeguards who come in at 8am, they're responsible for checking the cleanliness, tidiness and health and safety of the resort.
"They do underwater checks every day where they check for any sharp edges, gaps and litter, they also do wet checks of the rides to make sure they are smooth and safe.
"They do dry checks of the smaller slides, check the walkways and the railings – again checking for any cracks or sharp edges.
"So everything gets cleaned and tidied and a full inspection of the site is carried out by the time we open at 10am – and then we run other checks throughout the day. The water is tested every two hours, particularly the chlorine levels and the PH levels which can be adjusted when needed."
Mr Goodall added: "During peak times, we have anywhere between 50 and 60 staff working at Waterworld on any given day. We have a rota of more than 30 poolside staff every day as well as four managers, catering staff, office staff, security guards and changing room attendants. They all work very hard in a hot and busy environment – and they do it with smiles on their faces."
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