Keele SU (Keele University Students' Union) Newcastle-under-Lyme reviews by real event-goers

Review of Shelley's Laserdome 2023

Great night xxx

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

The rave was aimed at families however the venue was not practical. It is on the 1st floor with a steep staircase.
The lady running the entertainment/games for the children was fantastic however the execution of the games was poor. For example my daughter stood for a long time in a queue to do limbo and never went under the bar once. The area was very cramped. I would suggest clearing more space on the dance floor and getting children to line up properly.
Again with the costumer characters maybe bringing them out and having a queuing system would work better.
The sweet stall was great but located poorly. Maybe it would have worked better by the bar.
Overall the concept is great but the planning/location of activities needs work for the event to flow better.

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Took my family absolutely loved it

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

This is our 2nd event with a little one and it was great. The only thing that we didn’t like this time was that there were loads of kids with really loud whistles. If the organisers read this don’t sell whistles next time!

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Absolutely amazing event, this is our 3rd time attending and it gets better every time. I attended with my 3 month old this time, ear defenders were used for him. Such as amazing atmosphere everybody having fun.
Previous reviews are very unfair as the venue is completely disabled friendly and all children should be supervised by their own parents not staff! Also individuals are not police checked when buying tickets for the event.
The event is very clearly advertised for what it is! ‘A rave experience with load music and a licensed bar’.
This event is amazing for the whole family not just the children. The effort that has gone in to this event, the music, the lights, the decorations as well as everything else is up there with the best!
Congratulations on such a fantastic event AGAIN and definitely see you next time!

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Absolutely fantastic time yesterday so much fun and banging tunes we had such a good time thank you to all involved

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

This event shouldn’t even be allowed to exist. Just a bunch of adults getting drunk around children. Wish I could get a refund. Absolutely rubbish.

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Fantastic event!!! This is something out of the everyday experience that is so much needed! Honestly, haven’t been with a kiddo to a better party than this! Thank you so much to everyone who made this event happen! Outstanding experience!

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Absolutely fantastic event!

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

We were very disappointed, this was up lots of steps so the venue is less than ideal. The music was okay but it was way too dark, kids were just running around and most adults only there to meet their pals and drink. Really overpriced. I would most definitely not recommend

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Absolutely amazing experience for myself and 2 children. They both really enjoyed it.
One little criticism... maybe the art table could of been located in room 2 as it was always so busy where people were dancing by the chairs. My daughters enjoyed the crafts and the sweet stalls. Definitely recommend to family and friends and ill be 100 % coming back x

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Had an amazing day at the Halloween Rave. There were lots of games, balloons and confetti to keep the children entertained aswell as crafts and soft play. Lots of yummy sweets and light up toys at very reasonable prices too. Plus bonus of a bar for adults. Would definitely return to the next event.

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Inadequate and poorly signposted parking. Alternative entertainment (such as crafting) in the middle of the rave room making it overcrowded and difficult to take part. The advertised soft play area was a few soft cubes and a few foam mats meaning no real entertainment for younger kids. In the hallway there were unattended children blowing rave whistles into younger kids ears with no staff around.
Overall poor experience, left after 10 minutes.

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Following our visit to Keele university "family" rave. I think the word "Family" is seriously misused. From the second we entered the venue we had spotted four, not one, but four well known drug dealers in the area in attendance. To say that this was a "family" event when you allow such people to access this event is absolutely shocking. We left within an hour due to the poor set up and horrific atmosphere. My extremely sociable daughter couldn't wait to leave due to the feeling within the event, which we did as soon as we had drank our drinks.

I am extremely disappointed that I spent almost £30 on something for my daughter, myself and her dad to see such disgusting behaviour. This seemed to be purely for those people who can't go out due to having children, to behave exactly as they would if they were in town on a night out, to be selling alcohol at a "family" event I found quite concerning.

The portrayal of this Halloween party was very different to the actual experience. My daughter was absolutely devastated that she saw chase from paw patrol, however he ignored her beaming smiles and advances towards him and then disappeared, Peppa pig came out and my daughter said mummy that isn't Peppa and didn't want to see her as she looked like she had dressed for Halloween and not Peppa pig. The outfit was very very poor.

As we exited the venue less than 1 hour after arriving, the security (which I did feel was a little extreme for a "family" event especially when they have allowed drug dealers into it) followed out family of 3 and our friends family of 3 out shouting that we shouldn't go out of "that" door, the doors did not have specified entrance or exit signs, baring in mind we had a 3 and 4 year old with us and he was shouting at their parents for exiting the venue through an unsignposted door. There were no queues to get in, the exits were completely clear, he shouted three times towards our families which I don't think was appropriate or necessary considering we were actually leaving the building. My fiancé had to ask the security what his problem was before he backed off from scaring our children along with his shorter colleague having to tell him to leave it.
My friend asked what the issue was when we were leaving and not returning, he could not answer this.

I will not ever return to one of these events and I will be detering everyone I know from attending due to our experience. My daughter was so excited to be going and to see that disappointment in her face was devastating.

As for the soft play area, that was a token area of less than 6'x6' with very little to actually play on, the craft area was paper and crayons!

I sincerely hope that you can improve on this for any future events because that was absolutely appalling.

Review of HAPPYFACE: HALLOWEEN FAMILY RAVE - Keele Uni

Wasn't the best event, venue was a student union and you could tell, toilets were dirty and the music was more bass than anything, not for smaller kids as advertised

Review of Scouting For Girls Live at Keele SU

Fabulous night watching Scouting for Girls!!

Review of Two Door Cinema Club Live at Keele SU

Cramped, sweaty, got a drink thrown at us. Parking was a nightmare. Had to wait 45 minutes for a drink. Two door cinema club were good but venue was appalling.