The National Aquatic Centre

I had lived down the road from this place for years, but had never been before. My niece and nephew were up for the country for the weekend, so decided this would be a good place to check out.
I had a peak into the competition pool area and it is an impressive facility. However, the kids were here for the Aquazone. I was pleasantly surprised by the Aquazone, it wouldn’t compare to water parks on the continent, but my Irish standards it does pretty well. The changing rooms and pool areas are all very clean. The changing area is communal with lots of cubicals, so makes it easier when you have kids with you.
The main attractions for younger kids are a wave pool, lazy river and a pirate ship with a few small slides. Then for the slightly bigger and braver kids there are three flumes and a «flow rider» (a large stream of water you can surf or bodyboard on, great fun). The three flumes are very good, each one it quite different, so nice bit of variety. My niece loved the flumes, running up to me after going on the Dark Hole flume «that was TERRIFYING… I’m going again!»,
I thought the entrance fee was about right; Adult € 14, child € 12 (3 & under free) and family € 46 (2 adult & 2 child). You can stay as long as you want, but the ticket is single entry. It is much cheaper at off-​peak times, however, a lot of the attraction will not be operating.

I took my 22 months old daughter along with her friend and father. We went on a weekday and it was very cheap (under 5 euro for adults, free for the two toddlers).
I found the place very clean and the family rooms are very handy, although we actually just used a normal cubicle.
The atmosphere was very laid-​back and the girls had tons of fun. The children’s area was perfectly adequate for them but it is very small. I can easily imagine what it would be like on a busier day.
Another minus was that some of the ‘attractions’ were turned off, probably because it wasn’t a busy time. There were no waves in the wave pool and the giant shower mushroom was off in the kid’s area.
There are other sprays of water around the pirate ship but the pressure is high enough to massage your back, so when my daughter accidentally walked below, the water jet landed on her eye and stretched her skin. We all had a good laugh but I don’t think she liked it!

I have only been to the main Olympic pool/​dive area and only for scuba diving. The place is very impressive looking and the facilities are excellent. I was put off by having to put € 1 in the lockers but I didn’t realise that it was returnable and only there to make sure you bring the key back. I can’t comment on the waterslide area or the gym, although it does appear to be very expensive.

This is an expensive day out… even in these recession times the prices have not reduced at all, but saying that, it was still busy. It is the greatest fun for kids, they loved it!
My major issue with this pool is that the cold air vents are right over the kids pool which is where all the grown up have to stand to watch the kids play… it was freezing! the only saving grace was that the water in the kids pool was warm, this is where you found all the shivering parents trying to warm up!

I am a member here and i really like it, its got really helpful staff and loads to do, swimming or gym. Loads of fitness class’s going on all day. Only grip i have is that the sauna etc are always crowed. Not cause the place is packed, its because they are really really small!!!

This relates only to the waterpark side.
Took two kids here, 2 and 5. It was great for the 5year old, but if I was just bringing the 3 year old I would have been disappointed for the cost (€ 35 for 2 adults and 2 kids on a September special). The minimum height on the rides is 1.1 meters. There is a pirate ship with slides and tunnels and warm water for the smaller children which isn’t bad.
There are high 3 waterslides, one tame, one quite exciting and one that you go down in a ring which is between the two in for excitement. The pools you finish in at the end of the slides are shallow and easy to manage for non swimmers.
The facilities are pretty clean and the staff are polite, there was a nice atmosphere when we were there. It was Saturday afternoon but, while it was busy, it wasn’t crowded and the queues were ok.
The wave pool was pretty tame, there were plenty of lifeguards on duty, and they managed the pool well.
We’ll definitely go back when our 3 year old is big enough for the rides, it’s recommended for a day out with the kids: as long as they’re over 1.1 meters tall.

this place is so so expensive and not worth the € 14 for adults and € 12 so if you have a couple of kids i’d recommend taking them elsewhere. anywhere.
its saving grace though is that the kids really enjoyed it, even thought here was only 2 out of 3 slides open, the surfboard was not working and the wavepool only went on twice in 2 hours.
you’d think with the amount that they charge people that they would try and keep the people who are coming in the doors with better service.
oh and the scanner for the tickets going in was’nt working either.

Here I also asked for a tour of the facilities: the gym section is in a completely separate section from their aquatic facilities, so if you wanted to run 20 mins and swim 20 mins you’d have to switch lockers and move from 1 building to another.
That being said, the gym is state of the art, very spacious & clean.
The swimming pool is great too, and the best part is that *only for the swimming pool* you can pay as you go, which is a feature that none of the other gyms offer.
In terms of relaxation facilities: sauna, hot tub & steam, they are separate by gender and to use them you have to be a member. From the tour I took they looked very normal & well kept.
Membership options are great: 1 year, 1 year off season membership (where the price is reduced but you can only go at certain off peak times) or 10 weeks.
The only thing that bummed me out was that you can’t buy a ‘aquatic membership only’ but you can buy a gym only membership, but with that one you don’t have access to the relaxation facilities which for avid gym members that is the best part of working out!

The National Aquatic Centre contains the only public 50-​meter swimming pool in Dublin, and is only one of three 50-​meter pools in the country (at the time of writing the only others are the University of Limerick and Westwood Clontarf, which is members-​only… UCD is still in production). It was initially opened in 2003 but closed after only 18 months to have the roof fixed, which was completed in 2005.
The main pool comes with a moveable floor so they can shorten the pool to a 25-​meter pool with a two separate pools, one for diving. The complex also includes a kids’ pool (Aquazone Waterpark) with slides and an on-​site gym and café. There is room for about 2,500 spectators as well in an impressive viewing gallery.
If I was to describe the quality of the pool when extended to the full 50-​meters and when it’s not too busy? Abso-​feckin-​unbelievable (that’s a word… right?!). If you’ve never swum in a 50-​meter pool you should do it immediately! I unfortunately live a fair bit away so only get to the pool once every few months and for a pool-​based triathlon each year (Fingal Sprint, held in May), but it’s well worth the trip and I’ve never been disappointed!
I would STRONGLY recommend however to phone the centre before you go, because a LOT of clubs and competitions use this pool and also it’s not always extended to the full 50-​meters; try and go at off-​peak times with the full distance available, and you’re bound to come out smiling!