The Wave Reviews 77

I had a beginners lesson and it was awesome. It was a safe and friendly atmosphere. All the staff were approachable. The coaches were excellent and attentive. I will definitely go back and recommend it to anyone.

I feel that the 7 day cancellation period is excessive. Things happen in life and I couldn't go to a session due to injury. The Wave is so popular and theu could easily fill my spot. It's just a way to rinse people and so I don't rate their customer service at all.

Absolutely rubbish!!! Dont waste your money if you can actually surf. Full of kooks with no abilities, falling on most waves, making other people wait because they cant surf at the level needed to be in an expert session. The staff are so useless, some kooks stand on the top and do absolutely nothing. No point having people who have no idea how to surf trying to control a session. I was dropped in on after a person missed his wave and the Staff said nothing. Clearly, this company is a bunch of useless people who have no idea about surfing trying to regulate a surfing session without experience. This facility is set up for beginners if you can actually surf then you're better off spending £65 going to the coast. I can not wait for more to open up as this one is such a pathetic excuse.

I was gifted a £50 surf voucher shortly before the first COVID lockdown in March 2020. Due to this and a subsequent shoulder injury last year, I wasn't able to book my beginner surf session until now (April 2022).
 
However, The Wave have refused to honour my voucher because they only extended COVID affected gift certificates to December 2021.
 
I wasn't given any means to try to rectify the situation, such as the option to pay a maintenance fee in order to redeem it. They just apologised that I had lost my £50, and they 'hoped to see me at The Wave soon'. A reputable company would generally offer some sort of resolution in order to appease it’s custom. Especially a company so young, trying to establish it’s reputation. Especially when they already have our money. Especially when we’ve just endured 2 years of unprecedented uncertainty and difficulty nationwide.
 
It's a real shame, and a bit short sighted I think.
 
I had intended to visit The Wave several times this year in order to learn the basics of surfing. I'd also hoped to take my little nephew there. All of which is now lost revenue to them, since on principle I wont be visiting now.
 
I don't really understand why gift certificates expire, or why The Wave cannot exercise a little discretion, given the extenuating circumstances of the past 2 years. This just leaves a sour taste and a negative review, something I would have thought a fairly infant business like this would strive to avoid.
 
Really disappointed :( I hope The Wave puts my £50 to good use given it won’t be used to give me a dabble in the surf.
 
I can't comment on any other aspects of The Wave as I haven't been able to go, but it looks like an amazing facility. Reviews on here are mixed and on balance it’s rated ‘average’. I guess that speaks for itself. I’ve also noticed I’m not the only one to loose out because of surf vouchers. Easy money I guess.

My and my partner were given gift vouchers totally £100, but due to Covid weren't able to give them before they expired. Contacted The Wave but customer service is rubbish, they wont let me use them, no flexibly at all to even say get some money off, nope nothing. So £100 lost. Won't be visiting with that kind of customer service. Think twice before buying anyone vouchers to here.

I’ve heard great things about the wave, but I made a mistake on booking and booked a different time for myself to my wife and kids. No problem I booked the correct session and asked for a refund immediately for the duplicate session only to be sent a voucher!! What’s the point of a voucher! Even if I love it, I’m unlikely to go again this year!! Requested a refund and no response!!
Be careful when booking!!! They want your cash more than to delight you!!

I had a fantastic experience celebrating my birthday at the wave with friends and family of mixed ages and ability. The staff were approachable, friendly and helpful. The coaches were fun, attentive and I felt safe as a beginner within the group. The food was of a very high standard and as a person with coeliac disease it was a treat to have choices from the main menu. I would wholeheartedly recommend the experience to anyone of any age and ability. Thank you!

This review is of the booking process and experience before we have even got there. I wanted to book an intermediate lesson for my son - listed as £52. That was until the booking process starts and then it increases to £55. As he is under 16 an adult needs to accompany him. However you have to pay an extra £2 for the adult. So the lesson that was listed as £52 is now £57.

The wave is the real deal, ocean quality waves and never more than a 30 second wait for the next one. Surfing on demand, no tide tables, sharks or sea urchins....incredible...all boards and wetsuits are provided and you can even demo performance boards. The Wave is the real deal, you can train to be surfer right at bristol any time you like, no surf thugs or other hazards. It may sound pricey, but if you have ever been to the beach to surf, you know productivity is often rather low. Beach surfing can be magical, but unpredictable; too many moving parts can confuse someone trying to learn the sport, better learn at The Wave which is always as per the level you have signed up for, and you are always guaranteed 20 cookie-cut waves. So let your youngster learn at the wave and become a cookie monster before letting her out into the ocean.
If you are looking to relax with family, they serve food and coffee, kids can sunbathe on the grass, and McDonalds is just around the corner towards The Mall, Burger King is a bit further down past Morrisons.
Lets hope The Wave goes 24/7 and installs lights like in Alaia bay CH so i dont have to put on any sunscreen.

We visited The Wave in Bristol today where our sons aged 7 and 10 years had a beginners surf lesson… absolutely fantastic! Our younger son was very nervous at first but surf coach Matt was brilliant with him, really looked after him and made sure he thoroughly enjoyed it. My older son described it as ‘best birthday treat ever!’ . Thankyou to every at The Wave, particularly Matt and Sam.

Joe Kelly May 19, 2021, 7:46 GMT+1 Booked 3 sessions for a special birthday get-together which involved family members travelling hundreds of miles with hotel overnight stays only for 'the wave' to cancel the booking it appears so they could amend the schedule to allow more bookings.
Now I get the economic focus especially when times have been so difficult but I do expect to be communicated with clearly about any cancellation. They sent an email marked 'Important' which got lost in a spam inbox so luckily my daughter (who made a separate booking) discovered a similar message in her spam. The failure to make contact was wholly unprofessional and had we not accidentally discovered it there would have been wasted journeys, travel and hotel costs.
The message told us we had been cancelled (no reason why) but we would get a voucher to rebook!
We tried to rebook but could not find workable slots to make the planned dates work and I had little confidence they might not cancel again as booked customers seem to get little thought.
A refund has now been given hence 2 stars.

We had accidentally shown up the day after our booking 🤦‍♀️ and couldn’t have been more gutted. We pleaded and waited and prayed and we were unbelievably thankful when the staff let us in to the session once some available spaces were confirmed. The staff here are top notch and the vibe is worth coming for alone. Thanks so much guys

Had a great time at the Wave my kids loved it and it was well worth the money! Thanks

I can surf and have been for 25yrs, so for me this was an excellent experience, had around 20 good waves in 50 mins, could be improved by weeding out the not so advanced surfers, as anyone can turn up and say they can surf. Of the 11 people on our peak about 3 could actually surf consistantly, most couldnt paddle in, or fell off in the take off zone The waves were powerful, 3ft max with a little coverup on the inside, would like to turn up and get 4ft barrelling waves one day in the future.