Blackpool Tower Ballroom

Visited Blackpool Tower Ballroom yesterday. It was an amazing experience, we had afternoon tea which was highly enjoyable - there were some lovely choices and we even got a glass of champagne.
All the staff were absolutely brilliant, especially Francis who I could listen to all day.
The organist was playing while quite a few dancers were on the floor so relaxing / entertaining to watch, it was like another world. I even took my 3 month old baby who loved looking around the stunning ballroom at all the twinkly lights, I even went up for a dance with her when they did a beginners dance and held her in my arms.
It is so good I am definately going to return and can’t believe I haven’t been before.

On a cold and wet Saturday morning a group of us went to visit the Tower but it was closed due to the weather conditions so instead we elected to visit the ballroom instead not knowing what to expect. We managed to secure a table right at the front next to the dance floor and purchased some teas and soft drinks from the bar as they weren’t serving alcohol that early. There was a couple practicing on the floor before the organist appeared and began to play. At this point more couples appeared and eventually the floor was filled. There were pairs of all standards but one thing was clear and that was that they were thoroughly enjoying themselves and entertaining us at the same time. We stayed longer than we had planned. The only disappointing thing was the queue for the bar seemed unnecessarily long and slow as they only had one small section open. It didn’t seem to make sense. Well worth a visit.

Arranged an afternoon tea for six for a 60th birthday. Visited the toilets on the way up, they were quite grubby with broken locks on the door, not a good start. Got shown to our table which had the empty cake stands on waiting to be filled. After fifteen minutes waiting we went up to the bar and ordered extortionately priced drinks. Eventually we managed to flag down a waitress who was more interested in watching the dancing than serving. She was surprised we hadn’t been served (the clue was that the empty cake stands were still there!). The afternoon tea was pretty underwhelming, a selection of sandwiches, scones and cakes. Cakes are obviously bought in but you usually get fresh scones. There had definitely been defrosted as they just crumbled as you cut into them. I have never had clotted cream in a little screw top jar and never in my life have I had UHT clotted cream. It was foul. The Wurlitzer organ was playing constantly for people to dance. Although the player was good it was so loud you could not talk to each other and the dancers took it all so seriously some were arguing about space on the floor. It was a poor, very expensive experience and one never to be repeated. Avoid.

The ballroom itself was absolutely amazing and it was great to see the dancers. However - it was incredibly overcrowded, no room to move, nowhere to sit and a constant huge queue for the bar. The tables that were in use were absolutely covered in empty glasses, plates etc as clearly no staff to clear anything away meaning the whole place was pretty dirty and yuck. As for the toilets!! Absolutely vile before you even got down the stairs the smell of urine was enough to make your eyes burn, the toilets were dirty, no toilet roll, full of other peoples waste and no hand soap! Not really what you expect from such a place on a busy Sunday. I guess with it being a Merlin attraction standards have really slipped and considering you have to pay quite a lot just to get in to see it it was outrageous.

The only saving grace for us was that the girl on the door told us it was busy and not great and offered us a refund, this was not the case according to the Merlin staff at the front desk but because this is what we had been told we were given tickets to the Sealife centre the next day. If this had not been the case it would have been a really wasted £18! Merlin really need to sort this out or stop charging outrageous prices

Treated my wife and daughter as both big strictly fans, venue is lovely and was a joy to watch mainly the older generation strutting their stuff on the dance floor whilst we waited to be seated for afternoon tea. I had asked when booking if non gluten option could be offered as my wife is gluten free but told this is no longer an option. On the day my wife asked our hostess jacki if she could have the sandwich fillings if possible as couldn't eat the bread, jacki came back with the normal selection and an individual gluten free selection which was over and above what we expected, she made our visit even better than we expected so if anyone is reading this that works with her pass on our appreciation again.

We went for an afternoon tea at the Tower Ballroom last week, there were 3 of us. It was very cramped as they had put as many tables out as possible and the seats were touching.
The serving staff were not very friendly and the food was substandard, using cheap products and tasteless. Only instant coffee was on offer so for £25 per person this was not value for money.
The organist was very good and the interior of the ballroom is beautiful but I wouldn’t bother having an afternoon tea.

Absolutely freezing day so we decided to pop into the Tower Ballroom. There are options to sit on the dance floor itself (£9.95) or on the balcony (£3.95 but it doesn’t show this option online). We chose the balcony - either way you can dance if you want to.
The building is stunning and there’s a great atmosphere. Hot and cold drinks and food, snacks available at the bar and not expensive.
We spent a while listening to the Wurlitzer and watching the couples dance. There were some very professional looking dancers and also lots of couple just enjoying the music, dancing around. Quite a few people having afternoon tea and everyone sang Happy Birthday to Betty who was there to celebrate her birthday.
All in all a lovely experience and I’d definitely go back - I might even dance next time!

We used to go here a great deal as a couple or with up to 12 other family members.
However, now that my husband is disabled, we are denied access with his mobility scooter.
How very sad that we can no longer revisit our happy times here.

The glorious baroque design of the ballroom, the sound of the Mighty Wurlitzer, and the steady movement of the dancers, all enjoying themselves.
It’s our favourite place for lunch in Blackpool. We don’t dance, but we love the atmosphere. We have Merlin passes, so don’t have to pay to go in, so we eat here most days we are in Blackpool.
The organ is superb, and it’s great to listen to it. We found the volume perfect, loud enough to enjoy but not deafening as is too often the case with music these days.
Food consists of basic sandwiches, but we found them tasty, and there’s a range of decent beer and cider. There were more than enough tables for those wanting to eat. We bought lunch early about 11.45am, and didn’t have to queue, but by the time we finished noted quite a long but quick moving queue.
There is a disabled toilet. Ramps are provided where there are steps, except for the stairs just before you enter, where there’s normally a lift, but it wasn’t working when we visited.
I love to visit the ballroom, and if you enjoy ballroom dancing and music, don’t miss it.

This historic ballroom is a must-see in Blackpool. Entry to the ballroom itself is free and you can spend as much time as you want either dancing to the live music or watching the dancers on the ballroom floor. There's a bar inside where you can get food and snacks. I would highly recommend booking in for the afternoon tea experience to really make it a memorable visit.