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Redwood Roller Rink
Rating Details »
Categories: Amusement Parks, Skating Rinks [Edit]
1303 Main StreetRedwood City, CA 94063
(650) 369-5558
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
28 reviews for Redwood Roller Rink
I took my girlfriend and her daughter on disco night. We didn't know it was disco night until we rolled up and saw the costumes. Perfect! I used to skate to disco regularly when I was a child so I was ready to boogie.
Getting in was a challenge, even though the line was not that long. The ticket buying process is a bit slow because the woman who owns the place was chatting with everybody and taking her sweet time. It didn't really matter to me, but I found it funny. When I got to the front of the line, I was scolded for not standing in the right place while I waited for my receipt. I felt like I was 8 years old. We are talking about 2 feet here. Minus one star.
I also found it funny that the other people working there (her brother? and another lady) were unable to assist with anything without checking with the boss. We asked for a drink. Hang on because we might not open the snack bar. We asked for change for the lockers. Hang on because the quarters are locked away. Can we get a slice of pizza? Please wait because we might not heat up any pizza tonight. The boss would eventually show up everytime, but how does this place operate like this? I have to take away one star.
By the end of the night, we were by far the best snack bar customers, and the boss was asking us to come back more often. Apparently, she doesn't fire up the nachos and pizza unless there is significant demand for these items. We helped grease the wheels that night.
As for the skating rink itself, it smells like an old skating rink. That is good if you are into the whole nostalgia thing. I happen to be one of those guys. However, I have to take one star away because my rental skate had the bolts sticking up into the bottom of my foot. I might be able to get nostalgic about the smell, but I can do without wearing the same boot I wore in 1983 when I last visited.
The skating floor itself is in pretty good condition. I like that they open the doors on the far end of the room so you can skate by and cool off. I spent quite a bit of time down there. There were some characters skating around in costumes that made the night even more entertaining.
I would give 2 stars but I enjoy skating so much that I can't bring myself to do it. However, you should know that there are quite a few other places to go in the area that have better amenities and nicer facilities.
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I feel like I have been here before just can't remember? Anyway, my sis is training for Derby and she has been trying to get me to go skating with her for awhile now and I finally came out to play! I must say I forgot how much fun it is to roller skate. This place rocks! Don't worry about how it looks or smells...remember the feeling of when you were a kid and roller skated for the first time! Hopefully, the memories are good rather than bad! You will have a great time especially if you are with good company. Come on a Tuesday night because it isn't too crowded. The music is uh, well, lets just say bring your ipod but if you don't mind christian rock, rock on! Can't wait to come back and get my skating on! :)
3.5 stars.
It was my turn to plan date night and instead of making reservations at some fancy shmancy restaurant in SF and going to a swanky bar afterwards...we bounced over to the Lobster Shack in Redwood City for a quick bite and then finished the night off with a few hours of roller skating at the Redwood Roller Rink!
Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect coming here with the wide range of reviews that I read on Yelp...but the service was fine and the DJ's tried their best to play a fun mix of 70's and 80's music. It was like traveling back in time - gross carpet, arcade games, ugly rentals, cheap plastic picnic tables. It's all part of the charm! Don't expect too much. Just take it for what it is. We had a blast!
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Notwithstanding the awesome company of my friends at one of my bestie's dirty thirty birthday (some people, present company included, just refuse to grow up), this place stinks.
Literally and figuratively.
The place looks like a strip bar from the outside, sans neon lighting and suggestive signages: a deserted, nondescript shack on the side of a deserted street in the almost forgotten area of Redwood City.
While waiting to buy entry to the place, a whiff of air from the inside confirmed the worst: poor air circulation, old moldy carpeting and just plain shabby run-down establishment give this place a funny smell.
The lady at the ticket booth was plain rude, uncooperative and unpleasant to look at.
The restroom has no lock and was just a level above portaloo. Or maybe I got the direction wrong - because even portaloos have locks on their door.
And the skates - one look at it makes me glad I brought my own Rollerblade (TM). Don't get me wrong. For an additional $1 you can swap the roller skates with blades. Yet a different lady, equally rude, who manned the rental area, refused to let the pair of blades out of your sight while you try to go and grab the dollar bill from your purse.
Really? Someone would do a runner over $1 price differential? Get real.
That being said, it's nice to see that, somewhere, somehow, you could go back in time to the decade that everyone would rather forget. So get ready to blame it on the boogie, 80's style.
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Retro in the Metro - Lower your expectations about the physical environment and enjoy this old-school roller skating rink experience.
I took my twin 8 year old girls there recently on a Saturday afternoon for some Daddy/Kid bonding and all three of us had a great time! We skated, rolled, danced, fell, found and then lost our stone cold groove repeatedly to the sounds of Roller Disco for two solid hours. Two months later they're still talking about how much fun they had. It was a relatively cheap date, too - $25 bucks total including skates and a couple of snacks.
Sure, the facility was stuffy, stinky, and ill-kept. The condition of the rental skates was nearly unspeakable. But, unless you're the Boy-in- the-Bubble, you're still bound to have a good time.
Couple of things to keep in mind:
1. Eat first
2. Dress to get sweaty
3. Take some disinfecting wipes or hand cleaner.
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So yeah, I went roller skating in a dress, and yeah, I've been proudly displaying my floor-burn/deep contusion right knee wound since Saturday night. Best earned knee wound ever!
This is a great place to get out of control with a large group of friends and your 70's disco couture. Look like a fool among fools in one of those sports that no one is really good at. This place is kinda craptastic, kinda excellent depending on what you're looking for. They've got dazzling disco mood lighting, great mainstream 70s tunes and a DJ, the hokey pokey, and friendly staff. As a place to bring youngsters for a birthday party, it's really quite sad... I'm afraid they've gone over the edge into the "can only be enjoyed ironically*" sphere of experience - that's given the smell, copious amount of young drunken adults and overall rundownness of the place. But I have to say, I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Thank you for existing despite your decreptitude, RRR - I love you!
The building is conveniently nestled just over the edge of the wrong side of the tracks (literally), in, as we East Bay residents assess, bumf*ck nowhere, AKA the penninsula. Given the scarcity of roller rinks, this place is worth traveling to. Rent yourself a disco bus, slip on some polyester and extra thick socks, rock that purple affro outside of the month of October, and have yourself a bitchin' time.
*or, if you're not into irony, you might find this place "charming" or "a pleasant recapturing of a since-evolved pasttime."
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Back when i was a review writing fiend, I would have written this review the moment I got home. It would have been some drunk rambling, probably have a few curse words, and most definitely been inappropriate.
That's cuz this place was pretty awesome. Not awesome in the fancy, beautiful space, great people kind of awesome. But awesome in the fact that it exists. We cant roller skate in SF. That's why we took a disco-veggie-fueled bus down to Redwood City to go roller skating.
Saturday nights are roller disco, so that's what we did. Dressed to the 9's in our best retro roller disco outfits, we cruised in 30 deep and took over the joint. It didn't matter who else was there. It didn't matter the place was dumpy. It existed. We were able to skate. (poorly on my part I may add).
sidenote. back in the day my review would have already been UFC'd a few times and id even have the compliments to back it up. sigh...no one reads me anymore. its ok. i accepted that a while back.
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This place may not be all shiny and new. And the odor leaves something to be desired, BUT it's got a place in my heart. I learned to skate here when I was 8 years old, and now use the place to practice when I can't make it to team practices in SJ with some fellow derby teammates. It's not the nicest place in the world but the staff are pretty friendly and you can always make song requests if the DJ starts playing something really lame!
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Do you know where all the roller skating nerds are on a Saturday night? I now do... because I have discovered, I'm a closet skate nerd wanna be. One of Nata B.'s girlfriends hosted a super fun Girl's Night featuring Disco Roller Skate at Redwood Roller Rink and I have been giddy for four weeks in anticipation of getting my skate on. And it did not disappoint.
As Dancing Queen came over the speakers I was brought back to a place before I was even born, when all a gal wanted was for her sweetie to take her to the roller rink and hold her hand as their group cracked the whip.
Ok no not really. but I had a really great time speeding around the rink, stopping the music to switch directions, and then doing line dancing. The jumping on skates bit was hard, but I didn't fall once and I got in 2 fabulously fun hours of cardio. If only my gym had a roller rink, then I'd always been in shape.
It was amazingly fun, the people there were a little strict with their rules to keep the place clean, but seriously nice too. I think the whole time I was there I couldn't help singing along, getting a little bounce in my skate, and the smiling never ended. Fun times for sure.
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This is a great place to rekindle your youth. I went here couple years back and had a blast, I had to do it again via family event, my 40th. The pizza isn't so bad, wonderful friendly staff too. I suggest bringing your own skates because the rental shoes are less to be desired...otherwise bring an extra pair of socks and a packet of shoe odor eliminator. This place is a gem and there's very few of these left. Suggest also in checking their schedule prior to dropping by, there are days for private skating and days for public skating.
I'm a big fan of rollerskating and I admit I'm just glad there are options in the area. That said, given this and San Jose Skate, I'd definitely take the latter. The rink in RWC is small and there isn't any 'rollaround' area for half the rink--just straight wall--limiting the amount of spectator space. There's little air circulation, so when it gets stuffy you get to inhale the collective pungence of other people's sweat and tainty rink-carpet mold smell. Mmmmm.
I guess my bigger issue is safety. A lot of the shoes are falling apart--be sure to check your laces AND your wheels before venturing out (occasionally the lackadaisical staff does neither.) The floor needs serious sanding, filling, and rewaxing--there are gashes and a whole run on one side with small gaps between the boards that are just enough to throw you off balance if you cross them right.
I would probably love this place a lot more en posse on Disco Night, which I'm sure is rad, but in general this is definitely a couple of steps down from San Jose Skate.
It's shabby, the floor is cracked and warped in some places, and they lack a good sound system. But you know what? None of that matters when I put my skates on and show the people how I get down. Fancy footwork!
As far as I know, Redwood City's got the closest rink to San Francisco. So I'll be back shortly for Saturday night Disco Skate. I encourage everyone to come skating; if more people came, maybe they could afford some much-needed renovations!
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Had a bunch of friends come here for my birthday. Don't go expecting shiny new facilities. Other than that, it's a fun thing to do in the peninsula.
-Affordable and fun place to date dates
-Rollerblade or rollerskate with up beat music and disco ball
-there is a snack bar incase you get hungry or thirsty
-Sometimes there are people who skate really good and do stunts but don't let them intimidate you
-Don't be ashame if you hold onto the walls, because there are people with you too if you can't skate
-fun friendly place to hang out
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Holy time warp. I didn't realized people roller skated until I found out a new friend did it competitively. It's just like ice figure skating except on rollers. To support her at her competition, we headed over to this rink on the outskirts of downtown RWC.
Totally 70's feeling interior and a freaky skating subculture that I have just entered. Crazy, crazy outfits. Skaters young and old. Dilapidated video games, lasers, dual disco balls, and a space called the "party room". I was hoping for some roller derby action, or maybe a hockey style check, but it never happened. Just "roller skates of glory". Wow.
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Had a ton of fun at a kids birthday party. We got a little lesson and my kids are hooked.
If you want to feel like you're 8 again, this is the place to be. Not only will the disco lights and retro tunes send you back, but they'll treat you like an 8-year-old too.
It looks like it hasn't changed since the 80s (the carpet, the skates, and the arcade games are all authentically worn and dingy). It's a family-owned business - while the hired skate rental guy / DJ is nice and obliging, the owner/mother and her daughter both talked to our whole group like we were peers of her 8-year-old son.
We'd rented the rink out for a birthday party - from the split cost, it sounds like a steep rental charge for minimally maintained facilities and minimal service. I think I'll check out San Jose Skate for my next retro roller party.
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Redwood Roller Rink gets five stars from me because I am having so much fun there. I've skated since the 1960's when Mom used to take us to the now-defunct Rolladium in San Mateo. But all I could ever do was skate forward. Now I'm taking lessons at Redwood and it's SO COOL to do crossovers, leg lifts, and skating backward! And I'm just getting started. Yes, I'm 35 years older than all of my fellow students.
I did like the Rolladium better. In the daytime it had more natural light, and it had a more spacious hang-out area.
I wish that roller rinks would switch the skating direction a few times each session so you could get equal practice curving in both directions.
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This is a fun, funky place! I thought the staff was very helpful and I loved that they remembered us from last week. The music was great! I used their skates last week and decided that I'd rather my own roller blades .... their skates aren't the nicest. But really what a fun inexpensive way to spend an evening with friends!
The fun was a-plenty at the roller rink, but then again I'd say we brought most of it with us. The 9 of us probably made up about half of the paying customers that evening.
The arcade games were in pretty bad shape. Ms. Pac-Man doesn't let you turn left, for instance. The monitors on a couple of the others showed a way too heavy tint. Golden Axe was green, while the Neo-Geo system was red.
$13 per person for a couple hours and skates was kind of pricey and the skates jacked up my feet. The usual little fearless kids were there zipping around in front of you and bouncing off the floor and walls.
There is some weird issue with the audio system. One channel has all the high end in it and is about a half second behind the other muffled channel making for some pretty disorienting laps. The night also featured some interesting DJing. Plenty of 70's music you'd expect, a couple new hip hop style songs I had never heard and then Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express thrown in awkwardly in the middle.
The night ended with a solo performance by some cute little kid doing an olympic-style figure skating routine complete with spinning jumps and all.
I used to go here when I was a kid, now the place looks so run down and it stinks in there! They are inexpensive but it is so tiny that throwing a birthday party is impossible. The staff is not very helpful but they played good music. The roller skates are old, gross on the inside and the shoe laces are falling apart!!
I suppose skating to Olivia Newton John's "Xanadu" surrounded by a sea of gay men on Wednesday night's Rainbow Skate has its charms... but these skates hurt like hell!! I got crazy blisters!!
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This is awesome. It is very retro, but the people are so nice. They have world class artistic roller skaters who skate there. They do all the moves ice skaters do but it is so much cooler. They have private lessons ($20/half hour) or they do an awesome beginners lesson at 1:00 on Saturdays for I think $5. Fine family fun.
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It's incredible to find a place in the middle of the peninsula where you can feel like you're stepping back in time by about 30 years. That's how I felt on Saturday at the disco roller skate night. We went as a big group, properly costumed as 70's era hipsters, and had a great time. Some of the rest of the crowd was in costume, but most were in street clothes. Besides our 20 or so young urban professionals, there were a bunch of families, some high school kids, and a few other groups of young adults reliving their childhoods. Some were awesome roller skaters, obviously regulars, easily switching from forward to backward and back again while grooving to the funky R&B music. Others, not so much.
While it was a lot of fun to find a roller skate rink nearby, and we definitely enjoyed our experience, this place looks like the recession never ended - the floor could use a new coat of paint/lacquer, as there are some areas where the floorboard edges show through and break up the smooth continuity you expect in a roller rink. The rental skates were well-used, but still serviceable. Two "party rooms" were available for rent, both with glass windows connecting to the main sitting area. One was in use by a group of middleschoolers for a birthday party. But while the main sitting area had several rickety green plastic picnic tables that provided plenty of space, the party rooms were just big enough to fit a regular table and chairs. They've also got a concession stand and some old-school video games, but most of those are out-of-order. At $10 admission and $4 skate rental, about the same price as other roller rinks further south, this place is probably the one you'd choose only if everyone in your party lives nearby or further north, or if you want to revel in the retro vibe.
I think I went here way back when I was in high school. Glad to see it's still there almost exactly as we left it. The staff was a little disorganized but they do try and they're pretty friendly. Some of the skates are in bad condition so bring your own if you have a pair. It's bigger than it looks from the outside but the place gets very warm.
Saturday Night Disco skate was amazing! A group of us went (young professionals from the city) We all came dressed up in disco attire started at 'Mardi Gras' a bar right around the corner- had a few drinks and headed over around 9:30 for an hour and a half of skating (just enough). Something about this place brings out the best In people. The staff was all super cool, and sweet, and even came out and skated with everyone-you could tell it wasn't 'just a job' for them, they loved being there! The DJ was awesome, played all the hits you would want to skate to at a "Disco Skate Party". He even came out on the rink at one point and taught everyone an updated version of the hokey pokey/line dancing (sooooo fun). Great space, so retro- disco ball, lights low, aaaaahhh freak out- yeah it was AMAZING.. Not very busy, one or two other groups there, everyone was having so much fun! I strongly recommend getting some friends together and going- it was AWESOME
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yes the rink looks old and run down from the outside, but once you get inside, its not that bad. its much bigger inside. the lady who works up front selling tickets was very friendly too=) this was my first time roller skating so i fell a couple of times.. but i got the hang of it in the end.. skate times last for 3 hours and they have early morning specials too for 5 dollars. and its good exercise cuz you really sweat!
I agree with the writer who said they were treated like 8 year olds. I walked in there with a bunch of people and I figured I should find our group before heading out for a sec. But they have no ins and outs so I asked if I could just go outside for 3 minutes. The guy who rented out the skates said it wouldn't be a problem, but the older women behind the counter said rules are rules and looked at me sourly. There was no line and she was not particularily busy so I really don't see why not. I figured she just wanted to collect the money twice. Then I ordered a hot dog, it took 10 min - seriously. I was just standing there at the counter like an idiot. Anyway skating there was fun. It's kind of dark and there are disco lights, a nice hardwood floor and a dj. My skates were not too shabby. They don't have half sizes, so if you are a half size, bring extra socks or really thick one's for a better fit - it will influence how much control you have on the skates. There are a lot of kids on the floor that don't skate very well and keep falling so you have to watch out for them.
