A FURIOUS water park owner has hit back after his business was slammed on Tripadvisor by angry customers

Waterworld in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, has been blasted by online reviewers over "filthy" pools and "horrendous queues."

A hygiene scare began at the attraction last month when swimmers were struck down with sudden illness and emergency services rushed to the scene to evacuate the building.

A worrying 46 people reported feeling symptoms of breathing difficulties, nausea and eye irritation, but bosses defended the incident as a "huge over-reaction", according to the Daily Star.

Since the park's reopening, however, negative comments about the "dated" facilities and "dirty" hygiene conditions have continued.

Complaints on TripAdvisor took offence against "hidden charges", "poor management" and "hygiene issues".

But now a spokesperson for the waterpark has hit back at angry reviewers, accusing them of "slander."

The Waterworld spokesperson said: "TripAdvisor is renowned for being the forum for disgruntled individuals to slander businesses and it is disappointing that there is no fact-checking or policing of these reviews.

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"Waterworld advises readers to look at our Google reviews, of which there are twice the number, and plenty of 5-star reviews recently.

"We continue to welcome thousands of visitors a week; 99.9% of our guests leave having enjoyed our unique and exciting offering!

"We have invested millions of pounds into the Waterworld Leisure Resort over the past 5 years and constantly strive for the highest standards in cleanliness and customer experience."

A shocking photo of the pool resurfacing from last year even revealed the questionable "weird green" colour of the water – although pool tests proved the water was safe.

The leisure resort sells itself as "the UK's No. 1 tropical indoor aqua park" and boasts over 30 different rides, including Thunderbolt, the first trap door waterslide in the country.

TripAdvisor has ranked the attraction at 90 in a list of the top 107 things to do in Stoke-on-Trent and it's overall rating is more than three out of five.

But the feedback of 662 disgruntled customers online lay into the resort.

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One review from the middle of July gave the park just one star.

It read: "The place has gone down hill, dirty changing rooms with chewing gum stuck to seats, cold pool water. tiles falling off. what a terrible place desperate for a renovation."

Another added: "It's very, very dated and needs a hygiene upgrade. Could not believe how dirty the toilets and changing room floor was.

"Staff walking around in trainers in all areas including outside (meant to wear overshoes??).

"One member of staff texting whilst walking around the pool. Could be such a nice place."

A slightly earlier comment agreed with this review's criticism of the staff.

It said: "Very poor management and definitely lack of staff as it's school holiday."

Another argument against the park was its "stupidly expensive" prices.

One man left a two star review calling the "hidden charges" of lockers and parking "disappointing".

He wrote online: "It left a real sour taste and along with the smell of urine in the changing room area means we won't be rushing back."

A more positive review recommended visiting with "realistic expectations" and arriving early to avoid the "crazy busy" peak hours.

It said: "We did bite the bullet and pay extra for an all day pass. Had we been limited to three hours we may have felt disappointed due to the overcrowding situation."

Although this swimmer described the food as great she said it took a long time to come.

On hygiene, the same review continues: "The water was not green or dirty. Yes, some areas felt a little unclean, but absolutely no worse than any other swimming pool I've ever been to."

Another satisfied customer rated her family day-out four out of five, although admitted a list of areas for improvement.

This included broken locked bands and confusing signs. She also claimed that there were no bubbles in the bubble pool.

Yet 1,289 score the water park with top marks on the reviewing website.

Many defended the terrible reviews, with one saying: "There was no "scummy" "dirty" changing rooms! They were very clean as were the toilets. The floors were fine too no mess!"

Others wrote: "Had a fantastic day, I took my five year old daughter, so many different things for her to do, so welcoming and so nice, highly recommended. She'll be going every chance I get."

One added: "Fantastic arrival with very helpful staff, clean despite being very busy, all pool attendants friendly and helpful. Great day out."

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In response to the "green water" complaints in August 2021, owner Mo Chaudry called on sites such as Tripadvisor to "weed out non-genuine reviews and trolls".

He said: “To suggest that our venue is overcrowded, unsafe or unhygienic is quite simply inaccurate and irresponsible. The facts tell a far different story."

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