Ice in Paradise

Pros, Cons, then summary.
I play here as well as my kids.
PROs – The place is new. Everything works and is updated. Locker rooms are roomy, nice, and have bathrooms attached. The NHL ice is very nice, boards are clean and glass too. Has a nice coffee shop, and snack bar. TVs are new and always has sports on them. Easy parking too. The youth and adult leagues run fine. The coaches are nice and knowledgeable for the kids and the referees for the adults are much better than other places.
CONs – Having only 1 full sheet makes it tough to schedule practices/​games. This is an issue that is only going to get worse as more people take up hockey. No video games either for the kids. Need more food in the snack bar and/​or have all of the ingredients necessary. For example, nachos are easy to make and keep stock, yet there were out of cheese on more than 1 occasion.
Would I go back? Yes. It’s an overall nice place. For hockey players in the tri-​county area, it’s basically here, Simi Valley Iceoplex, or Valencia Ice Station. Valencia is very nice, but I don’t know anybody over there, and the times I’ve played there, the level of douchebaggery was pretty high.

I didn’t even know this place existed except when we did a work event bonding thing, and we went to skate for 30 minutes.
It’s freezing inside! Go here to get a taste of what actual winter is like: P for us Southern Californians anyway.
I think the cost is actually decent. You have to remember this place is starting up. They need to cover cost, and a date for two to skate for 3 hours for just $ 25 is not really that bad. They probably haven’t worked out all the things they plan to offer yet. I encourage people to attend these kinds of places so we can KEEP them.
We didn’t buy enough books, now we lost half the bookstores in town, to be replaced by crappy makeup shops and cheap merchandise stores of which we have tons already. Don’t let this establishment have to leave, and get replaced by some crappy health pill vegan store thing that no one frequents either.
Anyway.
The skates were comfy and they had my size. The guy at the counter was humorous, and I don’t recall any music, which was fine. Either I wasn’t paying attention or it was so low it didn’t register.
I haven’t skated since I was 11. I fell, so oh well XD I’d go again. Definitely want to try doing this for Valentines Day. Great date idea!

This facility, I’m told, opened in September of 2015, just four months ago. There are a lot of donor signs and placards all over. This is also the home ice of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
Parking is ample. Two rinks, one NHL and the other maybe 2/​3rds as big for the mites following the ADM model of hockey. Four large, spacious locker rooms with adjoining bathrooms and showers. Upper level viewing of games. The upper level is warm enough, needing only a cover shirt or hoodie to stay comfortable. There is a concession stand, but it wasn’t open (0700 – 0830) so I went down the street to get coffee after the long drive from Yorba Linda. There is no pro shop so make sure your skates are already sharpened and you have your spare laces, tape, and wax on hand.
Getting a pro shop, having the concession stand open when the rink is open, and maybe putting in a vending machine or two for snacks and coffee would bump this rink up from a 4 to 5 star. I am, still, very impressed with it in comparison to other rinks I’ve been to.
P. S. Some of the team stayed overnight at the Courtyard by Marriott since the game was at 0900. Nine cars were broken into, including two from our team. The hockey gear bags were rifled through and some items stolen. Make sure you secure your gear and things if traveling here for a game.

A great time! It’s a beautiful place and priced very affordable. I went ice skating for my first time but, I plan to go back as often as I can.

Over priced!!! Our kids need a safe, fun and affordable activity and this just won’t cut it. Turn this into a roller rink and you will have a gold mine. This will never last. Nice try

Overall a great place to take the kids and have a good time with friends or family.
If you know me by now… you can probably guess what’s coming next here in my review…
I don’t echo the other reviews that say the staff is friendly. I felt like it was pretty sub par. They didn’t appear to be happy, no smiles. The exception were the staff in Zizzo’s café, super nice.
Pros
–Good temperature in the outer rink and seating areas. I was able to stay in for a couple hours without so much as a polo and not freeze. Women everywhere will disagree with me.
–Locker areas to store your stuff.
–Obligatory by bureaucracy multipurpose use rooms
–Café on site servicing food, beer and wine
–Ample parking
–Did I mention there was beer?
Cons
Too many to list. Here are some:
–Quirky staff that did not seem friendly to me. Just there to serve a purpose.
–Audio system is horrible! You can’t hear anything the announcer is saying, and it’s about safety apparently. I had to go to the front desk and ask them what they said. The response I got? «Sorry, we already announced it. Too late». Really??? He was apparently joking and told me what was up. But dude, I have dry humor and I was taken aback.
–Cost. $ 12.50 gets you 3 hours of skating and shoe rental. Which doesn’t sound crazy… but a family of five is gonna set you back more than $ 60. That’s a bit outrageous. For comparison, a family membership at the zoo is only $ 95, FOR THE YEAR.
–Not enough areas to change your shoes into skates. Collectively, perhaps, if you include all the seating areas in the building. But who is going to rent skates and walk an 8^th of a mile to change? More benches up front please.
–Zero activities during open skate. No games. No limbo, Simon says, red light green light. No prizes.
–Music is borderline inappropriate for children. I don’t want my 8 year old listening to «I’m Bringing Sexy Back»
–The food from the café is super gross. Frozen food heated up in an oven. The pizza was inedible.
I honestly don’t know how decisions like this get made in the planning phase. They seem like obvious mistakes to me.
TL;DR
This place is ok for kids. Adults will be annoyed, so get a beer. Pricey for a family. Staff is meh.

I used to ice skate a lot when I was younger, and I’ve gone on and off since then, but I’ve always enjoyed ice skating. Firstly, I’m really happy that we have this place as an option to hang out at in Goleta. Secondly, it’s a place that people of a variety of ages can come to and enjoy, which is why a large group of us grad students were out there!
Specifically related to Ice in Paradise, it appears that they have multiple rinks, which is great. There’s the main rink where I was, there’s another one that appears to be reserved for private parties, and there may be another one on a second floor, but I didn’t get a chance to check. The general skate rink is pretty large. However, I came at the end of the hour, so the ice was pretty cut up and it wasn’t as smooth of a skate as I would have liked. The rink was pretty packed, but I’ve been to places that are far worse, and this was pretty spacious in comparison.
I will most definitely be back!

First off, the facility is awesome. I’ve been excited for months for this to open. It’s a very impressive size and great quality rink. There’s also a Zizzo’s inside, which is great. I would have given five stars immediately if I didn’t actually try to skate on a Friday night.
They were super busy and there were a lot of people on the ice. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no one working on the ice to manage the people who obviously don’t know any ice skating etiquette. I.e. Skating in the wrong direction, stopping in large groups to take photos, holding hands in a line of 6+people while skating very slowly… It was frustrating and dangerous, and there was no one actually skating around mediating anything or helping people get up quickly like every skating rink I’ve ever been to. I was so disappointed that we left after less than 30 minutes and wish I could get my money back.
I love ice skating and would eventually like to go back to try again, but NEVER on a weekend.

This place is bullsh*t. My family and I waiting in this big a*s line for an hour just to hear, not to be told by an associate, that they were out of sizes 5 – 9. Once we got to the front they told us that they have been out for a while. I don’t get why they didn’t go out and tell us that they are out and the ones who choose to stay in the line, stay and the ones who want to leave can leave. Not let kids eagerly waiting in line just to be told that they can’t ice skate. OUTRAGED.

A brand new ice rink in Goleta! As a local hockey playing family its great to see new rinks opening instead of closing. The facility is top notch with a full sized NHL sheet of ice, a smaller studio rink which is great for 3 on 3, nice seats and stands to watch practices or games, really large locker rooms, a study room for siblings and homework, and a café. The general manager is a hockey veteran senior USA Hickey coach and knows how a rink should be run.

After decades without one Santa Barbara now has a brand new ice skating rink. Ice in Paradise has 2 ice rinks ready for kids and adults and opening weekend was this past weekend. It was a great way to keep cool in the heat and have a great time trying to skate on ice, which this Californian isn’t use too. — A few spills were involved, but it was fun.
Great layout and food too.