I am writing this review after multiple deeply disturbing experiences at Glacier Ice Arena involving staff conduct, serious safety concerns, and a complete lack of accessibility. What happened here affected my children emotionally and physically, and I do not believe this facility is safe for kids. On my very first visit, I was alone with my four children (ages 8, 6, 4, and 4 months). I thanked one of the coaches for helping me and mentioned it had been a hectic morning. Her response, said directly in front of my children, was: "It's your fault you had so many kids." My children later asked why an adult would say that. I was heartbroken. This comment was cruel, unprofessional, and emotionally harmful. On another day, my 4-year-old daughter attended Tot 1--only her second skating class ever. She was fully dressed and nervous about getting on the ice. I calmly told that same coach that my daughter was nervous about getting on the ice, who replied coldly in front of my child, "That's your problem," and walked past us. No one who works with young children should ever speak that way. During that same class, when my daughter finally got on the ice, she fell and could not stand back up. She was left sitting on the ice for over 8 minutes without assistance, repeatedly trying to stand and failing. No instructor helped her. At the time, I was nursing my 4-month-old baby with a broken arm in a cast and felt helpless. My daughter came to me in tears, saying that no one would help her. That broke my heart. My daughter thrives with her ballet and tennis coaches and is normally confident and happy. I deeply regret placing her in an environment where she was treated so poorly--both verbally and physically. Another incident involved the front desk staff. I was sternly told to move my stroller even though it was not blocking the doorway. I was helping my three children put on skates while my baby cried in the stroller, and I had a broken dominant arm. There was zero compassion or understanding. Glacier Ice Arena is also not stroller- or disability-friendly. There are no ramps, no elevators, and only one handicap push-button on a front door. Navigating the facility with young children, a stroller, or mobility limitations is difficult and unsafe. Another concerning experience involved food quality and staff behavior at the concession stand. I purchased popcorn for my children, and they immediately said it tasted old and stale. When I brought this up, the lady working at the popcorn concession stand was extremely rude and condescending toward me. I am attaching a photo of her below. Whether you're reading this review on Yelp, Google, TripAdvisor, or elsewhere, I encourage you to click on my name and review my history. I do not write negative reviews lightly. Over several years, my reviews have all been five-star reviews. However, I have never been treated as poorly as I was here. There appears to be a troubling culture of disrespect from multiple staff members. I echo what many other reviewers have said: the staff is shockingly rude. Beyond rudeness, the behavior I witnessed was emotionally damaging, physically unsafe, and unacceptable. If you have other options, I strongly encourage you to look elsewhere, such as Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion (Buffalo Grove), Northbrook Sports Center Ice Arena (Northbrook), North Shore Ice Arena (Northbrook), Centennial Ice Arena (Highland Park), Hot Shot Ice Arena (Lake Bluff), Top Shelf Ice Arena (Gurnee), Glenview Ice Center (Glenview), and others. I hope Glacier Ice Arena reflects seriously on these issues. Until significant changes are made, I do not believe this facility is safe in any sense for children. read more

Glacier Ice Arena - Skating Rinks Near Me - Vernon Hills, Illinois

Two sheets, decent arena, no lobby seating. From what my son says, the ice is decent, as are the locker rooms. His team has played the home team twice and they've been really competitive, though we've won both. All this to say that the hockey program here seems to be thriving. There are concessions, but they weren't open at the time we were there (weeknight evening). We'll be back as visitors, but if you live in the area and are considering a place for your kids to skate... this is an excellent option. read more

They've got hockey at all levels, figure skating at all levels for kids and adults, public skates, hockey ice, freestyle ice, a synchronized skating team, holiday ice shows, new ownership, and great staff. They are also centrally located behind target. All this place needs marketing. read more

Nice ice area with 2 rinks: North and South. We rent last-minute private ice sometimes here for the family to skate and practice hockey as their rates are reasonable. The ice is well-maintained, and the staff is friendly and helps us with what we need. There's also ample free parking in front or back of the rink. Really no complaints at all! Usually none of the shops or concession stands are open during private ice times though, so cannot comment on those. read more

LOVE this ice arena. I brought my daughter and her friend here over Winter Break and they had a blast! The staff was friendly and it wasn't super crowded which was nice. They have two ice rinks and one was being used for open hockey which left our rink open for regular ice skating. They have training "pushers" available to use for free!! Pricing is average about $9 plus $3 for skates if you don't have. We really enjoyed our visit and will be coming back! read more

Fantastic to be back at the hockey rink for the start of the season! I should preface my review by saying I don't come here to skate but I come here to watch hockey and to photograph hockey for my work. That being said, I'm still a consumer in some way because I have to come here and navigate the hallway and use the bathroom and occasionally get a snack. As a former hockey player, I have visited the Pro Shop here. I have enjoyed coming to Glacier for quite a few years now. Parking is always easy, even on busy nights. The front lobby is unfortunately very tight and short. There's not enough room to really enter the building and kind of have a good look around to navigate where you're going. It can be difficult to figure out which rink you're going to the left rink or the right rink. However, once you figure out which side you're going to, and get past the immediate , unique, brutal hockey sweat stench which is pervasive throughout the facility, the viewing experience is good. Both rinks have good sight lines from the bleachers. Lighting is excellent compared to most other community hockey rinks. Zamboni crews always do a good job between the second and third periods. Locker rooms here are decent and there immediately adjacent to the rink. read more

We went to open skate during the week. 1st time there. Affordable, friendly staff and fun. Concessions closed (which is fine), clean restroom, plenty of space. Make sure to bundle up - colder than I expected inside. they have blue "helpers" for the inexperienced/kids and newcomers. We enjoyed ourselves and we will be back :) read more

Nice facility to watch my kids play hockey. Two full size rinks. The snack bar with gourmet popcorn flavors looks popular.

A very nice arena with two rinks. The concession stand smelled really yummy. Public skate was kinda crowded and probably could have used a second guard since a lot of people were just randomly skating the wrong way, but it was otherwise well organized and the ice was very well maintained! $9 for adult skater isn't a bad deal for 1.5 hours. read more

I APPROVE. We had a game here last Friday night against the Vixens (which we won, btw). The arena itself has great facilities: a pro shop that does sharpening (though they took a while with one of our centers, and she ended up not getting to play until the 2nd period), sells everything you need, including gear. They have a good food vendor that stays open, two rinks that are in pristine condition, is overall clean and doesn't have a stinky rink smell. Even our locker room was clean, and the bathrooms had stalls. There were additional restrooms in the rink (not just in the arena lobby), so that when we first got there we didn't have to share with a bunch of high school boys (they'd had the ice before us, had the neighboring locker room) The viewing stands connect so that you can be in the stands for the game (or whatever) in one rink and still see what's going on in the other. There was a men's game going on at the other rink at the time, and we soon had fans when people got wind that a bunch of college girls were beating the crap out of each other on skates. They also have daily open skate, rat hockey, clinics, and all you could want from an arena. If you live anywhere near Vernon Hills, go here. read more

Glacier Ice Arena - Between periods - Skating Rinks Near Me - Vernon Hills, Illinois

It is VERY unorganized. Most of the staff is nice, the rest of them are AWFUL! This is a skating rink, why is the staff so miserable? Morale is very low and unfortunately it effects everyone. My kids have been skating there for months and we are looking for somewhere else. It's not worth the attitudes. SO DISAPPOINTED! read more

Tucked away in the Vernon Hills business park, away from the chaos of the mall and traffic of Rt. 60, Glacier Ice Arena is a great place for hockey or a quick sharping if need be. They have two sheets of ice and 8 decent, although oddly shaped locker rooms that have showers. Heaters are placed above the stands for the fans. It does get very cold when you're coaching on the bench. If you get hungry cheering on your favorite player there is a pretty good selection of drinks or snacks at the food stand. The most convenient part of Glacier is the fact that they have a Jerry's in the building. I wish all ice rinks had one. Recently, one of my mite players' skate blade broke during a game in a tournament. We took his skate into the shop and within 5 min of him having it off his foot, it was fixed. Some of the not so great things - the ice is a little slow, especially in the summer time (as with most rinks). The men's league games are very late during the week. We're talking 10pm on a Tuesday night and for those of use that have the 9-5 jobs it's a little tough. Glacier is a great place to learn and play hockey from beginners to the young at heart. read more

I used to come here almost every weekend as a kid to the public skating. I finally went back today and it was still great. The line to pay for public skating goes quickly, even though it usually gets long. There are definitely a lot of people allowed to go on ice, and gets very crowded, but it wasn't too horrible today. The cosmic skating for the last hour of skating is a nice touch. I did not see any "guards" skating on ice...but maybe they just didn't stand out. The hot chocolate that we got after skating was delicious. It was very rich and chocolaty... much better than I ever expect from an ice rink. My dad also periodically goes to the adult hockey legue/open play during the day, and has a blast. read more

Good facility with friendly staff. Can be busy especially on weekends with open skate and lessons going on. read more

Glacier Ice Arena - Skating Rinks Near Me - Vernon Hills, Illinois

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Terrible Customer Service! The admin folks are very rude and disrespectful. I had signed up my son for the Tots class and had to cancel it as I felt he is not ready based on his performance in the prior session (too many kids too few teachers). The woman at front desk could not do it as she was not aware of the process and asked for me to call. And when I called next week the person on the phone was SO RUDE and said that I should not have registered my child without knowing for sure if he was going to go or not. In the end they did a refund and had such a bad attitude towards customers. So disrespectful!! read more

Nice Saturday afternoon skating session and not too crowded. Though my children do not play hockey, I can see they have many leagues for all ages including weekend warriors. read more

Nice rink. Have a cool little rink on the second level that you can skate on.

I play rat hockey here all the time and it's great. Affordable, only $8, for 1.5 hours. Plenty of locker space and the ice is well maintained. The amount of players that show up can very greatly but it's always a great workout read more