We love polar ice. Great place for a skate on a hot or cold day and for lessons as well. Great little snack bar with good prices as well.

My daughter just had her first session. Her coaches were great and very attentive. My daughter was definitely struggling though. After her session ended I was talking to her coaches but the assistant (or associate, I forgot what she said) director came over and launched into an absolute power trip saying that the coaches were not allowed to speak and that all questions should be directed towards her. I explained that I just wanted to hear what the coaches thought and she put her hand in my face and reiterated that she was in charge and all questions she be directed to her. She was nowhere near where my daughter's session was happening. Why can't I just ask the coaches, who again were very attentive and caring, what they thought? read more

Took my grandson and granddaughter to this ice skating rink. It's located in the Factory in Wake Forest. They have different hours for public skating which lasts for 2 hours. It cost $16 which includes skate rentals so I felt the price was decent. It was her first time on ice so glad her older bro was able to help. They do have a skating aid for young beginners at $4 per person if needed. There's also a snack bar which we didn't utilize and plenty of benches for spectators. read more

See all

THERES SOMETHING IN MY DRINK (ITS A BUG EWW) even though the server is nice, there is a bug in my drink and I almost threw up. read more

Polar Ice House - A BUG IN MY DRINK - Skating Rinks Near Me - Wake Forest, North Carolina

I took my son and his buddy there last Saturday for their open skate time. It was a little bit busy but both of the boys had tons of fun their staff was helpful and will bring them back again in the future. read more

Our center of attention for the Hockey One tournament over three busy days. Two regulation rinks, plus some smaller practice rinks. Located in what was once a giant cold storage facility, there were other shops and businesses outside of the rink area. Quite an operation. The ice was well maintained with the Zamboni resurfacing after every game. And it was cold, as it should be, for hockey. Seating areas were neither comfortable or readily available. Just wooden tiers. Most spectators stood. A snack bar was kept busy with beverages, pastry and hand-held snacks. Restrooms were off to one end. A seating area of fixed tables with bench seats was very crowded, as this was the only area for people to congregate in between games. TV screens regularly flashed to various team match-ups, times and which rink location. A very well-run operation. No complaints. A-OK. Hockey One did a great job of setting up the competitions, by age groups, so the teams were evenly matched. Referees did a super job, esp dealing the younger kids that did not really understand off-sides and icing. Lots of penalties. But that is a good way to learn. Good location, plenty of parking and helpful staff. read more

Just skated on the other rink. Ice was fine but this rink was noticeably colder than the other one. Was told that it has something to do with the way the insulation is and that there are no direct outside access for the zanboni. This rink is a little smaller physically too. Otherwise its the same as the other rinks in the area. They only skate in one direction unless there are just a few other skaters in which case you can do what you want. This is for the rinks at the factory in wake forest. read more

We are absolutely happy with the Polar Ice House! Our daughter starting learning how to ice skate there in hopes of "playing hockey" about a year ago. We are very impressed with all of the staff especially the patience teachers! We currently had our daughters 8th birthday party at PIH and Beth was AMAZING! She truly helped us plan the entire party and even though I was unable to answer phone calls from her she continued to reach out through emails and phone messages. She was awesome and I can not say enough about how very helpful she was throughout the entire process! Thank you SO much for being so welcoming to our family! read more

Upcoming hockey tournament this weekend and management will not allow even all parents to attend to see their kids. Even all family can see kids play football and basketball. Why is hockey shunned? read more

Great place for a birthday party! We felt like it was a great value and perfect setting for a small party. We had 9 kids and felt like that was a great number for having time on the ice and the time in the room. Included a present for our daughter as well which was very sweet! We would highly recommend read more

Poorly maintained and very limited seating for parents. Bathrooms were disgusting and filthy.

A great place to skate...stick n puck...and they have the best hot chocolate around. It usually isn't very crowded unless a school is here or the y-camp is skating. Lots of restaurants to choose from within 100 yards too so you can make a great night of skating. Staff here are excellent and they have been known to actually sharpen skates unlike many ice rinks. Also nearby is the pro shop and they are great as well with sharpening skates if you have your own. Skating is inexpensive and stick n puck is a dollar cheaper (7 bucks) if you get a polar ice house club card (it's free). read more

See all

This rink and its management could care less about hockey. Only trying to make a buck. Hired Referees that were late for the start of our game and then had the gall to shave 8 minutes of of a closely contested CHL playoff game . Shame on this rink and its total disregard for Carolina Hockey League and its rules. read more

We held our daughter's 5th birthday party at Polar Ice House at the end of October. Beth and her staff are fantastic! They set up the room, provide cake, a small gift for the birthday girl and treats for the guests, and then package all your items up while the group heads out onto the ice. We paid a small additional amount to get a "lesson" for the little ones...and the two instructors were so sweet and kind. We did encourage all the party guests to bring helmets. Again, I can't stress how great Beth and the team were. I feel like this was the first party where we were able to focus on our daughter, rather than the party. read more

Come here every year for a hockey tournament. Has two rinks, nice and cold ice, snack bar, pro shop- all good. Only complaints would be ice refs and scoreboard keeper. We come here for tournaments so expect a certain caliber of reffing ability. Refs were good but clock kid was on his phone whole time. Missed goals and team had to tell him as well as stoppage time. read more

Came here for open skate on Friday and I have two lasting impressions: 1) it's cheap and 2) It has to be better than what we experienced here this evening. According to a friend, we came on a night that usually is fairly empty to the point that you can practice crossovers around the circles without worrying about hitting anyone, but just our luck-- a group is here tonight! And not only a group, but a group of possibly the most obnoxious teens ever. They were making snow angels mid-ice, decided to scrape the ice with their skates and have snowball (or ice chunk) fights, and best of all: they were skating and sliding into their friends/innocent bystanders while pretending to check them. I realize some of them might have been falling legitimately, but when the same four kids keep knocking into people, someone's going to get hurt. It was really hard to skate in the middle of it all without hurting someone, even as someone who has played hockey for the better part of 27 years. And there were A LOT of people on the ice who weren't trying to be total douchebags. The rink could have used better regulation from the staff without requiring someone to go complain (I swear it wasn't me-- he was walking on the ice as we were getting ready to go say something), but it was nice that they did something about the cluster-eff that was going on. I know that rinks get cut up with enough skaters, and Zambonis can clean that up real nice, but the ice wasn't in that great of condition early on in the evening, so an hour in, you can imagine how awesome it was after all the kids were digging holes in it to throw at their friends. Yeah. I won't go into detail about the lovely brown spots that at first, I thought were blood... they weren't. It was chewing tobacco. Yuck. Sigh. Maybe rinks just aren't hallowed ground down here like they are up north? I'll definitely come back again, and hopefully there's no teen groups coming in when I do. What could have been a really fun time was just an OK time. read more

Poorly managed unfortunately. Inexcusable lack of adherence to USA hockey rules by rink management. Disappointing and do not recommend for hockey bawd upon this. read more

While I was visiting Raleigh, I was given the opportunity to curl for a night with the Triangle Curling Club, which currently plays matches at the Polar Ice House. As for the Polar Ice House itself, it's located in the Factory complex in Wake Forest, and from what I saw, has two ice rinks, a common area with snack bar, a number of small locker rooms and other amenities fit for an ice rink. The ice was decent, not great, but not decrepit either. read more

I went on friday night free skate, cause my friend loves this place. The only bad thing i have to say is it was a teenagers birthday party the night we went and there were over fifty teens skating around acting like little jerks. But thankfully one of the staff (who also was a teenager) came out and layed down the law (kids were skating dangerously around and in front of people, purposely slamming into walls and each other, throwing snowballs). The rink is beautiful and well maintained. If you have your own skates bring them the rentals are a hodge podge of dull skates with poor laces. read more

Do not go on crowded Saturday times!The first hour very crowded and could have birthday party participants that are completely inconsiderate of other skaters. It isn't really open skating at all with skaters practicing any area of the ice..and especially when it's so crowded.rude and very dangerous!The ice gets very choppy after 20 minutes.ugh! And the worse part is the attendants on the ice don't really care about safety and when I shared my concern ..he.. agreed with me and did Nothing!!its a chaotic free for all!! I feel sorry for people trying to learn how to skate! And also. I have a had speed skating experience..so I could manage ok..but it was really only fun as the rink was less crowded.The staff is the problem! read more

Just finished my son's birthday party here and I have to say without a doubt it was the most successful and fun party we've had to date! The packages are reasonable and much cheaper than anything you can do on your own and the staff takes care of everything! They give you invitations, order the cake, do the decorations, set up, clean up, serve, assist, etc. All I had to do was show up and let the fun begin! They also threw in some "extras" that made my son's day (they let him dump the zamboni, gave him a staff shirt and ID badge). Ashley (our party coordinator) was amazing and phenomenal with the kids - a world of patience and so energetic! For a four hour party you can't beat this! read more

Two sheets of ice, great staff, excellent hockey program for kids and adults. As an adult, I play league hockey here, and my kids do as well. They have quite a few public skates, a good learn to play for kids, and a very nice birthday party package. Having played hockey at all of the other rinks, none of which currently have two sheets of ice, I have to say the Factory is one of the best! read more

Impressed with the rink and the ice maintenance, the staff is good too. Don't eat at the tables- people use them to put their skates, shoes etc... On and they are never cleaned. read more

My son tried a track out camp for a day and did not like it. He was so sad when I picked him up. He said the kids were so unfriendly to him. He was standing to the side by himself, and I guess the leader didn't notice this.... He doesn't want to go back. read more