The Gus Healy Swimming Pool , Ballinlough, County Cork T12 XK06

"It has a unique charm. Reminds of East Germany in the 80s. The cleanliness of the changing rooms is questionable. The 1 hour opening time for the general public is ridiculous imo. The biggest asset this pool has is the friendly staff which makes up somewhat for the shortcomings. My daughter also thinks the water is warmer than in Bishopstown so this is another plus."

"It is awful The changing rooms are disgusting and the toilets are even worse. The floors are sticky and sometimes have outside dirt and other dirt. The pool is manky. It sometimes has plasters just floating around or dirt in the water. The whole pool is just old and needs a lot of work and a few good cleans. The staff are relatively friendly. The swimming pool in bishopstown is better by miles."

"If you want fancy changing rooms with mood lighting & underfloor heating: If you want poolside saunas & steam rooms. If you want overbearing staff in starched white uniforms - Don't go here. It's an old fashioned, functional swimming pool with few if any luxuries, great, friendly staff, hot showers & good value entry price. (And In reply to an earlier post: I've been going there for the past 2 years & I've never found it 'unhygienic' - tired yes. Unhygienic never.)"

"My son took several private lessons at this swimming pool, since it was located 15 min.drive from my house. This swimming pool is very unhygienic and requires refurbishment. No EU country has such outdated swimming facilities as this one. The only advantage it has is its staff, that was nice and welcoming. Since the trainer Steve was good, we decided to stick to him and to put off with swimming pool conditions. Regrettably, our private lessons ended sadly because the management was not in the position to coordinate the staff's schedule properly. Firstly, I was told to call the trainer directly to make a swimming appointment. Then I had to call the Douglas swimming pool and book an appointment which I did. The person I spoke with took all the details and sent a request through the system. I was told that if our trainer does not confirm an appointment, I should call next day again. I sent a text to a trainer next day but he said that he did not receive any booking and that I had to book all appointments with the boss only. Such customer service is absolutely not unacceptable. I am not Irish however it does not mean that I should be treated in such way."