Sound Quality
This has been the biggest point of contention amongst ConcertHotels' users over the last year. Many of our users have posted very negative comments on our O2 Arena Reviews page, such as..
Bad Bad Sound Quality!...the bass was so loud that you couldn't hear...! It's just so bad when you pay £160 for two tickets! What is going on with it! Can no one notice when they do a sound check?
..it was a big disappointment that the sound in the venue was so bad. Either the acoustics need working on or else the sound mixing is at fault. The volume was far too loud, almost to the point it was painful on the ear and the bass, drums and vocals overpowered all the mid range frequencies.
The gig was spectacular but marred by the iffy sound quality...From our own personal experience, the sound quality has been fine from the floor or level 1 of the seating section, but it really does deteriorate spectacularly as you move up to the heavens in level 4.
3/10
Atmosphere
A capacity of 20,000 screaming fans, seated on levels rising steeply to the top of the dome - the atmosphere is pretty amazing.
9/10
Quality of Acts, past, present and future
The O2 Arena opened in 2007 with Bon Jovi, and over the last few years has become synoymous with major acts including Prince, Spice Girls, Kylie Minogue, Elton John, The Eagles, Celion Dion, AC/DC, Madonna and the late, great Michael Jackson (who had been scheduled to play 50 concerts) to name but
a few.
And the future looks just as bright for the O2 Arena, with world class acts such as Bon Jovi, Leona Lewis, Whitney Houston, and A-Ha already leading a long list of acts scheduled to perform in 2010. And the arena has also hosted a number of sporting events in the last few years, including Championship Boxing, Tennis, WWE wrestling, and is scheduled to host artistic gymnastics at the 2012 Olympic Games.
10/10
Venue Facilities
There are plenty of food and drink outlets within the arena itself, making it quick and easy to grab a snack or buy a beer between songs. And for those who have had too many beers, there is absolutely no need to cross your legs in the queues for the toilets - with over 500 toilets in the arena, queues are minimal!
The venue is easily accessible for wheelchair users, with toilets and lifts all designed for wheelchair use - for further information, the O2 Arena website has the answers!
9/10
Venue Refreshments
As mentioned previously, inside the arena itself there are numerous outlets serving food and drink. On entrance to the actual O2 (prior to entry to the arena), the entertainment avenue has many popular high street restaurants and cafes, such as Starbucks, Gaucho, Pizza Express, Slug & Lettuce and many more. One word of advice however - these places do get very busy before a gig, so if you are considering eating in the O2 prior to a show, either make sure you arrive really early, or pre-book - some O2 Arena restaurants are available for free online booking.
9/10
Venue Location
A very picturesque setting on the banks of the Thames. However, due to the looping Thames, it can prove more difficult to get to the O2 Arena than it looks - many of the hotels are a stones throw from the venue, but the taxi or walking routes end up being much longer. Transport links are excellent honwever.
7/10
Transport LinksNorth Greenwich underground station is only 200m from the arena, so travelling by tube couldn't be any easier. There are a number of bus routes available, all of which can be easily found at the transport for london website http://www.tfl.gov.uk/. If you'd prefer to travel in style, its also possible to travel to the O2 Arena using the Thames Clipper river service from Waterloo pier and other majoe London piers - departures are every 20 minutes.
9/10
Parking
The O2 Arena has car parks available onsite, making it easy for visitors to the arena. They also offer a ticketless facility to pre book parking, making it very customer friendly. But its also possible to pay on arrival although of course, parking is subject to availability. We've marked O2 arena parking down in this review, as its very expensive, working out at just under £20 to pre-book, and £25 if you just turn up on event day.
8/10
Nearby restaurants
Inside the O2 you'll be greeted with a host of popular high street restaurants. However, we've found that on an event night, its essential that you try to pre book one of the restaurants in the complex, or prepare yourself for a very long wait.
7/10
Nearby hotelsBeing situated in one of the world's busiest cities, the O2 Arena has a great selection of nearby hotel accommodation to choose from. ConcertHotels has partnered with Europe's leading hotel supplier to give our users the best choice of O2 Arena Hotels possible. One note of caution however - due to the looping Thames, distances listed on many websites can be deceiving - while straight line distances are generally given, the Thames getting in the way can mean that in reality, the actual travelling distance to the O2 Arena can be a mile or two more than the distance published. Our advice would be to double check on the available maps where your desired hotel is relative to the O2 Arena. But you should find something for everyone - luxury hotels for a romantic weekend, budget hotels for an overnight stop after a gig - you name it, we've got it.
8/10
OVERALL 79%
