Purple Monkey Playroom

One of my favorite play spaces in the city. Here’s why:
— It is small. This seems to be a downside to most people, but I actually enjoy the fact that I can sit down and see my child from nearly every angle of the space. And quickly get to her and interfere if she’s terrorizing another child or wants me to play. Also, great if you bring a mom friend to chat, it’s quite possible you will make it past two sentences without worrying your kid has disappeared into an open room on the other side of the building.
— Free coffee. No brainer. Most of the time we barely make it here and I left my half drunk coffee at home. They fix my problem. Are people really complaining about paying $.25 for creamer? It’s liquid gold! #pocketchange
— Friendly, direct staff. I never feel like they are over bearing like the place down the street where they pick up the toy as soon as my kid drops it and turns around. And then has object placement confusion when they go looking for it again. But I also feel like the staff is always aware of what’s happening and step in if needed.
In general, this place does not have huge slides and equipment, thank god cause I avoid the «my kid is going to fall and break their neck» anxiety. They have tons of toys, many we have at home, but here other kids want them too so my toddler suddenly has a renewed love for them. And it’s not my living room she’s destroying. For the hundredth time.

This is our second review for this place and we can not say enough about it. We hosted our son’s 3^rd birthday here in 2014 and had such a great experience that we returned to host our now 1 year old’s first birthday.
The owner was very involved and helpful in the party planning process. It was smooth and simple and required minimal effort on my part (a big plus for a working mother of 2 boys)!
Our party assistant, Jeanetta, was wonderful. From the moment we arrived she waited on us hand and foot. She helped set up and organize, greet guests and manage the party. The party went smoothly and even though we had a minor crisis (our face painter didn’t show) Jeanetta was all over it. She was super apologetic and even had a back up artist come in and save the day.
We’ve had 2 parties here and both parties have been wonderful. Our children love it here and our guests raved about the venue. We are so happy with our decision to come back to purple money and are so thankful for their help in making our sons first birthday so special.

Visited for the first time today. Great time! The staff was excellent. The party host didn’t have to lift a finger because Johnetta had take care of everything! I will be back for sure!

We threw my daughter a birthday party at purple monkey playroom. She turned 1 year old. The space itself is a good size and great for young children. The stars on this review are for the space only.
Overall experience was poor due to uncaring, rude staff and lack of assistance and information. I would give the staff a two star rating if that. We decided to do all of our own decorations, food and drinks. It seems like if you don’t pay the extra fees for them to plan for you they don’t care at all about your party. My husband and I visited the space about a week before the party. The woman that greeted us lacked any excitement or life when showing us the room. She basically made us pry information out of her and didn’t tell us much except for «here’s the space». We asked her if there was anything important we needed to know and she didn’t have many tips or much to say.
When we arrived the day of the party the assistant there to help us was one of the rudest people I’ve ever had the displeasure of working with. She told my husband we couldn’t hang any of our decorations or tape anything to the wall without special materials. I had spent weeks planning my daughters themed party and was very upset that no one told us beforehand. The assistant said it should have been in our contract which is fine, but that seems like something the lady that gave us a tour should have mentioned seeing as she knew we were putting up our own decorations. Luckily, we were able to run to the store and find the materials needed to hang things before guests arrived. Throughout the party the assistant had a horrible attitude, was on her phone 99% of time, made it clear she wanted to leave and was generally not helpful in setting up. I believe all she did was put a table cloth on or two and left to get on her phone. At one point after I set-​up my entire dessert stand she came by to tell me «oh.that’s supposed to go over there». First of all, the location she suggested made no sense, secondly if it was mandatory she probably should have been paying attention and should have told me before I was done. Once guests arrived the party went well, but it was no thanks to the staff. Toward the end the assistant did ask if we wanted to do cake soon (she clearly wanted to be done with work and go home). After the cake I asked her if there were trash bags so we can clean up and she said «no, I do all that. Just tell your guests party is over in 7 minutes» –_​– finally as we were leaving one of my guest and I accidentally stepped back half a foot onto the carpet with our shoes and the assistant yelled at us like we were children saying «I know you guys are talking, but you have your shoes on!!!» On that note we left.
We will not be back and I wouldn’t recommend this play room unless you don’t care about the staff. The assistant was seriously terrible/​rude serving as a hindrance much more than a help. Whoever does the hiring should reconsider the people that put on staff to «assist» with parties.

We started coming here when my son was three months old and at four years old he loves it more than ever. We recently had his 4^th birthday here and Jessica went above and beyond accommodating our needs. My husband and I work 60 hour work weeks and I had been out of town on business for the two weeks leading up to my son’s birthday and Jessica made sure that everything we requested the month prior was ready for his big day. The process was so easy that I felt like I was forgetting something. If you are a busy parent who wants to give their child a birthday they will remember, but are too busy to juggle all the details… Purple Monkey Playroom is for you! If I could give them 10 stars, I would.

I just returned home from a great French Party at Purple Monkey. This was not my first time there but it was such an easy going fun event that I thought I should give the playroom a little shout out. The playroom is not overwhelming at all. My 3 year old is always busy playing from one area to the next. I can bounce between playing with him and sitting back and letting him explore on his own, while being able to see him throughout MOST of the play space. and if I do not have my eyes on him, I know that I can hear him. I love that they host a variety of events. The French Party was laid back but engaging, which is perfect for my son!

I’m super thankful that there’s an alternative to throwing a party at that depressing party room at the movie theater up the street on Western and also away from the chaos that is Chucky E Cheese.
It’s a clean, safe, enclosed space that is perfect and accessible for friends and family to join you for a birthday party or whatever you want to celebrate. Your kid just ate their first apple without you peeling and cutting it? Let’s have a party at Purple Monkey! Finally got through Target without having to fight about not buying something in the toy aisle? Perfect, let’s have a party at Purple Monkey! (That one kinda contradicts itself so maybe not that.)
There’s a parking lot around the corner, but ample free street parking if you’re driving over.
The staff is very friendly, they have a good selection of toys and games and they know how to get kids involved if for some crazy reason they’re standoffish from the rest of the party.
(Don’t worry parents, if you got dragged to this event for a kid that’s not your own and you have someone that doesn’t mind… there’s a bar a couple doors down.) Actually, Purple Monkey is part of what I’ve been calling the «Walk Western» path — starting down at Challengers (or coming off of the 606), hitting Margie’s/Quesadilla/The Art of Chicken/​Paladar for food, grabbing a drink (or two or three) at O’s, hunting to get a piece of your childhood back at Toy de Jour, looking for oddities at Sideshow Gallery, and ending up at Logan Arcade. Great date day all in one stretch of Western that most people miss while doing the same old Milwaukee Ave stuff. All this while getting some exercise walking Western! So again, if you’re allowed to (don’t go leaving your kid with strangers!!) there’s a lot to check out in the same stretch of Western.

This is such a great place for my 1 yo daughter! She loved roaming around and playing with all the toys. The place was very clean and toys organized. We will definitely come back!

I went here for the first time to meet a friend today. We both have two little ones and we were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves.
My daughter absolutely loved being able to do exactly what she wanted and have total free reign of the place (when the pesky toddlers weren’t bothering her!) I realize this is probably very unusual but for us it was a real treat!!! She loved all the dress up clothes, the little kitchen, and the doll house!
My son loved the trains and cars and was pretty engrossed with them.
I think it might be harder for us when there are more kids there or a posse of strollers as it’s not huge. But that’s the nature of play spaces — they need lots of kids to function.
There is free parking on Western, but be careful getting the kids out on the street side — traffic is fast and drives pretty close to the parked cars.
When my friend left I had a really nice chat with one of the staff, Kate, and that was really great for this mom who doesn’t always get lots of meaningful adult conversation!
So thanks, Purple Monkey! We will be back!

I had my 3 year old’s birthday here. Jeanetta was our staff assistant, and she was awesome! I had never done a kid’s party before, and had no idea what to do. She helped me set up, kept track of the time, and kept the party moving. I would have been totally lost without her!
The space was perfect for our party, we had 9 toddlers, and they had a great time! It’s not so huge that the kids are spread out to far for the adults to talk, but there is still plenty of room for the kiddos to play and run around. We even turned their infant area into a balloon pit, which was a huge hit.
I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!

I’ve been taking my little man (almost 2 years old) to Purple Monkey Playroom since he was a little baby (3 mo old). Here is why I love Purple Monkey Playroom… New toys seem to pop up whenever we go there (The owner must always be looking for new fun things), it’s clean and has a fresh feel, there is a nice selection of magazines (silly, but I always enjoy this), I can bring my own food/​snack, I feel like my toddler is safe and it’s one of the few places I can truly relax, the complimentary coffee is fresh and yummy, the staff is friendly and will always chat if you are up for it– but also leave you be if you just want to zone out on your phone, there is a nice snack selection to purchase if you forgot yours– this has saved me a few times, they offer fun programming for kids on a regular basis… for holidays, etc., and finally… I’ve met some of my best mama friends while hanging out there. I’ll return again and again, and be grateful every time that I have an indoor space outside our home for our son to play that feels so fun and safe and happy.

Purple Monkey has a nice space, but I was quite disappointed with the level of cleanliness. Every toy my daughter picked up was visibly dirty; crumbs and food were everywhere and many of the toys and equipment seemed old and worn. I understand that kids make a mess, but it was clear that the toys had not been thoroughly washed or even wiped down. I want to go back to Purple Monkey because it it’s convenience and the range of toys– I hope that the staff can take this as constructive and make an effort to clean more thoroughly, or even have some wipes available around the room so caregivers can give things an additional wipe down.

My 4 year old loves this place, my 6 year old loves this place. Heck, even I love this place!
From the play kitchen area to the slide to the dress up clothes to the giant doll house to the free coffee and wifi, there is something for everyone. Drop in play time is plenty of fun and going to a party here is a real treat.
The wall murals are adorable, parking is easy & free, the place is clean, the staff is friendly and helpful, the owner even more so. Treat yourself and your kiddo/​s to a play date at this fun oasis!

I have taken my baby here to play on three different occasions and he’s enjoyed himself every time. He is 11 months old and the little enclosed baby area is perfect for him. He also crawls around the bigger play area as well. I like the free coffee/​tea and it’s nice that he’ll be kept entertained with little effort from me. I recently used the Urban Sitter drop-​off Purple Monkey offers on Thursdays. I am not positive about the hours, but I dropped him off at 11ish and picked him up at 12:30. I had never left my son with a babysitter other than family before so I was a little worried, but it went well. The sitter’s name was Renee and she seemed really nice. If you live in the area and don’t have a regular sitter, I thought it was a great option if you need to run some errands.

My 19 month old loved this place! She didn’t want to leave! I have a small house and i wish i can give my daughter a big playroom but I can’t so this place was awesome. She ran from the train table, to the blocks, the little house, she played with the dolls, radio flyer cart, and everything else! We were there for 2 hours and I was pooped! I love that the room is bright and cheerful. I am definitely coming back.

The space is clean with a good amount of toys for the babies/​toddlers/​children to play with. It isn’t extremely spacious, but it’s enough for a good amount of little ones. Staff is very friendly and they serve complimentary coffee with other drinks and snacks to purchase. I think this area would probably be the most entertaining for avid crawlers to those who haven’t started pre-​K yet, so probably 8 months to 3 years.
If you do go here, it’s probably best to come with another adult to have conversations with while your little one plays, or better yet another adult with a little one. In my experience, a few of the other SAHMs weren’t very warm and kept themselves occupied into a section of the room, making sure their babies stayed away from mine… even though I seriously have the cutest and most beautiful baby (I’m biased, but it’s true). I guess in the other places I’ve gone to, other parents were more friendly with their babies. It got a bit lonely but at least my 8 month old baby had fun! She was crawling everywhere and had fun experiencing new toys.
If you call ahead, they give a $ 5 discount for a first time visit, which is $ 7 for the first kid. It’s a great deal and can’t hurt to try! Parking is easy to find in the area as well. Just make sure you have someone else to converse with if you get lonely/​bored easily because your kid (s) can easily keep themselves occupied.

Super lovely space, great place for kids to use their imaginations and play games and enjoy some play time in a safe environment.
The owner is caring and very helpful and has lots of helpful suggestions to make a party a fun one. Perfect if you want help to throw your little ones a party and not have to clean up at home.

Purple Monkey Playroom is okay for babies, I suppose. However, we wanted to have a party for a kid that was turning 2 and it would have been terrible. We reserved a party based on Unilocal reviews before visiting and made a play-​visit to see how it looked. All the toys and play structures were too young and small and wouldn’t hold a toddler’s attention. Because the deposit was non-​refundable, we have a gift card for $ 150 that we can’t really use. The triplets have aged out of this place already. The bathroom is dirty and the toys are so-​so. The chairs for adults are limited and not so comfortable. They give free coffee but charge for creamer. Also, someone mistakenly took a pair of our shoes but brought them back the next day. They don’t sell snacks and the hours are VERY LIMITED.

My 19 month old son and I attended a party this past weekend at the Purple Monkey Playroom. The space is bright and inviting. There are a lot of his favorite toys represented — train table, climber, play kitchen — and in the two hours we were there, he never got bored. The woman working on that day was friendly and patient with us as we all left a little later than planned because of a late pizza delivery snafu. We had a large crowd of kids and moms and it did not feel cramped. I would recommend the Purple Monkey Playroom for parties.

I like.
It’s a great place to set your toddler free for a couple hours while you can kick back and relax and not worry about him/​her hurting themselves. My son’s favorites are the variety of trucks he can push around and the small slide that seems to entertain him for hours.
Highlights:
— free coffee and tea. Thanks!
— there’s a small infant area that is separated from the rest of the playroom by a small wall. That’s nice to have for the little guys.
— the owner is super nice and friendly. Both times I’ve been in, her daughter and husband come in and it’s nice to know you’re supporting their dream of being business owners.
— I bought a certificate on one of those millions of deals websites and it was a great purchase, totally worth it.
Not so great:
— it’s small for the regular price. The other playrooms charge as much but this place is significantly smaller. For a toddler, no big deal, but for, say a 3 or 4 year old or so, I think there are better choices out there.
— parking sucks.
All in all, we’ll be back!