Lotherton Reviews Summary

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Fantastic value for money, lots to see and do."
• "Owned by Leeds council has reduced rates for Leeds card holders and annual membership is available."
• "It's really worth the price, especially if you get an annual pass."
• "Good value for money as under 5s are free, so ok for a cheap day out, but the zoo area looks unloved and in need of some TLC."
• "Not that expensive either so worth it."
• "Yearly family pass is about 40 quid. Well worth it."
• "Beautiful grounds with loads of space for kids to explore and very reasonably priced."

Cons:

• "Negatives in my opinion are, the price for entry (7.50 adult) because I'd say a fiver would be more acceptable."
• "I thought it was quite expensive at nearly £15 per child just to see Santa, plus the admission."
• "A rather disappointing and very expensive 1.5 hours. Wouldn't go again."
• "£9 an adult we felt is extremely steep for what there was there."
• "Not worth the £18 entry fee for 2 adults."
• "The fact that there are no concessions for carers, meaning that a disabled person has to pay £16."
• "At £9 per person it's now getting very expensive."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Visited for the first time today for the Christmas event. Lovely!!! Friendly staff and plenty to see."
• "All staff were very helpful, polite and smiling."
• "Staff across the estate were super insightful and helpful."
• "All the staff were super friendly and helpful."
• "The staff are always really friendly."
• "Staff always very helpful."
• "Very friendly and helpful staff."

Cons:

• "Sometimes it could do with a little more staff presence around the enclosures, particularly the birds near the education centre."
• "We had to queue for over half an hr! Once inside the cafe I could see why. They seemed to be very short staffed!"
• "The final straw was watching a member of staff, who clearly had a cold, blow his nose on a hand towel, then pick up a meal to take out to a customer."
• "The restaurant tables were unwiped, even tho there were staff standing around."
• "There's good play areas for children but no staff member to control the maximum 25 allowed on the play area."

Facilities and Cleanliness

Pros:

• "The cafe and toilets were open and clean."
• "Wildlife World had a nice variety of animals and the enclosures were modern and well maintained."
• "The disabled toilets in the courtyard were fantastic and included a soft bed and hoist for you to use."
• "Toilets are clean and places to wash hands when leaving the animal area."

Cons:

• "The whole place was run down, unkempt, scruffy poorly managed."
• "The wildlife area scruffy and lacking wildlife."
• "The wildlife area, it wasn't very clean and there didn't seem to be much enrichment for the animals."
• "First impressions were dirty toilets with 2 out of order."
• "The grounds were all pretty overgrown and needed some attention: the toilets were absolutely filthy and the courtyard area for food was grubby."
• "The wildlife centre gave great cause for concern filthy and contaminated pools in the enclosures, the penguin pool was thick with algae."
• "Very disappointed as untidy dirty and smelly with a lot of cages empty, not a lot of birds to see."

Attractions and Activities

Pros:

• "Really nice day out with a friend and two small children. Plenty of play area, a deer park where we saw LOADS of them!"
• "Best bird aviary I've seen, the cages are big so the birds have plenty of room."
• "Fantastic day out for all the family! It's good for walks, picnic's, lazy days and bird watching."
• "A fantastic family 👪 day out with plenty of things to do."
• "Christmas experience was brilliant, loved by both children and adults, the 12 day of Christmas walk was amazing in the dark and was interactive for the children."
• "Great day out with family. We went around Christmas time and there were lots of activities on."
• "A great day out with a range of activities to entertain the kids: deer park, hay maze, adventure playground, Wildlife World."

Cons:

• "Very disappointed to find the house closed for lunch, given there were many waiting for it to open."
• "The cafe also had electrical problems so no hot food, such a shame."
• "Overall we cut short our intended stay."
• "It could have been a really lovely evening, but unfortunately I just feel like I have been ripped off."
• "Absolutely disappointing. I attended their Winter Experience, and it turned out to be a significant waste of time, money, and energy."
• "The house and gardens no longer reflecting how it used to be, now just a tacky tourist attraction with no set theme."
• "Paid full entry price to discover most of the exhibition and out-buildings were closed on the day."