Hatfield House Reviews Summary

Staff and Guides

Pros:

• "The room guides were very friendly and helpful with some interesting stories and information on the house, history, family, painting, etc."
• "The staff were brilliant. Friendly and informative."
• "Met a lovely guide called Dermot who was friendly and knowledgeable beyond belief."
• "The staff are interesting and knowledgeable especially the lady Sue could have listened to her forever."
• "The staff are very well informed about the importance and meaning of all the various artworks."
• "The staff was impeccable. They went above and beyond."
• "The staff are helpful, informative and knowledgeable."

Cons:

• "Only thing to let it down was the disabled toilet was disgusting."
• "The service was slow and unapologetic. Staff were busy delivering food or clearing plates and unwilling to make eye contact to help visitors."
• "Staff in the ice cream shop should really wear gloves when handling cones and wafers that are going in people's mouths I think."
• "Unfortunately the entire thing was ruined by an extremely rude an mentally unhinged security guard."
• "The staff on the cloakroom were slow and miserable, which led to a massive queue down the stairs to the entrance door!"
• "Staff couldn't clearly direct us where we had to go."
• "I wouldn't recommend getting food from the restaurant there. Aside from the unprofessional shouting matches, you're likely to be served more than 10 mins after being acknowledged."

Facilities and Grounds

Pros:

• "The court yard by the main house has lovely little shops and a great cafe and restaurant."
• "Lovely place to go for a walk in the massive park. Lots of paved paths and then smaller dirt paths into the forest."
• "Grounds are beautiful, mazes and gardens and even a woods with trails to walk!"
• "A park for walking and beautiful gardens, as well as a restaurant and various small shops are part of the estate."
• "The gardens are manicured and so well looked after."
• "The gardens were beautiful but only one section is open to public so it was quite small for the price."
• "The stable yard houses many unique artisan shops."

Cons:

• "There were hardly any bins weirdly, which was annoying and the one we found was hidden in long grass."
• "Fireworks are a real issue for many local residents, particularly those with dogs."
• "Additionally the vast majority of Hatfield Park is not allowed to access, which is not super clear at the point of purchase."
• "Note dogs aren't allowed in the gardens."
• "We also didn't see any picnic tables so you need to take rugs and chairs."
• "Only complaint is that you are not allowed to walk a bike through the gardens even if you don't ride it."
• "Only complaints were that the grounds need better signposting as the walking map wasn't great."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Food and drink were also very reasonably priced."
• "The ticket prices are a little steep but there are different concessions available and offers with train partnerships that can help with costs."
• "The coffee shop is reassuringly expensive, but the food is good quality."
• "You can get your ticket to the garden stamped for full access to the gardens all season for no extra charge."
• "Food a bit pricey but good."
• "Recommend buying tickets in advance because you get 10% off purchasing from the website instead of getting them there."
• "Beautiful scenery and lots of parking and very good hot chocolate!"

Cons:

• "I'd give it more but house and gardens are really expensive."
• "Attended Christmas Revels tonight it was hugely disappointing for such a high ticket price."
• "The main house and grounds at £19 per person is extortionate."
• "It was a bit pricey compared to other historical buildings we visited at £22 per person for the house and gardens."
• "Very expensive for what was on offer. The gardens and house, while lovely, do not justify a £19 price tag."
• "Price maybe a bit steep, £10 just to access the park."
• "They want £11 per person just to walk in the gardens."

Events and Activities

Pros:

• "I can't wait for the return of the Living Crafts, a maker's exhibition I absolutely love and have bought wonderful and memorable things from every year."
• "What a great festival! Brilliant bands, lots of activities and things to see and finished with a fantastic firework display."
• "Battle Proms event. Good organised drive into parking and large venue."
• "Beautiful at the moment with bluebells in the woods."
• "We really enjoyed this light show. The music was chosen with care and really added to the atmosphere."
• "Went for an event and it was beautiful. Lots if lovely photo opps in the grounds."
• "Excellent location for the open air Urban Soul orchestra classic Ibiza dance tunes event."

Cons:

• "Poor experience we took our whole family there to be told sorry no cash only card so had to leave will never go back poor customer service."
• "The House may have a beautiful garden but avoid going to a music event there."
• "Fantastical Christmas Revels experience was terrible. Absolute con."
• "After the concert it took hours to leave with no clear system, insufficient lighting and we saw no stewards."
• "Gaining access to the park and exiting after the concert was a complete fiasco… hundreds of people spent many hours trying to get out of the car park after the event."
• "Will never go to another concert there. Organisation was terrible."
• "Very disappointing 'Christmas' Revels. Not very festive at all."