Edinburgh Zoo Reviews Summary

Accessibility

Pros:

• "Staff were very helpful to my disabled Husband providing help and even transport to get about the zoo easier."
• "The curtesy bus to the top of the hill was a very nice touch and the driver was a great fella with plenty of knowledge giving lots of hints and tips."
• "We were given a lift to the top of the zoo by vehicle as myself and my friend have health issues."
• "Regular buses from the town centre to the zoo."
• "15 minutes by bus from the City Centre."
• "Very easy to access via public transport, easy to find and the prices are so reasonable!"
• "Mobility scooters and manual wheelchairs are available but are first come first served."

Cons:

• "Quite a lot of uphill in the zoo mind!"
• "Only thing I didn’t like was the layout, even with a map you would get lost, end up in the same place or just confused."
• "This place is very hilly so beware if you struggle to walk or are pushing a family or friends in a pushchair or wheelchair."
• "A word of warning though for those with mobility issues, it is quite a walk around the whole place and I wasn’t sure if there was transport available."
• "Love this zoo, only downside is that it's on a huge hill so it's a nightmare for wheelchair users."
• "The zoo is mostly steep hills and was a struggle."
• "The zoo is built on a steep hill, so I could understand how this may be an issue for those with mobility issues."

Animal Welfare

Pros:

• "Animals all seem well looked after."
• "The animals are clearly well kept and have big spacious enclosures."
• "Lovely place, the animals were in good shape, plenty of space to roam around and they looked very healthy!"
• "Edinburgh zoo was fab the animals all looked well kept and happy."
• "The animals are so well cared for and there's so much to see!"
• "The animals look well cared for and happy."
• "All animals looked very happy, well looked after and most enclosures are modern with a lot of stimulating areas for the animals."

Cons:

• "The animals we saw looked miserable - the rhino was lonely, the monkeys were sat without any activities."
• "For the Chimpanzees that sat motionless and depressed, the lonely sun bear that paced in and out of the enclosure distressed and the solitary lion who looked emaciated and without energy I can not give this zoo any stars."
• "Increasingly shabby, with bored or stressed looking animals."
• "Most animal enclosures were incredibly small and poorly maintained, with many of them covered with mold."
• "The new sloth area was disappointing, they were asleep in deep baskets so you couldn't see them at all."
• "Not sure how many lions and tigers they have, but I could only see one of each."
• "We felt there were barely any animals and the animals we did manage to see were farm animals - pigs, horses, goats and ducks."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "It's good value too as a member; this also gives you free entry to Highland Wildlife Park and reciprocal entry to lots of other zoos."
• "A family day ticket for the bus is £10.50 - well worth it."
• "Parking free a real good value for money day out we did not have children but had a fab day."
• "We booked our tickets online and it was a good bit cheaper to do so."
• "The gift shop was nicely priced, a little on the tourist level but still not outrageous."

Cons:

• "We feel that £25 per person for this zoo is unreasonable and that £15 would be more reasonable for the availability at the zoo."
• "We regretted not bringing lunch with us however, as all of the food outlets, bar the café were closed, leaving us with very limited and rather pricey options!"
• "Brought tickets to go ice skating, DO NOT RECOMMEND. No entry unless you get full zoo admission ticket on top of ice skating tickets so paying £9 and £24 each to just enter the zoo and it’s not even a real rink."
• "With one restaurant closed, there was only a overpriced sandwich bar and a rammed to the brim fish and chip shop with a 45m wait just to enter."
• "For what it is, it's far, far too expensive."
• "I think the tickets price is high! They have to think about it because lots of people want to go with their kids but because of the tickets prices they can’t go!"
• "For the price of this, I don't recommend going at all, at least in November/December."

Facilities

Pros:

• "Very clean facilities, staff friendly and helpful!"
• "Restrooms, gift shop and cafes around site."
• "There were plenty of areas for food and rest rooms."
• "The place overall is very clean and tidy and all of the facilities were clean and working as well."
• "There are several picnic spots and tables all over the zoo."
• "Zoo cafeteria is good and serve good food and coffee."
• "The gift shop was well stocked too."

Cons:

• "The only slight minus points is that a lot of exhibits seemed empty and a load of water parts in the exhibits seemed to be drained making the animals go into hiding."
• "Most of the enclosures behind glass were so filthy, you barely see through them."
• "The food places were closed and none of the staff seemed to care."
• "Sadly many of the exhibit enclosures were empty!!"
• "The penguin cafe was filthy and we left without eating due to that."
• "The toilets were grim - dirty and cramped - like an ignored public toilet."
• "The places inside for food were expensive for what it was but probably the only Downside to this Zoo."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "The staff is very prompt and professional to help you from the beginning to get the tickets to access inside."
• "The staff are ridiculously friendly."
• "The staff are friendly, helpful & welcoming."
• "The real hi light to the day was the wonderful staff who were so happy to talk about the various animals."
• "All the staff was super friendly asking which exhibits we have seen and giving recommendations or just that extra piece of information."
• "The staff are all very friendly and helpful, the keepers are always happy to answer any questions that you have."
• "The staffs were lovely."

Cons:

• "I note that the Zoo replies to all reviews but never directly addresses the many complaints."
• "None of the staff seemed to care."
• "We chose the worst day to go (bank holiday) and even though there are covid restrictions in place, we felt that they let in way too many people which resulted in massive queues."
• "Because it was so busy there was no staff around and I needed disabled access, but couldn't see one or find anyone to ask."
• "We had to wait nearly an hour in the Que that circled the car park to get in and there was only 1 member of staff patrolling."
• "Unfortunately there was no protection from the sun and the glare on the glass meant you couldn't see into the enclosure."
• "It is a disgrace you continue trading and that is from a member."