Edinburgh Butterfly & Insect World Reviews Summary

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Kev, a member of staff there is such a lovely man, a fountain of knowledge and goes out of his way to make sure you get the most out of your visit."
• "Staff were super friendly and knowledgeable."
• "Staff are all friendly, knowledgeable and passionate about their creatures."
• "Staff were incredibly informative, letting us know about the animals and chatting away, encouraging folk to interact."
• "The staff are very informative and friendly and could answer my many questions about the insects and reptiles."
• "The staff are all really helpful, friendly and knowledgeable."
• "The staff who ran 12' pet experience was amazing! Very child friendly and informative."

Cons:

• "Staff member who did the talk at 12 was awful. She was dull, boring and quite frankly rude."
• "Confusion over vouchers when we arrived and the staff didn't really have a clue what to do meaning I'm sure we paid more than we should have."
• "The stuff at the front desk put us off in the beginning."
• "During the 10 minutes I was there, 2 butterflies escaped and the staff couldn’t care less."

Facilities and Layout

Pros:

• "Excellent, free parking and although the place is small it's packed with animals."
• "There's a little play area outside and a snack bar where you can pick up sandwiches, snacks, drinks etc."
• "Good covid measures in place."
• "Tickets are all day so you can come and go as you please."
• "Plenty of parking space."
• "Handy being beside a huge Dobbies garden centre for lunch and soft play also."

Cons:

• "Inside really isn’t very big at all."
• "The paths are very narrow making it difficult to pass people by if going in the opposite direction and buggies will definitely not fit."
• "The glass enclosures are a bit small for some of the animals."
• "The back outside area needs some attention, broken vending machine, dated enclosers and activities ...not many animals out there at all."
• "Be warned if its the weekend, parking is an absolute nightmare as the carpark gets so full."
• "Could do with a bit of modernisation in terms of space and layout."
• "Didn't really get the point of the outside area, there didn't seem to be any bees."

Animal Interaction and Education

Pros:

• "Butterfly world is an amazing place. Once you step into the butterfly area its like going into a tropical jungle with an amazing array of butterflies."
• "Good interactive moments as well when the turtle was brought out for a feed and a brush."
• "The animal handling sessions are fab with really engaged staff letting even the smallest kids hold giant millipedes, snakes, tarantulas, frogs etc."
• "Great value for money, kids can get hands on with the creepy crawlies."
• "A wonderful place run by staff passionate about what they do. A feast for the eyes & brain!"
• "Very educational and the staff there are very knowledgeable and very hands on and helpful."
• "Kids can pet spiders and snakes twice a day."

Cons:

• "It is v v humid inside the butterfly area, you will end up a bit sweaty."
• "We were unable to handle the snakes, spiders etc for the same reason."
• "CRUEL!!! Butterfly nearly eaten by fishes in front of my little one’s eyes!"
• "Wouldn't drive the distance we did to visit again."
• "It's a bit pricey for its size when you compare to zoo prices where you tend to have a butterfly zone anyway."
• "Disappointing hardly any butterflies, one large and one small tortoise."
• "Handling sessions I think need to be more organised as people pushing in even adults jumping in the way of small kids."