Balmoral Castle Reviews Summary

Castle Grounds and Gardens

Pros:

• "The gardens are great to walk around and provide plenty to explore."
• "The grounds are beautifully maintained and there is so much of interest there."
• "Had a great time exploring the grounds with the help of the audio guide."
• "Grounds and the Castle are very impressive and make for a pleasant afternoon with the family."
• "The estate rovers provided a comfortable and immersive way to traverse the expansive grounds."
• "The grounds are beautiful and there are many hiking trails that offer even better views."
• "Absolutely worth a visit. The access to the grounds is excellent and the staff around the grounds were so wonderful and passionate."

Cons:

• "The grounds are nothing special, just go for a walk around the cairngorms."
• "Castle gardens are a bit unkempt for such a stately home."
• "Apart from the beautiful tree lined driveway the gardens described as 'kitchen garden' were very poorly tended and almost devoid of colour."
• "If you have trouble walking then the walks will be almost impossible as its very steep and cross country."
• "The grounds were fairly lacklustre, a large lawn and some pine trees."
• "Kind of disappointing because all you see are the grounds/gardens."
• "The castle grounds are large, but only two small 'gardens'. Very small and sparse, get to see much much more in a National Trust property."

Castle Tour Experience

Pros:

• "The ranger tour with the Balmoral head ranger was brilliant."
• "You get given an audio tool at the start and then at various numbered spots can listen to information and staff talking about life at the castle."
• "The audio guide was informative, bringing the beauty and history together."
• "Great wee castle and estate, and was a very interesting experience with lots of signs giving information about the castle."
• "The personal touch of a private tour allowed us to explore at our own pace and delve deeper into the hidden gems of the estate."
• "The enchanting beauty of the estate, combined with the knowledgeable guides, guarantees a truly remarkable visit."
• "An amazing estate with postcard views of an impressive castle."

Cons:

• "You are not allowed to enter the castle except for the completely unnecessary ball room."
• "I was rather disappointed that the tour of the castle was limited to just one room."
• "Audio tour is good, but a bit boring at times."
• "So expensive and you only get to go indoors to one room, which is a collection of badly printed photos."
• "There is very little of the actual castle that you can visit, and in that small ballroom section that you can, you can’t take photos or video."
• "I was disappointed as to how limited the tour experience was in comparison to Buckingham Palace."
• "You can only visit the ballroom in the castle in which you can see photos of the royal family and this is disappointing when you wish to see more."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "The cafe had a good range of hot food, with the fresh pizzas being actually very good value."
• "Nice cafe for a variety of food at reasonable price."
• "The Cafe and gift shop are great with the Cafe prices bring really reasonable."
• "Gift shop excellent quality at very reasonable prices and lacking the usual Oriental chaff."
• "The tea room serves excellent fayre and everything is very clean."
• "At the Cafe you have access to Toilets and can stop for Coffee, Tea, Beverages, Scones, Sandwiches and some other Dishes for reasonable prices."
• "Must stop at Coffee shop (quality food)."

Cons:

• "For the price of £16.50 entrance fee, not really value for money, also the cafe/restaurant was way too expensive!"
• "Parking is £5 and ticket prices £16 pp which is expensive."
• "£15 entry per person is a rip off, not to mention £5 to park."
• "Coffee shop let them down.... scones very dry could sink a duck and over priced."
• "16£ to enter, 5£ to park, and you can only see one single room with useless photos you can find online."
• "The entrance fee of £16,50 was to high for what you get to see."
• "It is beautiful, but 16£ for a small exhibition is way too much."

Accessibility and Facilities

Pros:

• "Parking is nearby and could get busier by 11am."
• "There are available toilets and a cafe on the premises too."
• "If you have a blue badge there is parking at the Estate Office where an electric scooter or a wheelchair is available free of charge."
• "You can get a mobility scooter from the gift shop just fill a form in and that enables you to get around the grounds."
• "Very disabled friendly."
• "All around the house, cafe and shop is wheelchair accessible, with the main paths around the grounds also being suitable."
• "Parking is free, and Disabled Persons Access is excellent throughout."

Cons:

• "It was chaos in the carparks as people searched for spaces."
• "When we visited 6.1.24 there weren’t many information, direction signs, maps etc."
• "You also pay 5 pounds for a completely unnecessary Audio Guide."
• "The path to Alberts Pyramid is not wheelchair accessible."
• "Parking is about a couple blocks down the road, but handicap can get much closer to the castle if you ask."
• "The ticket is too pricey for seeing the grounds and you also have to pay for the parking."
• "There are parking spaces outside the castle grounds and handicap parking on the castle ground."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "The reception staff were very friendly and helpful."
• "The young woman who greeted us was so delightful, friendly, and so customer focussed."
• "Really enjoyed our visit to Balmoral Castle. Well run and lovely friendly staff."
• "Staff were all very polite and eager to help or tell us about things around the castle."
• "Very friendly and couldn't do more to help."
• "All very helpful and friendly staff who obviously enjoy working here."
• "The staff all are very helpful and polite and hardworking well worth a visit."

Cons:

• "Our tickets were pre booked (£16.50 pp) but that made no difference as we still had to queue with people who had not pre booked their tickets."
• "The tea room was cute, but very slow service and poor options for vegetarians and vegans."
• "Tried to interact with a gardener (not interested) cafe was a disappointment long wait nobody seemed to know what they were doing."
• "Other disappointments were a lack of military discount, and that the catering facilities simply ran out of food by 3pm."
• "A questions that couldn't be answered, maybe a bit more knowledge needs to be shared with the guides."
• "Helpful security staff who guided us to disabled parking."
• "Worth bearing in mind after a drive there are no toilets on the car park or main entrance."