The Retreat Animal Rescue Reviews Summary

Animal Care and Sanctuary Environment

Pros:

• "Absolutely beautiful place. All the animals look so happy and well cared for."
• "Free to enter and park. Lovely to see some chickens and ducks roaming free."
• "All animals are rescued, they won't end up as a dish! The cafe only has vegan options as it should be."
• "The animals have a huge amount of space to roam quite freely also they are very friendly and calm."
• "The animals aren't here to entertain us. They are just free to live their lives and it's great to see them just doing their thing."
• "The animals are clearly well taken care of and loved, the food at the cafe is amazing."
• "Such a lovely place! Can't wait to go back! And this animal rescue doesn't send mixed messages by rescuing pigs then having sausages on a BBQ like other rescues."
• "Absolutely amazing place! My children and I adore this place, so many wonderful, happy, loved animals."

Cons:

• "Somewhere I really wanted to take my small children, but due to their safety being my priority we left."
• "The ground isn't maintained and ruts as big as my tires meant I couldn't go any further due to a disabled passenger."
• "I think it's great what the sanctuary is doing is great however some of the signs could be considered slightly preachy."
• "It was a shame that you couldn't pet the animals here, ducks and chickens roaming around, lots of pigs, couple of goats, you can look at the cows and horses from a distance."
• "Visited today, on one of the hottest days of the year so far... We saw many animals coughing and overheating but not having fresh water nearby."
• "Apart from the rude and arrogance of the staff the place is crowded of sick abandoned starved animals- there is no food no water nothing in there for the animals they are all just left there."

Cafe and Food

Pros:

• "We had a vegan Victoria sponge cake which was the best I've ever tasted! Would highly recommend this peaceful sanctuary."
• "The vegan cafe had a great selection of really good food, drinks and ice creams."
• "The cafe is delicious and it's fab to dine with chickens next to you instead of them on your plate!"
• "Amazing Sanctuary for unwanted or rejected animals... ate some tasty grub from the cafe."
• "The cafe serves really good 100%Vegan choices that all help towards looking after the animals."
• "The cafe has a huge selection of food and drinks, all delicious. Will be visiting again later in the year!"
• "The food in the vegan cafe is lovely. Their vegan meat burgers taste just like the real thing."
• "Absolutely amazing place. The Vegan Cafe was the best we've been in."

Cons:

• "I decided upon the chicken-style burger with loaded fries and my wife had the chicken-style wings with loaded fries... there was a 90 minute wait for the food to arrive."
• "It's a shame that you couldn't pet the animals here... waited over an hour for food in cafe, people with hungry toddlers obviously found this incredibly frustrating."
• "Whilst food was nice it took a very long time for it to be ready. Still worth a visit though."
• "Lovely little retreat. Owners and staff are friendly and dedicated... Cafe food was lovely but again only outside seating available so we were not prepared and got really cold."

Staff and Volunteers

Pros:

• "All the volunteers are very friendly, also very accommodating for sick or injured animals."
• "Incredible place run by dedicated, lovely friendly volunteers."
• "The staff were super warm and friendly. The animals are just wonderful, would recommend booking a tour to learn more about them and their rescue stories."
• "My little piece of heaven here at the Retreat Animal Rescue. The animals are of course absolutely wonderful but so are the people who work/volunteer here."
• "Fantastic farm. Animal are all well loved and cared for. Very relaxed atmosphere throughout the whole farm. Fabulous cafe and wonderful little charity shop."

Cons:

• "This was completely unprovoked. Instead of having a nice day I was publicly shamed for being a meat eater."
• "Made a mistake on the day I went to visit. Read on one of the animal houses upon entry “be kind it’s easy”... this wasn’t practiced at all by the person that I found when wanting to ask a question. That is all."