Bodmin Jail Attraction Reviews 87

The staff were very knowledgeable and passionate about sharing their paranormal experiences when asked. Hotel in the old gaol is luxury standard. All staff are welcoming and happy in their jobs.

Food was Good setting was lovely service was OK

Poor service. Patronising staff. No empathy. No refund given for being unable to go due to bad health. Very poor treatment of staff. Avoid at all costs!

Last Sunday we went to the Bodmin Jail Hotel for afternoon tea. From the moment we arrived we were greeted by friendly and welcoming staff. Our afternoon tea was out of this world. In fact, I'd say it was the best I've had in Cornwall... and I've had a few! Our waiter was so lovely, the food was absolutely delicious and the venue was stunning, unique and comfortable. Thank you to everyone who made our Sunday afternoon so enjoyable and memorable. We're now planning to return for dinner and an overnight stay in such an original hotel venue.

Very disappointed 😞. I've been many times before with pupils from my school, so thought I'd take my 16 year old Granddaughter who'd never been. Firstly the parking was moved, and as I'm registered disabled, this was a hard 10 minute walk! Not good.
Next, due to a glitch in the system we couldn't go in on time, as the guided tour had to go around first! We then caught up with the guided tour who were then in the way of us seeing rooms.
No where near as much in the rooms as normal. 😞 Disappointed as I'd told my granddaughter so much about what would be there and wasn't.
Then to the hanging. You used to see the girl and the executioners as she's about to be hanged, but no longer see them. Again disappointed 😔
I'm afraid I won't be back.

Waste of money . Modernised , special effects , not much to see , paid for 3 hrs parking in and out in 1 HR

Visited on the 21/9/25.
Had the guided tour with Jasmine she was excellent very knowledgeable only doing it a couple of months, 5⭐️for her.
Recommend the guided tour.

Great experience and our tour guide Jasmine was very knowledgeable considering she had only been working there a few months, she answered all our questions and had some humour too, real asset to the company, thank you Jasmine xx
Car park was a fair walk away, we assumed we could park on-site, but not the case!
The jail and cells for us to experience were only a small fraction within the huge building,as the rest was used for the hotel.
All in all a great experience and Worth a visit, but probably wouldn’t return.

Visited today and had a fantastic time! Our tour guide Jasmine was fabulous, full of energy, enthusiasm & knowledge. Really pleased that we opted for the guided tour as we found out so much of the jail’s history. I’ve visited in the past before the big revamp and wasn’t sure why the jail had been changed and worried that the atmosphere had been lost, however with the explanation of why this happened I’ve got to say that they’ve done a fantastic job and saved a huge part of Cornwall’s (and Britain’s) history.

Waste of money, waited in queue as didn't want to miss our time slot. Then was sent into a bookcased room where we had to wait again. A women came in and said we'd be seeing a short film. We went down a number of stairs and eventually into a dark room where a film started. The rooms are not real but plastic. Lead into a few more rooms took about 20-30mins in total. No way to get out and I was bursting for the toilet! Eventually got into the jail bit (only one floor) but as needed toilet I had to go upstairs through the door (once through this door there's no way back in).
The film and special affects were good but the jail was very poor, don't be fooled by the size of the building it's mostly an hotel!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (for the staff)

I’m giving 5 stars purely for the staff and the effort they put into our After Dark (witchcraft) experience. They were knowledgeable, friendly, and really tried to make the evening engaging and enjoyable.

That said, the prison itself has unfortunately lost much of its “supernatural” atmosphere due to the extensive renovations. New flooring, windows, and other modern features have taken away a lot of the authenticity and sense of history, which feels like a real shame. I do understand that these changes were likely necessary to make the site suitable for daytime family visits, but it has come at the cost of the original character.

Because of this, we didn’t feel much of the energy or atmosphere we were hoping for upon entering. While this is absolutely no reflection on the amazing staff, it did impact the overall experience.

Sadly, I don’t think I’d return for another After Dark event here, but I’d happily recommend the team - they really do go above and beyond.

The dark walk was really good but we were really disappointed with how little of the jail we actually got to see. We recently visited Shepton Mallet Jail and there we found out about all the prisoners but also their every day life etc.... and were taken around a lot of the jail and told of the history of the building which we were expecting from Bodmin. We came with teenagers and they also commented on how little of the actual jail you get to see. Such a shame. Maybe we needed a guided tour?? But we are all disappointed and the whole thing only took us 1hr 15 minutes.

Our family of seven visited this attraction today. We opted for the guided tour. Our host was Jess. It was immediately obvious that she was going to be an excellent guide. Her explanations throughout were presented with very obvious historical references which put things in historical perspective.
She was immensely sensitive to the needs of her group. Her interactions with the group encouraged questions for even more information.
It was obvious that her subject knowledge was of the highest order. And if Jess is representative of the other guides you should be very proud of your staff.
The whole experience was professional, informative and thought provoking.
The whole environment was enjoyable. Congratulations. Keep it up!

What a fantastic immersive experience. The dark walk was great fun and then you can take your time looking in the rest of the jail (I would not take children into the hanging section but it was really interesting as an adult). Great value and a super way to spend a rainy morning. Best of all, I am normally claustrophobic but didn't feel at all worried or uncomfortable in any of the jail. You need to allow 5 mins to walk from the car park but it's worth it.

Very disappointed with this venue, for a start parking was not clearly sign posted & then realised it was about 10 minutes walk from the prison.
When we got into the building it was just a walk around plastic props & silly effects. After the first bit I thought we would walk around the prison looking in cells & find out lots of history about the building but we walked out of the dark & that was it!! What made it even more frustrating was my husband & I was asked to leave a room because the guided tour wanted to come in!! We've paid as well & I was trying to read the information & look at the little bit of history that was actually there!!
I assume the rest of the prison must be the hotel, I came away not knowing anymore about the prison than when we started.
As for the cafe, £5 for a soggy sausage roll!! Didn't bother with lunch with those prices!!

Excellent tour of Bodmin jail, so glad we booked the guided tour as guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the prison throughout the years.

What an absolutely first class experience!
The tour at the beginning was superb!
The special effects we beautifully done.
The prison itself was also a great experience.
The only thing missing was we would of liked to see more of the prison itself, which we don't feel we saw a lot of.
However the visual effects, the lay out, the special effects, we all well worth it.
Great value for money, and still in aaw of the place the next day.
Well worth the price for a few mind blowing hours.
Massive well done to everyone involved, a first class day out.

I would not recommend Bodmin jail at all especially for children under 10! Before we even got there was no parking that was close by, our children were frightened inside with the rubbish interactive virtual tosh I would not recommend taking children in there at all there was other families in there with scared children also. Then with our sad children on the way out we also had our bank accounts rinsed further in the gift shop what a rip off I couldn't believe it.
If you're in bodmin just go to the moors! Do not waste your money
I would also like to add I didn't enjoy the experience as an adult aswell has come too far away from what it is very little history left complete rubbish

Thanks for reading

Absolute waste of money and fuel getting there, most of the setting was fake plastic walls etc the tiny part of the prison that is still there took us 5mins to walk round, they must of renewed all the existing prison for the hotel.We was in and out within 40 minutes didn't know what to expect and 7 year old daughter was scared on reception they should advise that it may not be suitable for young children massively disappointed!!

went to Bodmin jail and found the staff and experience first class, the place has been tastefully done and would not hesitate to go back.