Kew Gardens Reviews 187

Poor management, unimaginative, unclean and not as exciting for a world heritage site. I felt let down with so many indoor plants not well looked after, branching out into walking paths, not dead headed etc, Even as an amateur gardener I was unimpressed. The buildings are tired, dusty and dirty for example the spital staircases in Temperate House. Octagon building, the space is ill used with dirty plant pot markings on teh floor and several dead plants. Out door cafe area had bird poo on tables and could do with cleaning regularly. Orangery - ladie stoilets had no paper and no handwash. I informed the staff politley and said they would relay that - no enthusiasm or apology. Worst site was the beautiful small pagoda in the Japanese Garden completely covered in a thick layer of pigeon poo and areas wher e the wood is peeling away. It's very clear this is down to poor management and poor decisions by the Trustees and those in charge. My expectations were not high and I was extremely disappointed with the number of flower species, no excitement about the place, generally unimaginative, filthy in places and therefore unable to recommend a visit. Management need to do something to inspire more visitors and better feedback if it is retain it's status,

We had a lovely visit to Kew. There are however three issues we encountered. One of our party was not well on the day so unable to visit. A stomach bug does not require a visit to the doctors but even though I had purchased refund protection I couldn’t get a refund for the unused ticket, reason being? No doctors letter or hospital admission proof. (Not good enough Kew). Some of our party walked a long way to the tree top trail but on arrival it was closed. It was a hot day and so an exhausting walk. Why are we not told at the entrance if attractions are closed? (Common courtesy Kew). A lack of signposts for the train stops around the gardens. We couldn’t find a stop to get back on the train after visiting the Brasserie and shop. We then waited over half an hour which wasted valuable time. (More signs and a better map Kew)! Perhaps some shelter for queues for the train from heat or rain. Management you could do better! You are letting down the real workers in Kew, the gardeners and plant experts who do an amazing job.

This is interesting. I've had a very bad experience with Kew after trying unsuccessfully to buy a lot of things (over £100) online. Firstly they say that 'some' of the goods can't be sent here..but they don't specify which ones so I couldn't remove them. A disappointment in itself. Secondly in a response from 'a person' I was given a plethora of reasons why they won't send to France. I meticulously went through my order and, happy that a simple 'Create Your Own Fairy Door' made of cardboard ticked all the boxes for accepability, I ordered one. It cost £3.50..but with a discount of 15% which I needed to do to ensure access to the website, came to just over £2.00. The cost to post to France? £22. I asked if there were suppliers of their items I could contact. Minimal and unhelpful Party Line response. I'm quite amazed that this seemingly reputable company with beautiful things to sell to the willing public is snobbish and elitist in it's attitude. Worth losing them and finding other companies who welcome genuine offers to part with cash for their wares. I'll be spreading the word.

This complaint started as a specific complaint regarding an item I purchased from the online shop, to be precise a necklace. When it arrived the piece had obviously been worn as the clasp was badly scratched and stained. I was assured by the shop when I complained that that was the way it should be which of course is nonsense as can be seen from the pictures on the site. I was told that I could get a refund for the item or a replacement but that return postage, the vat rate difference between the UK and Ireland could not be accomadated. So I could either incur return postage and get a replacement (doubling the tax) or keep it. As I said this was a specific complaint that I did not wish to pursue with the shop so called Kew directly which was pointless as no one was there except main switch who tried at least six numbers including managers but no luck. Eventually after hearing the switch complain about the lack of service I knew it was pointless. The problem is there is no dedicated staff to handle complaints a fact probably well known by the online shop. I now live in Ireland but lived opposite the Lion Gate in Kew for years and never had a reason to complain, now however it appears that the outsourced service providers like the Kew shop are dictating the level of service, standard and quality that customers receive. I am sad at the sorry state of affairs at Kew where the organisations providers are left to dictate customer satisfaction.
Brian

Treetops Walkway
I booked a full ticket via a company to go with my 8 years old grandson
On arrival l was asked to validate the voucher and, on asking the way to the treetops walk we were told that it was closed today for maintenance!
When l booked l triple checked that the tickets included the treetops. My grandson is no gardener so he was only interested in this attraction.
I let you guess how disappointed he was... we went briefly to the palms house and the pond to see the geese, by then he was bored. We got an ice cream and went home.
What a waste of £21 plus travel!!
Kew gardens had the whole of winter to perform serious and minor maintenance on this attraction....
Further more a warning should have been sent to kew website and to all the companies, ie in my case, "get your guide", that the Treetops attraction will be unavailable. I would have had a chance to cancel and rebook
What a let down!

Another venue where it is card only ~ NO CASH ~ so be warned.
I am so disappointed with places that do not give us any choice!

There seems to be a lot of complaints about Kew Gardens.
Whoever runs this site are really providing a very poor service to paying visitors and perhaps powers above should terminate their contract as the site is not run well at all.
Kew Gardens used to be a very popular and interesting sites in London to visit but the current people running the show have taken the sole out of this place. You don't even deserve one single star!

Visited Kew Gardens with my son yesterday. We entered via Brentford gate. We were discussing the price of entry whilst waiting in the queue behind 2 other visitors complaining the parking machines weren’t working.. there was a young woman member of staff standing at the kiosk listening to us as we discussed prices. We waited 10 minutes before it was our turn, I asked for non member adult and young person ticket - the elderly woman working in the ticket kiosk then replied we couldn’t get in until 1000hr as we weren’t members - it was 0952 on our watches and we pointed this out to her but she was adamant we weren’t getting in and turned us away! I said to the young woman who was standing at the side that she had heard us discussing tickets and could have informed us of this fact ( she was doing nothing else!) By the time it would have taken to process our ticket purchase it would have passed some of these 8 minutes! Poor start to what was a very enjoyable visit - what has happened to a bit of common sense! We returned a short while later and had to queue again……

We were disappointed at the drop in horticultural maintenance standards. It looked as if some areas were getting priority whilst others (still in high profile locations) had been abandoned and were smothered by weeds. Similarly, bed edges were scruffy with outbreaks of weeds in path edges (eg opposite the Palm House beds adjacent to pond). Not a good look I’m afraid.

Having arrived later than planned due to our coach being caught in traffic we knew we had limited time to get round the garden. We had a virgin experience voucher for entry and afternoon tea for two, unfortunately upon arrival we were advised at the the best place to have this was the restaurant so we planned our whole day around the cream tea location as time was tight. Once we had been seated we were told that our gift voucher wasn't valid in the restaurant so we then had to make our way to the orangery as this was the closest option only to find that they didn't know how to process the voucher and had to check if it was valid. Thankfully there was a few sorry looking scones left for us by the time we had sorted that. During our cream tea we were treated to a stressful noise or a concert warm up complete with thumping bass and out of tune vocals, I'm sure the noise sent the local wildlife running for cover. Our coach was due to pick us up at 5.30 so we planned to spend the rest of the time in the glass houses only to find the doors of the lily house being locked as we approach, we then realised the palm house was also locked and saw that they have been closed an hour early at 4. If we had been told this on entry instead of being sent round the houses to the wrong restaurants we could have planned our day accordingly. So after spending 4 hours on a coach all we got was a look in one glass house a very stressful cream tea and stuck in the rain for over an hour as ALL the glass houses closed early. This was ment to be a lovely birthday present but turned out to be a stressful day. Very disappointed with the whole experience and I don't think I can bring myself to come back.

*EDIT*
Since my complaint to Kew, two ladies have been very helpful in trying to resolve this issue. I have change my rating from 1 star to 3.

I have been trying since 14/06 to order & pay online for 2 x adopt a seeds for a friend's big birthday on 26th. I filled out the details (including wording on each certificate of said seed) three times. Payment failed each time. I got hold of someone (which in itself is difficult) and was asked to drop the zero on my phone number (? I played ball) and surprise, failed again! I emailed. Waited the 3 day holding message. Prompted on the 4th day. They responded and said my card was the issue (despite paying online elsewhere just fine) and so today I am using my husbands card to pay. Guess what? Payment failure again. To rub salt into the wounds the telephone number given on the payment failure page is incorrect! I rang the main number, went through to Adopt a seed (a very miserable sounding receptionist too!) only for that to be on answerphone!! AWFUL service/experience at every point in the process. Get your act together Kew.

Deeply disappointed by my visit to Kew.
The rose gardens had not seen any dead heading at all
There were weeds everywhere in the flower beds many over a foot tall.
The glass in the glasshouses hasn't been cleaned and were filthy.
The edging to the lawns have not seen any attention since goodness knows when.
Food was overpriced and just about edible (chicken burger and chips for £17.00) was worth £4.00 at best.
And all for a handsome £17.00 ea entry.
Certainly won't be returning. If that's the home of British horticulture then I'll stay in my garden which sees more care and attention than all the staff at Kew seem to be able to provide.

We visit the gardens at least once a year. Yes, parking is awful but the gardens are stunning.

Upon entering Elizabeth Gate was shouted at and body-checked by a wedding security guard for not keeping to the right. Outrageous behaviour and thoroughly spoilt our afternoon. Was merely seeking a quiet peaceful walk in my local gardens.

Impossible to park.
We followed every post code for parking given on the official website but couldn't find parking anywhere.
One post code that actually may have resulted in a real car park ended up going down a road that was signposted as for cyclists only!
We turned around and went home, £45 worse off from the expensive pre booked tickets, and wont be returning.

I love coming to Kew with it stunning trees and varied plants - a calm green space that I enjoy so much that I am now a member - even though I don’t live nearby. Every time I visit there are new plants in bloom and a so a changing experience and always a pleasure.
And I recommend The Botanical at Kew - the posh restaurant overlooking the lake - with beautifully presented, delicious food and kind & friendly staff - quite pricey but worth it for a special way to meet up with a group of friends and enjoy your day.

Misleading tickets and rude staff

Kew gardens are selling various tickets one of them are the entry after 4pm tickets which are £13 (with donation which is the one we bought 5x)
The tickets entitles you to access the Kew gardens after 4pm till 7pm (3h which in itself is a rush to see as much as possible)
However if you go in summer like may to September when days are long you still get a good 3h to roam
What Kew gardens doesn't make at all explicit is that all indoors areas (where all the interesting plants are) close at 5pm!!!!
We managed to reach the first indoor area (temperate plants) around 4.40pm...5min in whilst just starting enjoying the plants a very loud and rude man started yelling at us to get out faster...we didn't know what was going on we were terrified...once out another visitor informed us that indoor areas close at 5, even tho it was 4.50
At that point we realised we've missed most of the interesting plants
The outdoor gardens are indeed beautiful and luckily because is late may there's a lot of blooming etc...but they should make it VERY CLEAR that late entry tickets will mean you'll miss on indoor areas
I don't understand why they close so early especially in summer time..5pm??? Cmon is ridiculous...and 7pm outdoor...the sun sets at 9.30pm so allow people to visit till 9pm all areas...maybe this you'll have more visitors and more money...same in winter you probably can close early since it gets dark at 4pm

All in all is a beautiful place managed and serviced by rude and terrible people...quite a shame

Beautiful gardens and the tree walk was amazing. Unfortunately the catering was not so good. The area we went to for tea was dirty.

I was with Al M and we were in the shop together then this Really Mean woman with brown skin and frizzy hair came and charged us money and in the gift shop the things are too overpriced. Overall The Gardens were amazing! (I also live right next to your gardens and this time was my worst experience)

The garden is brilliant but the staff in the gift shop were mean and everything else is so expensive