Waddesdon Bewertungen 33

Visited there 3 weeks ago, beware if you are elderly as toilets are miles away, nowhere to eat except outside which if it’s cold or raining, not conducive, or the restaurant, which is expensive, a long walk to the stables for cafeteria, steep hill. inside the house is beautiful as long as you don’t go upstairs, only long winding staircase with rope handrail’s and no lifts that are available to anyone unless disabled, the grounds are lovely, aviary disappointing, cages far too small, felt sorry for the birds. Overall would not go again

We booked in to see the house. Parked the car and paid for the shuttle bus. Then went to get something to eat before our allotted time-slot to view the house. Unfortunately the only place to eat was the Stables. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. We both Ordered the salt baked Jacket Potato with smoked sea trout horseradish dill and cream fresh @ £12.95 per person one coffee and a fruit tea. It arrived as soon as we got back to our table. Unfortunately it was Luke warm. The coffee that was ordered didn’t arrive instead there was a pot of tea if that’s what you could call it as it was so weak.
I took my food back only to be insulted by rude staff. I waited 20 mins and then went back to see where my fresh replacement meal was. I was told “we’re cooking it fresh for you”. Like really!!!!! Then Extremely Rude Male staff member went back into the kitchen came straight back out and handed me a further meal no tray and certainly no apology. I got back to my table only to find that yet again the Jacket Potato WASN’T cooked through.!!! It had clearly been microwaved and this time the jacket potato still wasn’t heated fully through as the middle was still luke warm and dry. No horseradish dill or creme fresh on it at all the second time around and where it had been microwaved the smoked sea trout around the outside of the bowl it was dished up in was burnt and solid. Totally inedible. Absolutely disgraceful a bill of £33.30 paid up front at the point of ordering. Quite frankly the food wasn’t at all fit for purpose and the staff member was so rude. Shame we’d paid in advance for our tickets as it spoiled the whole visit.

We were very underwhelmed with our visit, encountering one very officious lady in the ticket office, although all other staff were much more pleasant. It seems that from looking at previous reviews the National Trust is being blamed for the shortcomings and greed encountered with greatly inflated costs for everything when it is really down to the Rothschild management. Neither the shop nor the restaurant is National Trust. We went on a day during the February half term and were shocked to realise that although only the shop and restaurant were open, it still cost £14 plus £2.50 for shuttle bus, just to be able to go to the cafe or restaurant. We are actually members of the National Trust so this was not such an issue for us apart from the cost of the shuttle bus. But surely for families wanting a day out in half term this would end up being a very expensive visit.
Most stand alone National Trust properties are far better value and provide a much better experience especially during holiday times and their special events. It is very sad that this place is giving the National Trust such a bad name when it is the greed of the Rothschild management that is the real problem here.

my recent visit to Waddesdon Manor, which was extremely disappointing and poor value for money.
Upon arrival, my party and I were informed that we were required to pay full entry price, despite being NationalTrust members. This was unexpected and unclear at the point of arrival. We proceeded regardless, only to discover that the Christmas market we had specifically come to see was no longer taking place. As a result, we effectively paid £31 simply to walk our dog, which represents extremely poor value and left us feeling misled.
In addition to this, I was listening to what were playing as Christmas carols, only to find that all references to Christmas and Jesus Christ had been removed from the songs. This was deeply upsetting. Christmas is a Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, as reflected in the very meaning of the word “Christmas” (Christ Mass). To remove all Christian references from Christmas carols is, in my view, inappropriate and disrespectful, and entirely undermines the purpose of the celebration.
I was also shocked by the pricing of refreshments, with sausage rolls costing £6 each. This is an extortionate price and further added to the feeling that Waddesdon Manor is no longer offering fair or reasonable value to its visitors.
Overall, this visit felt like an absolute rip-off, and it has seriously damaged my confidence in Waddesdon Manor and, more broadly, the National Trust. As a result of this experience, I will not be visiting Waddesdon during the Christmas season again, and I am now seriously considering cancelling my National Trust membership altogether.
I would appreciate a response addressing these concerns and an explanation of the pricing, membership policies, and the decision to remove Christian content from Christmas events. I also believe some form of acknowledgement or redress would be appropriate given the circumstances.

We visit Waddesdon at Christmas most years, but this year was underwhelming and a disappointment. The market stalls were drastically reduced and were probably 75% over-priced food vendors. For example, we went to a 'Well Nice Food' stall selling chicken, halloumi sticks and chips. £14 for two tiny chunks of fried chicken, three small halloumi sticks and some chips. Disgraceful.

The light display was very nice as it always is, but didn't seem as good as previous years, and the house was very nicely decorated as usual.

But, overall, considering how much they charge just to get in (we're NT members but it still cost a fortune) it was a huge letdown and I doubt we'll visit again in future years (unless we hear of things improving).

It's a sad state of affairs when you feel ripped off by the National Trust. Shame.

We were really disappointed with Christmas at Waddesdon Manor.

After paying for an already expensive ticket, the first surprise is being charged an extra £2.50 per person for the shuttle bus, which you are essentially forced to take unless you want to do a 30 minute uphill walk. Even then, we waited around 25 minutes just to get on the bus, which felt like a poor start to the evening.

Once you arrive, the house itself looks beautiful and the lights on the building are genuinely impressive. Unfortunately, the light trail itself is fairly average. I would rate it around 6 to 7 out of 10 at best, especially when compared to places like Kew Gardens, which is on a completely different level.

The biggest issue is clearly overselling tickets. It felt crowded the entire way round, with constant bottlenecks and queues, which really takes away from the atmosphere. Because of this, the experience drops closer to 4 or 5 out of 10 overall.

The facilities simply cannot cope with the number of people there. Queues for hot chocolate and coffee were around 30 minutes. Food queues were 20 to 25 minutes. The return shuttle bus was another 30 minute wait.

By the end, it felt more like a stressful crowd management exercise than a festive evening out.

In short, it is a lovely setting but poorly organised, overcrowded, and not good value for money. If you are choosing between this and Kew Gardens, I would strongly recommend going to Kew instead.

Having been for at least 15 years (if not longer) to Christmas at Waddesdon, this year was utterly disappointing. The market is now at the back of the house - and therefore really crowded. We managed to push our way through the crowds - but weren’t able to browse in the shops. The food stalls were also crammed in tight - with throngs of people and no space.
The light shows (both on the house and the trail) were beautify - but marred by the sheer volume of people. The queue for the shuttle down was about half the drive way.
Very unimpressed - it felt like more people (we usually come at the same time - so wasn’t to do with the date) and less space (with the drive and grass verges being basically out of bounds).
Very disappointed! I hope they put it back to ‘normal’ next year - but we probably won’t bother and will go to another light trail - there are others which are better - what made this one was the market which is now over crowded and small.

We come every year with our two kids and some years have been great but it’s always different and not always successful. This year the woodland playground was closed without any notice- mammoth disappointment! Half of its guests are kids and we watched them all stumbling on this discovery. Please be more thoughtful and put something on the website!
The market this year was half the size, the stalls are ridiculous (household brushes?!) but the National Trust shops were gorgeous and teeming- obvious that the NT do better out of the markets being measly because everyone flocks to the shops instead!
There was barely any outdoor seating: so hard for families and the elderly! We were all vying for a bench to eat dinner from, which we shared with ten other people, all complaining. Not exactly atmospheric with a £9.50 apple crumble. The light show is pleasant, but nothing on years gone by.
The back of the house was stunning with the projector show but sadly there were no seats to sit and enjoy it whilst eating and the markets were all on the opposite side?! The only time we saw it was queuing for the bus to the car park, as it wasn’t running in daylight when we arrived. It was the most impressive part and yet felt utterly wasted.

Absolutely horrible place, horrible staff with no compassion or common sense. Having driven for over an hour and having gone to lengths to take my mother out of her care home for the day so I could spend a day with her to try and put a smile on her face, before Christmas (her mental health is severely compromised), I was told that we didn't have tickets so I couldn't come in. When I'd looked on the website, tickets were still available. I explained that I was a National Trust Life Member, even went to show them my National Trust Membership card and explained the fragile situation with my elderly mother and why I was taking her out for the day. It was pouring down with rain by this time, we had no umbrella and had to walk a significant distance to the car with my elderly mother getting soaked, as staff watched (shameful). Because of my mothers poor mental health I now won't now be able to get another day with her before Christmas, this was supposed to be a real treat for her (as I explained to staff - who couldn't care less). This was supposed to be my Christmas day where I got to try and put a smile on my mother's face. Merry Christmas to the staff at Waddesdon Manor, you can give yourselves a big fat happy congratulatory slap on the back for being so cruel and inhuman today. It took us so long to drive back towards the care home again that I couldn't take my mother someplace else as it was too late, even to get lunch, to try and make up for the farce this horrible horrible place created. Thank you Waddesdon Manor for ruining my day, especially when at this point in life, every day with an elderly parent is overwhelmingly precious. You really are truly inhuman.

We have been coming for years and always on thursday eve about the time we went today. I can't help but think it was oversold. We got there at 4.45pm qued for prob 10mins to get in the car park, no disabled spaces available so had to walk a long way from car to check in with a disabled passenger, 10min que to check in, a further 25mins for bus (alot of disabled people to be expected to do this) Our house time was 6.20 so then barely had time to do light trail once we had bought a drink and had to turn back half way round to get access to the house. The house was beautiful I have to say and the staff in the house and on the grounds were a delight,there was barely anyone in the house at 6.20 which was lovely. By time we came out of the house the market was shutting. I had a feeling the whole episode had been oversold this year and sadly with a disabled person no thought for them queing then queing again, then waiting for another bus as the first was full. Coming out of waddesdon was as bad, queing for the bus again. I honestly, sadly woudn't recommend if disabled and sadly I doubt we will be coming again after tonight.

We have been a few times and went to the Christmas lights, fair and had an afternoon tea. Not cheap, but good value. If you’re going for the market only you may be disappointed, but the grounds, light trail and food was worthwhile

My wife and I paid £30.00 EACH for access to the grounds-only Christmas Fair (2pm slot). Additionally, £2.50 each was charged for a return shuttle journey from/to the car park.

Upon arrival at the “grounds” (essentially, the patio area at the rear of the manor) there were very few stalls, most of which sold overpriced, low-quality junk food.

I also used the portable (chemical) toilets that are located at the shuttle terminus. They were unclean (p*** all over the floor and toilet seat) and handwashing could not be undertaken because the tank supplying water to the taps had run dry.

Despite the architecture being impressive, I feel totally ripped off. The National Trust needs to up its game!

We were very excited about going to the Xmas market

However we were extremely disappointed with the experience and it was very expensive to get in !

Poor quality stalls with very expensive gifts
Very few stalls

We visited the Christmas market yesterday. The day was spoilt by the awful rain (which I know cannot be helped) we were visiting with a dog so had paid for ground tickets only. I have been to this market several years prior and the walk upto the house was usually lined with stalls. This time however, there were no stalls there and all the stalls were tucked at the back of the house (far less to see) and there were no stalls leading upto the house. We were looking for shelter from the freezing rain and there was nowhere to go, we walked down to the stables, there was one dirty sheltered seating area with no blankets and we couldn’t go inside. The stalls themselves were nice but VERY overpriced, £6 each for a hot drink and we paid £30 for a couple of cheese burgers and shared chips. There were also no lights on the main house? Overall v disappointing compared to previous years. You need more sheltered and warm outdoor seating areas for people that can’t access the house in bad weather and generally more to see and do if you are charging for tickets for this event.

We visited your gardens and woodland walks last weekend and they didn’t disappoint, immaculately kept, so many beautiful trees and manicured borders.
We finished off by visiting the cafe, where I have to say was a big disappointment.
There was a cafe and takeaway facility.
The takeaway only offered Tea, not Coffee so we ended up purchasing Coffee from the Cafe, together with a slice of carrot cake and cookie.
The young waiter who bought the drinks to the table literally threw the cup of Flat White onto the table, half of it ended up in the saucer, then he started to walk away. I asked him to change the saucer which he did, although I’d have liked a fresh cup of coffee bringing. The half cup that I ended up drinking was disgusting, so too was the hot chocolate drink.
We paid £20 for 3 unacceptable drinks, slice of cake and cookie, to which we thought was extremely expensive, not sure if Waddesdon run this facility or it is contracted out?
Considering Waddesdon is such a wonderful place to visit, we would have given 5/5 if the catering had been of the same quality but don’t feel it meets up to the same excellence.

Waddesdon Manor. House and grounds were exceptional. Definitely need to use the shuttle bus to and from the car park even though you have to pay as it is quite a distance. What I would say is Definitely take a picnic with you as the food on offer is limited and the queues were long.

Went to their Summer Fair on 22 June 2025. What a magnificent experience! The house and grounds and welcome were amazing! Then all the performers and musicians and comedians and bands and stalls made it a magical day! The icing on the cake was the Ragroof Tea Dance!!! Taking us back to an era long ago with an art deco inspired set and wonderful costumes we charlestoned, mambo'd, waltzed, quickstepped, tango'd, lindy hopped and paso doble'd our hearts out and even the passing rain cloud quickly disappered and on we danced! The pop up lessons were a great hit as everyone, even the two left footers were gliding around the floor with ease!! Thank you Waddeston Manor and Anna and the Ragroof team!! It was a fantastic day!!

Sad. A beautiful house spoiled by being used as a second rate honeypot by the national trust. Lots of staff strutting about ignoring the visitors (well done the two who noticed we were there). No map supplied. Rude staff in cafe. Filthy uncleared tables and few customers.

Visited on 18/05/2025
Appalling treatment by staff
Issues with updating national trust membership card accused of carrying a bag did not have one it was the strap of a Nikon camera drew followed throughout the grounds by over zealous staff ignored by staff at the restaurant which was practically empty and the cheese sandwiches was stale they had unclean tables
Only good thing about the day was the weather

Lovely time of year to visit Waddesdon Manor and see daffodil valley. The grounds are kept beautifully. Curtesy bus available from car park or a nice walk on gravel path a good 20 mins. In the house extensive artwork but light varied very dark in some areas and unable to stand back to view large art pieces in corridors. Overall a nice few hours spent.