Belvoir Castle Reviews 158

First the positives.....the tearoom was beautiful and offered a stylish atmosphere for sandwiches, tea and cake. The staff in here were friendly and obliging. The parts of the house that could be seen were beautiful and well cared for. These parts show off wonderful internal architecture and preserved history. The staff were friendly and approachable but nervous. I've a funny feeling they're used to receiving more sarcastic comments of disappointment rather than friendly enquires.....For us, that's where it ends. We have been coming here every 5 years for decades and have observed the decline of this attraction. The entry fee is disproportionate to what you see. The parts of the house that can be viewed has reduced over the years. One room still had the remnants of a drinks reception left in situ. No doubt a wedding on Saturday. We visited Monday afternoon. This is sloppy housekeeping. As for the garden! As a Head Gardener myself, I found the state of the garden heartbreaking! An historical garden, once a beloved collection of plants obtained from travels, now in a dreadful state of neglect. It looks abandoned in areas. Again there was an abandoned drinks table with leftover used glasses. Not a gardener in sight. Grossly lacking in good management which leaves the grounds a grave and expensive disappointment. Come on Belvoir Castle, stop neglecting this piece of beautiful British History.

Shocking experience, very underwhelming ...Expensive Prunus schrubs in what they called the Japanese Garden left to die ,well over 1000 pounds worth , Not one Gardener in site, no rose's deheaded in the Rose Garden , A Stumpery with a few bits of dead trunks dumped in a pile...No view point looking on what should have been stunning view , instead pile of rubble below , the Duchess Garden was a mess unkempt, with dying flowers or dead shrubs, a tree lying across pathway due to snapping at root , lady with buggy unable to pass. Sheer embarrassment for myself having taken two keen gardeners with me ! Needless to say we wont be back !!

Car parking scam. Just been given a £100 parking fine. Their machines don’t work. Went through all the normal procedure for paying with credit card and it lets you believe you have paid. Will never return to Belvoir Castle again

We had a visit to the castle, had refreshments at the restaurant and bought presents from the gift shop. We then went to the garden centre and bought plants, all in all a profitable day for Belvoir castle. On leaving we found the parking machine confusing, it does not add up and show how much to pay. We put £3 payment in and received a ticket. One week later a demand for £100 dropped through our letter box. I appealed with proof of payment of my £3. Was then told via appeal it was a legal fine as I had stayed too long. No price is ever talked about. I thought to email the Belvoir castle staff and received a reply saying they thought I was 30p under paid. I ask how did the parking machine print a ticket if not enough payment? Their machine does not work that way.They then went on to say that I was not the only customer who had problems with their parking system so in the days after we visited they had altered the signage. I don't know if it was done as I'll never be back to see it!

I visited Belvoir castle with my 86 year old mother. We had a lovely day, paid for two entry tickets and meal for two. We parked in car park at main entrance and my mother 86 had to go all the way up steep drive way with severe stoop. However , we managed . I paid also for car park ticket and have just today found I have been fined £100 because they claim I didn’t pay car park when I did !!! This very aggressive behaviour I did not expect from Belvoir castle which I have often visited in the past. I can inform you . I will NOT be visiting again and I believe this aggressive car parking company you are using will severely dent your reputation and lose many customers. Very short term foolish idea !!!

I had a tour at Belvoir castle. Our guide was Olivia. She was very knowledgeable, interesting and engaging. She knew her stuff and answered all our questions.
A beautiful castle that’s fascinating. The staff were lovely and wanted to be there.
The whole day was lovely and fun. I would definitely recommend going there
Thank you

Took the castle tour guide option. Well worth the extra money as our guide brought to life all the stories and background behind the portraits and artefacts there. Would highly commend Julia on her knowledge and presentation skills. Great tour.

Awful, awful, awful. The ‘Regency Christmas’ was utter rubbish - dim to the point of squinting at exhibits, Christmas decorations alongside fake summer blooms, lacklustre displays, grim gift shop. Outside was a tall Christmas tree with very sparse lighting - not particularly welcoming, no vendors selling hot drinks or food. Time and time again we’ve been told in reviews that ‘it’s an actual home’ and the ‘decorations are modest because of being thoughtful towards the family’. THEY WERE SELLING AN EXPERIENCE - and what was provided was not up to scratch. Personally I won’t ever return to Belvoir to put more cash into their pockets. They should be ashamed of themselves but that type of family and class never are. Entitled and expecting the poor public to fund their lifestyle. Not from me you won’t.

The signage at Belvoir Castle Main Car Park is not visible to anyone driving into the park and does not conform to British Parking Association (BPA) Standards. As result motorists can be unaware of their liabilities and end up with penalty notices.
An elderly relative on a visit from London was caught out by this
I believe that the signage at the Belvoir Castle Car Park contravenes BPA Code Of Practice Cl19.2f or two reasons:
1. The location of the entrance sign
2. The colour and contrast of the signage.
I visited the Belvoir Castle Car Park on foot. At the entrance there is no clear visible sign. There is no way a driver could reasonably be expected to read or even be aware of the sign on the right of the entrance when they should be looking at the road ahead and for the entrance to the parking area.
The entrance sign is not that visible nor is it near enough to the entrance. The colours appear to have been selected to blend into the rural setting, rather than stand out.
If you think you have been similarly mistreated with a penalty charge notice (PCN) challenge it on the basis of non-compliance with the BPA code of Practice. Involve the local press & media, contact your MP but don’t be harassed into paying.

I went on Wednesday evening thoroughly looking forward to the light trail after seeing the one at Wollaton Hall the previous week. I was shocked and incredibly disappointed throughout the hour long walk. Tackling the thick muddy paths and steep slopes was a safety nightmare, even for the young and sprightly, particularly where the light trail was dark and impossible to see clearly underfoot. The actual light trail was more than mediocre compared to others for the same price. No twinkling animals lighting up the way. No gorgeous display of lights in the trees and bushes. The lights projected on the castle walls were acceptable but the rest from start to finish was a non event. After being so excited at the anticipation of what was to come I felt utterly deflated at the end and incredibly annoyed at wasting my money. It was worse than poor value for money. If it had been an item I had sent for online I would have returned it and asked for a refund. It has given me no pleasure to be honest about my experience.

This review is for the light show which I’m afraid was very very poor. We had been to Belton house the year before which was fantastic I thought Belvoir would be similar but on a smaller scale. The trail was mostly fairy lights at one point I thought at last a laser light show as we got closer we realised it was just different colour tape stretched around trees.
The only reason I’ve given two stars is because the light show on the castle walls was really nice.
We decided to drive around our village afterwards to look at the all Christmas lights on the houses, it was more enjoyable I’m afraid.

Wow went last night what a shocker very very poor in every sense. Like many have said absolutely day light robbery seen better displays at private dwellings. Even the house wasn't that special and to think we spent £70 for my partner and I afraid never again Belvoir.

Really disappointed after looking forward to what was billed as an exciting light trail. The lights were very amateurish, the paths steep and muddy, no spectacular light shows and the refreshments available very poor. Cars were driving up the road which we were walking up and this was extremely dangerous. After visiting Belton House last year we thought we would give Belvoir a go this year for a change but will be going back to Belton next year. A very expensive hour's visit with us all feeling extremely underwhelmed. Poor.

The house is nicely decorated but 20 mins max and then to the lights - wow! Total waste of money! Just don’t go. The course is completely unsuitable for any wheels and anyone with mobility issues will struggle. If this experience was an item from a shop I could take it back and get a refund. £5 to park and then the hike of hikes to the house and light trail. Back to Wollaton next year

Christmas light trail was a huge waste of money, I’ve seen better light displays driving round town, if you want to see a real light display go to Belton house or Wollaton park

Booked to take our 2 year old daughter to see Santa following a ‘non-Christmas’ last year. Having waited over an hour for our 4.30 slot our daughter was quite rightly fed up and didn’t want to know.
The lights were shocking. Having visited Belton a couple of years ago we desperately wished we had gone there instead.
I am 6 Mo the pregnant and after waking up to the castle from the depths of the carpark, we then had the horrendous experience of slipping and sliding through thick mud with a massive bump and a two year old. The lights are barely worth having on, all of the statues is the gardens have been covered over and the steps up and down are hardly fun for someone who is pregnant - let alone anyone disabled. Absolutely NO warning when booking about access difficulties and having to leave our pram at the start of the lights was not a fun prospect.
We do not have lots of money spare every month and this was meant to be a special family treat following on from our daughters first Christmas effectively being cancelled last year.
I am so disappointed, feel thoroughly ripped off and think they should be ashamed of themselves!
Never again!

Waste of time & money. A string of fairy lights that go through pitch black gardens for almost 1 hour is definitely not worth £35 a person. It went on for so long and there was nothing to see so was actually quite boring. Red lights pointing to a bush or some disc balls hanging off a tree (which weren't lit up) is a bit of a con when you charge so much for people to come. The track was so muddy, people were slipping all over the place & there's nothing to grab onto to steady yourself. Most of the house normally open to the public is closed off & not decorated anywhere near as nicely as other stately home Christmas experiences. Save your money or go to Blenheim Palace or Warwick Castle instead, both highly recommended!!

Had such a lovely day out today

We went inside the castle and was really lovely and cozy after visiting the castle I went though the light trail with my 2 lads and my niece

There was one of the workers call Mathew that helped me get past the really slippy bit after seeing I was struggling to walk

I am so thank full for his help

The light trail was Lovely but does need some tlc

Please pass my thanks on to Mathew for helping me

Better lights in my front garden! The house wasn’t lit at all, two Xmas trees either side of the front door with no lights on! No hot chocolate available. Hilly/muddy - light displays very weak! Won’t be recommending or going back. It had the potential to be amazing!