The View from The Shard Reviews 

☆☆☆☆ Disappointing accessibility, arbitrary rules, and unacceptable treatment
My recent visit to this venue was an incredibly stressful and disappointing experience. As a wheelchair user, photography is one of the main hobbies I can fully enjoy, yet our visit was completely ruined by accessibility barriers, inconsistent rule enforcement, and poor staff conduct.
• Arbitrary and Unposted Camera Restrictions: Security refused to let me bring my camera equipment up, claiming it was "professional grade," despite there being no mention of restrictions on large lenses on their website or on-site signage. I have taken this exact setup to major observatories worldwide (including the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, Blackpool Tower, the i360, and Spinnaker Tower) without any issue. To make matters worse, other guests were allowed up with significantly larger lenses, and social media is full of monetized content filmed here.
• Invasive Handling of Mobility Gear: I was interrogated by security about the spare batteries for my wheelchair—forced to open my bag to prove they weren't camera lenses or tripods. Questioning essential disability equipment in this manner is humiliating and unacceptable.
• Inconsistent Enforcement: Rule enforcement was completely erratic. My brother (who was attending as my carer) was initially told he couldn't bring his bag up due to having an iPad, phone, and headphones, while the person directly behind us walked through with far more electronics. Later, my brother was told his small camera was allowed only because "the manager was in a good mood." Operational policies shouldn't depend on staff mood.
• Poor Accessibility Infrastructure: The accessible facilities fall far short of standard requirements. The disabled toilet is so cramped my small wheelchair couldn't turn around inside, the heavy door to the main restroom is nearly impossible to open from a wheelchair, and the lift from the ground floor barely fits a standard wheelchair.
Instead of enjoying our visit, we spent the whole time feeling anxious and stressed, leaving as quickly as possible without spending a penny extra inside. I strongly recommend other visitors with disabilities or photography hobbies look elsewhere.

Visited June 2026 with my son. Before screening, I realised my Leatherman multitool was still in my bag, left over from a camping trip the week before. I voluntarily went to security to declare it and ask for help. I asked if it could be stored and returned on exit — their own terms offer store-and-return for ceremonial blades, so the facility exists — refused. I offered to leave immediately without entering, taking it with me — also refused. I waited 45 minutes for police who never arrived, then had to leave without it. Staff later handed it to police and it has now been destroyed. It was of significant sentimental value and is irreplaceable.

The day before, the London Eye stored the same multitool against my ticket and returned it on exit. No drama.

I complained. They apologised "if" it wasn't handled sensitively, said staff followed procedure, and declined any compensation.

I don't dispute their right to prohibit items or refuse entry. But when someone self-declares in good faith and offers to simply walk away with their own property, ending up with it destroyed is, in my view, inflexible and needlessly harsh. Check every pocket before you visit — once declared, you won't be allowed to store it or leave with it.

So I went along to The View from the Shard on Friday 17th June. It formed an integral part of a day that I'd planned to celebrate an 18th birthday and naturally I wanted it to be perfect. I had been to the Shard once before and thought the views were spectacular.

When booking the tickets, I had been informed that the 69th floor would be out of action due to 'essential' maintenance work. The date naturally couldn't be changed but we still had a full floor I thought.

Imagine my frustration that of the remaining 68th floor, which was made up of four sides, the side facing the Thames was also closed. So because of the closed floor, we are down to 50% of the available viewing space but with this additional part closed, we've lost another 10% of viewing area. So left with 40% effectively.

If that wasn't bad enough, the remaining and already cramped space was taken up with not one but two wildly overpriced bars (a coke was £4.50) PLUS a concession stand selling strawberries and cream!

Clearly no attempt was made to maximise the remaining available space for the paying visitors by either reducing the number of attendees or removing some of the intrusive bars. God no, they need to make additional revenue at all costs, so screw the customers and their need for a little 'elbow room'.

The sun set was at 21.21 on that day and so I had booked a slot from 20.30 so that we could see the sunset and then see the best part, which was London at night. Well with the amount of visitors (plus an over abundance of unnecessary staff) occupying such a limited space, seeing the sunset was virtually impossible. People were crammed into the cramped space and any chance of enjoying it was thoroughly ruined. 

Despite my annoyance at all of this, I kept my cool because the best part was still to come - seeing the sky darken and the city lights become a captivating and evolving tapestry. Imagine then my compounded frustration when at 21.40 we were told that we had to take our final pictures as the View was closing in 20 minutes. I couldn't believe it. Our view cut short so that everyone could go home. It was like bouncers shewing people out of a club.

No indication had been made at the time of booking that my time slot would be cut short and no indication that although one floor was inaccessible, that the remaining one would be severely compromised. It was so disappointing for something that was meant to be a highlight of the day and I felt thoroughly cheated if I'm honest.

What a bunch of crooks the people running this are. No consideration for the reduced space, no respective reduction of numbers, no reduction in cost to compensate for the sub standard experience and seemingly no care from any of the staff for people to enjoy the view. We were just cattle to be shepherded into a very limited space, encouraged to spend even more money and then bundled out.

My advice is to not waste your time and money on a place so keen to rip you off. A much better option in my opinion would be the Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie. The area is stretched over three floors making it a lot bigger to amble around in, there are little cubby holes and/or tables to sit down and drink in the moment, it's open way later to ensure that your view keeps slightly changing, it is fully 360 offering wonderful views of the London Skyline (including the Shard which is better to look at than be in) and they don't treat you like children telling you to move here, don't drink that, go there and time to leave.

If though you are desperate for a higher view in cramped conditions where you are herded by nightclub style employees, then by all means go along to the shameless clowns at The View from the Shard.

Great experience. As we were expecting. During our experience on the 68th floor, we decided to have a drink. Anastasia was very kind, friendly and helpful while we were deciding what to drink. We felt very welcomed. It added to our great experience in The View from the Shard!

A deeply unpleasant experience

My recent visit to Shangri-La The Shard London, located within The Shard, proved to be a deeply unpleasant experience.

Upon arrival, I was approached by a young staff member who proceeded to question me repeatedly about my destination within the building. Rather unexpectedly, he followed me towards the lifts while continuing to inquire about which floor I intended to visit. Such behaviour felt intrusive, unnecessary and entirely inconsistent with the level of discretion and professionalism one would reasonably expect in an establishment of this standing.

As someone who has visited this venue on numerous occasions since its opening, and who has consistently supported the businesses operating within the building, I found this interaction both surprising and disappointing.

The matter was subsequently raised with reception, and after reviewing the CCTV footage, management acknowledged that the individual involved was a temporary staff member whose conduct reflected an excess of zeal combined with a lack of professional judgement.

Regrettably, the situation had already created a level of discomfort significant enough that the Metropolitan Police Service was contacted, and the incident was logged under reference CAD 6784/11Mar26.

One would naturally expect a location as prestigious as The Shard to uphold the highest standards of hospitality and discretion. Sadly, on this occasion, the experience fell considerably short of those expectations.

I trust that management will take the necessary steps to ensure that all guests are treated with the professionalism, courtesy and respect befitting such an establishment.

DON'T BOTHER BOOKING!! THEY WILL CANCEL YOUR BOOKING IF SOMETHING BETTER COMES ALONG. OUR TICKETS HAVE JUST BEEN CANCELLED with 2 WEEKS before OUR BOOKING DUE TO THEM TAKING A PRIVATE PARTY?! WE HAVE A HOTEL AND OTHER Experiences BOOKED AND PAID FOR SO UNABLE TO CANCEL THE REMAINDER OF OUR TRIP. PRETTY DISGUSTING BEHAVIOUR PUTTING YOUR BOTTOM LINE BEFORE YOUR BOOKED CUSTOMERS.

We were given the gift of the Shard experience & we had a fabulous time. Ignore the photo session as it is all rushed, the photos are not good & an unnecessary expense. Enjoy the lifts up to the top, enjoy the sensation of being so high & enjoy the views - amazing to recognise London highlights from above. Chris, one of the experts, was very knowledgeable on London & gave us a lot of information. Everyone was so nice.

Me & my husband booked this as an anniversary gift & it was wonderful. The staff are very friendly & attentive considering all the people they have to attend to!! Amazing views from the top over London. Would definitely do it all again x

Really enjoyed it. Fantastic views and nice and relaxed atmosphere. Could really take our time. Had a cocktail while chatting to 3 dapper members of staff. Very friendly and informative.

DON'T BOTHER BOOKING!! THEY WILL CANCEL YOUR BOOKING IF SOMETHING BETTER COMES ALONG. OUR TICKETS HAVE JUST BEEN CANCELLED LESS THAN 2 WEEKS BEFORE OUR BOOKING DUE TO THEM TAKING A PRIVATE PARTY?! WE HAVE A HOTEL AND OTHER EXPEREINCES BOOKED AND PAID FOR SO UNABLE TO CANCEL THE REMAINDER OF OUR TRIP. PRETTY DISGUSTING BEHAVIOUR PUTTING YOUR BOTTOM LINE BEFORE YOUR BOOKED CUSTOMERS.

Absolutely horrendous, they hide the fact that you have to be accompanied by a 16 year olds or over after 1000 words of the terms and conditions that you don't have to read. My 14 year old boy and his friend travelled for 3 hours both ways for them to be let down and payed £50 for train tickets. My son was able to pay with his debit card for a 14 year old but wasn't allowed inside. £60 wasted. WHY COULD HE PAY BUT HE COULD NOT GO IN?
The man at the door that rejected them gave them a phone number that charges 65p per minute without telling them, so when I went home to call it I wasted another £17. Never go here. It is not worth it.

We went on a school trip and there were 55 of us students and we travelled 3 hours from Leicestershire. When we got there they told us they had double booked and although we had pre booked and done it all the way back in January the event was more important. So we got rejected, which is an absolute disgrace to London and I never want to visit again it is not ok (we waited half an hour in a queue to try and get it sorted out). They need to sort themselves out.

Great experience from start to finish. We were greeted by Michael who kept us entertained with his knowledge, courtesy and fabulous sense of humour. Advising us on the cocktails and securing a table for us, a perfect host.
The bar staff were also amazing, helpful and very efficient.

Shanice (From Jamaica) at The Shard was just fantastic! She took her time to understand exactly what we needed, helped and supported us in getting tickets, and did it all with a friendly smile. Nothing was too much trouble for her. Shanice truly made our experience memorable!

Went to the “Ting” resturant in the shard, just one of 6 in this building. Anyway worst experience going to Ting as one particular staff was so rude she should not be working with the public ! An Eastern European woman her attitude just stinks as she was not happy working here and should be dismissed as she spoil our evening with her hospitality. The shard should get the right staff. Her approach was negative from the start. We told her we paid a lot of money for this experience, her attitude was so what !! Horrible woman , the TING should not employ staff like this ! Will not recommend this place for an evening meal.

Overpriced !
I remember just a while back the pics where optional and the ticket was cheaper ! Now they increased the price and the pics are part of the shenanigan now of corse to download them cuz if you want to have them printed you pay another 25-30££ this London is so overpriced and you don’t get much for your money !

Me and my Partner had such a lovely time here, the staff were so welcoming and friendly! One barmaid (Libby) really stood out to us as she was very polite and delivered top quality service, we hope she gets some recognition.
Thanks :)

The team did an excellent job setting up for our special day. Shadman made sure everything went smoothly by walking me through the process and making sure everything goes according to plan.10/10

Went with my nephew and we were treated appallingly by the security guards. My nephew has face tattoos and I should have realised when the guy who scanned our tickets gave him a dirty look. But we went on through to the scanners I went through the left and my nephew through the right. Should point out there was no one in the queue either ahead of us or after us. I put my bag and phone etc into the trays and got through perfectly well. All my nephew had was his phone – which he put in the tray and walked through the scanner – don’t forget he was the only person there – clearly the security guard thought “oh guy with face tattoos he’s bound to be a criminal” and refused to give him his phone back. He never explained it was policy to ask any customer who left their phone “unattended” to unlock the phone to prove it was theirs. All he kept saying was “you’re not getting your phone back until you unlock it”. He came over to me in a bit of a distressed state – I went over and the security guard was saying the same thing. It was not until another security guard came over who explained why it was needed. By this time my nephew understandably was upset. A third security guard came over and started shouting at my nephew who shouted back. We asked for his name and he said his name was “gangster” – seriously someone like that should not be a security guard. He was dragged away. That did not stop the guard with my nephew’s phone laying hands on him (we have the photos of the bruises on his wrists). All this time a manager was just sitting back watching doing nothing to support his staff or try to de-escalate. The best laugh was when we said give us the phone back and let us leave. They wouldn’t until they told us we were being denied access – like we would ever want to go in.
Then I contacted customer service and asked to speak to a manager. They way they operate is a manager does not get back to you directly. You email customer service, they contact the manager who reads the complaint and replies to the customer service eteam who then contact the customer. Perhaps the management team are scared of talking to customers…but more likely they just don’t care.
The manager who came back via the customer service desk, barely read my (admittedly lengthy) complaint. I wrote in a 2,181 word complaint and the reply I (11 days later) received was a whole 357 words (including the usual “Thanks for contacting us” and “please do get in touch again” type beginnings and endings). None of my questions were answered. In my complaint I asked about seeing the CCTV of the incident “I would be interested to see the CCTV to see exactly where my nephew went to have left his phone “unattended”. That was totally ignored. I replied to this paint by numbers we didn’t really read your complaint reply, asking if all my points could be answered and asking again about the CCTV. The same manager replied through the customer service desk (despite me asking to get in touch directly to cut down time) again 10 days later and after I had sent two chaser emails. She clearly did not have the time to read my email because all she spoke about was the CCTV. She said: “if your nephew would like to request any data, he (or his legal representative) can contact us directly, and we will be happy to guide him through the process”. Since I was impacted and there I went back to say I’d like to see the CCTV so could she help me do the SARS request. You can gues what happened – no reply so I had to send a few chasers. Finally, she replied (12 days later) to let me know that since we only made a “partial request” and they automatically deleted CCTV footage after 30 days they could not let us see it!! In fairness she finally addressed most of the issues in my original complaint…most but not all. I have since asked for a formal apology on how we were treated by the security team and the complaints manager who tried her best to palm us off…I doubt I will get it.
My point of this review is don’t give the View from the Shard your money – they are not worth it. Clearly all the care about are getting the money from the customer and care nothing for the customer experience. As an aside we went to Horizon 22 the following day and have a great time with no incident….and it was free!

The view is nice, but there are other free views that are as good, and free! I paid extra for photos and a drink. On exit, various photos are available, but you have to pay another 15 quid for the good ones, it is a tourist trap scam. They should be clear about what you get when you sign up