Warwick Castle Bewertungen 

My partner and I had a brilliant time at Warwick Castle.

We parked in the stables carpark, next to the main entrance and toilets (very clean).

We found the staff on site very friendly (especially the gentleman, in the coffee van).

We enjoyed walking around the castle and it's grounds (including the top of the tower).

For us, the highlight was the incredible Birds of Prey show (The Falconers Quest). It was located next to the lake and we loved the way the birds flew directly over the audiences heads and everyones responses. We felt this alone was worth the amount we paid to visit the castle.
We would consider visiting the castle again, if in the area.

What was good.
The castle is very good, well maintained, containing excellent displays. The main castle with the decorated rooms and the huge hall with armour and weapons in can all take 45-60 minutes to walk through, longer if you do read all the information they have put to each item. There are plenty of parts of the walls you can walk up and along. There are also several towers that can be walked up, though the steps are narrow and it is quite a long climb. The views are great from these towers.
The bird display was fantastic. It was the highlight of the day. I would thoroughly recommend going to the first showing you can, because as with us, we then had to return for the second showing later that day. A handy tip, try and sit on the benches. The birds are so well trained they can fly right over your head, just inches above it. The story is good, and the release of birds, and the build up to the finale is brilliant. I could not fault the show at all.

What was not so good.
The booking experience online was done 6 months before we attended. It was okay, and I only had one question at that time about parking, which was answered very quickly. But about a month before our arrival I was sent an email informing me I could now book a breakfast time. I used the direct link they sent on the day they email arrived, and every single time slot was full. This was very frustrating so I tried to live chat with someone but they advised me to contact the hotel. I telephoned the hotel and was told this was not something they would deal with, but they would see what they could do, and after a few minutes they said they could book me in. About a week before we arrived I had not received any email confirming our booking so I sent an email to Warwick Castle. I got a reply back that I was best to email the restaurant manager, which I did, and a few days later I was told that my booking was in place, but the process seemed to be a right faff.
A days before we arrived I received another email containing all our tickets. The tickets appeared a little unusual in that they did not actually say we had admission to the park, but that we had admission to the Dungeon at 13:30. Anyway, as this was only tickets we had I printed these off. When we got to entry, the chap there could not get the barcodes to accept. He even commented that this looked like a different ticket. He tried repeatedly. I then showed him the email I had received, and showed him that this was the only tickets we had received. In the end he waved us through, but again what a mess.
This was third visit to Warwick Castle over the last few years, and the first time staying over. I really wanted to see the Trebuchet display, as it had never been working on previous visits. And again, on this third visit it was still not operating. Added to that there was no jousting display today. Two of the three main outdoor activities not available on a Saturday was pretty poor.

Our Knights Lodge was okay. The sleeping arrangements were fine. I cannot complain about not sleeping well, that is just my choice in preferring a harder bed. The seating set up was not great. There is a sofa-bed in the living room, which could sit 3 adults, but we were 4 and it was not great. A single extra armchair would have been nice. Also, the rooms are themed, and right over/behind the head of whoever sits in the middle of the sofa is a shield, which I caught my head on once. The bathroom was nice, and the shower excellent. There was dust and spiders webs in corners of the room.

Food
Food and drink at these types of venues is not cheap anywhere. I had a coffee and a cake for about £13.00. Later in the day (at about 2:15pm) I fancied a hotdog, but they were all sold out, which again I found somewhat amateurish. We then settled on chilli nachos which were about £10 and comprised a large bowl of nachos with the equivalent of about a tablespoon of chilli poured over. A rip-off.

At the Lodge, we had two options for evening food on site. Either the buffet for about £23 a head, or the pub/bar menu at the Tavern next door. We settled on the buffet. The selection was good, and the staff kept it well stocked up. The choices are few, but for someone like me who can eat anything it was fine, but for one of our group the limited choices were challenging. There were plenty of tables and chairs, and the waiting staff were friendly and attentive.

For breakfast we had the included buffet breakfast. A good range of standard breakfast foods, in fact I found this better than the evening meal. Everything seemed to be cooked perfectly and tasted lovely. I could not fault the breakfast.

Followed signs for parking - unable to turn round so decided to pay the rip off parking £7.50....exited vehicle with dog next to car park attendant (who said nothing!). Went to the entrance, hoping to walk around the gardens to be told "we are not dog friendly" by surly security staff. We were not alone in the experience two couples were sitting outside with their dogs, waiting for their children to return from looking around the castle. No problem if you do not wish people to bring their dogs with them.......but this needs to be clearly signed - preferably before the car park barrier. Totally spoilt our day and did not bother to look at anything else in Warwick following this experience.

Disappointed with the Rainy Day Policy. We visited on 29 August when it rained continuously for most of the afternoon. Before leaving, I specifically asked a member of staff if the Rainy Day Policy applied and was assured we could return within 60 days with our existing tickets.

However, 29 August is not listed as a qualifying rainy day on the website. Could this be an error? We booked a week in advance and would not have visited in such poor weather had we known we could not return. It is particularly disappointing to have relied on the information provided by staff and now be unable to revisit and properly enjoy the castle and activities.

Went to Warwick Castle today, the jousting and falconry shows were amazing… the castle was brilliant and well looked after, it’s very well looked after, food drink were a fair price and I’d highly recommend a day out there!

Keep up the good work Warwick castle team!

An experience more torturous than the dungeon itself
The only thing more torturous than the Warwick Castle Dungeons was enduring the ludicrous performances by the staff. And believe me, that is saying something.
I genuinely thought we were going to see actual dungeons and learn something about the history of the place. Instead, what we got was essentially a theme-park ghost train at best, with a handful of painfully over-the-top performances thrown in for good or rather VERY BAD measure.
This attraction somehow manages to take the wonderfully dark and gruesome subject matter of medieval torture and turn it into something spectacularly dull. Not frightening. Not funny. Not entertaining. Just a prolonged exercise in wondering how much longer you have to sit through it.
The staff performances were particularly excruciating. Apparently shouting, pulling ridiculous faces and behaving like they’ve just discovered comedy for the first time is supposed to be entertaining. It isn’t. It’s embarrassing. At times, it felt less like a professional attraction and more like an extremely ambitious school play that had somehow escaped and taken over a dungeon.
And it’s not even funny. Not remotely. Dull, a bore and quite frankly very, very silly. The whole thing seems to exist in the strange belief that loud scary and ridiculous nonsense is funny. It isn’t.
More seriously, there were significant concerns around health and safety, which completely undermined any attempt to enjoy the experience. An attraction involving confined spaces, theatrical effects and large groups of visitors should have safety absolutely nailed down. What we experienced left us seriously unimpressed.
Overall, an awful attraction and a complete waste of time and money. I went expecting history, atmosphere and genuine dungeons. Instead, I got a mediocre theme-park ghost train accompanied by performances that were more torturous than anything supposedly happening.
Medieval prisoners may have had the rack, the stocks and various other unpleasant contraptions. At least their ordeal eventually ended.
Avoid unless you have a particular passion for paying to be bored in the dark while someone shouts at you.
And as for the response below, NO the notice DOES NOT address any of the concerns I raised! I have reported this “attraction” to local authorities

The email I sent to Guest Services -

Hello,

My feedback from visiting today, I came with my parents, and my two girls aged 7 and 9.

I hate to be so negative, but it was honestly the worst day out I think we have ever had.

I understand that during the summer holidays you will be busy, I also understand that you probably make most of your annual revenue during this time, however the amount of people was ridiculous.

We managed to squish in on the floor to see the bird show but that meant sitting down 30 minutes early and waiting - I've not long had back surgery so can't sit for very long, and my parents are in their 60's in the same sort of predicament so not ideal at all.

Then we got to the 3:30 war of roses at 3pm only to be told it was full and we weren't allowed to watch it, and basically just tough. The main attraction and we weren't able to view it.

We didn't have time for any other shows due to the queueing we had to do for everything else, even the going to the toilet was a 30 minute mission.

Walking through the castle we couldn't see anything properly and we couldn't stop to read anything due to the amount of people shoving and pushing.

This email isn't to try and get anything for free, as we wouldn't return.

Why don't you do timed entries for things to limit the amount of people in certain places at one time? Timed entry to the castle, and you have to pick which show you see etc.

But if you know you're letting 10,000 people in but only 1000 of those are going to see the shows then surely this isn't morally right to take their money without stating that fact?

** I then sent a further email**

I'd also like to point out that we paid the £7.50 for parking as it says to do on entry, only to realise we didn't have to do that as everyone was just let out. 

** The reply I received**

Good Afternoon Rebecca-Jayne

Thank you for your additional feedback regarding the parking charge.

I appreciate why it may have appeared that parking payment was not required when you saw vehicles leaving the site without any visible checks. However, our parking system operates using ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras, which record vehicle registrations on entry and exit. Guests are still required to pay for parking as instructed, and vehicles that leave without making payment can be identified through the ANPR system and may be subject to follow-up action.

As such, your payment of the £7.50 parking fee was required and correctly made in accordance with the parking terms and conditions. I understand how this may have caused confusion, and I appreciate you taking the time to raise it with us.

Ragards

Tim | Guest Services| Warwick Castle
Email:
Warwick Castle | Warwick | CV34 4QU

*** At no point did I have to put in our registration number - So no way of knowing that was my car that I paid for - this is just another way of making money!

If you visit on a random Tuesday during term time, its probably a nice experience...

On a final note the interactions we had with staff were good, everyone was friendly - the bus driver especially.

Worst day ever!!! This was our 1st visit to Warwick Castle and I have never been treated like this. My wife and kid was allowed in but I was not. I was forced to stand out side for the whole day without explination. I had a valid ticket, my backpack was ok and I have no idea why I was not allowed in. There was no exchange of words, I was not rude, we greated them with smiles as we were excited to go in, no heated conversation, no reason given. Just left outside and not allowed in. How bad is that. No one had fun. My kid when inside, wanted to go up the tower but was not allowed. Also, there was a princess experiance that my child had a ticket for, that she was denided to do. We were drove 2.5hrs to enjoy the day. They broke up our family, reuined out day out, no explination why and no compensation.

Thank you Warwick Castle for an unforgettable experiance.

I decided to take my granddaughter after great deliberation where to have fun. Warwick castle looked good online. Parking was so far away, oh and yes the fee of £7.50! The choice was walk or hop on the transport bus, once all the seats had been taken everyone was pushed and squeezed up the aisle. I was jammed at the side of the driver (public safety out the window)!
Warwick castle is a lovely setting but sadly the biggest money making haul. The plastic children’s cup at £10 with a Warwick sticker on (which was refillable) but only at certain areas and then they closed!! Such a con! We waited 40 minutes for a show and then a gentleman said ‘don’t walk away everyone but the show is cancelled, you should have been told at entry!!! Ahh No! Shocking.
The swords and shields aimed at boys were close to £30 if you bought them both (plastic). Then you have to pay for the archery.
The medieval jousting was good but shambolic being packed into the stands. There should be benches to sit on, my poor granddaughter could not see anything, not very well organised, some decided to sit but were told to get up!
Warwick castle has much history but be prepared to spend.

We went to Warwick Castle and stayed at the Knight Lodge in 2019 was one of our best family trips. So we went again last week and we decided to try the glamping. The reason that I only give 3 stars this time is because I was very disappointed about the view of jousting and the dinner at the restaurant. The way they make the platform was limiting the view when there were too many people. We have been to see the jousting at Hampton Court, everyone were sitting down on the grass, so everyone can see it clearly. However, the jousting at Warwick castle was good but we hardly able to see it because of the way they build the platform, we were late in the morning and we couldn't get into any gap to see the show when it started. I asked the staff if they do the afternoon show, he was unable to tell me because of the hot weather, so we missed the afternoon show as my children were in the dungeon. We were charged extra £16 for 3 of them to go in. I thought that was expensive not including the entry to the castle. Falconry show was amazing. We all enjoyed it. The glamping was amazing too. Beds were surprisingly comfortable and shower bathrooms were nice and clean. I would suggest that they should have the shower trays, when we went to toilet after someone had a shower, the floor was all wet with running water around the toilet. I didn't see cleaner in the evening. So almost all bathroom floor were wet and slippery in the evening. We didn't enjoy the food in the evening at all at the restaurant and I thought that was so expensive. We had amazing evening dinner in 2019, so I booked us for dinner again this time. The food was so bad this time. Sausages, baked beans on evening menu? Inedible dried roast burnt chicken without gravy, not many choices for dinner, I don't like chilli and rice, chips were hard, soggy broccoli, desserts were bad and not many choices, just simple chocolate sponge cake, whipped ice-cream, £24 per person not including drinks were really expensive for the food they served. We were expecting roast dinner type like last time we went. We didn't look at the menu on the screen outside. We sat down at the table already, we should have just walked out to get take away outside the castle like the others. There weren't many people in the restaurant either but serving us drinks were so slow. My husband was so disappointed that they didn't have the drink mead on the menu like last time. We should have got a bottle from the castle for our evening. £140 for 4 adults and a teenage dinner, 1 drink each were very expensive for those type of food. I didn't realise that we needed to book table for breakfast. We could only get take away boxes to sit outside. Almost all B & B we have been, never heard of booking a slot for breakfast. The staff said there were no slot until 10am. My husband and I were early but they weren't serve breakfast until 7:30am. Our teenage and adults children were late, they went for breakfast about 9am, restaurant was empty. Staff offered us a table but we choose to sit outside instead because of the nice weather. So I think the slots for breakfast weren't working. Breakfast food were very good. Lots of choices from cereal to full English breakfast.

It was OK... was it worth £94.50 for a family of four? No. Was I annoyed that after paying £94.50 I then had to pay another £7.50 for the car? Yes.
In all honesty, it was OK. The trebuchet was broken (which I know is one of those things), but we didn't realise until that section began and the chap talking to us said that there were signs saying it wasn't working... I didn't see a sign anywhere even after that. The jousting - awesome... if you could see it. Far too many people in too tight a space - they need to make that section larger. The falconry display, again, great, but SO many people that the seating area was gone a long time before the performance started, as was the grass area. And when the jousting finished it was just like a sea of people that went on and on trying to cram themselves in. It feels really commercial - around every corner someone is trying to sell you some inflated priced sword or hotdog or drink... or a £7 a person have a go archery. For smaller children there seems to be a lot more stuff, for 8+, pretty scarce. Castle was impressive but really dark inside so quite hard to see.

Great for families, especially families with small children. We have been many times in the last few years for events and just for visits and have been delighted every time.

It is definitely a young families destination though- for example the bird display is amazing but the narration is entirely story based. Likewise with most of the historical activities. Which for families with under 10s like ours is perfect.

The shows we saw were really great, some of our party thought the jousting was best but some enjoyed the falconry show. A very clean and tidy environment with stewards and cast everywhere. The food was OK and not the normal rip off prices. Would recommend it as a once a season experience. Beware the parking costs £7.50 but there are parking marshals and security everywhere to justify the cost.

We had a brilliant day at Warwick Castle today and would highly recommend it! The falconry show was exceptional – genuinely one of the best live shows we’ve ever seen, not just falconry shows. Absolutely fantastic.

The kids really enjoyed the live Zog show, and the jousting experience at the end of the day was brilliant. All of the actors were fantastic and did such a great job, and the horses were incredible, especially given the heat!

A fantastic family day out and we’ll definitely be back.

UPDATE: interestingly when I said I was putting my experience on Trustpilot they gave a refund! Just watch out - no customer service they just want your money. Accidentally bought one too many tickets - despite buying many others so they had lots of money from me - told them
about the mistake - and guess what told me they have my money and nothing they can do! Appalling way to treat a customer who was paying a small fortune to visit

Had a good day out there. The falconry display was very, very impressive. The dungeon part was also well worth going to. The castle itself well preserved. The one thing I despised was the number of kiosks and gift stores etc. £5 for a cup of fizzy drink is daylight robbery and the smell of oil wafting around was unpleasant. Take a picnic and enjoy a good day out.

Went with the family today, what are a great place. Staff are welcoming and helpful, diables access also
A great family day out at good prices too.

It's outrageous to ask from a disable person to pay £7,50 for parking

We had an amazing time our family aged from 14 to 57 years old. We attended a blue light event which had a few nice touches free parking, discount in Gift shops free games/face painting for children. This was a nice gesture as being an NHS worker for 35 years this has not happened often. The staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The bird of prey show was magnificent we had to watch it twice ! The Viking horse show was entertaining and informative as it told a story that children and adults could understand along with the dungeon experience which in itself was informative . Well done all of the actors as it’s a tough job keeping everyone happy. Admittedly the food was expensive there but take a picnic and there’s plenty of places to eat it tables too and some under cover.
Well done Warwick Castle we will return as we have done many times before.

Too expensive for families, do you care about families woth low income ? And there are two many options available which makes buying a ticket a real jungle!