TrenthamReviews 

Four or us arrived at the garden centre last week hoping to have lunch at the Italian restaurant inside the garden centre. Yet AGAIN, it was closed - blaming it on staff shortages again. How many unemployed people are there in the UK, & you're struggling to recruit? And what a waste of a very large space.

Instead, we were guided towards the restaurant next door, where the staff looked harassed. We should have walked out the moment we heard another customer complaining that her table had been waiting 35 minutes for their food, but we foolishly stayed. Big mistake.

The method of ordering & payment has changed since the last time I visited, & for that, thank heavens Trentham Gardens has seen sense : it used to be that you picked up your food, queued for ever to pay, then had to take your chances finding a table, all the while whilst any hot food would be going cold. Now, I'm pleased to see that you find a table first, place & pay for your order at the till, then a server brings your food to you.

So, there were 4 of us - 2 adults & 2 children. Firstly, there were no children's meals, or even smaller portions, just full adult meals, at full adult prices (our visit was during the school holidays). Next, there was no apple juice, no vinegar, no cutlery, no tomatoes for a ciabatta meal........we ended up having 4 adult meals with drinks, which cost an eye-watering £72. The carveries cost between £15-£16 each, which is daylight robbery. How can you justify such extortionate costs? Plain greedy, grasping vultures. We could have gone down the road to the Toby Inn & had 4 carveries for under £40, which is exactly what we'll be doing next time. NEVER AGAIN will we dine here - you're going to the dogs, Trentham.

Diabolical experience - won't be going back. There are far better places to eat in the vicinity to spend my hard earned cash.

Bene going to the gardens and centre pre before the shops were built. And taking pups for disabled too. I’m now disabled myself but dint have a stick or buggy as it’s in other ways. So today I decided to go and treat myself to new garden furniture (choice of 3) a pizza oven and some new plants.

As I’ve brought my pups to socialise and get the. Used to the noise as I have a hearing impairment .. so we decided to grab a coffee and it would be good for our pup to sit and watch while we decide what items we need .. we found a table full of cups and dirty plates. The rest were the same. One person was serving and my partner text to say should we go somewhere else as we wanted to go an j and purchase our goods I decided to stop. One member of staff came passed smiled and walked off (didn’t move or clear any of the cups ). Then I was greeted by another lady who said tou can’t have a dog in here can you leave ! As I dint have a light in my head saying disabled, I would like to think the entrance to the cafe had a sigh for service dogs or be asked .. I’m sorry I do t look disabled but like most people I can’t see people’s brains either. It doesn’t mean we don’t have one.

I decided to leave, thankfully the que was that king my partner gave up and came back to the table .. we made the decision to leave the centre and go elsewhere for coffee where we would all be welcome. Including our service pup who learning the skill of noises to alert me ..

No purchase and we will not return. As for disabled parking why is 4 the amount at the far end ? Really. How’s This disabled friendly

Expensive and over priced shops,
Gardens look tired
No souvenir shop which would be a great bonus.
Brought mum for her 80th birthday, she was disappointed.
Food up in the gardens was very nice and the service we received.

The gardens visitor experience has deteriorated, and is no longer worth the money.

The back of the top field, by the woods, is now fenced off and behind locked gates. My dog loved walking along there. You get a better experience outside the Gardens in Kings Wood for free.

There is a not very attractive wire fence right along the edge of the lakeside path, for the beevers - and a really ugly and intrusive metal construction on top of the weir dominates the southern end of the lake.

There are also two lots of double gates to negotiate now to get around the lake, which are pinch-points where queues build up - and trick to get through with a dog or buggy.

Early Saturdays are not viable for a walk around the lake, as the narrow paths are packed with hundreds of Parkrunners - and now, due to the fences both sides of the lake path, it isn’t possible to safely get out of the way, Basically, totally unpleasant as a visitor trying to walk for one of the two mornings each weekend.

The local parks and woods are now just more pleasant for walks than Trentham.

Money grabbing at its worst.

My son has mental health problems & wanted to take his girlfriend to see the lights, she came down to Stoke by train, my Son said dad we have to be in the gardens by 2.30, so not looking at the website I quickly registered bought tickets (£21) and drove them to Trentham Gardens. They entered at 2 26, they wanted a meal and to see the lights, the restaurant was closed, security said they could get Pizza at 4 00, at 3 28 they were asked to leave as their ticket ran out at 3.30!

My fault I didn't have time to read the website my son has ODD and is very impulsive, I contacted Trentham Gardens to explain, they replied tough you used your ticket nothing We can do, so £21 to look at a lake for 62 minutes, possibly the most expensive place to visit in England, with definitely the worst Customer Service.

Money grabbing, used to be a nice place!

We visited trentham Gardens restaurant today expecting the usual good standard of catering we have had here the beef bourgigion I had was inedible meat, too hard and luke warm. I spoke to the restaurant manager who just said "he was sorry and would speak to the kitchen". I don't expect to walk out of a fairly expensive restaurant still hungry and cold. Customers are not valued here

Booked the Christmas light experience months in advance, although very expensive, I enjoyed the impressive and magical display.

The negative part from me and family was the outrageous rip off when it came to the food and drink at the rotisserie cafe (?). £8 for a bratwurst hotdog and £6.50 for a ‘spiced rum’. Then to presented with a tinned hotdog sausage in a cheap and stale bread roll. The rum… was a single measure of very cheap rum with half a tin of some random mixer, cold and rather unpleasant.
If it was just me on my own, I could have accepted this, but I was with my family and there were 7 or us in total. We spent nearly £80 on food/drink and left there wishing I had just stopped at McDonalds instead.

I am so sorry to say that after living in Trentham all my life and visiting here pre and post the takeover, my visit today was the worst ever.
The traffic for for Christmas market was horrific and impacted dreadfully on locals. Whilst they tried hard, the stalls were not worth the wait. A Christmas market brought thoughts of hot drinks with Christmas shots, garlic mushrooms etc. - nothing like other Christmas markets I have been to.
The rotisserie restaurant was utterly appalling and the indoor Garden Centre not magical as in previous years.
I will not queue again or hold this place as as it used to be for me. I think your strategic marketing lifespan has exceeded its growth and is on the decline.
A market and customer analysis is well overdue!

During Covid I joined to become a member, it was cheaper to do. I visited each day for a walk, exercise, just to get out. It's dog friendly which is a bonus. The grounds are nice, you can take different routes. There is a big play area for children and a few places you can eat and drink. As usual the food and drink can be expensive for big families, but you often see them with their own picnic.

Outside you have the huts, which are shops. They are good, but more variety is needed here and signs on windows if you are allowed to take dogs in.

There is also a large garden centre, dog friendly, it's a nice, garden centre. Expensive.

Carpark is big, free and there is also a few food venues here.

Daily charges for a walk within the garden grounds is expensive, it's cheaper for a membership pass. Reception customer service area is slow, the staff are in no hurry lol.

There is enough land here to expand and add more things to do.

I also went to the Christmas market, it was nice, but crammed in one area and was packed. It's not like Manchester Christmas market, this was just more of a market to me. It was good, but didn't purchase anything.

Coach loads of people do come, so it can get busy and packed.

Visited with my wife on 4th May. Paid £22 but was VERY dissapointed. At the Southern entrance the staff hadn't been trained to sell tickets, and didn't know the password so we had to go to the main entrance, where the staff were coping with a queue.
The weather was fair so the woodland and lakeside walk was nice, but to Italian garden was a mess and hadn't been tended for ages. We did see a gardener on the lakeside walk pulling a few weeds.... though he has UNSUPERVISED ..and was taking advantage. He pulled a weed then place it in a bucket then thought about the next one. I doubt half an hour would have seen him fill a bucket.
We eventually found the "show" garden, which was in a sorry state.
We were so dissapointed, and i can assure anyone seeking the ITALIANATE garden will be VERY let d
Anyone wanting MORE than a lakeside walk will feel the same.

I wanted to rate them ZERO! AVOID THIS PLACE UNLESS YOU CAN GUARANTEE NO ONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD WILL COME DOWN WITH COVID THE NIGHT BEFORE YOU ARE DUE TO ARRIVE!!!! Booked a family ticket, 14 year old tested POSITIVE night before arrival, also CONFIRMED POSITIVE on the day we were meant to arrive! I sent an email explaining the situation, I was asked for proof of the result, which I gladly forwarded! All her personal details! Bearing In mind I asked for a change of date not a refund!! They were loosing nothing here! I get sent an email declining all and told to refer to the terms and conditions! Completely irresponsible shocking to deal with!!! Shame on you Trentham Gardens, we were trying to support you after seeing you advertise on our local news!!

Excellent staff and the gardens are amazing. Definitely come back again.
Emily Lewis is extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the garden

I booked tickets for mother's Day 2020. I was assured I could use these after restrictions. Unfortunately that is not the case as you have to pre-book online. That would be okay providing you could talk to a human. 3 emails have been sent, no answer on the phone and contacted via social media. No response through any if those avenues. Such a shame, they've had my money with no reward to myself.

DOGS EVERYWHERE INSIDE THE GARDEN CENTRE.
We have been visiting trentham garden centre for years and last few years unfortunately your allowed to bring your dog into the gardens on a lead, not brilliant but ok, but the actual garden centre??. We have seen dogs weeing in the clothes department and dog mess in the plants section. What a crazy idea to allow dogs in here utterly ridiculous. Unless there guide dogs they should be banned, lots of people looked shocked by owners letting there animal sniff people and just have a free reign everywhere. What about people allergic to dogs and health &safety concerns. We spoke to 6 couples who couldn't believe thos decision and are refusing to come back u unless this is stopped. We certainly are taking our money and membership else where now. Well done who ever decided this !!.

My friend and I decided to meet up at Trentham Gardens 5 Arches.
We were shown to a nice seating Area away from people.
We had a light Breakfast which was tasty and really good Value.followed by a wonderful coffee!
We were served by a VERY polite and pleasant young man called Edward .
His service with a genuine smile was so refreshing.
He made the treat (a Birthday treat from my friend and first time out apart from food shopping since lockdown.).
I hope his manager
appreciates the quality of this young man and we wish him well for his future.
Exceeded expectations. Sally and Tina😊

Beautiful Place for a nice afternoon stroll it's got a boat that takes you across the lake which was nice but was very slow a mini railway that was Cool the only gripe is the ice cream was expensive for 1 little scoop on a cone and the food was little expensive but it was very nice food it's a great place to bring a picnic and you are allowed to bring your dog or dogs there's a little maze which was Cool and somewhere for your kids to play while the parents can have a sit down great place well worth a visit

Such a beautiful garden with a fantastic range of of shops, the perfect place to bring a picnic in the summer too.