to complain about this rip off 'attraction' even though the owners seem nice...

[mypokerface]

Went to a country house yesterday which had featured on Country house rescue. As it's not far from us I thought it would be worth a visit with the dcs. Checked its website before we went, it advertised lots of activities for children including an activity park, maze, treasure hunt etc. After paying the £17.50 to get in (one adult, 2 children) we tramped around the 'gardens' which was more like a forest - dangerous muddy hills which were so steep people kept falling down, saw the maze which had just been planted so not a maze you could spend any time exploring, completed the treasure hunt in 30 mins (only 5 clues) went to the adventure playground to find one slide and one climbing frame.

Decided to go to the cafe, ordered a coffee, 2 orange juices and 3 slices of cake. Told it would be a 15 min wait. Sat down in the overcrowded cafe, could literally not move, it was rammed full of tables and chairs, and waitedfor another 30 mins for our drinks and cake. WTF? Could maybe understand if I'd ordered hot food, but there was little preparation involved. Whole place a shambles. Loads of people serving but no-one had a clue what they were doing... Total cost for coffee, juice and cakes - no change from £20.

Anyway, the lady taking the orders in the cafe was actually the owner and was lovely. Apologised to everyone for the delay and was working really hard.

However I just feel like I was completely ripped off. Forked out almost £40 to walk around a forest with limited facilities and be served a tiny piece of cake and a tepid cup of tea which we had to wait ages for. Meanwhile the family are raking in money from the public which they are pumping into their lovely luxurious house which they get the pleasure of living in and doing very well by the looks of it, their private drive was full of top of the range bmws and audis.

AIBU to complain? Just felt completely fleeced.

[5Foot5]

Did the entrance fee also cover entry to the house or was it only the grounds? If it also allowed you to see round the house and there was a resonable amount of stuff the admire in there then that is maybe not so bad but if it is just the grounds then they do seem to be pricing it a bit high for its present stage of development.

Has it only just opened? The confusion in the cafe sounds like the sort of teething problesm you might get in the first week or so.

YANBU for feeling you have not got value for money this time but I just wonder whether their intention is not to rip people off but they just haven't got themselves properly sorted out yet

[tethersend]

Complain? I think you just have

[tethersend]

Oh, and YANBU for complaining to them.

[Debsbear]

YANBU, I would complain, but if they have just opened ask if they could give you a free entry ticket for 6 months time when they have had time to iron out these problems instead of a refund.

[HermanMumster]

Was it the Himalayan one? I had been planning to go - looks nice

[mypokerface]

No the entry fee didn't include access to the house - the fee is purely to walk round the 'gardens'. And no it hasn't just opened, it's been open for a year or so.

The family who own the house seem really really nice, came across really well when they were on the telly and two of the owners were working bloody hard in the cafe, running around serving food, clearing tables.

Feel a bit mean spirited if I write to them and complain but OTOH I do feel well and truly ripped off.

[Bletchley]

Well in that case write to them nicely! Ticks both boxes.

[OrmIrian]

That's ridiculous. if it's a new attraction with everything unfinished they should start off with a lower admission price - even no admission price (and then make money on the cafe/shop). As it is they are just pissing off their potential repeat customers.

We go to a similar place near here - beautiful grounds and garden being restored. There is quite as lot to see now but when it was first opened there was just a quite nice walk and you could see the plans of what they were going to do. It was very cheap to go in to start with and the cafe was pretty basic and cheap. As things have got more advanced and there was more to see, the admission price has gone up (though still reasonable IMO) and the cafe is more sophisticated and pricey.

[5Foot5]

Hmm! Well if the garden is meant to be the whole point of this attraction and it was as poor as you describe, after 4 years of being open, then YANBU. That sounds very poor value for money.

[tethersend]

Nice people can rip you off too...

[ENormaSnob]

yanbu

[ripsisherethecheekycunt]

I've quite a lot of work I'd like to have done on my house. I wonder if I could charge a fiver to roam my medium sized garden, have a look round the larger than average shed (could be a summer house) and have a can of warm panda pop.

[UnChartered]

'dangerous muddy hills' in the garden

well, i'm assuming this is in UK - has it not persistently rained for the past 6mths month, so YABU about that bit really

[NeverKnowinglyUnderstood]

I would write to them with to highlight the things that could still do with being worked on.
I think alot of very established places will have had problems with the way the weather has been in the last couple of weeks, so the muddy slopes etc.
Not that that helps at all, just that people going to other attractions this last weekend may have had similar feelings.
Perhaps end your letter by saying you hope to return at some point in the future and look forward to the maze being an exciting place for the children and the childrens play park being finished.

[mypokerface]

rip yes! this is what I object to. The family get to live in their lovely mansion with their top of the range luxury cars in the driveway subsidised mainly by the paying public who think they are going to have access to lovely gardens, childrens playgrounds, planned activities, mazes when what they actually get is a bloody slog up a dirt track to a 'garden' with a couple of rare species of plants.

[TheMightyMojito]

Complain, you might be doing the nice people a favour. It gives them a chance to fix the problem instead of people just never returning and complaining to all their friends instead.

[scrablet]

Doubt their 'top of range luxury cars' subsidised by public if only opened a short while.
Do think the family should advertise what's there, not what will be there in a few years tho'
Sorry you had a bad experience on a precious day out.

[ripsisherethecheekycunt]

I could offer cat petting too.

[thequietone]

It's got to be the Himalayan one! Was it?

[mypokerface]

Yes it was!

[HipHopOpotomus]

I'd be feeling ripped off too.
I wonder how many repeat visitors they get? perhaps they feel able to charge more as it's been on the telly!

[Debsbear]

Definitely complain, if you don't they might think they've got it right. Is there a website to register your comments on?

[takingiteasy]

YABU to go to one of these places in the first place! Why subsidise someone's life of luxury? never understood the whole stately home thing. Come and admire my big house and pay me for the privilege! No ta!

[Fluffy1234]

I would make a very strong complaint before there is a serious accident on the steep hills.

[bibbitybobbitybunny]

Of course you should complain! Especially about the prices and service in the cafe, if nothing else. Businesses like this need feedback to survive.