Sick as a parrot! Rubbish reviews of our top attractions
THERE’S JUST NO PLEASING SOME PEOPLE ON TRIPADVISOR!
FROM beauty spots and ruins to museums and art galleries, there is a healthy selection of interesting things for people to do when they visit Leicestershire. However, it seems some people do not agree.
Some travellers have left reviews on TripAdvisor which have made us wonder whether they were being paid by rival tourist boards.
Bradgate Park, for example, is one of Leicestershire’s most beautiful spots. With 850 acres, it is renowned for its deer herds as well as containing some of the oldest rocks in England.
Visitors can explore the ruins of the home of 16th century Queen of England Lady Jane Grey, who reigned for just nine days. It has an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 on TripAdvisor.
However, one visitor from London did not appear to appreciate the rich history of the park and its majestic residents.
Rating it one out of five, he said it should be called “poop park”.
“There is deer poop everywhere,” the reviewer stated. “Can’t find a place to sit where there is no poop.”
The city’s National Space Centre is a jewel in Leicester’s crown, with families and schoolchildren visiting to learn about the solar system in the UK’s largest planetarium.
But one person described it as “lots of people just walking about”.
“More a space centre than national space centre,” the critic wrote. “I think the website bigs it up a bit.
“It’s okay, the planetarium is good, but would have liked a choice of the films. Lots of information boards, some interesting artefacts, but not much to actually do. Lots of very young children, and think it appeals to them most - a wet day place to go.
“But it isn’t worth a long drive to visit, as is underwhelming and not very big even.
“Big queue for the ‘simulator’ which wasn’t much, and didn’t work well. Lots of people just walking about but not really engaging with much.
“Space is exciting, even for a non-scientist like me, but this wasn’t exciting at all. We couldn’t drag it out more than an hour-anda-half.”
A family called their recent visit to the space centre a “waste of time”.
They wrote: “Totally unimpressed, extremely boring for a space centre. Was packed, very hot to boot as well. Took two 12-yearolds who were totally unengaged with it.
“We were all very bored and asked to bring the planetarium ticket forward as we wouldn’t last for another hour and was told it was booked up so we left. Absolutely wouldn’t recommend for slightly older kids. Complete waste of time and money.”
However, others do not agree – it has an overall rating on the reviews site of four out of five.
Tropical Birdland also has a high overall rating on TripAdvisor, of 4.5.
The attraction, just outside Desford, is home to more than 250 birds, with a variety of free-flying parrots from all around the world.
But some people have been left unimpressed.
One reviewer said the birds looked “disinterested”, but added that the park itself was a nice experience.
Another rated their experience a two out of , saying their three-yearold daughter had said the toilets “smelled funny”.
But they added that the “atmosphere was amazing” and the “staff very friendly”.
Another said the visit bored their children and that they would “stick to the national parrot sanctuary (in Lincolnshire) in future”.
Since the discovery of the remains of King Richard III in Leicester, hundreds of thousands of people have flocked to the city to see the story of the infamous king.
The visitor centre dedicated to the king found under a city car park, 527 years after his death in the Battle of Bosworth, has an enviable 4.5 rating on TripAdvisor.
But not everyone who goes there has had something good to say about it.
One tourist was disappointed they did not get a good look of the former king’s bones, leading them to rate their visit as “terrible”.
They said: “A glass floor over the excavation site with a few volunteers to answer questions.
“There’s a light projected to show the outline of the remains, but that’s it.
“No displays, no information about what we were looking at. Nothing.”
The king’s remains are, of course, buried in nearby Leicester Cathedral.
Another claimed the awardwinning centre was, in their opinion, “just a lot of pictures”.
The reviewer wrote: “We visited as a family with grandchildren. A complete disappointment. Virtually nothing to interest kids or adults, just a lot of pictures and meagre information about the find.”
It just goes to show, you cannot please all the people all the time.
But do not worry, at the Mercury we think our attractions are doing a top job.