Whitehall Garden Centre - Wiltshire

I visited the restaurant for 'Storytime with Santa', expecting it to be similar to the wonderful displays and experience we had a few years ago. However, I was disappointed by the minimal effort put into decorating the small room. For £13, children only received a cookie, a stalk of a Christmas tree, and a badge. This was a far cry from the previous experience of a story and a toy at the end. It felt like a rip-off and I was disappointed by the decline in quality at Whitehall Lacock, which used to have amazing displays at Christmas. It seems like the restaurant has gone downhill in all aspects while still charging high prices.

On a Sunday, we were taken aback by how crowded the restaurant and parking lot were. Once inside, we understood why - it was adorned with numerous Christmas decorations, presents, lights, and beautiful displays. We were impressed and ended up purchasing some indoor and outdoor Christmas decorations.

Come on Whitehall, it's been the same for year's,not enough staff too much merchandise and no room to browse it. The cafe is a total nightmare maybe an entrance and seperate exit Would be helpful and why oh why do you allow people to bring in shopping trollys when there is barely room to get to a table maybe a trolley park out side the cafe would be helpful. Drinks and snacks available on one side cooked food and drinks on the other side . Food orderd and brought to the table Would Also be a Great Idea why oh why do you not see the benefits of this and not see the need for better options for serving your customers.

I visited this restaurant to start feeling the Christmas spirit early. In the past, the displays have been great and sometimes themed, but this year was a bit disappointing. There were a lot of Santa figures, both big and small, which seemed to overshadow the rest of the displays featuring small animals and reindeer. Some items had been moved around, making it difficult to find things I usually purchase. The Herb Garden café was the low point of the visit. It would be helpful if there were separate queues for food and drinks and for just coffee and cake, as people kept cutting in line while we waited to pay. We ordered three breakfasts and three drinks, totaling over £40, but the food was cold and tasted bad. The drinks were okay, though. It was too crowded to bother queuing again to complain. The café also needs closer toilets, as we had to weave through a lot of people to reach the only facilities on site when my toddler needed to go. Outside, there were rides for the kids that only accepted cash, which was inconvenient as we rarely carry cash. We only had enough for two rides, which entertained our toddler for a short while. On a positive note, all staff we encountered were friendly, especially the parking lot attendant and the person running the train ride.

Came for the Christmas atmosphere. Absolutely horrendous in there. Way too busy. They let too many people in at one time. Couldn’t even move my kids around let alone my buggy. Walked in, struggled through and left straight away. If you want to take kids, you’ll have to take them out of school so it’s not busy!!