An excursion to Buckingham Palace – the residence of the British monarchs and the symbol of the United Kingdom – was ruthlessly criticized by American tourists, calling the famous building “gray”, “incredibly boring” and “uninteresting”. Scathing reviews have been posted on sites such as TripAdvisor and Yelp.
According to statistics, last year Buckingham Palace received 121 thousand tourists who paid for the entrance to the residence. Despite the fact that the administrative center of the monarchs is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK, American tourists criticized the royal house to the nines and rated the symbol of the European country and the attraction with only one star out of five.
What didn't the Americans like? Some called the palace “uninteresting”, others – “boring”. So, tourist Ann C from New York reported on the pages of one of the portals that the tour of Buckingham Palace was short, and criticized the royal family for “storing paintings”: “We went on a group tour of Buckingham Palace and arrived very early. Check-in was quick, but upon entering the palace, I was shocked to find that the walk was so short and uninteresting. All the palace shows is how the elite lived their lives by attending parties and collecting paintings. Everything is so pious that it was tasteless in my eyes. In general, the impression was unconvincing. Don't waste your money on this palace, they don't even let you take pictures of the place. Save your money. Don't waste your money at their gift shop, it's full of expensive coats of arms representing palatial opulence.”
Here is another noteworthy review from an American traveler: “I would give this place one star, but I am sorry for your recent loss (the death of the queen). The woman called the people in the palace “strange” and the food bad. “All the people here were weird and didn’t speak well,” she said. On top of that, I was in a very (or so they say) nice restaurant and ordered fish and chips. They gave me french fries instead of chips. When I told the waiter to give me chips because that's what I really asked for, they brought me more fries and that was the last straw.”
American male tourists were also less than thrilled about visiting the legendary castle: “The truth is that Buckingham Palace is, well, boring. Some say it's the most recognizable building in the world, but I think it's pretty boring.”
Many US tourists were left disappointed by the changing of the guard ceremony. Here are some of the negative reviews from American travelers:
- For example, Esther L. from Los Angeles made the following comment: “This is a complete failure. Even in winter it was crowded, and the changing of the guard took forever. I thought it was a waste of time, and it turned out. I won't watch again.” Although the official brochures indicate the approximate duration of the ceremony – 2.5 hours.
- “This was probably the biggest disappointment for tourists. I was so excited about the changing of the guard. It was supposed to start at 11:30 am. We got there at 11:00 am. Huge mistake. There were a lot of tourists, there was nowhere to stand. Unless you reach the palace at around 9:00 am and take a seat right in front of the gate, you won't see anything. You cannot take any photographs. And you really don’t understand what the hell is happening,” another traveler was outraged.
- Here is another angry post about the organization of the ceremony: “Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace – I thought it was a tradition which has been held in any weather and in any weather for hundreds of years. I also expected it to be solemn, precise and spectacular. So for me it was almost a complete scam. I had no idea that I would have to wait over an hour to watch what I would compare to a mediocre halftime band performance at a college football game.”
- “I came to change the guard. They canceled it due to light rain. Come on, this is London and it's one of your favorite traditions. What a joke! — outraged Jason Gee from New York.
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