Chester Zoo Anmeldelser 

Overpriced entry, empty enclosures and no refillable water stations

We went for a family day out, lucky enough to buy the family ticket that didn’t specifically need children as we went as a group of adults. Which was a saving grace as £40 for an adult ticket is extortionate.

Initially went to purchase a bottle of water, £3.25 for a metal bottle that could be refilled (already an extortionate price but we didn’t take our own which was our own mistake) we found one facility to refill our water bottles in one of the food courts but the majority of the day we found no refillable water stations or even a water fountain. It was a sunny UK day with temps around 24-26 so water is a must.

Willing to purchase other drinks/snacks but lack of vending machines (that also never worked when you did come across them) / large queues at every station gave long wait times.

Very busy everywhere, saw lots of empty enclosures and ones where we did see some animals they looked as if they were fed up

Disappointed with the overall experience and unlikely to return in the future

The food wasn't good. Was thrown on the plate. Very very expensive place. Didn't get to see any big cats. 2.70 for a can of pop ridiculous didn't buy one. The ice cream was lovely and very well priced. Won't be going again. The entry fee is extortionate. Will probably find alternatives.

Very over price. Bad signing. Disappointing experience. I hardly saw any animals. Mostly empty enclosures. Lots of walking. No tigers No lions. No jaguars. No Bears to be seen.

£42.50 adult entry . Very disappointed. Not much to see .

Having been to many others over the years . Ie kent , Devon and Norfolk. I found this one to be the biggest disappointment.

I had high expectations considering the cost of tickets . Not much to see and rather boring to be honest . Empty cage after Empty cage .

Disabled parking not great . Still had a fair distance to walk and parking bays same average size . You would struggle if wanting to get into wheel chair .

Very disappointed with our visit, we took three grandchildren, age 14,6 and 4, £175 admission fee….felt it was totally overpriced, saw very few animals, quite a few empty stalls/paddocks, I realise animal care, feeding, vet bills , staff wages need to be covered, we came away feeling it was one big money spinning machine, especially seeing a fun fair there??????.
Will not be returning….

Reading recent reviews felt jubious about going but still made the 200 mile round trip.
Wasn't disappointed, food was great and reasonably priced (7.99 for kids nuggets chips and drink)
Animals everywhere, we didn't not see any of them.
Place was clean and animals looked healthy and happy.
Thing is with a zoo, it's hit and miss if the animals are out, they like there privacy too.
Would definitely go back.

Just been today the Tigers, Lions and Jaguars were nowhere to be seen what a disappointment & waste of money! Save your money and go to Knowsley Safari Park or somewhere better. Also too much walking and not properly signposted. Kids not happy. Won't be going again!!

Food very average and expensive £49 for 2 coffees, 2 burgers, 2 soft drinks+ 2 flapjacks
entrance fee too high. £86 for two adults.
Hardly any animals to see, just one empty enclosure after another absolutely awful.
Had more eateries than Meadow hall shopping Centre they should focus the "zoo" side of things not making money selling burgers and ice creams this place makes Twycross zoo look like the best Zoo in the world at least you get to see the animals at Twycross .
Our first visit and very disappointed with Chester will never go again.

The zoo itself, really good, the process of booking tickets, dreadful! Congratulations, you have the worst booking process of all companies I've used (inc Ryanair!) The website booking system gets caught in a loop when you want to order tickets, it wont allow you to check out as a guest if you have a profile, but when I try and log in, it asks me to check out as a guest. I'm forced to call in to book tickets in.. only to be kept on hold for an hour, listening to the same saxophone rift over and over... and over... if it wasn't for the fact my son loves the zoo, I'd never use your services again. Get better at managing your customer journey

Been visiting Chester for years. Really disappointed this visit. Many enclosures empty - we didn't see many animals for the price of the ticket.
Upselling on other things such as VR, mini 4 X4 etc.
Although all zoos have the difficulty of animals not always being visible if the animals are there full stop or are shut inside with no viewing of inside areas it's impossible to see them. isn't this why people visit the zoo?
Won't be back to Chester again. Better zoos in the Midlands which are cheaper and have more animals.
Lots of comments overheard from visitors while there.

Many of the enclosures appeared empty, with no sign of the Lions, Tigers, Bears and many others. The Giraffe and Elephant indoor part was also closed which they told us after entering the gate. There were lots of senior school children on school trips shouting and running around too.
The talks were not well sign posted and we ended up missing them, with the app not giving any directions either. the gardens were well tended but the food was also overpriced and poor quality. When we sat down to eat, we had to move with lots of wasps hovering around and bothering us.
Really wouldn't recommend, particularly on a hot day. My family was very disappointed and it was poor value for money. They like to up sell as much as possible too, with even maps not given for free.

Absolutely loved our day at Chester Zoo! The enclosures are spacious and thoughtfully designed, and you can tell the animals are really well cared for. There's so much to see - we easily spent a full day there and still didn't cover everything. Staff were friendly, facilities were clean, and the whole place felt really well run. Perfect for families or anyone who loves animals - we'll definitely be back!

We visited July 2025, family of 4.
Amazing zoo, clean, good size enclosures.
Great to see all the enrichment provided to animals.
Staff and volunteers all friendly, helpful and extremely knowledgeable.
We took our own picnic so can’t comment on food prices.
Would highly recommend.

Overcrowded, overpriced. Most enclosures seemed empty. Waste of money/time

A very poor and very expensive experience. I attended the zoo today, 10/7/25 at the online price of £36.50. It was a very warm day so most animals seemed to be hiding in the shade and therefore invisible. There were hoards of schoolchildren on school trips running wild and generally getting in the way.
I foolishly decided to eat on site and got a cold cheeseburger with some tepid chips and a bottle of water for just under £18. Come on Chester Zoo, do you really think this is acceptable pricing for what you offer? I certainly do not. I couldn't wait to leave the site and was probably there no more than 90 minutes. I left almost £60 worse off . Just not good enough. I will never return. Is there a refund option for disappointed customers I wonder?

Lots of enclosures appeared empty. Could not see the lions, tigers, elephants and many other animals. The food was very poor and expensive. The actual gardens were really nice. Overall it was a very disappointing and expensive experience. Shall never visit this zoo again.

Very expensive most of the enclosures were empty, and not many animals in the ones that had animals in. This is the first time I’ve been in about 10 years, I will never return again very disappointed.

The food experience in June's eatery was the worst. Avoid the burgers. We had very small ,burnt burgers hidden in a large bun, thought just eat it as I'd waited so long, then the foul taste of cardomom sauce caught me, in the bin it went. Who thought cardamom. Sauce was a good idea without warning. Poor value too at £11 something.
It was noticeable a lot of the larger animals have been moved to the new safari attraction leaving the zoo as a watered down version of its former self. Signage around the zoo is pretty useless and confusing it also looks very cheap.
Just as bad , is the carport signage.many people were blindly roaming around having lost there vehicles. New experiences have left the zoo I knew looking pretty sparse .

We booked a breakfast with lions experience for over a hundred pounds which was basically a dry scrambled egg and no lions to be seen ! Later on found out their lions had died but apparently according to their customer service that’s not an issue because we got given an amazing ranger talk ( their range stood chatting at one table that’s all ) ABSOLUTE SCAM !!!!!!

Took my daughter for the day .
The zoo itself was fine however the prices for refreshments were well overpriced £4 for a tea that wasn't very good ,,and selling slush puppy's cold drink for £15 a pop. Extaushion. Nothing less. Same drink at local shop £2-50 So anybody that's going there make sure you have plenty of cash to spend you will need it. Would I go again no I wouldn't unfortunately many of the animals were asleep or none existant. But each to there own,,you want opinions you've got one. Have a blessed day to all who read this. Oh and by the way bottles of bog water are priced from £3 to £3-50 so take some water with you out of your tap at home you will save alot.
Small cuddly toys £20 there more or less what you would win for a pound in a grabber machine at blackpool.
Some are £95.
Bubble machines are great though £20
Got one for my grandson proppa quality.
He loves it.