Honey Bee Gardens Farm — Attraction in Darien

I would like to first credit this farm with having great ideas and many wonderful interactive activities for young children to enjoy before respectively mentioning my concerns related to cleanliness, cost, employees, and solicitation. My children loved the wide range of children’s play spaces such as the petting zoo, fairy garden, art room, sand box, and construction zone but the level of filth and neglect of these spaces made it nearly impossible to enjoy or access safely. I completely recognize that there would be some level of animal feces at a petting zoo but the entire petting zoo area was covered in feces with multiple piles are large as tractor tires. Our shoes were covered in poop instantly and it made the rest of the day difficult to enjoy. The same sink that was used to wash hundreds of dirty hands after petting these animals was also the same sink being used to make the free lemonade. That felt like a major health hazard and too easy to cross contaminate. The playground and children’s spaces were also covered in poop given that multiple animals roam free and all the children’s shoes that were just walking through poop at the petting zoo are now walking/climbing all over these areas. Besides the poop, the children’s spaces were covered in mud, spider webs, and just general filth. Little toy mice were so filthy a stranger told me “this place looks like a horror movie”. It was as if nothing had been cleaned in any way for months. I’m all for exploring nature but this was just filth. The price ($15 per person), seemed astronomical to be covered in animal feces and mud and have no other toileting options other than porta potties and sharing a sink with their lemonade stand. I was especially disappointed that after paying that fee, we were solicited constantly by farmers market vendors and Honey Bee employees including children giving sales pitches for their parent’s stands. I heard an employee telling other employees to really be promoting and pushing their upcoming event which felt unprofessional and tacky. The “free” lemonade and popcorn had signs by it asking for donations to help the animals which again felt tacky when I had just paid $15 per person to enter. The front of house employees (specifically the parking guys) were great and super helpful, but many back of house employees were visibly put out and overwhelmed. I heard one employee shout “I just can’t anymore” to a child volunteer. That same employee marched around the children’s spaces in a huff calling out what items they were missing from different stations and snapping at toddlers for touching dot paint or using too much glue. There were young children volunteers running most stations who were very sweet and welcoming but then this adult woman employee bombarded each station with a bad attitude. The “rules” of each station were difficult to interpret. I couldn’t tell if we were allowed to open the petting zoo gate ourselves or if we needed a child volunteer to open it for us. My daughter was scolded for “taking out all the glue” when she had one glue stick and my son was scolded for playing with a watering can that he found in a children’s space. Every paying customer appeared to be following expectations to the best of their ability and still multiple children were scolded. I’m sure they’ve had issues with children messing things up before but it definitely didn’t create a welcoming or happy environment. I would have never gone to this farm had I known even a fraction of what I do now and I was shocked when I read all the positive reviews. It really could be sooo great if they maintained higher standards of cleanliness. I wouldn’t mind paying the $15 if my children were in a clean/safe play space and being treated with respect and I wasn’t solicited for more money while I walked...

The farm is lovely from the moment you enter, it has a market where you can buy fresh herbs, vegetables, & honey. When you're entering you can see a wonderful little lake, the further down you go you see a rabbit house & chicken house, there were girls that worked there that had one of each out & my kids loved seeing the bunny & Honey the chicken. There is an adorable pig that walks around greeting everyone. They have a petting zoo, fishing, paddle boats, frog catching, a sand box, & a playground area for kids. The only reason for the 4 stars was because of the ticks, while there is a sign crossing the bridge to go to the play area warning you about ticks, there is a spot the 'Construction Zone' where kids can play with tools & cars where I had to pull off 2 ticks from my son. There was a post he stood near to play with a car & ramp that had ticks on it so I had to take him out of the area. He's non verbal & doesn't understand what bugs can cause harm so he wouldn't have known. The play area is heavily wooded, which is fine, but knowing kids will be playing there, the area should be taken care of since it puts them at risk to be bitten if...

We had our children's birthday party at Honey Bee Gardens Farm and it was absolutely amazing! The property is beautiful and serene, yet full of things to see and do for both adults and kids. All of our guests were in awe of everything it had to offer. The kids had a few options for outdoor play spaces to enjoy freely (construction zone, playground, fairy house, pretend workshop, large swings). The animals were well taken care of and had the perfect temperament for kids. Our whole party took turns enjoying the pond with fishing, canoes, paddleboats, and a row boat. The Honey Bee House was clean and set up to feel like a home. Michelle was great to work with and kept a presence the day of tending to the farm and answering questions while letting the party goers enjoy all the property had to offer. This was the perfect spot...