Attwell Farm Park — Local services in Bromsgrove

I regularly visit Attwell Farm usually with my daughter since she was 2 months (while I was on maternity leave) and even now she is 17 months old. This is mainly down to the it’s locality to us- we live 6 minutes away.

However, I visited on Wednesday 8th January where I must say I was utterly disappointed.

I booked a last minute 4pm slot to take my daughter to the toddler soft play for the first time as she’s just started walking. (She’s not very confident and gets scared when there are too many kids) so booking the quieter slot was suitable for us and our circumstance despite the fact that I paid £9.95 (full term time after school price) for an hours visit.

Upon arrival, we walked around the indoor farm and petting area and then got straight into the toddler soft play area. As soon as we began, two members of staff began doing some maintenance on the bridge which meant that the whole time we were there we were unable to use the slides and she couldn’t actually use the soft play area to its full potential. Instead, I had to pick her up and place her half way up the slide to come down which was very awkward and not ideal. The two members of staff were also in there with their footwear on which defeated the object of taking your shoes off- which was utterly unhygienic and given they work on a farm- who knows what was on them! In addition, the area and toys my daughter was restricted to playing with were noughts and crosses squares with hair and dust stuck to the Velcro- absolutely disgusting. In addition, the whole area was full of dust and looked like it had t been cleaned in years.

I considered complaining upon leaving but thought it was unfair to staff who probably wanted to shoot off home after a long day.

However, I went home disappointed and decided to share my feedback with the farm itself. The farm responded explaining that the maintenance was not planned and had to be carried out immediately and that the footwear issue would be addressed. I wasn’t satisfied with this response, as I do feel like they under delivered on this occasion and if this was the case, there should have been a notice before booking or they could have reimbursed me at least half of the fee I paid- which is only fair.

I then responded saying that a notice would have been great before they took my booking and payment online. They responded back suggesting that while this was an inconvenience to us- it was not routine maintenance, but that it had to be dealt with immediately but also the face that all other attractions were open for us to use instead/in addition to. These attractions included- the sandpit, the fire engine, bouncing pillows, outdoor play area, barns and 3 tier soft play structure.

I found it absolutely insulting that they suggested I should take my 17 month old daughter to play in the freezing cold temperatures of -2 in the dark outside to ‘make the most’ of the attractions they have provided. The weather was so bad outside that there was even ice and slush still in their car park from the days it snowed. In addition, I would not take my toddler into a soft play section for older children- this defeats the object of having separate toddler and baby soft play areas.

I am absolutely appalled, disgusted and insulted by this response and it has showed me that there is zero consideration for seasonality, they have not considered my complaint or circumstance in isolation by giving me standard responses, customer service skills are poor, zero accountability and duty of care and hygiene levels all round are poor.

I will not be...

Lovely facilities, some great staff who were on hand to chat about the animals. The blonde lady who was with be pregnant horse was so informative, lady clearing out bunny enclosure was also chatty and informative. Feeding the sheep, alpacas and goats was a great experience and my young niece was so excited to watch, having the feed to buy on entry was a great idea and there were clear signs everywhere telling which animals can or can't be fed. We have a similar farm near us in South Devon so a great place for a family day out with kids. The toilets and indoor facilities are really clean and tidy. Some of the staff could be more attentive to visitors and less into just being sat around chatting to other colleagues but credit to the girls mentioned and the girl who served us on entry and exit who was helpful with info about annual passes etc. The insect and spider area was a great addition to the farm and lots of great information dotted around with QR codes to get further info on all animals enclosures throughout the farm. The only real let down was the food in the cafe. Probably the worst chips I've ever had, tasted like they were cooked the day before then reheated and then left under the heat lamps allday, the chicken burger was a little better but the chicken fillet was just greasy and reheated. Good selection of drinks and the freshly made packed lunches look like a good idea for kids, a great way to kill a few hrs...

Had a lovely morning at Atwell with our 5 year old Son. We just wanted a fun couple of hours on Mothers Day morning, and that's what we got. With lots of animals and fun activities we all loved it. Pedal tractors, soft play, bouncy pillow, climbing frame and a whole range of animals have us 3 hours of fun. I would be leaving a 5 star review however we felt a few things let it down. However I will start with the positives the animals seemed happy, healthy and well cared for. There were lots of rubbish bins located throughout the park. And the toilet facilities were clean. Now onto the not so good parts, although clean the toilet facilities could be improved as the sink was falling off the wall and the dryer was temperamental at best. I think more could be done than a porta cabin. Also, we didn't plan to buy food but when we saw coffees priced at £2.00 we thought the prices weren't bad however after choosing some doughnuts and crisps we found the only price list at the cashpoint displayed that doughnuts and all other food items were extortionately priced. Doughnuts £2.75?! And 2 milkshakes, 3 doughnuts a tango and 2 crisps £12.25!! I would recommend taking a packed lunch as there are a lot of picnic areas or tables. That said though we did enjoy our morning and plan to visit again soon just...