Holmberg Orchards — Local services in Ledyard

Holmberg Orchards has gone so far downhill since I was a kid, it is SO sad. Just within the past 5 years even. They are SO greedy. They couldn’t care less about families or even their own Apples (Pears etc.) It was bad enough when they started charging per bag per family rather than by weight as they have done for decades, but they are now charging per bag (which the prices of the bags have gone up) per person or charging an extra fee for those who aren’t picking and just watching their child, grandchild etc. (kids included to charge additionally) And the majority of their Apples are either slashed/cut, spotted and rotten or just growing and unripened. The Pear trees were almost completely bare and the Pears on the tree were puny and hard as rocks. No wonder the inventory in their own store is outsourced from other places. I am so sickened and ashamed I once used to think of this place as my favorite Orchard and a family friendly, fun Fall destination. And they have kids working there who have no idea where anything is and the older employees have no customer service skills and are always rude, same complaint as the previous years. As someone who is obsessed with Fall, no more. We will now be going out of our way to look for a real Orchard from now on. Lyman Orchards is further from where we live, but has better reviews. We will try there. And will be going to Clyde’s Cider Mill as well when they open for their Cider and Apple Cider Donuts. And of course Pumpkintown USA for our Pumpkins and other Fall activities. Scratch Holmberg off your Fall to do list! No surprise there wasn’t many people there today...

In years past our family has thoroughly enjoyed visiting Holmberg's. Even after moving out of town we continued to visit and make wonderful family memories there. It is a beautiful, well-maintained property and is continually impressing customers with new offerings and innovations. However, sadly our family of 6 cannot affordably enjoy Holmberg's like we once could. We skipped the spring festival this year because tickets were $15/person with no age minimum or family maximum. Which would mean a $90 entry fee for my husband and I with 4 kids ages 1-8. That's before buying anything at the numerous vendors, food trucks, etc. Today we went to go apple picking and were blindsided by the new admission costs. We were just about to get in line for the tractor when we saw signs stating you have to now buy bags before riding to the picking area and it is a per person charge. When I realized that it was going to cost us $70 (my mom, niece, and nephew were with us) and all we would actually be getting was 2 small bags of apples we were appalled. We quickly decided that we would skip the apple picking and all of the other shopping we had planned: gourdes, hard cider, etc. We were all incredibly disappointed but enjoyed a nice lunch at a local pizza restaurant instead. We also looked on the website of another local orchard and saw an admission price of $2 per person, which we would be happy to pay. I really hope Holmberg's reconsiders this new pricing structure and we can enjoy future visits to...

Stopped in here while traveling around the other day for an errand down in Norwich. This place is about an hour away from where I live, but I drove by it while I was hungry, so turned around and picked up some stuff.

Such a cute store, so many crafty niche fancy food items to choose from. I grabbed some fresh bread, some store-made peanut butter, and a few other snacks for lunch. Delicious craft food. Many items made right there in the store. Meals to go and everything.

The only qualm I had was I bought a bucket of peaches that looked gorgeous, but when I got home I realized that I could see right into the center of the peach through the top, and that the center had been rotted out. I should have checked the peaches more closely before buying them, so definitely just something to keep in mind if you're picking up the fresh fruit. Not to take anything away from the store - I know these things happen. And I know that if I lived closer I got the vibe they're the kind of store that if I mentioned it to them, I know they would make it right for me. Just a pro-tip for future shoppers to just double check your produce.

Other than that though, a great experience. The cashier was super friendly and helpful. I really enjoyed just perusing in there. If I lived closer I would be in there every week picking up different goodies, because there were so many great ones to choose from. Definitely recommend checking...