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Kensington Palace
, W8 4PX
Average User Rating (4 reviews)
Kensington Palace is a working Royal Residence and has a significant place in the history of London. The Palace was the favoured home of the Monarchy until the eighteenth century. It was the birthplace and childhood home of Queen Victoria.
In modern times Kensington Palace houses offices and apartments of some members of the Royal family. The Jacobean building was purchased from the Earl of Nottingham by William III in 1689 and was extended by Sir Christopher Wren. Rotten Row was a private road from the Palace to Hyde Park Corner. Kensington Palace was the former home of Princess Diana.
Although some members of the Royal Family still live and work here, some of the historic areas are open to the public and is the home of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. The exhibition Hats and Handbags is on view at Kensington Palace, a collection of over seventy hats and accessories belonging to Queen Elizabeth II. The Kings Apartments include an exuberant staircase with impressive paintings adorning the walls. The Queens Apartment has been restored after it was damaged during the war.
Visitors may also wish to take tea at the Orangery Restaurant. The Palace is a 10-15 minute walk from the High Street Kensington Underground Station.
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The Latest User Review
 | Stu London visitor | Newbie | Since: Jul 2011 | Posts: 1 | View Profile | Send Message |
My Review
1 out of 10 stars
We visited the 'Enchanted Palace' today (17th July 2011) What an abject waste of money! The staff obviously haven't read previous reviews here otherwise they would surely be better. The few rooms available to see were all pretty well in darkness in order to achieve 'enchantment'!! It doesn't work as one cannot see the beauty of the palace itself. I can't believe that even small girls will love this patched up, cheap, disjointed, uneducational exhibition. Earlier in the day we were offered our money back from a comedy club if we didn't laugh, if these people did the same I think they'd be bankrupt very quickly.. It took us all of 30 minutes to waste £25.00 of our hard earned money. Out of interest, their site doesn't have a review section, I wonder why!!
 | A Customer | Newbie | Since: Sep 2006 | Posts: 20339 | View Profile |
My Review
3 out of 10 stars
When I visited Kensington Palace this month February 2011 with a group of 18 people we were "not enchanted"! It was almost impossible to imagine that this was a Royal Palace. It was very dark in the rooms making it alsmost impossible to see the features and paintings displayed there. We were expecting a tour of a Royal Palace not a few rooms filled with strange themes/objects/people which were difficult to understand the relevance of these. The majority of the group were very disappointed with the tour. I hope that one day I will be able to visit again and be pleasantly surprised to find that it has been returned to its former glory as a Palace fit for a Princess!
Name: A W Wadsworth
Location: Pyrford Surrey
| A Customer | Newbie | Since: Sep 2006 | Posts: 20339 | View Profile |
My Review
1 out of 10 stars
Waste of time. Not an enchanted exhibition that one would come to expect in the traditional sense but just another tour of a stately home with the usual fine paintings, bedrooms, ceilings etc etc. Couple this with awful customer service (if you're going to employ staff teach them not to have a meltdown when the computer stops working) and you have what I would sum up as a pretty enchant-less experience all round.
| A Customer | Newbie | Since: Sep 2006 | Posts: 20339 | View Profile |
My Review
1 out of 10 stars
People have certain expectations of the historic sights of London; for example, if you visit Kensington Palace, you don't expect an art installation with infantilised history aimed at the Harry Potter generation - which is exactly what the Enchanted Palace offers. We went this weekend, and as two adults, didn't expect to be offered a pencil to write down the names of the seven Dancing Princesses in the Palace - we thought it was just a bit of the exhibition for kids, but no - it was the whole thing!
If the people on the ticket desk had told us that the exhibition was not the traditional presentation, we would never have wasted £13 each. I have no objection to what was portrayed, but whoever is running the Historic Royal Palaces needs to tell their staff to explain to visitors what is on offer at Kensington, to give them the option of not going in. We were in and out in half an hour; a complete waste of time and money.