Larnach Castle Review

Lovingly restored with some areas still being upgraded however well worth a visit with spectacular views and country gardens. Cafe on-site also.

Tour guide was very friendly, informative and funny. The castle is absolutely stunning

Amazing place! Well worth a visit with very beautiful gardens that have had a lot of love and gardening work put into them.

Good place to spend a few hours, good food in the cafe and good service.

Really interesting and amazing architecture inside. Well worth a look at this historical building
Not so much a castle as a house.

We were not in the castle, but the cafe with its 3 fireplaces is worth a visit, the garden is beautifully landscaped and the views are magnificent.

You can't buy with the castles of Spain or Germany, but I think it's still worth it

Not a Castle, (even the plaque on it says a mansion). However Great cafe and beautiful views of the Harbour. Loved the quirky used of Pine cones to discourage people sitting on the chairs #hilarious

It was an ok place if you have time. The route to the castle is very scenic. The castle only requires a 30-45 minute visit. Its a faily small castle.

Amazing. We absolutely loved staying overnight in the stables.
Wonderful service, beautiful gardens and breath-taking restoration of the castle.
It's a must on the list of places to see.

Very nice place you do not expect in New Zealand. Also the garden with wonderful view, necessarily.

Great historic place with beautiful gardens. The drive to get there is very scenic

Visited the castle during fog. Got the impression of being in a spooky movie. So cool!

Castle adds the dimension of history to tour. Garden helps to identify and recognize native plants.

I visited only the garden. Very impressed by how beautiful it is. The view into the sea was the highlight of my visit.

Awesome place with a great view of the city, i had a good time here with my friends we took a tour inside the castle after that we went to the coffee shop behind it to have a coffee and relaxing , I recommend this place to visit and spend time to enjoy and go back with the time and see the old decorations of the castle finally for the tickets you can buy them from there and it cost about 40$ for the castle and the garden tour and about 18$ if you want to visit the garden only I don t remember how much exactly but it s nearly to what i said

Such an amazing piece of history. Well worth a visit. A stunning example of our past with beautiful restoration. The effort that has gone into bringing this castle back to its original condition is breathtaking. You won't be disappointed.

Stunning views, a heritage garden that is one of the best in the Southern hemisphere and a restored castle that has been a labour of love for the Barker family for over 50 years. Wonderful events, weddings, balls, conferences in the historic ballroom.

Had a lovely time walking around the garden. The tea and scones were very good.

Gorgeous gardens! A very interesting story and history.

Gorgeous spot. Family friendly. Picturesque 30 min drive from Dunedin.

AN AWESOME TIME THINGED WITH SADNESS WHEN WE LEARNT THE HISTORY

Educational but not as extensive as expected. Much of the castle is restored and a work in progress. The gardens are pretty but the Dunedin Botanic Gardens is probably a more worthy visit.

The story about the castle owner Mr. Larnach was interesting. The castle was beautifuly renovated.

Surprisingly excellent! Wasn't sure what to expect, but the castle was great and the gardens nice too. Worth going to the top of the tower for the view. Restaurant had nice food as well as being in a lovely setting.

It is the only castle in New Zealand and worth visiting to see the history of the place and the Lanarch family, along with captivating views of the peninsula.

I loved this place very much.
A sad story.

Living in a remodeled room, although not a suite, it is warm and comfortable. The breakfast service staff was kind and caring for the reception. Visit around after the meal. Don't miss the tour guide.

Views from rooms are amazing, arrived late so food choices were limited, didnt want to get back in car to travel to find food after long journey to get there . Castle and grounds beautiful and well maintained

Just a ruined castle and nothing spectacular. It is quite pricey too. But the garden is amazing. You have the options to pay just for the garden.

A step back in time when you enter the lovely old house(castle). Cafe serves really nice foods. Enjoyed our visit.

A one of a kind for NZ and a local Dunedin attraction. Started in the very late 1800s and a real story and some history behind the original owners. 3 levels of living areasplus the turret at the top, some gardens to view and all set in 35 acres. A hood place to look through over a couple of hours.

Great place to visit but the weather could have been better.

Nice gardens, however not as impressive as expected - great views back down the harbour.

A must see if you're in Dunedin. NZ's only castle has been beautifully restored and the self guided tour is very well done. Plenty of interesting local and national history on show

I had heard about the "castle" so I took the family for a drive to see it. I knew it was expensive so I wanted to see what we would be spending our money on. I was stopped at the gate and told I could go no further without paying. I wasn't about to fork out my hard earned money without at least a glimpse of what I would be seeing. Do they have set tour times? Do you pay at the gate then do what you want? Do you need to book online since you can drive in without paying? The man on the gate didn't want to help me in any way and told me to turn around and drive out.
The more I think about it, the odder the situation was. I now have no desire to take my family there the next time I'm in Dunedin.

I enjoyed my visit. The history and stories were intriguing and the food nice.

An incredible restoration with Mrs Barker at the helm. Did a private tour here and was well worth it to get so much information about the history of the castle in an incredible location. I thought entry fees were hefty, but after visiting can appreciate the expense to restore and maintain a magnificent landmark for future generations. Go to the top of the turret for a magnificent view. I believe the New Zealand Government doesn't contribute to help with expenses yet Lanarch castle is highly advertised in New Zealand Tourism., maybe the Government should start helping maintain this wonderful masterpiece. Oh, and stop by the ballroom cafe for a bite to eat or coffee, beautiful room, fantastic food.

Very pretty but a bit of a tourist trap. It's not a castle and the price is high. Though still enjoyed it. Not worth it if just going to the gardens

Beautifully restored.
Rich in history.
Very knowledgeable tour guide-Robin

I paid to look through the gardens, and was not disappointed at all. The views are wonderful and the gardens are just beautiful

Too expensive to go into the castle but the native garden self-guided tour was lovely.

They serve good breakfast and good brunch. :) the castle is a big small and not a traditional castle as we imagine. However, it s good to walk around in a nice day.

Nice photos area for the garden and a good place to pop by on the way to the end of the island

Fantastic except for one thing. Buses should not be allowed to stop in front of the stunning castle. A pollution of the Vista and insult to other visitors.

Excellent guide....thoroughly enjoyable experience and beautiful grounds

The story in the castle is very rich and the food in the restaurant is delicious. The location is also great, if you pass by, look good. Do not deliberately go!

There is nothing like traveling the world or being wary of wandering

It's okay to relax and play.
However, if you expect with great expectations, you may be disappointed.
I think it would be better to understand the culture of New Zealand without comparing it with the old castles and gardens in Europe.
Admission is not cheap

Well worth the trip, the view is phenomenal and the gardens are well maintained and worth walking around to see everything

Very beautiful garden area, nice housing and teaches history. Highly recommended!

We stayed at Larnach Castle our first day in New Zealand and loved every aspect of the experience. We got the Lodge Room Package - Queen which included breakfast and self guided tour of the castle. Our room was spotless, had a magnificent view of Otago Peninsula, comfortable bed and beautiful bathroom. We walked around the gardens in the evening which are gorgeous and provided views of Otago Peninsula. The breakfast was excellent we had a choice of an entree plus a buffet of pastries, fruits, yogurt, juices, tea and coffee. The self guided castle tour and gardens was wonderful. Everyone at Larnach Castle was welcoming and helpful.

Great sense of history, and story well told. Would be awesome on a sunny day.

A absolute credit to the restoration of this amazing building and gardens. A must visit.

A truly unique place in NZ, the lavish castle provides insight into the life of the upper class during the late 19th century. The gardens around the castle were the highlight for me with so much variety and kept so well. A must see on any visit to Dunedin

More of a great house than a castle. The gardens are pleasant, and the family history (trans generational suicide!) is certainly interesting. It was quite crowded when we went, so the experience was a bit downgraded because if that. All in all, interesting enough and kudos to the current owners for running such a viable operation, but not an absolute must see in my opinion.

Originally coming from the UK, I would not call this a castle myself. It's more like a Country House. Still it is worth a visit, the grounds and gardens are certainly worth wandering around. It's a shame it rained on our visit, which cut the wandering short. There is a nod to Alice in Wonderland in several spots, if you notice them.

It was nice walking round the house and reading about the family history and it's tragedies that occurred. Great views of the gardens and surrounding area once you climb the narrow twisting staircase to the top of the tower.

We were disappointed that we did not encounter any of the haunting that happens here, not even an orb.

The highlight for us was the wonderful High Tea, staff were friendly, and informative.

Shame about the weather, good excuse to return.

We didn't visit the house, but the gardens are superb, both the planting, layout and views. Well worth the admission price.

Lovely grounds and views. The castle is also worth a look-round.

Didn't go into the Castle unfortunately but the gardens were very nice. The Ballroom Cafe was a great place to have some morning tea, staff there excellent!

Do not recommend this. Views are cool and All but it's too expensive for what it is. Gardens are maintained well but you can walk around in less than 30 minutes.