Larnach Castle Review

Beautiful gardens and views. Have to pay 15$/per person to walk through the gardens. We thought the gardens would be bigger.

what a great place to see and spend time wandering through the magnificent gardens. the house/ castle was so good to see. cafe in the ballroom was a highlight too. great food and what a setting !

The castle is absolutely beautiful and so rich in history. We didn't see the gardens because of the pouring rain but just the interior of thecastle was well worth a visit. What a remarkable restoration project!

Great high tea, delicious tea, lovely good, and a beautiful garden, the smell of the flowers was superb!

Very interesting history and to think that the debate on women getting the right to vote happened in this house.
The view from the tower was amazing, as were the gardens

Thoroughly enjoy great history on property beautiful views gorgeous gardens and nice food great day out relaxing

As someone who loves old castles, I was kinda disappointed... The entrance fee is 34$ which allows you to go to the castle and to the gardens, but there's not much to see really. The view on the top of the castle is nice tho.
I think I'm just spoiled by EU castles.

Beautiful grounds, wonderful tour inside some stunning rooms, nice cafe, well worth a visit great views

If you want to take $ 30 to see a castle then you can just state it somewhere. Like on their website or on some signs before the city or maybe just don't take money for it

This is well worth a visit. Beautiful restoration all done by one family. Lovely scenery and lots of interesting information about the lanarchs. Amazing cafe very fancy.

Great place to visit with good cafe food and drink as well

Very tasty meal
The cake is full of cereal
The other is the sweet and sour feeling
Very suitable for Taiwanese

Interesting history and well worth a visit, views from the tower fabulous.

At first I wasn't sure about the $30 price of admission but once we were on the grounds we knew it was worth it. The castle is just gorgeous and kept in immaculate condition. Every room begs you to take your time soaking in the small details and the sheer amount of work gone into restoration. Once outside, the gardens are amazing, full of winding paths, hedgerows, and thousands of flowers. Be sure to go early to avoid the tour bus crowds

Old world Beauty... The Castle and the views. Stay a while...

The gardens are a plant lovers dream. Beautifully manicured & such a wide variety of plants. The castle & contents were amazing. Not my style of life though.

I love this amazing place with its beautiful style and grandeur but would hesitate to call it a castle, more of a grand house fashioned to be like a castle. William Larnach refered to it as "the camp" which describes it more perfectly, perched on the heights of the Otago Peninsula surrounded by beautiful gardens and the most stunning views. The only down side is the entry price but still a must see.

Stunning views, stunning gardens, stunning castle. Lots to read and learn, and the restorations are fantastic.

Amazing, A definite must see even for locals, great history, beautiful architecture and a abundance of entertaining photos to be taken

I like the feeling of being on the top floor of the castle, seeing the scattered buildings and houses in the distance, showing the development process of the city at different levels. It seems that we can see through the history that early immigrants rushed from the latest confusion to the rich and calm!
If you can carry a high-powered telescope, you can search for some details, rowing anglers, happy people on the yacht, busy port, lush mountains and lazy sheep!
Some brass ornaments and wood carving reliefs in the room will make you like to study history for a long time to stop imagining, this is the charm of the monuments, let the thought gallop!
The original social place of the castle is currently an authentic restaurant. The dining speed is not slow and the taste is good!
If you can book another form of dinner in the old castle, it is a very good lucky choice. You can sit in the restaurant of the year and feel the dim and warm dining feeling of the candle era. Listen to the people in the castle talking about this building. The story that happened here and the horror story about the housewife's soul returning to the castle!
Another characteristic building behind the old castle is the hotel of the old castle. All the styles in the old castle are consistent with the old castle. Looking out of the window, the unparalleled scenery belongs to you alone! It is strongly recommended to stay and feel!
The well-tended gardens and vistas of the old castle add a gorgeous and tranquil feeling to your lens!
The journey from the foot of the mountain to the castle is 15 minutes. There will be two surprises to discover. The lighthouse and the sea views on both sides of the mountain, please pay attention to walking safety! The infinite scenery is in the dangerous peak!

Come and visit, it must be worthwhile!

Great place to go if you are visiting Dunedin. I never thought there would be a proper castle in NZ, it really surprised me when I found out about this place.

It's a bit far from Dunedin city so you would need to hire a car or catch a tour bus. It isn't too hard to find, just follow Portabello road along the peninsula coast and look out for signs to the castle. There is plenty of parking at the castle.
We stayed the night here which was an experience in itself, particularly with the dinner inside the castle (as an added extra). A self-guided audio-visual tour came with the accommodation. The tour took a bit more time but did have really interesting facts about the different rooms and the history of the castle.
Looking around the castle can vary depending on how much time you have, and if you're planning on doing the self-guided tours. The different rooms were all different so it was interesting all the way through. You can also head up to the top of the castle to look out into the peninsula but it was cloudy when we were there. The gift shop is located by the entrance.
The gardens around the castle were also quite interesting to look around particularly with the Alice in Wonderland items. There is also the ballroom cafe on the grounds if you're feeling peckish.
Nice place to spend a morning or afternoon.

Beautiful Scottish Castle! The grounds are gorgeous and the tour (with the $5.00 headset and guide) is wonderful. They have a great cafe as well. Highly recommend going to see this amazing Castle.

Well worth a visit, really interesting to read all the history and see everything through the castle.

Definitely recommended, exquisite panoramic views. Picture yourself moving back in time to the 1860's. Castle restored to its former glory, with very apt informative historical information and guided tours!

Lovely restored castle with ample literature on the history of it, complete with period furniture and costume. Also vat will - kept grounds.

Despite a wet and cool day the castle grounds were still great to wander around and see everything that had changed in the years since I last visited. There have been a lot of changes and a lot more of the plantings are of the hardier type more suited to the local conditions.

The surrounding view indeed a breathtaking experience

We stayed in the stables accomodation (as opposed to the lodge). The rooms are tiny with very low ceilings & shared bathrooms. We were primarily there for the dinner in the castle. The castle & dinner were fantastic, we'll be back. The stables are adequate for basics.

The castle of Larnach will give you a breathtaking view of Dunedin and its surroundings
The gardens on the theme of Alice in Wonderland, are to visit as well as the interior of the castle.
There is also a restaurant with a wooded atmosphere and fireplace unfortunately the food is not exceptional but the visit is worth a visit

Little on the pricey side. We were charged close to $100.00 for 5 people and a car to enter the grounds. Only 3 of the 5 actually went inside to visit the castle. I suppose they have to maintain the place, but if you are a family traveling on a budget be prepared to put aside a bit of cash to visit this place. The grounds are beautiful, lovely to see the native birds, Kereru, Tui, Wax-eyes....these made it worthwhile.

A smiling face on entry would have set the mood nicely!
Many parts of gardens off limits.
Not quite what I expected. Thought added verandas spoilt overall authenticity of castle.
Did like being able to climb up spiral staircase to the turret, worth it for the views. Gorgeous setting.

It was nice to go there and visit, the outside of the castle was just amazing, but as i was walking around the castle looking at the place, i started to feel uncomfortable as i went into some of the rooms, i became hot, short breathe, dizzy, my body became very weak & i got this very unusual sharp pain in my head ... So i left the castle & returned to my car, im glad we had water in the car cos i used my water to bless myself ... overall thoughts, i believe theirs alot of history in that castle ... cheers

The castle is not as beautiful as it is supposed to be, but the top of the mountain is perfect. Listening to the story telling the story of the castle owner, the grievances and wives and wives are no less than the palace fights.

absolutely worth going there! amazing view! must do!

Beautiful building, amazing story. Barker family dedication to renovate the family home. Gardens are a sight to see worth every penny to visit, see and enjoy

No wonder why thus us a major attraction... climb to the top... see for yourself. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Family friendly.

A really beautiful place with so many stories. The restoration work is magnificent. Definitely well worth a visit

The best historic home I have ever visited. Wonderful staff inside and out. We encountered the spirit of the man of the house in a black bird in the garden. Ask the grounds keepers...

Fantastic opportunity to step back in time ans learn amazing facts about the area or Dunedin, family and life in another era

Little bit expensive but it worth! Enjoyed this place

Beautiful gardens outside. Nicely restored spaces on the inside. The tower is worth the climb.

Did a tour, the guide was very knowledgeable. Very interesting.

Great place to visit. The tour of the house is so interesting. The morning tea was very good. Friendly staff.

It was a really great outing. The castle has been done up really beautifully and there's so much history. I would absolutely recommend this, mainly for adults and definitely as part of a tour group so that people can explain the place better. It's pretty eifher way, but I found the stories behind rooms far more interesting

Amazing house and grounds, stunning views. Also loved the story of the family and the stories about the hauntings there. Can't wait to visit again.

Lots of information on a nicely restored castle / family home. Great gardens and superb views from the roof.

I cannot rate the team at Larnach Castle highly enough! We held our daughter's wedding there in February 2013 and the team were extremely professional and supportive, from the time the booking was made a year earlier, until the 'big day'. The whole event just flowed seamlessly, and Michelle in particular was fantastic - she still had a smile on her face seeing the last guests off onto the bus at 12:30pm!

Many of us stayed overnight following the wedding, and the accommodations were also superb, couldn't fault a single thing about the whole experience.

Thank you to the team for an absolutely magic time!!!

We stayed in the stables and the rate included a tour of the property. We also ate dinner that night. The food was good and the experience was very fun (a bit Downton Abbey). Unfortunately, the evening was a spoiled by another guest who required all the attention from the table, which prevented us from sharing the experience with others.

Absolutely beautiful and stunning location. Do not miss a chance for the afternoon tea in the cafe..great value and what a setting!

Lovely spot to visit, tour the castle and the gardens and a nice Cafe.

Nice historic building kept in pristine condition, price was a little steep for me for what you get

This castle was so much better than I expected. Just gorgeous views and very interesting to look through.

Well worth visit. The castle is ok, but the gardens are amazing.

The garden is beautiful, and the castle house has historical reference value.

NZ s only castle. beautiful place to visit and stay. we stayed here two nights and had the dinner there with other guests. nice and special experience. live your life

A beautiful day out with the family. A little touch of royalty hidden away just out of Dunedin. A chance to get in some history and take in the breathtaking views! Enjoy a little walk and take a look inside the castle. Enjoy a meal inside by the fire to top it all off!

It s not the same as the castle in the imagination~ but it s also a place to visit.

We loved our visit to t larnach Castle, it had such a beautiful feeling and is soo well taken care of. Was soo awesome that my children were free as well, such a bonus to the school holidays. Thank yous

It is a more expensive activity, however very enjoyable. Lovely castle and a great cause, restoring NZ history. The information in the booklets and video is educational and interesting. We spent a couple hours here including devonshire tea at the ballroom cafe. Lots of nice slices and baked goods to choose from. The ballroom cafe is a really nice large room with 3 open fireplaces. They have a kids table with dress ups and colouring books/pencils which our little girl appreciated. We were there in winter so I cannot speak too much about the gardens but I'm sure they're stunning in the warmer seasons.

the architecture itself is fascinating but the potable audio guiding got to be improved....

Go go go breaktaking grounds. The castle is absolutely gorgeous in side and out. Take a moment and have a cuppa tea or flat white something to eat maybe. Worth going.

Great tour. Superb High Tea.
Well worth going.
Thank you all.

Arrived in Dunedin mid afternoon so fit this into our tight schedule. Was quite fun to explore NZs only castle. Tickets to Gardens & Castle quite expensive (especially nothing in the garden during winter) but it goes towards the restoration of the place which they have done a nice job of so far. Had a nice coffee and slice inside the Ballroom Cafe. Would say it is nice to do if you have time but not a must-see.