We are 2 old fogies who absolutely loved Luminate last night. We spent over 2 hours there going round slowly and taking photos while people with small children just dashed through. It was extremely cold, and the frozen fountain still running surrounded with icicles was stunning. Lights beautiful, music a bit syrupy. The only food available though was pizza or baked potatoes in the cafe until 7.30pm, not as advertised - but at least it was warm in there. Hot chocolate and delicious mulled wine at the far end of the route, which was a long walk but all illuminated. We took some marshmallows and had fun toasting them at excellent BBQ pits, though we needed our 'phone torch. There was actually plenty of parking opposite on the University site, entrances off Vicarage Road rather obscure, the "marshall" being useless. There are toilets half way round but best to use the ones in the building before you enter Luminate. We arrived at 6.30 and had a lovely evening, suitably dressed (important!).

2 adults and 4 little ones and it cost £95! I was expecting it to be sensational but honestly it was underwhelming and far too busy to have time to enjoy it. The marshmallows should have been included in the price to make up for it. The car park was dangerously dark and didn’t really have much organisation. I love the botanical gardens - I even had my wedding reception here but this was disappointing.

So we went to Luminate Birmingham on Dec 27th, and overall it was ok. There were some lovely aspects such as the talking tree and fairy hologram, and the lights were generally pretty. Some of the set-ups were very nice, but I did feel that for £19.50 each (no concessions) it was a tad expensive. We had one disabled and one over 66 in the party, so I would have expected a bit of a discount for both, but none was available. The best bits were the light tunnel, the moon and the glitter balls with light & smoke, but considering it says there are "interactive" aspects, the only one we found was some stepping stones which change colour, but as my balance is poor I was worried I would slip as the surface was shiny, so I didn't try. Very limited on toilets and concessions on the way round (hot drinks/chestnuts/marshmallows etc) , and disappointingly when we came out about 8.30pm, looking forward to a hot drink, the café had closed! Very short sighted and I think very poor, when people were still coming in to start @ 8pm. Surely you could stay open until 9pm? The retail shop you had to pass on the way out was still open, so why not the café? We had just spent nearly 2 hours in the freezing cold and drizzle, so a hot drink would have been great.

I visited the illuminate at botanical gardens in Birmingham today December 29th 2022. I came with my 2 children age 5 and 8 and partner. We thought the illuminations was amazing. It took us 1 hour to walk around and took our time and took it all in. There was loads of lights and special effects including talking tree. Great time for all ages. One of Highlights of holidays. Only Negatives is lack of communication. Firstly car parking I rang botanical gardens today before going luckily. I was told on phone that car park is for disabled badge holders only. I could park in school next door. However if I didn’t call know this. Lastly when we arrived we waited in reception where others was waited. There was no worker at reception desk. I asked parking attendant who was walking through reception where worker was. He said have walk to back car park where entrance was. No signage and others then followed where we went. I told other people when I was leaving who done same thing waited in reception. Overall had lovely time. Things staff need work on communication which is key.

The gardens were beautiful and it would be nice to return to see again in a few months when more plants and trees will be flowering. Following our walk around the gardens we thought we would treat ourselves with lunch. This was very disappointing and felt more like a canteen with pre-packed sandwiches. We ordered two tea's and jacket potatoes, one with tuna mayo and the other with baked beans. I checked with the staff member if it came with salad and the reply was yes, it was also advertised on the board. I paid and was presented with 2 cups each with a tea bag and hot water in and a jug of semi-skimmed milk, the preferred skimmed milk was UHT not fresh. Then wondering how I was going to carry it I was told where I could get a tray, this felt very much like a canteen. The jacket potatoes arrived we were very disappointed, they appeared as they had been warmed up as not crispy skins and not fluffy potato inside and also not very hot . The salad on the side was a bunch of mixed leaves without any dressing. It felt as though a bag of mixed leaves had been opened and put on the plate. I would describe this as 'mixed leaves', not a salad . No tomatoes, cucumber, onion just leaves. No dressing. We ended up getting sachets of vinegar, mayo, pepper, salt and even tartare sauce to add some flavour to the leaves. We would have enjoyed a pot of tea and crispy jacket potatoes. Both my husband I felt deflated after a lovely walk around the gardens.

Visited this week . What a shame, It’s been a while since we’ve visited the gardens. Okay, it’s the wrong time of year to see an abundance of flowers, but we were both struck by how run down everywhere looked. Lawns looked unkempt. Weeds everywhere and glasshouses in dire need of renovation. The whole place looks like they’ve ignored maintenance for too long. A better experience is to go to Winterbourne Gardens.

It truly was a beautiful place. Not one area I didn't feel so connected to nature. However as much as the venue is amazing the housekeeping side is not. As a disabled toilet user I found all the disabled facilities dirty and without toilet paper. They should use radar keys stops kids going in and peeing everywhere. Also the cost usually it's great less that 10 pound per adult. But the events bump up the prices that are non negotiable even if you are not taking part. when I went today with my husband we paid extra because of a dinosaur experience that we could not do as adults they were puppets but the staff were only allowing children to engage with the puppets so if that's the case why charge extra for adult tickets, why not just double child tickets instead. Also it's not well sign posted. So I rated them 3 stars. I will give them a chance and try again on a non event day. Hopefully be worth the expense then.

car park a bit small but we got a space. paid entry fee and in we went. looked at some interesting indoor plants went out into gardens. looked at birds in aviary and then onto the small butterfly bit. info on plants and trees all the way round and lots of memorials that i think you can buy if want one. this is not a huge place and can be walked round fairly quickly but it's good to take time and examine whats there and read the info cards i would recommend bringing a picnic on a nice day in order to spend a little more time there and there is a play area for kids too. it's nice. being out of town i wouldn't return as i've now seen it and it's not that amazing i would want to return. i do appreciate the hard work put in by the team who work here to keep it in such good shape. can't be easy....... a nice place close to city centre.

We went to the garden in the afternoon and it was a good visit. It starts off with a section that houses different plants in different climatic conditions. Quite nice if one hasn't been to other parts of the world. Thereafter there is a restaurant, a large garden, and further down, an aviary. There are not too many birds. Further down there is a butterfly garden where one can enter and see the butterflies at close range. I must say though that while there are different colored butterflies, the variety is definitely lesser than what one could see at the Singapore butterfly centre.

Gardens are lovely with some spectacular trees. There's an alpine area, ferns, cacti, tropical house to name a few. The aviary is closed but you can see the birds flying around. It's a lovely way to spend half a day. The cafe is good value and you can sit outside. Payment is by card only. For the cafe, the entrance fee may be card only as well. I had trouble reading some of the information boards as they've faded in the light. If you come by tram (and a tourist), you'll need Google maps (or equivalent) so allow around 15 mins walk to get to the gardens, I ended up going through a car park and the university grounds! There's plenty of seating around the grounds to shelter from the sun or enjoy the view.