TripAdvisor posts have rapped Buckingham Palace gardens for among other things "over-priced" food and "rip-off" gift shop "tat".
Many scathing reviews complained of the £16.50 adult entrance price for what amounts to a small roped off area of the site, opened in July, with access to to other parts of the gardens costing extra.
Many were surprised areas including the rose garden and wildflower meadow were off limits unless people paid an extra £6.50 per person for the guided tour, to be booked in advance, with one calling it a "money-making machine".
Guests were left unhappy with their experience, citing overbearing security guards, overpriced food and 'rip-off' gift shop tat as reasons not to go, according to the Mail Online.
The palace website promised visitors the chance to soak up the "beauty and calm of this walled oasis" on a self-guided tour, before enjoying a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to picnic on the lawn".
The 39-acre gardens were opened for self-guided tours and picnics for the first time this summer, after entry into Palace exhibitions was stopped last year.
They feature a 511-foot herbaceous border and plane trees planted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
However punters have been warning guests to away from the attraction after discovering large parts of the gardens were out of bounds and they were not getting what they considered value for money.
A £42 ticket gives a little more bang for your buck for families with up to three children but it doesn't seem to have placated quite a few visitors.
One disappointed guest wrote on TripAdvisor: "Beware of this complete rip-off! I paid £16.50 for access to the gardens only hoping to laze around, see beautiful flowers and trees.
"What I experienced was first a long queue to security check and then seeing a piece of a lawn surrounded by standing stewards watching your every step and ropes segregating rest of the garden.
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"This small fragment of the park that you have access to is easily walkable around in 10 min and nothing is interesting to see there.
"You can't even sit on the lake's bank to watch wildlife because of these ropes everywhere. I am very disappointed and feel robbed by royals."
Another said: "16.50 for access to a small area (took less than half an hour to walk round) with a portacabin serving a few drinks, cakes and sandwiches. Overpriced at that!
"The biggest feature was the shop. Very expensive tat."
One visitor from Stockport commented: "Buckingham Palace has opened its gardens to the public for the first time this year – it really shouldn't have bothered."
Buckingham Palace has been approached for comment.
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