Tourists Review "Overrated" Buckingham Palace on Tripadvisor: "Will Complain to King Charles

The iconic United Kingdom landmark Buckingham Palace left a tourist disappointed and consequently, she wrote a scathing review on Tripadvisor. It's not every day that you are fortunate to visit an internationally admired site with an abundance of historical significance. However, a disgruntled tourist labeled the palace "ugly and overrated." 

Mira H, who visited in April 2023, ranted, "We only visited from the outside and I'm not going to lie, it was pretty lame and kind of ugly. It does not look like a palace at all, there are more beautiful-looking buildings around London that look more like a palace than this place." She further complained of it being crowded, "It was too crowded, making it very hard to take good pictures," adding, "I thought it was very boring." 

Meanwhile, another review by Ankita S read, "Terrible, terrible, terrible!" She also cited that her trip was spoiled by the security guards of Buckingham Palace. "After traveling halfway across the globe to witness the grandeur of Buckingham Palace, we were met with incessant badgering from overly zealous security guards during our tour of the staterooms," as per The Mirror. 

In fact, she went as far as to file a complaint to King Charles about the harassment in the name of security, "Despite repeated explanations that my bag was essential, I was hounded at every nook and corner! Their constant nagging ruined what was supposed to be a delightful experience. I will lodge a complaint with King Charles himself!" 

MrWong1, another disappointed tourist, echoed the same experience, "Very underwhelming. Had to look from outside. Can't personally see the attraction. I came from another part of the UK and added this as part of the sightseeing as the kids wanted to do it. Personally would feel disappointed if I travelled from abroad to see it." 

However, a handful of tourists contradicted the critics and shared their once-in-a-lifetime experience of visiting the royal residence. For instance, a Tridadvisor user Gretel from New York wrote, "Buckingham Palace was cool to visit, and I'm glad I got to experience it. It's undoubtedly iconic, and one must certainly tick it off their London bucket list." 

Similarly, Travel25346533585 was in awe of the royal palace's classic architecture, "Pure Class and Elegance. England knows how to put on Grandeur. We even witnessed the famous Changing of the Guards." It even advised people to visit with "comfortable shoes and bring water." 

Buckingham Palace underwent as many changes as the late Queen Elizabeth's reigning years. The site was constructed in 1703 for the first Duke of Buckingham and Normanby and has been remodeled multiple times. In 2018, the first leg of renovations began at a reported cost of around $500 million, as per Architectural Digest.

The 2016 Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme Summary Report stated, that since, "The Palace's electrical cabling, plumbing, and heating have not been updated since the 1950s, in the aftermath of the Second World War, the building's infrastructure is now in urgent need of an overhaul to avoid the very real danger of catastrophic failure leading to fire or flood."