Reviews & Ratings for The Huntington Library

01/17/12

Gardens Need Gardeners

by RealCritic1

Just went January 14, 2012. I've visited the library and gardens every 2-3 years for the past 28 years. Honestly, the gardens look horrible. Don't know if money is an issue but the grass is dead, full of crabgrass, trees are overgrown, plants are dead, debris everywhere. There are a few Home Depot looking flowers planted in small sections, but overall the gardens looks dirty, old, and abandoned. I know there were windstorms recently but not even the major walkways are cleared and cleaned just for appearances sake. Don't go if you want to see the Japanese and Chinese gardens because they are renovating that section and it's closed. Library, paintings, sculptures, furniture, books and everything inside the buildings are beautiful. Outside it looks like the grounds of a haunted mansion.

07/13/11

Beautiful gardens, amazing library collection

by uscfan55

This place is truly fantastic.

The gardens are lovely and range from English to Oriental. They've got rare kinds of cacti and succulents in the Desert Garden. The Lily Ponds are picturesque and there's the cute Chinese Garden Tea House with a decent menu.

The library is wonderful-- and possibly overlooked by many guests who prefer the art exhibits. First editions Chaucer (The Canterbury Tales), Milton (Paradise Lost), Frederick Douglass (Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass), the Gutenberg Bible, etc....

The art exhibits are very nice, although sometimes they can get crowded on weekends. Make sure to check out Gainsborough's "Blue Boy" and Lawrence's "Pinkie" (which happen to face each other from two opposite sides of a room). There are quite a few American pieces (sculptures, paintings, furniture) on display, so it's not all European art in the exhibits.

The parking is free. The entrance fee for students is $10. Not too bad considering we're helping to keep this place open. What an awesome legacy Henry E. Huntington left behind.

07/11/10

Wake up and smell the Magnolias

by socalpocketmemories

They have a FREE day on the first Thursday of the month, but you have to get reservations the previous month which start being distributed on the first day of the month at 9am. They usually distribute quickly so you have to be on time. Then they will mail you the tickets. All for FREE. Parking is FREE too. You can get up to 5 tickets (children don't need one)

I take my 2 year old almost every month (sometimes I don't luck out). We usually go see the Japanese Garden and he loves to look at the fish and ducks. Then we make our way to the Children's Garden. Kind of hard to find. It is behind the Rain Forest Building (you can go through it). Bring swimsuit for kids and shoes that can get wet. They have small water fountains that the kids can play with. He also loves the rainbow tunnel and the musical rocks.

socalpocketmemories.blogspot

12/01/09

Go for the gardens, stay for the tea

by LaMaria

From the chinese watercolor class to fall's Drama After Dark, the Huntington Library is special. The tea room is lovely, but I recommend staying in the room towards the back that faces the herb garden. The front room gets a bit loud at the rose garden tea house.

• Pros: Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
• Cons: Not open at night except for special occasions

01/06/09

Beautiful and Relaxing!

by MNS

The Huntington Library is a beautiful place to visit when you're in the mood for some great scenery and don't want to go far from home. The Gardens are nestled in a San Marino neighborhood, and whether you decide to stroll the gardens, check out the art in the library, or have some tea - you will not be disappointed!

• Pros: Beautiful Gardens, Library and Tea

07/09/08

excellent tea, beautiful sites

by BethDPT

They just opened a new Chinese garden that is spectacular. Their tea continues to go up in price a bit but it is still very worth it. Definitely book in advanced if you're planning on having the tea.

06/12/08

Beautiful gardens all year round

by 80sGalPal

Beautiful gardens and art collection, take a stroll down the rose garden or the japanese garden, you will find a lot of lovely places to explore and quite niches to just sit and enjoy the serenity of the surroundings. Also try the Rose cafe and tea room, it's about $25 for tea, sandwiches and desert, reservations are recommended....Bring a camera!

06/02/08

Beautiful and Expansive with something for everyone

by wam08

This is probably th most impressive garden (or well group of gardens) I have ever been to. The grounds are huge (120,000 accessible acres) and are well taken care of. The have a wide arrange of gorgeous gardens my favorites being the Japenese and desert cactus gardens. The mansion with the art gallery is also very impressive, I was almost more interested in the house than the art. They also had a great bookstore with a selection of books and items I hadn't seen elsewhere. The cafe and tea room are a little pricey, so maybe eat before you some. The membership is a great deal, so check that out if youa re interested in visiting multiple times.

• Pros: Gorgeous grounds, lots of exhibits, great bookstore
• Cons: overpriced cafe

01/28/08

A place the refresh

by tealover7

What lovely memories my dear friends and I have enjoyed in the tea house at the Huntington. The caring staff is superb, over my many visits to the tea house, I have cherished my friends, shared a last tea party with my dear son, and celebrated my daughters birthday. A more delightful place, I know not of.

This is a place to refresh and absorb, in early spring the camilia forest is not to be missed.

09/09/07

Gardens are Spectacular, but the Tea Room is Hardly Worth a Trip, Especially on the Weekend

by ariadreams

My friend and I went today (Sept. 9, 2007) and although we had an AMAZING time enjoying the gardens, we were not at all impressed with the Tea Room.

Sure, there were some lovely sandwiches (my favorite were the salmon on pumpernickel and the parma ham on rye.) And we both enjoyed the Bruschetta, although it tasted suspiciously like Trader Joe's bruschetta. The tarts and brownies were quite yummy, but, the fruit was freezing cold and tasteless.

The teas were boring and bland. I would have liked to have brewed my own, rather than been given tea, pre-brewed and lukewarm. And the service was sub-par. Our waitress hurried us along, barely pausing when we tried to flag her down to ask for a fresh teapot, as ours had become bitter and cold.

One other major complaint - the staff is extremely eager to move the tables along. Maybe this isn't the case on the weekdays, but after about an hour and twenty minutes, we were approached by a staff person and told that we had been sitting there for awhile and that they needed our table for a large party and could we be ready to leave soon? Considering this was a buffet, and that there were SIX EMPTY tables in the room, I hardly thought this sort of rude behavior was necessry.

To be honest, if it weren't for them rushing us out, I probably wouldn't be writing this review. But I found that to be so tasteless and low-class...what a disappointment.

Is it worth the money? Absolutely not. But if you're there, already, and you're hungry for some mediocre food, go for it. It's probably better than the cafeteria.