Reviews of Drayton Hall (Tourist Attraction)

Fog x Zeus

Wow, this place is absolutely awesome!! The tour guide truly knew the history on this home, the family, slaves, and area, not just a script. The home is completely in it's original condition, no electricity or plumbing, so no air conditioning. Absolutely a fantastic experience and WELL worth the money!!! If you are in the Charleston area, do not miss this one!

Barbara Maha

Beautiful historic spot. I got some great photos of the grounds. Nice welcome center with small museum and cafe. We did the walking tour. Excellent guide, very knowledgeable.

Brother Vince

Nice place to enjoy family time

Reed Welch

My wife and I were pleasantly surprised, since visiting a preserved plantation was the experience we were searching for. We were able to see the transformation from it’s origins in 1738 up until today, and were amazed that it was in such good condition. The history provided during the tour was enlightening and not something one might gain through classrooms. The guides were very informative and easy to interact with.

David Davis

Drayton Hall delivers serious history. Unlike many other area plantations, Drayton Hall is not restored and appointed with Antebellum furniture and artifacts. Rather, the house is empty and in a largely unrestored condition that may appeal to those interested in architectural history. Be aware that as a historic building, there is no heat or air conditioning, and some of the stairs are tall and steep. The site has knowledgeable docents who provide tours and can answer questions about the estate's lengthy history. They do not gloss-over the history of slavery at the site, and in fact integrate the subject throughout tours. At the time of writing this, there is a project to construct a new visitor center underway.

Bonaventure Cemetery Journeys

Things have changed here. I confess to being spoiled by the place when little blue haired ladies ran place and you could wander the house as you pleased like rest of grounds. Which this would've bothered me less had they been more clear when charging the whopping $32.00 a head with no one specifying, not even in their printed literature, that you could wander the grounds self guided but not the main house. When we got to the house a tour was inside but confusion grew when we saw ropes were blocking stairs with no signage. Our logical thought was to attempt to engage the tour inside but as we tried we were RUDELY chided by a staffer like children. Too bad, a little inquiry goes a long way in customer service and even after trying to explain our side of things it didn't seem to much matter. No tone of, "you can put your tickets towards a future tour" or "let's see about a refund." Nothing of the kind. "Beware of Alligators" signage may be the property's least issue as they were actually friendlier.

Bryan Terhune

Fun day all around... Make sure to make time to walk around the lake to see dozens of alligators. Many were 8 feet and larger!

Cathy Dukes

Nothing really to do except the hour long house tour. Original house but just the shell. Nothing inside. No cafe'. This Plantation needs more to do. Pricy for what they offer.

Justin Chambers

Dont ever come to this place!!! Overpriced I got a partial refund and left. It may be the oldest unrestored plantation house in existence but the family isn't intresting in the slightest. Waste of time. Go to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello or Franklin Roosevelt's place on Campobello Island. Or go here if you actually enjoy hearing about obscure forgotten families from history.

George Briggs

Fan tastic!!!!

Doug Angle

The plantation tour ticket gets you a tour of the house (as well as the ability to walk around the grounds on your own, but it didn’t really seem like you needed a ticket for that). They have some marked locations around the grounds, identifying where things used to be, but apart from some brick foundations, it’s kind of just a nice nature walk. The house tour was the clear highlight. The tour guide was a very sweet grandma who was very knowledgeable about the house itself and the members of the Drayton family. Seeing the unrestored interior of the house was really cool, since it actually feels like it’s old, as opposed to some other highly restored old building museums.

Bryan Earls

Such a rich history, and the scenery is absolutely serene to the point of bordering the surreal.

Elizabeth Craswell

My grandma is related to the Draytons....far down the line, but it was still super cool to see all of the history.

Kim Dahl

We enjoyed our visit and liked our tour guide. We especially enjoyed the tragic discussion about how slaves were transported by ships to the USA.

Kasey Harwell

Excellent tour guide Annika knew her stuff and very well spoken. Loved the old house

Sandi C

This Was The tour I was looking for. Loved the original structure, didn't care if it wasn't furnished. The grounds are beautiful. Take a walk over to the reflecting pond, look for the gators. Take a walk back to the river.

Shaun Gebo

What a wonderful visit and tour. Not my kind of thing but the wife wanted to do it. I ended up really enjoying it

Erica Gottlieb

Knowledgable, thoughtful volunteers and important history.

Lisa Heinrich - Estabrook

Great house tour and gift shop.

Brian Fuhrmann

The "mansion" tour was fair at best. I would not go back again. About 25% of the tour was spent listening to rules about where to stand, where not to stand, and how to walk on the stairs. Another 25% was hearing about if you join some club you can get a "free" rice spoon. More time should be spent on history.

Michael Naish Jr

I highly recommend this location. It has been preserved not restored. It is well worth the drive from Charleston. The historic significance of the house is nearly overwhelming.

Joanna Page

Very disappointing. The house is so run down there is hardly any history preserved as claimed. You are not allowed to see all the rooms and it's completely empty. Also no history of what happened there... Let's be honest we all want to hear about Lord Cornwallace commandeering it! Not worth your money- save it and go elsewhere for the true experience.

Terry Rhinebold

So much history especially African American history.

Alfred Davie

Historic setting, plantation lifestyle

David G. Vanderstel

A family favorite. We visit each time in Charleston. Impressed by the new visitors' center and museum. Always a quality visit. A "must go."

Robin Ziebert

Although some people are reportedly put off by it's lack of furnishings, I found that element a plus. Without the distractions, you are able to truly focus on the architectural elements such as the incredible hand carved trim work. The depth of the three dimensional carvings over the doorways and along the cieling are breath taking. The slavery presentation was short,but sensative and well done. I'd definitely recommend Drayton Hall over the more tourist and money oriented plantations in the area.

Scott Farrar

My favorite house to tour in Charleston! Live that it is preserved but not restored.

Charles van Sens

Nice park But no information about the topic of slavery at all Just talked about which colors had the walls of the house..

Dakota Swart

We had a great time visiting Drayton, our tour guide was very informative. It’s definitely worth paying extra for the full tour through the home.

Luke Coomer

Amazing attraction. Beautiful scenery. Very informative tours of this historic, well preserved plantation home.

Jeffery Hood

Beautiful place

Jason B

This place is amazing, if you want to step back in time, and see a plantation house that has been untouched this is it!!! Loved the tour, and the staff was very knowledgeable.

Jef Smith

Beautiful place

Rob Baker

Pros: the super nice lady at the ticket gate, the 60-minute guided tour of the main house, the views by the Ashley River Cons: the $32 ticket price, the apathetic/uppity/unfriendly white women working inside (including in the gift shop), the absolute lack of instruction/direction/friendliness while waiting for the house tour to begin Apart from my interaction with the very friendly lady at the main ticket gate, I felt very unwelcome here. The employees were simply at work. It felt very cold and corporate. The overall experience was very disappointing to me. I was most happy to leave. I visited on October 16, 2018, from about 1:30 to 4:00.

Bobby L.

Special place to be.

Michelle Dawes

Beautiful house, wonderful tours. They are going through construction now, so the parking lot and some other areas are a little messy, but I believe it will be finished soon.

Kathi Hill

The river view is nice. Some of the trails were overgrown, the movie didn't work, lots of mosquitos, the staff was not helpful. Worst of all the ones we went to.

Ramona Wolf

So much history. Building and grounds are beautiful. Very peaceful. Highly recommend.

Amy Larkins

Loved this entire experience

Pavel Kipan

Nothing really to do there. Boring empty house tour about poor history of the plantation for extra money. Thousands insects around which are going to bite you during walk in the park. No restaurant or cafe. Extremely overpriced tickets.

The Traveling Shintoist

Cool place and very informative.

Daniel Chamberlin

Drayton Hall. Built in the 1740s, the house was used as a primary residence by John Drayton and later by his third son, Charles Drayton. Their descendants continued to own the house until the 1970s when it was purchased by the National Trust. This property was one of several plantations owned by John Drayton, but as the primary residence it was a self-sustaining plantation and not a producing plantation for the most part. The number of enslaved Africans and African Americans in the 18th century numbered between 60-70 (I can’t quite recall the exact number, and maybe some of you might be able to correct me on that). It is believed that John Drayton was his own architect. Though not much is known about his education, he did posses a significant number of volumes in his personal library. The house is pretty spectacular, in part because it was never retrofitted with modern technology. No electric, no plumbing, nothing. It is nearly intact in its original state, with, of course, several layers of paint applied to different surfaces throughout the house over the years. Our guide did an excellent job of illustrating how the family and their enslaved servants lived and interacted within the house, and juxtaposed their lived experiences, which all took place on the same site — white and black, free and enslaved, powerful and powerless — without being pedantic or too exhaustive. (Her name was Melanie, so ask for her if you visit.) Here are some images that I thought were worth sharing from my visit there. One picture in particular is that of a brand owned by the Drayton family with which they would brand their human property. A reminder that much of what we have in this country was built upon the lives of others who were not given the choice to participate in the building of this country. I’m so glad to see more and more house museums and historic sites go in the direction of inclusivity. The interpretation of history should reflect all people, all backgrounds, and all possible perspectives.

Joseph Kurilecz

Wonderful visit to this plantation. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable in the history of the home and grounds. I would recommend this to everyone to visit next time your in Charleston. My wife and I really liked that we can walk around the entire ground by ourselves. The house tour was guided and was very informative. The only downside was that there was no furniture in the house. But that did not take away the fact it was an informative period house.

Jon Beasley

Stabilized per National Trust requirements...not restored...not decorated...not furnished. Rooms are empty and untouched since the Trust took over. The result is a study of 18th and 19th century design and architecture....the first Palladio-inspired home in North America... impressive.

Tara Neltner

The property and grounds are beautiful, however for the price of admission it is not worth the time. The tour guide while giving some knowledge of the property and history mostly focused on justifying why the house was not restored and only preserved. The entire staff was also militant about the "rules" for the property. The list was endless; only stand on rugs, never touch the walls- must remain 3 feet from any wall or surface, only use certain hand rails, must walk up the stairs single file leaving 3 steps in between each person, no lingering in rooms, must keep up with the group. There is a lot that could be done with the tour to make it interesting. Treating us like we were untrustworthy 3 year olds did not endear us to the property or its preservation.

Scott Ambler

Beautiful plantation. Our guide was outstanding. Make sure you visit the caretakers cottage

Escobaria Gracilis

Nice old plantation off the Ashley river road. The house is interesting to visit and is quite big. The grounds are not as nice as the other plantations but still beautiful.

Matt

One of the best tour guides I've ever had, but I can't remember the young man's name. The house was great and educational. I also enjoyed how it was more of a preserved home and less restored or altered like alot of the other plantations are.

Steve Cloyd

Awesome history. Amazing how original everything is. Well worth a visit and tour.

Zoe Mossberg

Great place to visit. House tours are full of great history. Lots to see and do.

Marcus Pinckney

place smell like a garbage truck

Levonne Otter

Awesome

Addis Urena

The grounds and home are beautiful. The best part was how Mack, the tour guide is so knowledgeable and entertaining. Everything is setup nicely and preserved. Great future plans.

Marcellin Kopandru

One of best plantations I have visited, along with Whitney plantation in Wallace, LA. The introductory discussion was a great to establish connection, and to educate tour takers. Highly recommend!

Chris Godin

So much fun with the kids! Beautiful scenery and some great history lessons!

Galen Grimm

If you want to see a mostly all original house, this is for you. we had a VERY good tour guide so that made it very interesting, but nonetheless if you like historic houses this is a good one, although it wast real big

Patrick Flowers

I a kid and i went drayton Hall. on a. Field trip in pepperrhill i love it

Bill King

Original House

abbie brown

Awesome! I'm 25 and my husband is 27 and we love plantation homes. This one just blew our minds with the history, looks, and what it was used for. Great information, learned something new.

Blake Beers

Fantastic preservation of an important plantation in the history of one of Charleston's most important planter families. Beautiful new visitor's center with a fine orientation film, a few select pieces if furniture, a nice cafe and clean restrooms.

Rex Brown

Fascinating unrestored example of American life from another time. Even a walk of the grounds is interesting.

Robert Polhemus

Nice historical plantation from the days of harsh slavery and much more. Take the to our of the Last remaining Restored Mansion since thee old plantation days

Sam Adams

What a great piece of history. Tour was outstanding. Grounds were beautiful!

Beau NESTOR

Difficult to rate as this is a place of immense sadness and despair. While the guided tour was very informative about the building and the former owners, the real ( and skipped over) story is about the multi generational suffering at the hands of the plantation owners. The National Trust is preserving the home in it's current state, but I cannot help but think this should be a monument to the slaves that made the fortunes of the plantation owners and the whole state of South Carolina. This reminded me that the US economy was actually based on human trafficking.

Maddison MacDonald

Amazing piece of history. If you are visiting SC I highly recommend adding this to your list of things to do!

Myrtle Vaughn

I enjoyed the tour though at times was rather underwhelmed. Would have liked to see more of the house. It was sad to see the disrepair due to a will preventing repairs? (This part of the tour was confusing, it seemed odd to prevent repairs but leave it to be toured as a historical building)

John Fulton

Wonderful, knowledgeable tour guide. Very enlightening experience.

Christine Catanzariti

The one star is not for the attraction. It’s for Google. I feel like the closing time should be edited to 3:30, not 5:00. They close the gate at 3:30, once you are inside they permit you to stay until 5:30. It is 100% my fault for skimming the website. I just want to save someone the disappointment of driving there at 3:30 and being denied entrance 1.5 hours before closing.

Heather Eggert

Breathtaking beauty & interesting history. A little expensive for the short tour of the house. $32 for adults seemed high to me.

Lawrence Jay

This place is amazing. The history is mind blowing. You will have to come and experience this breath taking place before U die. Words can't describe.

Dave Dowling

Amazing architecture, all created by hand, hundreds of years ago, without power tools, or trips to Home Depot.

cynthia suggs

Fun experience and a great place to visit

R. Scott Herron

Enjoyed seeing a house of this era in a preserved state versus restored state.

Robert Gradous

Well worth the trip.

Anthony Nephew

The place is great but the custodian is very rude

Gregory Richardson

Overall I would not recommend visiting Drayton Hall. The prices are quite high ($22 per adult). For that, you get a talk about the property and history, most of which they admit they don't known if the facts are true and verifiable. After, you get to go on an agonizingly slow tour of the house, room by room, where the quite points out mundane facts, like the mantle and shelf above it were not installed in the same year. Another fun fact is the ceiling is the third one installed. You get the gist, very dry and boring. Additionally, only the main house remains. The two flanking houses as shown in the pictures were demolished or destroyed after storms and an earthquake. My recommendation is to skip Drayton Hall and just visit Magnolia Gardens down the road.

Mark Jordan

Beautifully preserved, not restored home in a wonderful setting with lots of history.

Emy Loo

Loved going and seeing Drayton Hall excited to see the new education centre up and running

Jason Eoff

Great history and tour!

Chad Wagner

Very beautiful place, but beware that the house is devoid of any furniture and no air conditioning (if you are visiting in warmer months).

David Skeldon

Unfortunately they were closed for renovations when we arrived, but we still got to see many of the beautiful grounds.

Lisa B

Seeing the original building was very interesting.

Heather N

This is a neat plantation to see, beautiful grounds. You are not going to see all that you see at Magnolia or Boone hall, but it's still pretty neat to see.

Jessie Nickelson

I enjoyed the House tour and getting the chance to see the all the original details of it. I also enjoyed the building where all the furniture and other Drayton Hall items are located. There are so many things to read about in this room as well. This is such a historic home with so many things to learn and discover. A big thanks to Amanda, our guide. She was friendly, informative, and very passionate about her job!

Todd Fraser

Well kept. Great site for history buffs

Blake Lewis

Drayton Hall is one of the "best kept secrets" of the Charleston, SC area. This Plantation is quite unique for the fact that it is still the original structure; having survived General Sherman's March to The Sea during the Civil War. (It was built in the mid 1700's) The location is run by very knowledgeable curators, who will share with your the rich history of the grounds and home itself. The tour is very laid back and you're allowed to walk through the home itself. The most interesting part of this plantation tour is that nothing on the inside of the home has been updated. The paint that you see, is the original paint from long-long ago. The grounds are a bit of a bonus when visiting this place as well. The ponds out front are beautiful and if you keep your eyes open, you may even be lucky enough to spot an Alligator or two. Keep in mind that they do have an early closing time for their gate to get inside the grounds.

Carol Baer

It my favorite place go when I'm in Charleston I love to see nothing I have not

Anthony Muljadi

Absolutely not worth the entry...

james w

First time back since 1979! Preservation spoke for its self! The place is amazing ... I loved the new addition of the shops and museums! The tour guide was awesome and she actually enjoys what shes does which makes a world of a difference!

Marc Henrion

Very cool to see historical preservation as opposed to restoration.

justin lowe

It is nice to see a preserved plantation with original paint on the walls guide was great Evey room had a place to sit and fans which my pregnant wife much appreciated this was my favorite house I visited

Barbara Gifford

What beautiful architecture! I love the fact that this plantation is preserved in its original condition. There aren't many museums that can make that claim. The staff is very knowledgeable about the history and make the tours very interesting. We were so very pleased that we stopped here!

Claire Crawford

We loved Drayton Hall! It is a fine piece of history that has been preserved rather than restored. I actually prefer this. Restorations and replicas are beautiful, but they are not authentic. Drayton has been kept in its original state, so there are no modern amenities like air conditioning, electricity, running water, or elevators. It can be hot during the tour since there is no air conditioning, but again, it’s authentic. Our guide was knowledgeable about the history of the house and family. Overall, it’s exactly what I wanted to see- a real plantation home that is as close to original as possible.

Rachel Spohn

Incredible. From the preservation to the presentation of this plantation’s history, everything is so well done. I wanted something different (read: doesn’t feel like a tourist trap) and Drayton Hall delivered. The house tour was thoughtful, our guide informative and passionate, and afterward we were allowed to wander the grounds. Didn’t feel monitored or closed up. We ended up exploring Drayton over an hour longer than intended. It’s that special. Entry fee is steeper than most but the website offers a discount if you book directly, so it ends up being the same or cheaper than other, less evocative plantations. If you have time to visit one estate on your trip, make it this one. I hope to return, maybe when they have the cafe up and running more. Right now it’s a little bare bones, not really a place to plan on for lunch.

Kelli Coppieters

Absolutely beautiful. The new visitor center is really nice with some artifacts from the home itself. The history is well worth learning. A must see.

Chaz Henderson

Zack was very knowledgeable during his presentation about slavery. The tours ran pretty close together so there was some waiting for the group ahead of us to finish up before we could proceed. Overall, a great place to learn about the plantation history of Charleston.

Ryan Ket

Wonderfully done. Great to see all the new additions to the grounds. Nice perspective of the house.

Jessica Rabbit

This was actually my 2nd trip to this place. There has been several improvements the gift shop is new there are new buildings on the grounds. Everything looks amazing as usual the grounds are kept. I wish I could live on this place. The house has so much history if these walls could talk I can only imagine

Diana Warren

You can go to plantations and walk around and see the “new” gardens they have planted and the replica of a Plantation house or you can come here and see reality. This plantation house was built in the 1750’s and is still today as is was. Still no running water or electric lights. Walls, ceilings and floors are as they were then other then what had to be repaired for safety reasons which is minimal. We spent about 2 hours on sight with an air conditioned museum and self walking tour of out buildings taking about half of the time. We spent and hour in a group of about 15 with a guide that truly new the history, tools us to all 3 levels of the house and answered every question thrown at her.

Robert Malloy

A wonderful experience. Drayton Hall is wonderfully preserved!

Andrew Fertig

Just okay. Wife dragged me here and I had been on a few other mansion tours. This one however focuses more on preservation instead of restoration, so the inside of the house is run down, paint peeling, hard to get an exact idea of how lavish the lifestyle was. Grounds seem nice, but we weren't interested in walking around after the house was kind of a let down. Not worth the cash IMO

Lisa Carr

Loved seeing and touring the house and old cemetery. Amazing stories of this century old Plantation and how it came to be and how it has survived.

Dominic Agnelli

Very knowledgeable guide

Brandon Reid

Drayton Hall has done an incredible job in recent years adding a new visitor center, in 2018, that displays some artifacts, shows a short film about the history of the plantation, and has a cafe and gift shop. The house is considered the first and one of the best examples of Palladian architecture in North America. The house is empty and allows visitors to appreciate all the intricate details that makes this place different than other plantations in the area. Another important difference is that Drayton Hall addresses slavery in more direct way than others. If you are looking for beautiful gardens this is not the place to go, however, if you are interested in seeing incredible architecture and a more honest account of history then Drayton Hall is well worth your time and money.

Sabrina Matthews

Great tour and grounds. Beautiful storytelling of our history.

Fabio Benassi

Nice settings close to Ashley River and ponds; beautiful house but with no furniture.

Khaled Rahhal

Well kept and preserved historic house, defeintly worth the visit.

Steven White

Great location, setting, and atmosphere. This mansion is tucked away on the Ashley river and remains mostly untouched since the original days. While I don't think this experience will blow you away, it is definitely something you should see and experience while in Charleston. Very picturesque.

Travis H

One of the true plantations around Charleston. TONS of history, mostly untouched. Kids may find it a little boring.

Trudi Dyer

Unique experience the staff friendly. The house in its state was interesting.

Kyle Brynjulson

An amazing piece of preserved history. Took the guided tour inside of the house and it was well worth it.

Lori Forrest

Lovely old house, it's sad to see it in decline.

Mark Badgett

Drayton Hall is a must if you are visiting the Low Country.Fine example of Palladian architecture. ☆☆☆☆☆

Ray Rodgers

Cool place. Great tour

Jhony Nelson

Nice place to visit

Curtis Adams

A great tour of the house with a knowledgeable and polished guide. There was also a lecture that day on the slave trade with a focus on its impact both local and national. Don't skip the film prior to the tour.

Backpackerwdogs 1

Nice place to visit. Very historical.

Johny Johnson

We took the house tour and it was well worth it. The house is empty but the guide gave a lot of history and info, compared to the cost of tours at Middleton, Drayton was definitely worth the cost! The grounds don't have the gardens like Middleton but it was great to see the preservation of the original plantation.

Birdie K

Very informative information on the building and all the things that went on. Great place to learn.

Bill Gately

We had a great time and the tour guide was excellent

Seldom Scene

What does one do with the very old family home that would require a king's fortune to restore? You make it an historical attraction and charge admission! Very interesting for history buffs.

Michele Thurman Cheatham

Exquisite. Don't miss it.

Bill Reynolds

I have been planning to go here for at least the the past 20 years, but finally went here yesterday. I had watched the North and South TV miniseries the night before, and Drayton Hall was the home of David Carradine in the miniseries. So I was in Charleston yesterday and decided to go by the house and it exceeded my expectations. They had a great lecture prior to the tour of the house and I learned a lot of information about the Antebellum South. Highly recommend a visit.

BRENDA J. PEART

I always enjoy the Chrismas Spirituals with Ann Caldwell & The Magnolia Singers!

Mike Walker

Mack was a great tour guide. He's 5 stars for sure. The actual Drayton House is amazing too. The grounds, while sparse in comparison to some of the other plantations was still beautiful. When they finish their expansion in the coming months I'm sure it will be 5 stars. Definitely a must do!

Brian Horton

The history is just crazy

Brian Broadus

One of the finest houses in North America. It shows the exalted taste and time of one man and likewise his legacy, all explained as built on the fruits of slave labor.

Patricia Landry

Very nice!

Gus Weidner

Authentic. No indoor plumbing nor electricity. Also no furniture. Gives a real glimpse of what a plantation house was like several hundred years ago.

Stan Orlowski

Excellent place to visit. Everyone was so nice and our tour guide was very knowledgeable. Great place.

Jerome Elliott

Loved our tour with Patty! Interesting Historical information

Ginger Smith

Love history

Michele Hajek

Preservation trumps restoration every time!

John McAllister

Drayton Hall is a wonderful exam of historic preservation, rather than restoration. The history of the property is amazing, with English armies using it as a major headquarters during the Revolution, then with slavery, and also during the Civil War.

Dane Schmick

Drayton Hall is a beautiful structure that is a do not miss for architecture and history buffs, as well as people that want to feel like they are stepping back in time when they enter the house. It truly is something special. One of my top things to see in South Carolina

Robert Taylor

Great tour if you like to hear the history of the property. Not restored but that is kinda the point of Drayton Hall

Rachel Yantis

Drayton Hall is unique in that it is the only colonial era plantation home to ever be fully preserved by the national trust for historic preservation. The Home is the same as it was in 1974 when the Drayton family sold it to the trust, the paint has been maintained by a glue mixture being sprayed on it, and the graffiti from the last break in before the sale can still be seen. It is a prime example of palladian architecture and while the home is empty, it is possible to envision the way it would have impressed in its hay-day while on the tour. The new (finished in 2018) visitor center/museum/education center is informative and contains a few of the artifacts from the home that the Draytons has provided over the years. There is still room for more growth in the exhibits but if you like preservation, Drayton hall will not disappoint.

Emily D

Gorgeous wedding venue and historical museum. Sprawling immaculately landscaped grounds with water views on all sides.

Dieter Smith

Great tour guide, great history and good for kids aswell

Audra Tekell

Very interesting. We had a great tour guide, young man and very knowledgeable. He DID NOT like stupid questions or "know it alls". Our tour, of course, had both. The tour was very informative. The grounds are beautiful. Keep in my this is preservation. They are not trying to restore it to the grandeur of old, but rather keep the family's wishes of preserving the house. There are no furnishings. Would be 5 stars but they made my dad pay full price even though he was only going to be sitting in the car with the sleeping 1 year old. That's ridiculous. If you are not going to tour the grounds or house, there should be a nominal "entrance fee" of something like $5 or $10, not $32.

Nancy Williams

Beautiful property....home kept in original condition as much as possible. Fascinating!

Gretchen Henderson

Absolute must see! Historic and beautiful!!!

Sarah Jump

This venue was very appealing and it was so nice to visit a venue that has actual history and hasn't been torn down because the real estate is more valuable. Loved the rooms and the history of the home. I just hope in years to come that this is still standing. The building is showing signs of disrepair and as this is donation funded it's going to cost millions of dollars to fix. Out of all the people who visited in our group, we were the only ones who became members. Membership helps contribute towards the many donations which are needed. The house does not have any furniture in and is in fact empty. You can take photographs which I liked. Boone Hall being one where photographs are not permitted. The guide was very informative and knowledgeable and did not crack crappy jokes which gave me comfort in that he knew his stuff. Did notice a number of fire ant mounds around the property which was a little worrying. And the do have the sentricon bait system around the property so at least they are protecting against termites. Will visit again in years to come and will be interesting to see any changes.

Michael Quilliam

Absolutely gorgeous and very knowledgeable guides. Definitely a good day trip

hitops61

I've been to a few plantations and they're all differ according to the region of the country and the type of business conducted. Drayton is an example of antebellum architecture with European influences. Drayton is part of the national trust, who is trying to preserve the plantation. They're not restoring the house to it former glory; their mission is to preserve the history so that the average visitor can appreciate the state of the house and how it came to be.

Matthew Flannery

Pretty steep entry fee for an empty house under heavy construction. Definitely an interesting place, but felt a bit misled on its condition.

Charlie S

It was nice to see an original plantation house rather than a replica. The family and National Trust have done well to maintain the building and the guide who conducted the tour was knowledgable and friendly.

John McRae

I took membership at this place in 2018, and am glad I did. They have done a great job in preservation and docents do a terrific job. The new visitor center was well done and an exhibit hall is attached. Your membership gets you a lot and each time I return I learn something new. Research still continues there.

jrglenn2

This place was exceptional. Great grounds, unrestored (pure) plantation home, and the guide was really on top of her stuff and painted a tremendous picture of what plantation life was actually like.. Very informative even for a history teacher.

Jenny Turner

Open discussion of economics of dlavery

Mary Grace Estacio

Nicely preserved plantation with lovely grounds.

Christopher Smith

Beautiful plantation house and grounds, currently undergoing some expansion to the visitor center to further the education aspect of the tours. Very knowledgeable staff who give a good insight into the layers of history the building has seen

Gabriela Sala

The tour was amazing

Zakia Robertson

Very detailed tour. Wish they would restore rather than preserve. No slave quarters are present though. Beautifully landscaped

vanessa ritchie

Seriously overpriced for $32. The tour was mostly about the house itself, the structure and architecture, and no stories about the people who lived there and I am sure there were a lot. Minimal mention of the slaves and their experiences. The tour guide clearly knew her historical facts but could focus more on scene setting and story telling. It was hard to picture what she was talking about. Need more stories about Lord Cornwallis, John drayton’s young wife, Richmond Bowen (we know he had plenty of stories to tell), and Charles as a person - as his diary has a lot of information and none of this was really brought up. She didn’t even mention that the house was used as a hospital during the civil war. Redeeming factors: the guide in training was excellent, the slavery economics lecture is worth sticking around for, good coffee in the cafe, the guy working there is really nice and we had a great chat.

Ron Ray

This is a bare-bones skeletal structure of the past. The grounds, while devoid of a properly flowered garden, is well maintained and provides a charm for those that crave a snapshot in time. The house, as stated, has absolutely nothing inside...which made my visit that much better. No lavish furniture to hide the wooden floors (except for rugs that are used to preserve the flooring.) No wall coverings to show the ghostly outlines of the strings used to hold period-piece coverings/art. This is a charm filled experience that leaves the open space as your canvas...just close your eyes and enjoy what you dream.

Janet Hutchinson

Wonderful example of well preserved plantation and grounds.

randall benston

The house has been "preserved" not "restored", so there's nothing inside - no furniture, no artwork, no floor coverings. You have to be a fan of architecture, because if you like old houses for the sense of what it was like to live there, and a chance to see antiques in their original setting, Drayton Hall is a disappointment. We regretted spending $20/ticket as well as so much time getting to and from there as well as the time for the tour itself. To add to the disappointment, the plantation next to doesn't even date back to the Civil War, so it is only worth going to for the gardens. They should at least have an artist's rendering of what each room would have looked like on an easel in each room.