Wow. Seriously. This place blew me away. I don't know how long this has been around, but the buildings look darn near brand new...they are beautiful inside and out. Very clean and well kept. We parked in the on-site garage, so we were able to pay $5 at the front desk...she punched our ticket, and we just popped that sucker in the machine on the way out of the garage and we were golden.
Regular admission is $9.50 for adults, 2 years and under are free, so my husband, son, and I expected to pay $19 for admission. I didn't see anything on their website about it, but we asked if they offer a military discount. She said yes and charged us our $5 for parking. So free admission! Not sure if that's the standard discount or if she was just feeling generous kind of late in the afternoon on a Wednesday, but that was definitely a nice surprise.
If I lived in the city (and actually had free time to myself), I would have a membership and be here, sitting on one of the many benches in the gardens, reading a book...all.the.time. It's gorgeous. And there are so many nooks and crannies to explore. There are paths, but between bushes and whatnot, you'll see, like, a small set of stepping stones that takes you farther in to certain areas.
Which reminds me...when we come again, we will not be bringing the stroller. If you can do without it, I would recommend leaving it in the car. There were a lot of accessible areas, but my husband ended up carrying the stroller up and down several sets of stairs, and the ground wasn't perfect for rolling throuh in a few places. We would have just been better off carrying our son when his little legs got tired.
The Hershey Children's Garden was adorable. And the Glasshouse with the desert and rainforest sections was just amazing. The butterflies and birds in the rainforest were so cool. And there were several other animals that I wasn't expecting to see but really enjoyed--chameleons, frogs, hissing cockroaches and tortoises, just to name a few. And to think, this is all IN the city of Cleveland! What a gem...I can't wait to bring our family and friends here when they visit us.