Saphos Trains Reviews 54

Wonderful experience of pure nostalgia on our trip from Peterborough (March) to Canterbury yesterday. Pullman Dining was amazing with attentive, friendly and expert serving staff. Carefully sourced high quality ingredients coupled with cooking flair to maximise flavour made the dining memorable - lamb main course to die for. Vintage diesel from the 1960s pulling us for first and last legs with magnificent Britannia for the long middle section. Wonderful to sit so comfortably on a train and hear the "chuff-chuff" of a proper engine now only regularly seen in children's books. Great (if tiring) day out which we will certainly repeat.

Myself and some girlfriends did the Golden Arrow trip on 21st Sep - travelling First Class. We were pleasantly surprised by the size and selection of snacks provided plus the supply of coffee/tea, sparkling wine etc. We enjoyed our visit to Canterbury - the weather was glorious.
However, we travelled in carriage J - which we realised was the only carriage on the train without windows that could be opened at the top, and on the journey home it was literally like being in a sauna - the temperature in the carriage was unbelievably hot and airless. And the staff essentially disappeared - to the extent we were having to help ourselves to bottles of (non-chilled) water. We were told there was air con but the engineer wouldn't switch it on??!! We stopped to take on water somewhere in Kent - and having initially been told we wouldn't be able to disembark, we were then "allowed" to stand on the platform to try and get some fresh air -and a member of staff made it very clear they felt they were doing us a favour by allowing it - crazy!! We were literally dripping by the time we reached our destination - it was very uncomfortable and from reading other reviews I can see that writing to Saphos Trains directly is a waste of time!!!

We did the Welsh Marches and was in the Pullman coaches, well what can I say it was absolutely amazing.. The food was out of this world and the staff were very welcoming and extremely helpful and nothing was too much trouble for them. I take my hat off to them as they had very early start and late finishing and they worked hard all the way through.
We had a little disappointment in the morning as the steam train was stuck in Taunton due to an incident that was out of their control, but they worked miracles to get the steam engine for the return journey..
Would definitely recommend and will be using them again..

Don't waste your money !
Not all the journey is by steam train , which isn't clearly stated .
Only hot food available to buy on train is bacon or sausage baps, which they ran out of by 10am and soup , which is actually a cuppa soup!
The table cloths are far too big for tables so every time someone gets up or moves whole cloth goes with them .
We did trip to Carlisle and despite stopping at a station for 35 mins on way back we were not allowed off , so you basically stuck at a cramped table for at least 6 hours, depending where your drop off is , on way back .
Windows needed cleaning, very basic thing , this spoilt viewing of scenery.
The staff on board are lovely and very helpful .
The company themselves are complete opposite. I emailed customer services and was told they haven't had any complaints in last 5 years 😂😂 they clearly don't check their reviews!

Boarded at Blackpool North. Travelled 1st Class as we are not big eaters so Pullman Class was too much for our palettes. Excellent Carriages, Excellent Beverages and Nibbles and service couldn't have been any better.
All staff friendly with Bev from Wigan going the extra mile.
Hauled by Sir Nigel Gresley Steam Locomotive which made the experience so special.
Well Done Saphos Trains.

Filled my mailbox up with unwanted leaflets

We had the most wonderful day on the riviera trip, staff were excellent, food wonderful, nothing was too much trouble, yes we had a small delay but it didn’t spoil our day, can’t wait to go again but sadly nothing near us this year, hopefully next year

The final email sent out as a mail merge with changed train departure times was only found in my junk mail after I missed the train. Tried to explain to the head office spoken to like dirt, but a rude person on the phone did not listen and signposted me to the travel insurance claim in the first sentence. Maybe a phone call a few days before the trip would be helpful in the future. No chance of a refund. Never use this company it's a rip-off.

Had an accident meaning mum couldn't walk. Asked for a credit note for the next trip (not a refund) and they flatly refused. We were basically daylight robbed of almost £500. Cannot believe a company can get away with this. If this is their approach to customer service you should stay well away and book with someone else. Arrogant and unhelpful and caused me undue stress and worry.

We finally booked a train ride through the Welsh Marches with this company following several brochures through the letterbox. Reading the mixed and quite polarised reviews on here left me a little apprehensive but it comfortably lived up to expectations (which were high, given the price point).
We joined at Swindon and tea was poured almost as soon as we'd sat down, followed by the first course of the breakfast service (a very tasty fruit and yoghurt concoction). There was a pause at Bristol while the steam loco was attached to the train (and it was a beautiful sight!), followed by the second part of the breakfast (full english).
Train was very nicely appointed and comfortable with attention to detail evident.
After a bit of a walk around Shrewsbury, the train back was delayed about 25 minutes and disappointingly was hauled by a diesel loco instead of the steam engine due to some sort of mechanical issue.
A very good dinner was served on the way back along with plenty of champers, finishing up with tea/coffee and chocolates.
The onboard crew were pleasant and looked after us very well - a very long working day for them given the 5am start and getting back to their depot in the small hours but they remained well presented, attentive and friendly throughout. The onboard manager came through several times and was also friendly and attentive.
A few small things they could work on if looking to improve further but overall I had a very good day.
Would I book with them again? Yes, I would - it's expensive, but worth it for the experience.

I looked very seriously at booking the Lakelander trip for my husband's upcoming birthday.

I emailed to ask some questions about the trip. 10 days later, no response so I chased. I got a response but it was curt, rude and didn't answer all my questions. No consideration from staff that I would be spending significant amounts of money which in turn pays their wages.

I won't be booking as if that's what I get from simply daring to ask questions, I dread to think what its like on the train.

I'll be booking elsewhere.

A delightful day out to York, beautiful food and impeccable service, the staff could not have been better, and the food was superb, highly recommend.

We missed the train!
Due to an email telling us of the change of time of the train's arrival going into my spam folder we were unaware of the new time.
On the day of the trip we received a text telling us which platform to take and where the carriages were. But this did not mention the new time.
Needless to say, we arrived in good time ( 20 minutes ahead of time), only to see the train pull out the station. It cost us £390 as we splashed out on first class.
To date, I've received 2 emails saying that it was pretty much my fault fir nit contacting them. I've written to the owner. But todate, 2 weeks on, I've had no reply.

We did the Canterbury trip on The Golden Arrow yesterday (26 March 2024). It was a wonderful experience and everything went very smoothly from start to finish. We were in Carriage E (7&8) and the staff looking after us were exceptional in every way. Nothing was too much trouble for them! We can honestly say that the Pullman dining experience is second to none. A big shoutout to the wonderful staff and brilliant organisational skills of all. We will be doing this again. Thank You all very much for a wonderful day. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼💐💐💐💐

Just returned from a days trip to Canterbury, we couldn’t have been more surprised and delighted. We went in the Pullman carriage complete with beautiful breakfast and four course dinner. The food and wine were superb.
The organisation of a day like this is extraordinary, all the timing and coordination had to be seen to be believed.
The highest respect goes to the staff though, who are so well trained and good humoured, from the moment they laid out the red carpet as you board till the friendly goodbyes as you leave.
A very impressive and memorable day.

We did the Cotswolds Experience for two (dinning). Helen, Mark and all the team were attentive, personable and professional. A lovely way to spend a Saturday; food was lovely (breakfast and dinner)... our only piece of advice is don't worry about grabbing lunch in Worcester as you are well fed on board. We had enough time to see the Cathedral and to do a spot of shopping too. 10/10

Debbie on the Pennine tour on 21st October really made the experience a great one for us. She couldn't have done more to make us welcome. Knew all our names within minutes. 4 friends including a birthday girl had a lovely time. All the stewards were so friendly and acommodating. We went first class, next time we'll go for the meal experience as well. Just one tiny niggle, would have been nice with a stop half way for fresh air and stretch the legs.

Wonderful Pullman experience on Pennine Moors explorer. Staff were wonderful especially Ellie and Phil.
Food was lovely, well presented, we upgraded the wine a little and that was also great. Boarding the train was well organised, a contact number was available for queries.
It was all over too fast, would I do it again ,definitely. Only thing missing was the Belgian detective himself !!!!

The steam experience was brilliant but if you wish to raise any issues, Saphos Trains have no direct contact
mail/telephone numbers. I wrote to “enquiries” - the only available contact on 10 September.
Have had no response whatsoever. I will not be using them again and would not recommend.

We booked The English Riviera trip for my Dad's 90th Birthday and we had a wonderful day. There was a train strike on the day of the trip so we were concerned that the trip might be cancelled, but luckily it wasn't. The only change to the advertised trip was that we had to board at Twyford rather than Reading (which actually was more convenient and a much smaller station so easier to navigate). We travelled in First Class and the staff onboard were fantastic and couldn't do enough for us - make sure you hang on to your staff Saphos.