I have ordered several different items from Picnic Time, and I am always impressed. Every item came in completely undamaged and in perfect condition. The entire thing was packaged very well and each included item was there as promised. As far as the quality, the entire basket is amazing. It will definitely last for many many years. Needless to say, I am very happy with this purchase.

Great product and fast delivery

Ok- lets just start this review off by saying that one should only consider the Picnic Time "Charleston" Premium Picnic Basket if you are serious about your picnic. This isn't, lets grab a bucket of chicken and eat it under the tree picnic. This is for an English style, let's go boating on the Thames and play lawn tennis in the English Countryside with the idle British autocracy, type picnic (and the price reflects it!)

In short- this is a beautiful picnic set. The basket is interwoven willow with leather straps. Be forewarned- it is a large basket that makes transportation a bit difficult for one person or it is filled up too much. On the positive side, you will have no problems packing sufficient food for 4 or people when you do use it. It also comes stocked with everything you will need- plates, glasses, silverware, utensils such as a corkscrew, cutting board, cheese knife, etc. It also has a blanket and a small elevated platform that comes in handy to keep the food off the ground. The casing has places for all the dishes so that they can be packed and reduces the chance of them breaking but don't be fooled into thinking this is very secure- if you 4x4 out to your picnic spot, it's still a wicker picnic basket. And at the risk of offending someone- this is better suited to a group of adults then families with smaller children. I say this as a parent of a 4 and 2 year old- this set just will not stand up the punishment kids (well- my kids at least) will dish out. Maybe when they are older, but this is definitely for adults who just want to get away!

Overall, this is a great- if niche product. You probably won't pull it out that often, but when you decide to make a day of the countryside, this is a great companion. You are sure to enjoy it and make an impression.

3-28-17 UPDATE - Customer Service is excellent. They read my original review, left me instructions and when I followed those and sent photos - well I received a replacement basket within a week. Not a problem at all and easy to get a satisfactory result.

This is a very nice picnic basket - it's sturdy and has gorgeous pieces inside. I like the look, the lining, the blanket is nice too. It includes a small salt and pepper shaker and a wine screw too. Glass plates, silverware and glasses - set of 4 included. Cheese board and knife - a lot of the items snap into place. The cheeseboard in mine was not snapped in so when I tried to do that - that particular snap closure will not snap.

It's a large item and pretty heavy. Carrying by the leather handle is questionable in my opinion. Pretty cool if they'd design one of these with hidden wheels and a extendable handle like the suitcases - give it the nostalgia feel but with modern conveniences!! Anyway - here's the additional cons - it's made from wicker and triple boxed but that didn't stop the carrier from busting one side of the wicker. (pics inc)
The leather straps are great but I think an alternate closure would help in case the basket fell and broke or a belt broke lose from weight. The whole top opens and out drops all the loose items.
It has a nice wine bottle bag but it seems small and it has a small cooler bag. The main thing I'd like to stress to the company is since you have the cooler bag and the wine bag - why not go one step further and include a box or bag to fill in remainder of space to hold other items like crackers or Danish that you don't want squashed?

Ok, first off... we did receive this from Amazon Vine for free. I am pretty sure that this is a pretty tough item in justifying as a purchase.

UNLESS

YOU REALLY LOVE PICNICS!

No seriously, you must really like them!

Now that we have that settled let's assume that you really do love picnics (or you are looking for the perfect picnic basket so that you can propose marriage while on a picnic). The next requirement is that you have a bit of extra disposable income. If these things are true... onto our review!

Ok.... now that I have mentioned that this is probably what most people would call an extravagant luxury I will say that it is also totally awesome. The set comes with 4 place settings with silverware, glasses, and china which is nicer than our *good* stuff that we use for special occasions. It kinda reminds me of the stuff you see being used in first class on an international flight. You know... when you accidentally walk into 1st class so that you can use their bathroom instead of waiting 20 minutes for the one in the back?

The set comes with an adorable picnic blanket/ quilt. It is legitimately nice.

A false tweed style hot/cold bag for keeping things at the proper temperature

Salt and pepper shakers are included.

Cutting board

The picnic basket is high quality and and straps shut

The whole thing is pretty large...maker sure you include a wagon to carrying this thing around!

Final Verdict.... Yeah this is expensive and I won't try to justify the price, but I do understand why it is expensive. If you can get over the sticker shock I think you will enjoy this... the Rolls Royce of picnic baskets!

4 stars (1 star off due to it being so large that it requires a wagon or two people to carry).