Aleksandra Sheb

Aleksandra plotted out a wonderful collection of experiences for me. I finally got to the castle in Edinburgh and saw the Kelpis in Falkirk. I took delightful tours of the Scottish countryside and even got up to the Isle of Skye. I now also have a totally different and positive view of Glasgow, thanks to my informative and friendly guide. The main purpose of the trip was to see my "pen-pal" Ray, since she has not been in the best of health, but I am glad to say that she and her husband were able to spend the day with me. It is hard to believe that we have been in contact for over 60 years!

Aleksandra planned a trip of a lifetime to London & Scotland for my husband & I. We spent 6 nights in London & 4 nights in Ediburgh. Aleksandra was excellent at communicating with my husband & I. We exchanged many e-mails over the course of several months, planning each day & constantly tweaking what we wanted to do. In addition to that, we had a ton of questions that Aleksandra answered, always within a day or two of sending the e-mails.

When planning this trip we needed the most amount of help with laying out, organizing & optimizing our time in each location so that we could do everything we wanted without running ourselves ragged. Aleksandra accomplished this objective. She planned activities each day that were close to each other or an underground stop or two away so we could move easily & efficiently between locations. Alexsandra fit the days together seamlessly & used every second to the fullest. Her directions to get us from one place to another were a godsend. In both London & Edinburgh we never got lost nor frustrated trying to find a particular location. While planning our vacation, she always provided fabulous choices & presented multiple options so we could select what most excited us. This was true in particular for restaurants & hotels. Aleksandra made us dinner reservations at our selected restaurants & every one of those restaurants worked out beautifully. She was even available to us during the trip, when a small problem or question arose. It was a nice feeling to know that no matter what we needed, she was there for us, both in the planning & while we were on the trip.

There were a few standout tours that Aleksandra booked for us. The first was a private tour while we were in London to see the Changing of the Guard with Delianne. A bucket list item for me. Delianne knew just where to stand for the best viewing in several locations. We did not have to line up hours in advance. All we did was follow her & each time we were exactly where we needed to be at the right time. She had a lot of interesting tidbits to share & we thoroughly enjoyed our morning with her.

The next tour in London that we loved was a small group historical pub tour. Our tour guide, Freddie, was fabulous. We went to 4 interesting pubs, all different from each other. He had a lot of fun information to share & we spent just the right amount of time in each pub. This was our last night in London & it was a perfect way to end our time there before traveling to Edinburgh.

In Scotland, we did two private tours. Both of them were well worth the money. The first was a 3 1/2 hour walking tour of Edinburgh with Zander. He was our introduction to Edinburgh. He took us to so many places & told us so many engaging stories. It was more interesting to us than to just be told a list of facts. The time went by very quickly & we attributed that to his way of telling us information about Edinburgh.

The second private tour was a highlight of our entire trip. We spent the day with Calais, a true gentleman & a delight to have as a tour guide. We went through the East Neuk, even stopping in Calais' hometown & going to his local cafe. We loved seeing where people live & learning a little about why they lived there. St. Andrews golf course was next & it did not disappoint. We could feel the history there & appreciated it all, even though neither of us are golfers. We loved taking our picture on the famous bridge, Swilken Bridge, which made my golf loving brother very jealous. We also toured St. Andrews University. The school is even more beautiful than we had imagined & again we enjoyed learning about the history there. The sad, but true story of the the St. Andrews Castle was very interesting & one we had not heard before.

We are only home a few days & are still talking about all the highlights of this trip. We have fabulous memories & many of them are from the tours outlined above. Both my husband & I highly recommend Aleksandra. Her work in preparing for this trip enhanced our trip & resulted in making our trip extraordinary. Using Aleksandra & her team was well worth it & gave us an unforgettable vacation experience!

Hotel Reviews

Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh

Edinburgh,

This hotel was perfect for our 4 night stay in Edinburgh. Room was clean, quiet & was located right off the Royal Mile. It was a good fit for us.

Authenticity & Character

It wasn't that anything needed to be improved. It was just your regular hotel with few amenities, but perfect for what we needed.

Location

Very near to Royal Mile

Staff

There was a small problem at check in that the manager quickly resolved.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was comfortable & room was clean.

Roseate House London

London

We had a wonderful 6 night stay at this hotel. The hotel manager went out of his way to make this an outstanding experience for us. We were lucky enough to stay in a junior suite which provided lots of extra room. The king bed was comfortable which was important to us as we had long days of sightseeing & were exhausted when we arrived back at the hotel. What set this hotel apart from your usual hotel was the staff. They wanted to make our stay the best it could possibly be & they did. We appreciated every bit of that! Highly recommend this hotel!!

Authenticity & Character

The hotel was a boutique hotel which was just what we wanted for this stay.

Location

It was super quiet, but very close to Paddington Station so convenient for seeing all the sights.

Staff

Exceptional in every way!! They went out of their way to make our stay fantastic!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Historical Pub Tour of London

London

We thoroughly enjoyed our historical pub tour with Freddie. He was an excellent guide through the 4 pubs we "toured". He gave us just enough interesting information without giving too much. We loved all the pubs he selected. They were very different from each other, but each had a lot of character. We never would have found these pubs on our own. We would highly recommend this tour! A really fun evening!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Aleksandra was wonderful! She arranged a great trip for us - paying careful attention to our desires. She quickly made adjustments when we requested. She was also available and helpful when our flight was delayed and the first day of our trip was effectively cancelled.

Hotel Reviews

Parador 44

Cardiff

Wonderful hotel - centrally located in Cardiff. We weren't able to enjoy it - because our flight was delayed and we arrived in Cardiff in the evening as opposed to noon.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Penally Abbey Country House Hotel and Restaurant Penally

Tenby

Penally Abbey Country House was wonderful. The room was large, comfortable and well appointed. The bathroom was modern with a great walk-in shower.

Authenticity & Character

The hotel was beautifully appointed. I was especially captivated by the dining rooms.

Location

Short distance to Tenby and also a nice hike to the ocean.

Staff

The staff was wonderful - we met the owners when we checked in. The bar/restaurant staff was especially friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Penrhiw Farm B & B

Fishguard

Authenticity & Character

There was information in the room that detailed the history of the farm. The B&B was appropriately furnished for a working farm. The gardens/yard were beautiful. We especially appreciated the 3 dogs and the neighboring pigs.

Location

This B&B is a little challenging to get to - on a narrow road up a steep hill.

Staff

Very friendly - especially for breakfast the next morning.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very comfortable. Nice bathroom - great shower and BIG tub. We slept better than we had in months!

The Glengower

Aberystwyth

The great location of this hotel makes up for the minor complaints. With a little more attention to the room's furnishings, we would have given the hotel a 5-star rating.

Authenticity & Character

The location, restaurant, bar and friendliness of the staff was wonderful. The room was small which is understandable - however there was a clothes rack for hanging clothes and a full-size ironing board that seemed unncessary and definitely detracted from the room. (I couldn't find the iron). The bed was small (also understandable) but uncomfortable.

Location

The location of this hotel is its biggest advantage. It is adjacent the promonade - so walking and viewing the ocean was great. Parking was a little challenging - we parked 2 short blocks away in the lot for a medical facility. That was definitely better than on the street.

Staff

The staff was very friendly and helped us navigate the parking.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Castle Cottage Inn

Harlech

This was our favorite hotel of the trip! Great location and absolutely beautiful room! Dinner was superb! We wish we could have stayed longer!

Authenticity & Character

The hotel is beautiful with great attention to comfort and detail.

Location

The hotel was adjacent the castle and had great views of the castle and the coast. It was just a little challenging to get to on the narrow streets.

Staff

Pattra (the owner) was wonderful. Very helpful and very friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was large, the bed comfortable, the shower and bath luxurious.

The Castle Hotel

Conwy

Authenticity & Character

The room was spacious. We loved the four-poster bed which according to a plaque was built in 1574. The furnishings (chairs, window treatments, wardrobe) were beautiful.

Location

The location in the center of the city was very convenient. It was a short walk to the castle.

Staff

Hotel reception was very friendly and helpful about parking and a short-cut to the castle. The bartender was also friendly and attentive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lincoln House Private Hotel

Cardiff

Lincoln House was a suitable hotel for the last evening of our long vacation. We arrived late and left early. All was good.

Activity Reviews

Seal Safari Boat Tour

Wales

Our expectations were somewhat low. Because we "lost" the first day of our trip, we were just happy to get on a boat and out on the water. The views of Tenby from the water were great. We did see two seals in the water. The boat was a nice size - maybe 30 of us. The 'captain/guide' was knowledgable. low-key and conversational.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer from Cardiff Airport to Cardiff

Cardiff

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer from Cardiff to Cardiff Airport

Cardiff

Similar to our arrival - not being about departure is well worth it. It is great not to worry about returning the rental car and finding our way to the airport.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We really appreciated our driver. She arrived 10 minutes early, was a pleasant and friendly conversationalist and got us to the airport on time.

Transport

Cardiff Bay Boat Tour

Cardiff

Due to the flight delay, we were unable to make this trip.

Thank you so much for all you did to make our vacation/holiday memorable for years to come.

Day one was great to keep moving…our tour with Deliane was great, it did not match the description at all but what she covered we loved, my daughter especially since they have similar interest…she was a lovely lady and really knows her history, especially detailing Dickens. The Tea at Savoy was wonderful, we were somewhat Zombies by then, but it was amazing.

Day2
Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey were both amazing and worthy of the visits. St James Park was good. We saw a lot of it with Deliane on day 1

Day3
St Paul Cathedral was magnificent. A fair warning of the climb to the top might be good for those not in any type of physical shape, we were all winded and legs burning but we enjoyed immensely, Borough Market….OH YEAH! The chocolate Strawberries definitely worth the time. The Tower of London was beautiful and only started our beefeater tour when a young girl passed out from heat and dehydration. My wife is a nurse and provided aide. For my wife’s heroic actions and help, they invited us back that evening for a 700 year tradition. It was amazing and unbelievable that every night for 700 years, this ceremony is carried outs! We never actually finished our guided tour due to fainting distraction but that led us to something very special in the retiring of the keys ceremony.

Day4
British Museum…I want to be positive here, but we didn’t really see any British History and that was what we were looking for…it was extremely crowded and amazingly Hot inside…we couldn’t handle the heat and left early for the shopping between Oxford Street and Harrods. The day was saved and we enjoyed ourselves. Can’t give a good recommendation for the British Museum

Day5. The tour of Parliament and Westminster Palace was our favorite, it is unfortunate that we could not have the guided tour, but understand staffing. This was everything to my daughter as her University Major is Public Policy and Leadership which fits right into Parliament. We did not go to the Tate museum so I cannot rate it. We instead went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square…it was great! We loved it and would recommend.

Day 6. Notting hill and all the markets were great….we asked to go ona Saturday and it didn’t disappoint with merchandise and crowd. Hot and tired after many hours in the markets, we did not venture to Little Venice.

Overall we truly enjoyed our itinerary ! Thank you. We love a structured environment as a family, so this worked well. Everyone has different tastes, but if you wanted to include possible recommendations for food at the conclusion of the day, I am sure it would be appreciated by your clients in the future. We found ourselves looking around and wasting a lot of time to find dinner at the end of the day, but managed to find many different types of cuisine.

Finally a shout out to Aleksandra for her communication during the building of the itinerary, she was awesome and during the actual holiday, she was always a message away and willing to go the extra mile got what we needed.

Thank you

Hotel Review

The Cumberland

London

Great location

Location

Staff

Concierge greet desk staff aren’t helpful and wouldn’t answer phone pre-trip

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Retired Royal Guard Central London Walk

London

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of the Palace of Westminster (UK Parliament)

London

Guided tour cancelled last minute do to staffing…audio tour only, still awesome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tower of London Beefeater Welcome & Crown Jewels

London

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My wife and I and our adult son spend one week in beautiful Wales and could not have been happier with what our Kimkim planner Aleksandra arranged for us as well as John, our guide for Wales. He picked us up in Liverpool and we toured with him for five days. We started across the north coast and then into northwest Wales/Anglesey. We then ventured south through the national parks and ended up in Cardiff.

Through our journey, John made some wonderful suggestions for changes in our planned itinerary, and every place that he chose turned out to be delightful. In addition to experiencing the stunning natural beauty of Wales, we loved interacting with locals, which he facilitated because he seems to know everyone. We love learning about history and culture as we travel. John is obviously very proud of his Welsh heritage, and he taught us so much about the history and culture as we traveled together.

All in all, another wonderful trip by Kimkim- this is our fourth!!

Our seven day trip to London with our ten and eleven year old grandchildren was great!! We had two hiccups and Aleksandra responded right away. Everyday our schedule was laid out for us. We used the tube while in London and had private drivers to and from Heathrow and the Harry Potter Studios. Our tour guide David in London was great! He used to do security for the palace and was assigned to Prince Harry . He had a ton of good stories! Our Beefeater tour guide at the Tower of London was really good and engaged the children a lot. We were scheduled at the Natural History Museum but got done early and also went to the Science Museum. Our grandchildren like the Science Museum better. We saw the show Come Alive!! Highly recommend but get the VIP ticket. We were always busy, very little down time. Never waited in any long lines. We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn in Kingsington in a two bed two bath apartment. Right across the street was Cacciari's Italian Restaurant and they would deliver right to your room. Also we were just blocks away from Earl's Court Tube station and a Tesco.

Hotel Review

Residence Inn by Marriott London Kensington

London

This place is a bargain for London. We had two bedrooms, two baths, a small kitchen and a living room with a dining table. They serve a daily breakfast buffet but it is not very English and sort of bland. The place is clean, the staff is attentive and very accommodating. Lots of families stay there. It is a few blocks from the Earl's Court Tube station, a Tesco and Cacciari's Italian restaurant is right across the street. Eat in or they deliver to your room.

Authenticity & Character

It is starting to look a little tired. It has been updated but I don't know how they keep up.

Location

Staff

Dining room, front desk and luggage attendant were all great. Remembered the kids names.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Daily maid service was good . It just gets a lot of wear and tear.

Activity Reviews

Arsenal - Emirates Stadium Tour

London

Awesome experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Audio guide

Transport

Used the tube

Royal London Tour

London

Our guide was great. However 3 hours for the kids was a lot of standing.

Quality of Experience

David was veryngood.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

David was our guide

Transport

We used the tube!

Tower of London Beefeater Welcome & Crown Jewels

London

Awesome Beefeater Tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Took the tube

Thames Cruise

London

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I have been waiting to have a moment to write you a note to say thank you for planning our Scotland trip. We all enjoyed every activity you chose for us! Every detail was absolutely perfect. You selected the most perfect tours/activities to maximize our time in each location and to see as much of Scotland as possible during our stay. I sincerely appreciate the way you planned everything to be so seamless. Our transportation arrangements were all perfectly timed, and it was easy to get to our hotel accommodations from each train/bus station. We loved each of the hotels you booked for us in Scotland, and every one of your restaurant suggestions was delicious. Our two private tour guides, Jack in Edinburgh and Stuart in Inverness, were both wonderful. We especially enjoyed Stuart! I cannot say enough good things about our experience with you! I could never have planned such a perfect trip on my own!

Hotel Reviews

Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh

Edinburgh,

Nice sized room with enough space for 2 adults and 1 teen. Perfect location very close to the train station.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Glen Mhor Hotel and Uile-bheist Brewery & Distillery

Inverness

Beautiful location on the river. Perfect for our family of 3!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lochiel Villa Guest House

Fort William

Very nice room that was comfortable for 2 adult and one teen. Note - luggage cannot be stored on site and must be stored about a mile away at another hotel. Not an issue if you know this before you arrive!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

There is no staff on site.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maldron Hotel Glasgow City

Glasgow

Great location. Nice, comfortable room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

The Ultimate Isle of Skye Tour from Inverness

Inverness

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Real Mary King’s Close

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Half-Day Loch Ness Tour from Inverness City

Inverness

This was one of our favorite parts of our time in Scotland! Our private guide, Stuart, was wonderful and made the experience fun for our whole family!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jacobite Steam Train

Scotland

This is a wonderful way to see the Highlands!

Quality of Experience

Transport

Edinburgh Castle & Old Town Private Tour

Edinburgh

Jack was very knowledgeable and informative.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Aleksandra was amazing. We had such a great time and she was so helpful. As with any travel, adjustments need to be made. Aleksandra was incredibly responsive. Our trip was what we had hoped it would be. My wife and I would definitely use her again.

Aleksandra was amazing as usual. She planned a vacation for our whole family of 10 to Ireland last year and it was a dream come true. So we thought of no one else to help us plan for a wedding in Dublin followed by a trip to Copenhagen.
We wanted to start the trip with a visit to see Irish relatives who lived 3 hours away from Dublin airport and we didn't want to drive. Aleksandra arranged our bus trip to Dungarvan and our hotel. All of her recommendations exceeded our expectations and did not break the bank! The hotel she picked for us was beautiful, perfectly located and reasonably priced. After our visit we headed to Dublin for a gorgeous wedding at the Luttrellstown Castle. It was a like a fairy tail. After visiting sights Aleksandra throughout Dublin, we headed back to the airport to fly to Copenhagen. This was our first trip there and it did not disappoint. Copenhagen is a blend of historic fairy-tale charm and modern, minimalist Scandinavian design. Aleksandra booked us in a beautiful hotel right in the center of it all and because of her recommendations we didn't miss a thing. Before your next trip, call Aleksandra!!

Take it from us, call Kimkim and ask for Aleksandra before you book your next adventure!!