ItalyCharme

Our driver for our stay in Florence was Daniel and he was extremely helpful and professional. Our first guide was Mike in Florence and it was a walking tour. He was extremely knowledgeable and personable, and spoke very fluent English. There was a misunderstanding about how long the tour was and we didn't get to see the original David, but our Kimkim representative Melanie was able to get us booked for the next day. Unfortunately the audio was so poor that we couldn't understand what was being said. Charlotta was our group guide for the Chianti wine and olive tour and and she was amazing and spoke very good English, and this was a highlight of our stay in Tuscany. In Rome our guide to Vatican and Sistine chapel was Rich and he's lived in Italy for 26 years and has advanced degrees in theology and art history, his insights and knowledge about the art made the tour so interesting. We had a small group of 6 with Samona at the Colosseum and the Forum and she was very very knowledgeable and wonderful. She spoke very good English and was very good at timing the tour and found us places to sit down to take a break. We had private driver Marco and a private tour of Tivoli gardens with Katharina and we wouldn't have understood or appreciated the site without her information. Another highlight of our trip was the enogasgronomic/food tour in Sorento with Tamara, she was so connected with all of the places that we visited and she showed us amazing places that we wouldn't have known about. Out final tour was of Pompeii and Vesuvius with Theresa aka mother Theresa. It was a small group and she was so fun funny and knowledgeable.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Orto De' Medici

Florence

It's an elegant boutique hotel in a great location. Very clean and comfortable and the staff are friendly and helpful. The breakfast buffet was very expansive with many great food choices. The room was the largest of the 3 hotels that we stayed in and it was clean, quiet and comfortable. Within easy walking distance to many restaurants and a historic piazza that includes Michaelangelos' David.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

So welcoming, friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Barocco

Rome

A lovely small hotel in a great location within walking distance to many restaurants and historic sights including the Spanish steps, the Colosseum, the Vatican and the sistine chapel and much more. The breakfast was excellent and Stefan made sure that you were well taken care of. The room and the hotel was clean and quiet.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Florida 3* Sorrento

Sorrento

The staff were very helpful and welcoming but walking to Piazza Tasso and the many restaurants was at least a 20 minute walk, sometimes with no sidewalk. The room was adequate with a nice small balcony. Our room was on the first floor that was next to a walkway and another hotels parking area where cars and motorcycles were coming and going starting early in the morning. The breakfast buffet was very good and had many food choices. The bar and pool area was a nice place to relax in.

Location

There is only one restaurant within a few minutes walk. We had the hotel call us a cab once and we were charged 20 euro for a little over a mile ride to Piazza Tasso.

Staff

The daytime staff was very helpful but the early morning and evening staff were less than welcoming

Cleanliness & Comfort

It's proximity to the parking area for the hotel next door was a disappointment and it didn't have the same feel of the other 2 boutique hotel's that we stayed in

Activity Reviews

Day trip San Gimignano and Winery Visit

Florence

Quaint small town and a nice wine tasting

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Daniel was our private driver and he was very fun to spend time

Chianti Wine & Olive Oil Tour

Italy

Wonderful ride in a very comfortable small tour bus to the Chianti wine region and the beautiful Tuscan countryside. This was a highlight of our trip to Italy.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Florence Walking Tour

Florence

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Colosseo and Roman forums adventure

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our tour guide was perfect

Tivoli Day trip and Castelli Romani

Italy

Having a private tour with Katerina gave us so much information and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with her

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Ruins of Pompeii & Winery on the Vesuvius

Italy

Theresa aka mother Theresa was so funny and knowledgeable

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guisepe was so engaging to talk with and very enjoyable to spend time with

Dinner at family Home Restaurant

Rome

This was changed to a cooking class that was with the owner and head chef Paulo at Trattoria Amici. We made tiramisu and pasta that we ate at the outside restaurant.

Quality of Experience

Food

Enogastronomic experience - taste the real life of South with a good glass of Limoncello

Sorrento

Tamara was a wonderful guide for this tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We did three cities in Italy in just over a week with at least one structured guided tour in each stop. All of our tours were informative and interesting to us. I think our Venice tour surprised me the most. I enjoyed Venice but after walking around and sampling foods with our guide, I really appreciated how much of a low-key place Venice really is and our guide Gianni was accommodating and so easy to interact with.

As our specialist, Melanie, did a fantastic job keeping in touch as needed and also helping to make adjustments on the fly as plans can and will change. During our planning I hadn't thought too hard on what I call the spaces in between - getting to and from public transportation to our hotel and where to meet our guides. Melanie had all of that taken care of it made a world of difference in how relaxed I could be to enjoy the sites, sounds, and experiences without worrying about logistics and our next steps. We were able to BE in Italy and not just whirl winding from one thing to the next. I would absolutely do something like this again and if we make it to Italy again, hopefully Melanie can sort us out then too.

Hotel Review

Hotel Olimpia

Venice

The staff were lovely. We felt so welcomed. We had a mini-suite which was awesome for keeping luggage out of our way and a space we could move without feeling too cramped in smaller rooms (which is understandable in such an old city with limited expansion options). I LOVED the exterior shutters as a great insulator against noise and light as we came to terms with jet lag. The hotel's location was great for us. It's on a quiet canal, just off some busier streets and areas so we didn't feel like we were in the thick of things, but everything was accessible.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The cleanliness was great. The shower is a little small if you're bigger or taller, but not unreasonable.

Activity Reviews

Walking tour to discover the best of Venice with "Cicchetti " experience

Venice

Our guide asked us what we had seen already, which I appreciated. He was able to make some adjustments on the fly and get us out the busier, touristy areas to see more of the quiet side streets and canals, but still lots of historical information and a chance to sample some local fare. It felt more of a behind the scenes tour and a more intimate sharing of Venice.

Quality of Experience

Our tour was a conversation, not just a lecture.

Amarone Wine Tour

Verona

Our driver/guide was so welcoming and kind. He did a great job of herding all 8 of us to two different wineries and letting us get to know each other. He was upfront with what he knew and what he didn't and was happy to try and get the information if possible. I felt appreciated.

Quality of Experience

I just felt appreciated and not just a tourist.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Conversation, not just lectures.

Transport

It was actually nice to drive outside the city for a bit and the van was comfortable and clean.

Melanie was great to work with and she was very responsive and pleasant. She was always checking in, without being pushy. We especially appreciated all of the drivers that got us safely to our destinations and they were always waiting and very helpful. The hotels were centrally located and even though we did have one issue, Melanie was responsive and is working with us for that to be resolved.

I would highly recommend her to book any of your travel needs in Italy!

Melanie was super helpful in helping us plan out our first trip to Italy on relatively short notice; most book nearly a year out but we booked a couple months prior to our trip. In particular, she helped organize a hotel in Sorrento, tours, and transportation from arrival to departure. She was also kind enough to recommend and book certain restaurants for dinner. The tour guides were good but Rich, an American living in Rome, was extremely knowledgeable for guiding us through the walking tour of Rome hitting all the major sites as well as a tour of the Vatican on a second day. All drivers were very procession and special shout out to primary driver Andrea who covered us for several days. I couldn’t get a precise breakdown of the service costs and was willing to pay the slight premium for the attention and safety of having a team help us navigate during our first trip and Melanie did a very nice job in making for a wonderful and memorable Italy vacation for our family. I would highly recommend her and am sure others can get more out of their spend with a bit more time to plan out the hotels in particular.

Melanie was simply outstanding, I will refer her to friends if they are going to Italy!!!