Kimkim Trip Reviews for Scotland

Kate from KimKim connected us with drivers and guides that were just good people with local knowledge and an interest in helping us have a positive experience. Numerous times during our trip, my wife and I commented that the support from Kate made this a comfortable and stress free trip.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel du Vin & Bistro Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Unique property, in a good sense.

Location

Staff

Wonderful welcoming staff. Made us feel like we were appreciated.

Cleanliness & Comfort

River Ness Hotel, a member of Radisson Individuals

Inverness

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Marmalade Hotel

Portree

Nice property in a very convenient location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Front desk staff was not overly friendly. All other employees at the property were great.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Inverlochy Castle Hotel

Fort William

Our time here was impacted by a major wind and rain storm. The staff rose to the occasion and did their best to pamper us and help make it a positive staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Views are amazing.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cameron house

Lovely property and welcoming staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Holyrood Distillery Tour

Edinburgh

Was looking for a whiskey tour. This tour focused more on their other distilled spirits. Was not a fan of their whiskey.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Vaults Tour

Edinburgh

If you have limited time, don’t think this needs to be a priority.

Quality of Experience

Probably the least favorite guide we had while in Scotland.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Edinburgh Old Town Tour

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Glen Affric, Culloden, and Clava Cairns Tour

Inverness

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Inverness Walking Tour

Scotland

Our guide was knowledgeable and engaging.

Talisker Distillery

Scotland

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Scotland to drive the North Coast 500 was a journey filled with stunning landscapes, quaint villages, ancient castles, historic landmarks, pubs, distilleries, friendly people and terrific accommodations.

Shout out experiences: the Croft Cafe and the Highland Cows, The Royal Yacht Britannia, Culloden

Everything about the trip from beginning to end was wonderful! Comfortable shoes in London and Scotland are most definitely a must as they are both walking destinations! (Of course as much or little as you want) but so much to see within close proximity that walking is easy. Pauline was awesome ! Such a bubbly personality with a true desire to listen and book the kind of vacation you are looking for. It was so reassuring to have someone so competent managing the helm! I would give her and her team 5 stars!

Lily, from KimKim, did an outstanding job planning our Scotland Adventure. There were 4 of us. The guys wanted to golf, and we wanted our own excursions.

Hotel Reviews

Cameron House

Alexandria

Wow! This hotel is amazing! It sits on a beautiful property that overlooks Loch Lomond! It’s also a castle! The staff were exceptional, and very friendly. The restaurants on the property were great! We rented bikes there and rode 26 miles through the countryside. Also had a boat ride on Loch Lomond.

Authenticity & Character

Part of a castle. Wonderful indoor pool and hot tub.

Location

Overlooks Loch Lomond. Nice walk through the property.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds were very comfortable. Room service exceptional

Rufflets St Andrews

St. Andrews

Very charming and elegant. On the outskirts of St Andrews. Had an English Tudor feel. The gardens were amazing. I could have stayed a lot longer here!

Authenticity & Character

The gardens in the back says it all!

Location

Was easy to get into St Andrews

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Scotsman Hotel

Edinburgh

Perfect location. Easy to walk to many areas in Edinburgh, including the Royal Mile and the Edinburgh Castle and the Palace. Hotel room was very comfortable. Excellent room service.

Authenticity & Character

The building itself was very elegant with a lot of charm.

Location

Easy to walk to many areas of interest.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Edinburgh Food Tour - With Locals - Private

Edinburgh

Had many authentic Scottish tastes, including Haggis and local Whiskey

Quality of Experience

Authentic food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Edinburgh Castle Tickets

Edinburgh

The Edinburgh Castle was very interesting to explore.

Private Walking Tour of Edinburgh with a Top Local Guide

Edinburgh

Private tour of Edinburgh with our guide. He had so much knowledge about the area, and history of Edinburgh and Scotland.

Quality of Experience

All hotels were the perfect match for us.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip went smoothly overall and all of our accommodations and private guides were exceptional. Shawna did a fabulous private tour of Old Town Edinburgh with us. She recommended a wonderful place to eat in Old Town and we ended up eating there again on our last day when we returned to Edinburgh for our flight home the next day.

We had an issue with Ian, our driver (son of Brian of BW taxis) on our transfer to Inverness from Portree-he didn't seem to know where he was supposed to take us and insisted that he had let you know that he could not do Culloden, Cairngorms and Clava Cairns on the same day ; I let Kateryna know and she fixed the issues promptly (on a Sunday!) and arranged for a driver on Monday who was outstanding (Jim). He and Kateryna made sure that we were able to do the activities that we were supposed to do on Sunday even though it made a very long day for both Jim and ourselves. (It was almost dark and we were the only ones left when we left the Culloden battlefield!) If the driver on Sunday had followed the itinerary we would have been able to see all the places on our itinerary before it became so late. I would suggest that you do not use ian again. Constantine, our driver from Edinburgh to Loch Lomond was very accommodating - he stopped at Balloch Castle and took us into Luss. Our driver from Loch Lomond to Portree (Eri) was also great. The driver who picked us up at the airport did not meet us in the airport as we expected but sent me a WhatsApp video of where we should go to find him. We weren't able to follow his directions very well and he had to come and find us after all. I understand that he was not supposed to leave his car in the place that he had parked but this disconcerted us as it was the first thing we encountered upon our arrival.

Kateryna's suggested activities were perfect for us! We were able to see a lot in the 9 days that we were there. We ended up doing the Mary King's Close tour on the last day that we were in Edinburgh which was not something that we booked with you. It really was a spectacular 9 days. The only other thing I want to mention (I've mentioned this to Kateryna) is that we have used agencies for several other international trips in the past and we have always been able to view a detailed list of expenses for drivers, hotels and excursions. I'm not sure why you do not wish to make this information available to your travelers but my husband prefers this transparency. Even though Kateryna did a wonderful job for us, he would be hesitant to use your services in the future for this reason.

We had a wonderful trip. Each and every stop was unique and interesting. From urban settings to small towns and even the seldom traveled Shetland Islands, the scenery was beautiful. We found out many new and unknown facts about England and Scotland and their rich and interesting history. Our guide Paul, in London was very knowledgeable about all things Beatles. When we got to Edinburgh Robert gave an excellent walking tour of the city and told us many stories of unknown facts about events that have occurred in the town. From there we headed out into the country where we received gracious hospitality at all of our lodging stops. We were especially happy with our stay on the Isle of Sky and also the Shetland Islands. When we arrived in Lerwick Lara gave a wonderful and car tour of the town and some other historical sites on the Island. She was interesting, knowledgeable, and accommodating. We all enjoyed the day with her.
After the Shetlands we head back to London for some more rich history tours with Angie and Tracy. The walking tour to the Buckingham Palace was interesting and Angie was full of fun facts about the Royal family and the traditions. Tracy took us on a Black cab tour of London. Tracy was also interesting and knowledgeable. She took us to some local shops and eateries unique to London. She was great as well and we enjoyed our day with her. We could not have had more fun. Stephen you kept us busy and entertained. It was better than I imagined it could be. Thank you for the great planning and great guides!

Great trip to Scotland! It was great to have all our activities and lodging planned by KimKim, and then presented to us for review and approval before committing to the trip. At every activity and lodging spot we just gave our name and the reservation was waiting for us. Dinner at The Witchery was truly special, all our lodging was top-rate, our Old Town Edinburgh guide (Katie Rae) was awesome, and our distillery tour driver (Jimmy) was very good.

Hotel Reviews

Cameron house

Cameron House was quite impressive with its grand resort-like feel. The architecture is stunning, almost like staying in a castle.

Townhouse Aberfeldy

Aberfeldy

Beautiful place with elevator access, great staff, and awesome food.

Authenticity & Character

Hi character, but modern features

Location

walking distance to the rest of this pretty village

Staff

Helpful and pleasant.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Exploring Edinburgh Castle

Scotland

Due to travel logistics and scheduling conflicts, we were unable to visit Edinburgh Castle at the initially scheduled time of 2:30 PM on the first day. The entire group couldn't arrive in time due to varying flight schedules, but I was able to switch the tickets to the next day. Coordination with all parties' flight schedules would improve the ease of executing these plans.

Loch Ness and Caledonian Canal Cruise

Inverness

One of my favorite activities! A beautiful 2-hour, relaxing and informative ride.

Speyside Distillery Tour from Inverness

Inverness

Our driver/guide (Jimmy) was very good. The tours and tastings at the distilleries were fun and informative.

Wild Brown Trout and Grayling Fishing River Tay

Scotland

Great ghillie and guides but didn't catch any fish.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Edinburgh Old Town Tour

Edinburgh

The tour was great, and Katie Rae was awesome!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Everything worked perfectly as planned The accomdations exceeded expectation The variety of food in Scotlant leases something to be desired.

Tetiana, thanks for everything,. You are very good . Russ

The overall trip was great, the stops wonderful, the accommodations were very nice, and for the most part our private transfer was efficient.

The tour of old town Edinburgh was just about right with Chris our tour guide entertaining and informative.

We spent three days with John Patience for a tour of Stirling, Bannockburn, Wallace Monument, Inverness, Loch Ness and Saint Andrew’s. As we are not golfers, Saint Andrew’s was not our favorite but could appreciate the town and local university. John, our guide and driver for this part of the trip was fabulous, informative, funny and a gentleman beyond compare. We actually met a student from Michigan which was a nice touch. Go Green, Go White. Seeing the standing stones and Clava Cairns was an unplanned stop which still might be this reviewer’s favorite.

Newhall Mains was fantastic! The restaurant, coos and the sauna were perhaps our best overall accommodations. We had to skip the Urquhart Castle because of limited time.
Having a local guide ( J P) with this much knowledge made a long day in a van most enjoyable. Talisker Distillery was fantastic and a source of many souvenirs. We said goodbye to our best guide John at the drop off at the Edinbane Inn, a great establishment with local relaxed flavor and great food.

Our vehicle was cramped for the Edinbane to Kilt Rock, old man of Storr, tour and hike but Ian our Driver made it fun.

Caroline picked us up from Inverlochy Castle Hotel ( Beautiful Accommodations) to the Ferry for the whisky tour segment of the trip though we never had time to explore Glencoe.

The ferry was fun and efficient though our Driver from the ferry doc at Port Askaig was slightly late and uncommunicative so that was a bit disconcerting.

The Machrie was a welcome shift to a more relaxed pace, our taxi Driver to Port Ellen was great. ( Arthur, Bodachs Islay taxi) He saved us later in the day as we stumbled back from our three distillery tour.

Loch Lamond and Cameron house was beautiful but we needed more time, only one quick night and a couple of meals there to remember. This needed two to three full days.

Eri our Driver to Glasgow and later to the airport was very nice and informative. Our last night at the Kimpton was good but again felt very hurried. The spa experience however was welcome and helped to relax us.

My wife and I had a great trip to Scotland! Our driving around the country included several days in each town: Edinburgh, St Andrews, Pitlochry, Inverness, Portree, Banavie/Ft Williams, and Luss. It was great to have KimKim's agent's experience helping decide on the route and destinations. All great choices! In the towns, the boutique hotels were intimate and in the heart of town. The selections kept us from competing with large tour busses and we felt more a part of each towns than in more corporate hotels. Once we drove to each town, we could then walk to everything we wanted. The highlights were four rounds of Golf scheduled by kimkim, and lots of hiking & biking on our own. Beside the Golf, we were set up with a few tours; two distillery tours, a private Edinburgh walking tour, Urquhart castle tour, and a ferry-bike ride loop at Loch Katrine. Those events provided a good mix with our desire to explore on our own.

Tetiana helped us plan an amazing two week trip through Scotland. It was seamless working with her remotely, as she helped plan and book our activities in Edinburgh, the Highlands, Oban, and Isle of Skye. She listened to our interests, and had great insight into the activities that we would find interesting. Additionally, she was easy to contact and very responsive, checking in with us several times during the two weeks in Scotland. One of our favorite days was in Edinburgh, where she scheduled us with a private guide to take us to Rosslyn Chapel and Glenkinchie Distillery. Both activities were very enjoyable, and she found a great guide for us. I would not hesitate to use Kim Kim for our travel plans in the future.

Salomé planned the perfect trip. There were a lot of moving parts--8 different hotels in 8 different cities over 3 weeks, lots of activities, and a traveler who is post-joint replacement, so ability was unknown.

The trip she planned was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. I can't recommend Highpoint Travel enough and the only reason I found them was Kimkim.

Hotel Reviews

Tigerlily

Edinburgh

The reception desk was hard to find. The vibe was for a much younger crowd than us. We had room 16. The lampshade was broken. The lights weren't dimmable so they flickered. One of the chairs had a broken bottom. The mini-bar was ridiculous. And worst of all, we were charged double for our stay. This was the only hotel I wouldn't stay at again. The high points were the breakfast staff, housekeeping, and the bartender.

Authenticity & Character

As i said, the vibe seems more for 20 and 30 year old folks. It's fine

Location

It's in the New City. If you want to go to the Old City, it's a hike up the hill.

Staff

As i said, the breakfast server was outstanding, the bartender was new but very nice, and the housekeeping staff was great. The night porter though, charged us double for our stay. We were checking out, we said our travel agency already paid and were calling them when he said, "It's all taken care of." We took that to mean he'd found the travel agency payment. When we got home, after a 26hr day, we realized that he just charged our card on file. It took 4 days to get the $800 we were overcharged back. This caused a huge hardship for us as that was the money we'd set aside to restock our house with groceries when we got back.

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was clean. The bed was comfortable. The furniture was in disrepair.

The Castle Hotel

Conwy

This one was my favorite. We had a suite and our windows in the sitting room looked out on High Street while the windows in the bedroom looked on the castle and the old church. Lots of stairs, be warned. 100% worth every bit of it. We were here for 4 days; I wanted to move in permanently.

Authenticity & Character

This building was built for temporary housing, being an old coach inn.

Location

We were cattycorner to Plas Mawr! You can't get more central than High Street.

Staff

Good folks, incredibly helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ooh, that tub!

Clayton Hotel

Glasgow

We had one night here. I would've liked more. It's directly in the city center, right off the river. You can walk to lots of things and the train is an easy walk.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Central to everything

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Bosville Hotel

Portree

Parking was incredibly difficult but worth it. They did an amazing job with the remodel. Again, you're going to have stairs and there's no getting around that. The food was fantastic, so make reservations for dinner ahead of time.

Authenticity & Character

Three 16th C cottages made into an inn.

Location

Smack in the middle of town. Excellent location.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Royal Hotel, Ullapool

Ullapool

We had only 1 night here. I wish we'd had more. We had room 3, on the corner with the most amazing view. Do check out Highland Pottery just up the hill.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Lots within walking distance

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hawthorns Bed & Breakfast

Thurso

I felt like I was staying with friends. The Hawthornes are incredibly kind and welcoming people. Please do ask to meet the canine family members. They're lovely.

Authenticity & Character

It's a home.

Location

Just down from Castle Mey and the gardens.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lochardil House Hotel Inverness

Inverness

It's a great old house with a wing where you can get a ground floor room-- no stairs! The real jewel here is the staff. They are warm, lovely people who make you feel very welcome.

Authenticity & Character

Location

You kinda have to drive to get to anything in Inverness.

Staff

This is what makes this hotel stand out.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cairngorm Hotel

Aviemore

There will be stairs. You can't get around them but they're worth it for the excellent service and great food. The location is directly across the street from the steam engine trip and within walking distance of everything.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Secrets of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile - walking tour with castle tickets

Edinburgh

We had fun on this one. Our tour guide, Veni, was great. After 2.5 weeks of tromping up and down castle stairs and hills and so forth, I was able to keep up. I'm definitely in better shape now than I was before this trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A little difficult to find if one doesn't know what Merkat is, or was.

Transport

Full-day Best of Snowdonia Day Tour

Conwy

This was not exactly what I thought. I thought we'd be going to the top of yr Wyddfa, but this was a van ride around the area, hitting 4 castles along the way. By this time, I was pretty much castled out, having realized that unless you were into castle design, one castle was pretty much the same as another. However, this one had a Welsh designed castle which was very different and the guide was very nice.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Loch Lomond Cruise

Scotland

Scotland is just a ridiculously beautiful country. Point your camera anywhere and you'll get a beautiful photo. Loch Lomond was no exception. We went to the church yard to see the Viking burial. That was very cool.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Talisker distillery tour

Scotland

I like whiskey so I truly enjoyed this. My husband is more a rum drinker. Our tour guide was great, I loved the look behind the scenes, and the whiskey was good.

Summer Isle Tours

Ullapool

We missed the Summer Islands. A road closure/construction in Castletown made us look for an alternate route. The GPS, bless it, sent us down a two-way one lane road for 80mi. One we realized we weren't going to make it, we called and canceled (no refund) and relaxed and took our time. We ended up at Dunrobin castle in Goldspie. Sometimes going off script is better. Once you get to Ullapool, check out Highland Pottery.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My driver (my husband) seemed terrified the entire 80mi. He rode too far to the left and didn't seem to understand the rules of the road. He improved after mile 40 or so. LOL. Seriously, though, I recommend a T sign for the car and maybe a "So you want to drive yourself around Scotland, do ya?" pamplet to teach Americans how to properly use those one lane roads and round abouts.

Transport

The car was excellent. Thank goodness we didn't get unsold to the bigger car. The Kia Nero was just fine.

Orkney Day Trip

Scotland

See the Welcome to Orkney review.

Welcome to the Orkney Islands

Scotland

Christina: Kieran was an amazingly knowledgeable and personable guide. I can't recommend him enough. There was so much here! Skara Brea was closed for high winds so we went to Gurness instead and I'm glad for it. We saw the Italian cathedral which showed the incredible talent of the Italian prisoners of war, and this is where I saw the Highland cows in person. We went to St Magnus Cathedral and it's as fine as any other I've seen anywhere.

Quality of Experience

I want an entire week here, maybe 2.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kieran. Book him.

Transport

This is about Northlink. We arrived at the time we were told to arrive. What we didn't know is that there was a half mile hike to get to the check in point and parking was £15! Since I couldn't run because of the knee surgery, we were late. These folks are getting the 3 stars bc they held up the ferry for us to get there. That was kind of them and they didn't have to. We appreciate that part. The ferry itself was nice, no complaints there. I looked into what it would've cost to bring the car over instead and wow! Ridiculous! What's truly ridiculous is that they charge for the car and then again for each person! That's crazy. So, my suggestion is to look into other ferry companies especially if you have mobility issues.

Boat Ride Around the Canal & Loch Ness including a Visit to Urquhart Castle

Scotland

We got there late for our original boat ride so the folks there worked out something better. We did the cruise and then got tickets for the castle at our own pace. It took of all of the pressure to do the castle within the time allotted.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre tickets

Inverness

It's a necessary trip. Consider it a a pilgrimage, even if it is sad. It's a beautiful field watered with a lot of blood over a family feud between cousins.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

National Wallace Monument visit

Scotland

Lots of narrow spiral stairs. Beautiful view of Stirling Castle and the river.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Take the bus. The driver is hilarious.

Transport

Stirling Castle Tickets

Scotland

This was a great way to start our trip.

We loved Scotland and were very appreciative that we got to see so many things in our 10 days. My feedback is solely on our challenges with accommodations scheduled.

At our first location (Glasgow) - the hotel and our guide from our roadbook were inaccurate relative to when meals (specifically breakfast) was. It caused us some stress as we tried to figure out where to have breakfast before very early tour dates. I wish it were more accurate.

We LOVED the Rocpol hotel - the hotel was fantastic! However, included with our rooms were 3 things each day - tea at 3pm; glass of wine/champange at 5pm; and spoons and a drink at 6pm. We only were able to enjoy tea at ONE day, wine never, and spoons one day. It would have been nice to not have the tours end so late that we couldn't enjoy Inverness nor the hotel and the amazing services. I felt like we didn't get value from what we paid for the hotel. Additionally, at least one of the suggested things to do in Inverness were not doable due to Sunday start date.

The final accommodation Frazer Suites was not good at all. First, they are apartments that have mini-kitchens and we didn't need that. Second, the facilities were really dated and bathroom was gross. Third, we had to ask for towels and our room was cleaned 1 time (not really well) in our stay. Finally, the hotel staff was just OK. After the experience at Rocpool, it was such a disappointment. Finally the location - while close to Edinburg Castle - nothing else was nearby - meaning most of the shops and attractions closed by 7pm and all that was there was restaurants. I am not sure why we stayed at that hotel at that location - as we didn't get very much out of it - a rather gross hotel in an ok location.

My last recommendation is that on future tours, you have people start with the hop on/hop off tours - which provide a really great way to learn about each city and gives you a good idea of places to visit etc

Hotel Reviews

Fraser Suites Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rocpool Reserve Hotel

Inverness

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clayton Hotel

Glasgow

I liked rooms; I wish they were more clear on services like breakfast times

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Edinburgh Castle Tickets

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Loch Lomond, Kelpies & Stirling Castle Tour

Edinburgh

We had sufficient time to review the castle - it was great but Stirling castle is very commercial

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Outlander tour from Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Amazing - I didn't watch Outlander but our Rabbie driver made it come alive and explained things She was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Scotch Whisky Experience Tour and Tasting

Edinburgh

I learned a lot but I think the Johnnie Walker tour might be a better one for you to consider (we didn't do it but heard from others on our Rabbie tour that it was much better)

Private transfer in town

Scotland

Great driver

Loch Ness Cruise, Outlander & Whisky Tour

Inverness

I lvoed that we had enough time at the castle to really explore

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The best driver!

Transport

while older vehicle - it was actually more comfortable

The Isle of Skye & Eilean Donan Castle

Inverness

I felt very rushed going thru the castle - we didn't get enough time for the admission price Also I felt like many of the stops were "tourist traps" that Rabbie's gets paid to take people - not really much to see - more "buy stuff" Also lunch was stressful at Skye as so many people - we had very little time to find lunch and walk around

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

the driver was a bit harsh - driving and yelling at other drivers - it was a lot

Transport

The Rabbie buses are hard for tall US invidivuals - very little leg room

Uilebheist Distillery Discovery Tour

Inverness

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Oban, Glencoe, Highland Lochs & Castles

Glasgow

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jane was an excellent resource. She really made the planning of our trip easy from start to finish. Jane was always available to make changes and help us make the most of our time. We made a few adjustments to our plans while in Scotland and Jane and KimKim were always available and happy to help.
This was a Perfect 10 trip.
Thanks Jane!!
We will definitely use KimKim when planning our next trip.

Hotel Reviews

Clayton Hotel

Glasgow

This is fantastic hotel. It blends the best of the old world charm with New world amenities and modern features. Excellent new large elevators. Great view from the higher floors. Clean and comfortable rooms that felt newly remodeled. Friendly helpful staff. Excellent Bar and restaurant with a great complimentary breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Great blend of old world charm and elegance with model features and new world amenities.

Location

Really good location to get around Glasgow.

Staff

The staff could not have been any nicer or more helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room 1108 was immaculate, comfortable, well stocked. The view was beautiful from our room.

Glenmoriston Townhouse Hotel

Inverness

Wonderful staff in a great location. Rooms are very inconsistent and some are really rundown. The location is very nice but the hotel rooms need to be completely redone. There is no AC and our room was damp and very musty. There are No lifts, porters and it’s a 3 story hotel with no handicap accessibility.

Authenticity & Character

Older hotel that needs a major refresh.

Location

Excellent location

Staff

The staff could not have been nicer or more accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The staff did as best as they could but they can’t make the old carpet better or dry rooms that are humid and musty. This is no place for people with limited motility or asthma.

The Scotsman Hotel

Edinburgh

Scotsman is in a perfect location to the Royal Mile and the train station. The stay was fantastic and very helpful. They provided great recommendations and service. The breakfast was good and the room was very clean and comfortable. Don’t bring oversized bags the lifts are typical small European lifts. Overall a very nice hotel

Authenticity & Character

Great location with old world charm.

Location

Great location very nice hotel

Staff

The staff is the best in Edinburgh.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean room with very comfortable beds.

Activity Reviews

A Fully Bespoke Tour Day with a Private Driver Guide

Scotland

Glasgow is a wonderful city with a tremendous amount to see. Our driver Robert changed our tour to a full day in Glasgow and we were happy he did. We saw Glasgow Cathedral, the burial grounds and he took us all around town. We ended the day at the Kelvingrove Museum. You could kill 4 hours there easy.

Quality of Experience

Our driver Robert was a wonderful part of our trip . We could not have asked for a more Authentic Scot to help us experience Glasgow.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Robert was a true professional showing us the best of Glasgow!

Transport

Robert helped us see the best of Glasgow.

The Isle of Skye & Eilean Donan Castle

Inverness

Isle of Skye was amazing. Donnan Castle is a Must see Castle. The scenery and castle are fabulous. I would highly recommend a private tour with a small group in a Sprinter Van. This is a trip that is far better with the visibility you get in a smaller van without worrying about driving

Quality of Experience

Donan Castle was incredible. They did an amazing job rebuilding it .

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Keith made a few u planned stops that made our visit even better.

Transport

Keith was a very knowledgeable, organized and patient guide.

Outlander tour from Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Great tour with lots to see and do. Castle, Coos, Sheep and Hay bales!

Quality of Experience

Great day.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Derek was a real authentic Scot. Hard to understand at times but truly excellent guide.

Transport

Great driver and a wonderful private Sprinter van. I highly recommend small group tours.

Uilebheist Distillery Discovery Tour

Inverness

Nice spot for a drink. No need for the tour.

Quality of Experience

Not awesome but a nice spot for drink or /

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Nice staff. We walked there.

Transport

We walked there

Boat Ride Around the Canal & Loch Ness including a Visit to Urquhart Castle

Scotland

Beautiful views. Urquhart Castle is not a must see. Loch Ness is a nice Lake but also not a must see in my opinion. Spend the day in Stirling or St Andrews. Watch Rick Steve’s episode and skip this if you’re strapped for time. We would skip it had we known.

Quality of Experience

Just not a must see.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Typical bus tour. Nothing special, too many people.

Transport

Typical bus tour. Nothing special

Fishing Villages of Fife & St Andrews from Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Great trip. I would tell anyone to spend 1 Full day in St Andrews. There is too much to see in a few hours. The day was great. Fife and the Castles and site are a must see.

Quality of Experience

Great Day

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Derek was a fantastic Driver and made our trip special.

Transport

Derek was our driver. Fantastic guy.

Edinburgh Castle Tickets

Edinburgh

It’s a fantastic castle with incredible history. Our guide was awesome.

Quality of Experience

All good

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide makes the most of the Castle visit.

Transport

We walked to the Castle from the Scotsman Hotel.

There were so many amazing sites that it would take all morning to name them all. The trip was incredible. We felt that we really got a taste of what Scotland is all about. Museums, pubs, restaurants, history, cities, magnificent landscapes, and so much more. Everything went off perfectly from the person who met us at the airport, to the person that dropped us off at the airport for our return home. We were lucky to have 3 great drivers/guides. Derek, Keith, and Robert were extremely knowledgeable, pleasant and professional. They made stops, and ad-libbed for us because they had a feel for what we would appreciate seeing. We had quite a few laughs with them. I thought the hotels were all very nice. We were able to check in early, every staff member that we encountered was really nice, the breakfasts were all very good and the rooms, with the exception of the Glen Morriston, were nice. The Glen Morriston doesn't have a lift. I had to drag our heavy suitcases up 40 stairs which wasn't much of an issue for me, but if you have older clients, it would be very difficult. The hotel room was small but I suspect that is true with most of the hotels. The location of our hotels were very convenient. Every time we called Jane for advice or to make a change, she was very accessible and very helpful.
I would absolutely, highly recommend the Kim Kim agency to any of my friends or relatives. (I already have!) We hope to plan a trip to Ireland next year and you will be hearing from us. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. 508 626-5373. Also, we appreciate you trying to help us with Scotsrail.
Thank you for planning a magnificent trip for us!!

Sincerely,
Ray and Mary Insani

Hotel Reviews

Clayton Hotel

Glasgow

Nice room. Nice staff. Good location. Very good breakfast. Cool bar.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Glenmoriston Townhouse Hotel

Inverness

Rooms were a bit small. There is no lift. Friendly, helpful staff. Nice bar and great location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to town. Right across from the river

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Scotsman Hotel

Edinburgh

Great location. Helpful, pleasant, nice staff. Good breakfast. Great location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Fully Bespoke Tour Day with a Private Driver Guide

Scotland

Robert took us to wherever we wanted to go. Very professional. Dressed in an incredible kilt. Very pleasant. Very knowledgable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Beautiful, brand new Mercedes van. Very comfortable.

The Isle of Skye & Eilean Donan Castle

Inverness

Amazing sites. Keith was a great driver and an exceptional guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Uilebheist Distillery Discovery Tour

Inverness

We skipped this but stopped in for a drink. It was the best beer we had on the trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat Ride Around the Canal & Loch Ness including a Visit to Urquhart Castle

Scotland

Very organized amazing trip our driver, Linda was an extremely funny, knowledgeable guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bus was a bit hot on the return trip

Outlander tour from Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fishing Villages of Fife & St Andrews from Edinburgh

Edinburgh

We had an incredible guide . Derek was very knowledgable and extremely pleasant. Couldn't have been better.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Beautiful, clean Mercedes van. Great driver.

Edinburgh Castle Tickets

Edinburgh

So much history

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

First off I need to brag about Salome and how well she put the trip together. The hotels were great choices with great locations that met our needs. The Tigerlily was our start and was located close to the castle at Edinburgh which was also a short walk to the train station, a mall, the car rental (Europcar), restaurants and coffee houses. The breakfast at Tigerlily and so was the dinner. We did eat at some other places but Tigerlily was our first choice. Driving in Scotland was a new and quasi difficult experience but getting the car was a breeze. Even the rental agent bragged on how well prepared our advanced booking had been done. One note was that all the hotels with the exception of the Tigerlily did not have air conditioning. The Guardian in Ft William did have a fan which was a great asset. The vast majority of the time it did not matter since the nights were cool. The one down side (and somewhat comical) was the 5AM very loud argument by some sea gulls outside our window . All of our guides were so friendly and informative. If I had one problem is that at Dunbar we saw very very little of where the battle took place. It is not a national park but we did not get to visit Doon hill and only found at single monument along side the road that marked a spot. It was my hope to have had a much more detailed review but it would have required driving outside the town and that seemed to be beyond the scope of what our guides offered. All other places we visited were exceptional for the depth of our tours. Durham Cathedral, Hadrian's Wall, Bannockburn, and Culloden were so well performed by every guide. Absolutely no regrets on any aspect of the trip. Something out of control of KIMKIM was the trains. Every single train was PACKED. Struggled to find seats at times and finding space for the luggage was a constant problem. But it is hypocritical for a tourist to complain about tourist.

This was the first time I booked with KimKim-so there was a learning curve. But once I figured it out-it was great. All of the drivers were fantastic! The guides were amazing-special shout out to Catherine in Inverness, who had a boundless knowledge of the area, as well as stories of growing up there. She was a true gem. Also, Brian who took us to Skye was just wonderful. The extra stop at the Quarngs will never be forgotten. The most beautiful scenery imagined. Katrina, the organizer from KimKim was also amazing. She was so responsive, I couldn’t believe it. I think, the one thing that might have been slightly better were some of the hotels. Since we didn’t have a car and there is not a lot of public transport in some for the places, I would have asked for places closer to town, and also maybe a little nicer. Although all off the hotels were fine and clean, Greenaces in Portree, had very poor communication and no breakfast, (unless you walked a mile) even though it is billed as a B&B. On the other hand The Corrie’s in Lake Lomond was absolutely fantastic. It also had the best porridge of the whole trip. Brodie, the proprietor there, was the nicest man, he even drove us into town in the rain so we didn’t have to wait for the bus. I think the thing I would do next time is be more specific about want I wanted the trip to be, and do more research on the hotels. I did also check into some other private tours and this one was much more reasonable. Over all, it was a great experience and I will definitely book again.

Hotel Reviews

Rocpool Reserve Hotel

Inverness

Just a beautiful comfortable luxury hotel. This was so welcome after the last experience. Beautiful big comfortable soundproof rooms. Breakfast was great, staff very accessible. Would stay there again and again .

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Greenacres Greenacres

Portree

The B&B is in a beautiful setting with wonderful views. If not for that, I would 1 star it. When you walk in, the foyer smells of damp and mold and there is no information on what to do. When we booked, we received a confirmation email that told us very little. When we arrived we had no idea what to do as there was no one on site. The first number we called went to automatron hell and we got no where. We finally called the emergency number (and got scolded) but he begrudgingly gave us our room number and the lock box code for our key. You would have thought that he might have given us some more info as we told him our email said basically nothing. The next crisis was arranging breakfast-again calling numbers that sent us into VM cyclones. Once we did reach someone, the only times left for the breakfast were after 9am. Since we are early risers so we walked the mile to town to get coffee and pastries from the bakery(which was amazing) and then the mile back for our actual breakfast, only to find out that, breakfast is not served at Greenacres, but at The Rosedale, a hotel, a mile back into town. The second morning, we could not have breakfast until 9:30 but our ride was scheduled to pick us up at 9. So we walked to the bakery again, but it was Sunday and there were closed, So I went to the Rosedale and explained our situation and asked it we could eat early- it was about 8am. We still had walk the 20 minutes back to the B&B to meet our driver. They did let us eat, but again, they were not very nice about it, as if we had upset their whole day. There were about 4 other patrons in the restaurant at the time, so I’m unsure why we were so hard to accommodate. At any rate, other than the beautiful view of the sea, the place was run down and not pretty. The room was fine, clean, but there was about a 2 foot clearance around each side of the bed. It was just not a great place to stay. I would avoid at all costs. I think, if the people had been nice to us, I don’t think I would have been so negative. But their attitude was not at all service oriented, as if we were asking for so much. A key to our room and breakfast at time we were able to make it should not be seen as demanding. Overall, a big thumbs down to Greenacres! Oh and if you don’t ask for a seaview room, it could be even more horrible, because that was the only thing that made it bearable to stay there. The rooms facing the road looked abysmal.

Authenticity & Character

Rooms were clean, but so tiny. The rest of the hotel common spaces including outside terrace, were rundown and trashy.

Location

Nice views

Staff

What staff? Any accessible staff would be an improvement….0 stars is the real rating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room was nice-make sure you get one with a view, otherwise, all bets are off.

The Garrison Hotel

Fort William

This hotel was fine. Good location and the accommodations were clean and nice. The breakfasts were also great. But it was just like a strip hotel without any real character. We were in a “suite” that was in a separate building. The room looked out over the parking lot and the back of the other part of the hotel, so you basically had to keep the curtains shut the whole time, or the guests of the hotel were looking directly into your room. You also had to walk outside to get into the main hotel and drag your suitcase up a pretty big set of cement stairs to get to the room. Thank goodness we were on the 2nd floor and not the 3rd. Location was good. Staff were ok, although not anxious to do anything extra. It was a nice functional, clean hotel, but not memorable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Corries B&B

Luss

Small 4 room B&B. The owner Brodie, was great-very helpful and friendly. The only thing here is thst it is far from all but 1 restaurant and you need transport to go anywhere. We were only them for a day, and he dropped us at a trailhead so we could have a lovely hill walk, but then we walked the 3 miles back to the B&B, which was fine for us, but might not be for others. Luckily, the only close restaurant-Loch Lomand Inn- had great food and wine and we ate there both nights. But overall, it would be best if you had a car in this region. The B&B is so pretty, with nice comfortable rooms and amazing breakfasts. Highly recommend staying here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Wish I could give him 10 stars

Cleanliness & Comfort

VOCO Grand Central Glasgow

Glasgow

Pretty hotel, nice breakfast, great location. VERY small room with terrible view.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Glen Affric, Cawdor Castle, Culloden & Clava Cairns

Inverness

The best and most personal tour of the trip. I wish I could give Catherine 10 stars. She was energetic and amazing. Took us to the best places and knew all the local characters. The best

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The absolute best!

Transport

Private Inverness Walking Tour

Scotland

Nice little tour of Inverness. Funny guy, not amazing, but good enough.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver from Fort William to Skye was amazing-Brian. Took us many more and better places than we’re on the tour. Great knowledge of the area and funny nice guy with great stories.

Transport

Drivers were great and knowledgeable. Also prompt cars were were really nice.

Jacobite Steam Train

Scotland

We found out 30 inures before the scheduled departure thst the train was not running due to repairs on the track. This was planned in advance. I guess the Jacobite people didn’t tell out tour company who kept trying to get us tickets. This was a little bit of a big deal, because if we had know in advance, we prob could have skipped Fort William, or at least,planned other things in advance, like a distillery tour. We were lucky and had great weather and went on a nice hike, but if given the choice in advance would have probably chosen to spend more time in Skye.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The only bad this here, is thst our driver who took us from Glasgow to Loch Lomand was supposed to,give us a 2 hour tour of Tossahchs National Park which did not happen. He just drove,us to our B&B and left. We should have had a guide on our day in Loch Lomand. We were lucky the B&B guy took us to a trial head, but we still had to walk 3 mile back.

Transport

Just clear expectations about if you have a driver or a guide.and what to,expect.

Seal Spotting Loch Linnhe Cruise

Scotland

It was a nice boat and the guide was funny and informative. It was good to get in to the harbor to be able to really see Ben Nevis, but it was a little bit of a time filler. The eventual destination of “seal Island” was a tiny rock with about w0 seals laying on it. A little underwhelming. If you had kids it would be fun I guess.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walked

Private Glasgow Essentials Tour

Scotland

Great walk and I formative guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very nice and knowledgeable.

Transport

We walked which was great. No transport involved.

We had excellent guides for our excursions. They were all knowledgeable, enthusiastic and personable. We especially enjoyed our Beatles tour. With Paul T. Jack, who took us on a walking tour of Smithfield was very knowledgeable and engaging. Grace took us on a walking tour focused on Shakespeare and I learned a lot (maybe more than I needed to know ). I did enjoy the town it was Stratford on Avon. Scotland was beautiful and we had great weather! Visiting St. Andrew’s was a dream of a lifetime. We were busy with all the things that were planned for us and felt like we covered a lot of ground.

Overall, the trip to Scotland was very successful. It was our first time cruising and we took our 20-something kids. While there were bumps in the road, the most important matters were attended to. It was great to have an agency taking care of all the transport transfers, and obtaining tix for various sightseeing. They also researched and booked the cruise. I'm not sure if our agent had much experience with cruises, and we certainly didn't, so we didn't know what questions to ask.
There was a lot of confusion about the travel insurance that the boat required, and I ended up having coverage from three different sources (admittedly, I was not willing to risk showing up at the boat and being turned away because we didn't have the proper coverage). We didn't know that there was a choice before arriving to the boat of an all inclusive alcohol package, which was more expensive if we obtained in on the boat. We didn't know that there was a lottery on double beds in our cabin level, so my husband and I ended up with single beds, which would not have been an acceptable risk had we known in advance. To their credit, Kim-Kim refunded us 300GBP for this oversight. Also, our cabin reservation and our kids were not linked so we were assigned different dining room tables, which then had to be sorted on the boat. Regarding the choice of Fred Olson cruise line for our group, it wasn't a good fit. The clientele on the ship was 90% UK residents and 90% over 70 years old. Thus, everything from the music, comedy and other entertainment like trivia quizzes were focused on a very different demographic than our crew. Perhaps this is inevitable with a Scotland cruise? Another hiccup was that I had researched the kind of adaptor we needed for Scotland, which we used for our three days in Edinburgh, but we had no idea that the adaptors on the cruise were the different, European kind. Next, I believe our agent made a mistake in not giving us access to our cruise accounts until very close to the cruise date, and many of the onshore tours were sold out by the time we got access. Our agent gave us a referral to a private tour company in Kirkwall--Venture Ashore. We were very disappointed with the tour. We booked a 4 hour private tour for 4 people for $850. Our tour guide was a cabbie, Kevin. We were picked up in a cab, which wouldn’t have been a problem except that Kevin had just moved to Scotland in Nov (it was now August) and didn’t know much except how to get us to the places, where he dropped us off and then sat in his cab until we returned!? He didn’t even have enough knowledge to fill the time while we were driving from place to place, and he often repeated himself. Kevin was a very nice man. I’m just shocked that the tour company considered this to be an $850 level private tour. I will not take a Venture Ashore tour again.
Some comments about the Fred Olson cruise itself (besides the cautions I mentioned above): There was no shampoo and conditioner in cabins--you had to go purchase it in the onboard store if you didn't bring it. There were upsells everywhere you turn. The kids were woken up many days by multiple (hourly!) announcements into their cabin that they didn’t need to know, and this was after the cruise director had said that announcements would only be outside cabins.
Having said all of that, Aleksandra was very responsive, very organized. She seemed to be working weekends. She picked up the phone when we were struggling to connect with one of our transfers. I could tell she was trying very hard and maybe just didn't have the experience yet to foresee all of these subtleties. I would use Kim-Kim again, but I would be more on top of some of these issues, having gotten more experience myself.

Hotel Review

Apex Waterloo Place

Edinburgh

Activity Reviews

Private Transfer from Edinburgh to Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh

Edinburgh Old Town Tour

Edinburgh

Aleksandra was a wonderful guide, always responsive and flexible. She helped us with everything and was always available during the trip for any last minute changes.