Alex Rawson

Review and comments on trip to Scotland May 2025
From Donald Hamburg and Jan Prokop
May 28, 2025
Dear Kim and Alex:
From our very first correspondence and in all our contacts with you, we advised you that the principal purpose of this trip was landscape photography, generally in the Highlands. That goal was often repeated. As it turned out, the very first landscape photo was taken on day 7 on the Isle of Skye. Poor planning on your part and our inadequate review of the itinerary you proposed created unnecessary problems with our trip. Comments below:
Day 1 and Day 2 in Edinburgh were sufficient. Day 3 not necessary at all. The Bonham was very good.
Day 4 Allen, our driver/guide was very good. The tour of St Andrews golf course was very intersting and the guide was excellent. Pine Trees hotel in Pitlochry was very good. The manager was very helpful and a delight. He offered to drive us to the restaurant, but said it would be a hike to walk back to the hotel. Had to cancel the dinner reservation as there was no transportation from the restaurant. We dined at the hotel. What was your reasoning for us to stay in Pitlochry? We could have taken the train from St. Andrews straight to Kyle.
Day 5 the train to Inverness was ok but the first-class tickets and reserved seats were not honored. The conductor told us our seats were taken and that there were no seats in Coach A. We managed to get seats in Coach C. We will send you the reserved seat tickets if you need them to get a refund for the first-class seats.
The two nights in Inverness were totally wasted. No need to go there at all. The Lock Ness cruise and visit to Urquhart Castle were an unnecessary diversion. We could have travelled from St Andrews straight through to Kyle. The Kitchen restaurant was very good in Inverness, tho service was very slow.
Day 7 the train to Skye was fine. The Marmalade Hotel was too far from town and there were NO taxis. We could not keep the dinner reservation because there was no transportation.
Days 8 and 9 were basically the whole trip. The guide, Neil MacLeod, was fabulous. The Talisker tour was a waste of time. It was all about getting us into the gift shop. The trip through Trossachs National Park became redundant. Neil tried to make it as interesting as he could, but mile after mile of barren hills with not much to photograph was a disappointment. Day 9 should not have ended in Loch Lomond. Another 32 miles and we would have been in Glasgow. Why did you make a dinner reservation the Cameron Grill 17 miles away from the hotel when there was no transportation and after we had spent 8 hours in a car with Neil? Neil could have taken us to Glasgow or he could have left us off in the village of Luss and a new driver could have taken us to Glasgow. No need to stay at the Loch Lomond Arms hotel. We dined at the hotel – again.
Day 10. The Kimpton hotel was fine. We spent the day on a sightseeing bus and got to see a lot of Glasgow.
Since we knew very little about the geography of the Scottish Highlands, we had no knowledge of the distance between towns or the distance between our hotels, the restaurants, and the towns. In all, much too much down time and the purpose of the trip (landscape photography of Scotland’s fabulous scenery) was not fulfilled.
Donald and Jan

Our trip to Dublin and Northern Ireland
was a trip of a lifetime. This was our first time using a travel agency and we loved it. The trip was more than we could have planned for ourselves. Castle Eske has beautiful accommodations, amazing staff, calming location in the countryside, and delicious food. We just wish we made more time for their relaxing spa. The historic Bushmills Inn had a perfect location on the coast. The food and service were top notch. Our guides Barry and Paula showed us the Causeway Coast and Belfast. They were personable, flexible, and very knowledgeable. We would recommend them to anyone planning a trip to the North of Ireland.
In Dublin, Diane was our guide for a walking tour of the city. She was so knowledgeable! Her historic anecdote were entertaining and informative. The Irish people, food and culture were so warm and inviting, Even our teenage children can’t wait to revisit.

We so enjoyed our 13 day trip to Ireland. It was important for us that our trip be flexible, that we could drive ourselves around, include a visit to a family castle and several other tourist stops. So we had a plan that detailed each of these with the addition of various other possibilities on route. We could choose to do these or not. One of our favorite things were the hotels we stayed in- very luxurious that included a daily amazing breakfast. They supplied addresses, tickets to events we wanted to see/ some we found were sold out if not pre-purchased. They provided a zippered notebook that we took everywhere with us with our printed tickets, itenary and directions. They even helped us with what clothes to bring for the weather. They checked in with us during the trip.

It was very customized, very professional and all in all, a hit! We would 100% recommend this amazing team to help you plan your Ireland trip.

Hotel Review

Sheen Falls Lodge

Kenmare

On our recent 13 day trip to Ireland, we stayed in 8 different hotels and I say without a doubt that this place was the best. The lounge, the restaurant, the room- amazing. The staff cleaned mud off my shoes for me overnight. The golf course discount was much appreciated and it was a remarkable course. The grounds were lovely and Kenmare is so quaint. I even had a great conversation with one of the grounds keepers about their lovely plants. The best thing also happened … shows their commitment to customer service. We took a free shuttle from the hotel to the golf course and had a great chat with the driver. So impressed. While at the golf course we mentioned that “our driver” told us to do this outing, and the golf course manager smiled and said, “your driver” was the General Manager of the whole place. He drives the shuttle often just to stay in touch with the guests and keep his hands on the pulse. Being in the service industry myself, it doesn’t get any better than that. So if you’re planning on staying here for a couple of days, make your visit longer!

Authenticity & Character

Loved the local Paintings on the wall. Piano player in reataurant. Library books about Ireland available.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

100%

Activity Reviews

Jameson Distillery Midleton

Cork

100% worth a trip

Celtic Nights Traditional Irish Show

Dublin

It was OK. Did not compare to the Irish dance we saw later during our trip. Venue was questionable- in a low ceiling basement.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Trinity College Old Library and Book of Kells

Dublin

100% worthwhile.

Our trip was amazing great working with Alex who planned a great vacation for us. Our driver Michael was great always punctual always accommodating and a great source of information we loved all our hotels except for the Ballyseede Castle we were looking forward to staying there but their service was terrible and so was the food big disappointment on the other hand the Wilder in Dublin and Sheen Falls were amazing places to stay with amazing service and staff. The recommendation to have dinner at 35 in Kenmare should be given to all travelers it was the best dinner we had in Ireland. Good star limo service picked us up and dropped us off at the airport it was truly a good star service

Had a wonderful trip despite the cold, wet weather. Alex was very helpful planning and then making sure things on our trip went as smoothly as possible. I really appreciated the fact that she kept in touch during the trip and continued to help us with reservations. Our guide Craig was amazing. He was extremely knowledgeable, flexible to meet the entire groups needs, and had a great bedside manner. Would definitely use both of these fine people again!