Jane Davey

Our trip to London was absolutely wonderful, and I couldn’t be happier with our experience using Kimkim!

From the initial planning stages through our arrival and departure, everything was thoughtfully coordinated and well organized. Jane was a pleasure to work with, responsive to our questions, and accommodating whenever we needed to make adjustments.

I especially appreciated the assistance we received when selecting our hotel. Jane was incredibly helpful in working through the different options to find accommodations that suited our preferences and budget. We ultimately chose The Queen’s Gate Hotel, and it was amazing! We were absolutely delighted with our choice, and it was the perfect home base for our London adventure.

Our itinerary offered a wonderful combination of British history, sightseeing, and memorable experiences, while still allowing us time to explore on our own.

Some of our favorite highlights included visiting Buckingham Palace and the Queen Elizabeth II exhibition, exploring Westminster Abbey and the Churchill War Rooms, and enjoying a beautiful afternoon tea at Kensington Palace. The entire experience exceeded our expectations, and we came home with wonderful memories!

My only constructive feedback concerns our Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Oxford excursion. We had originally booked a tour that included just Windsor and Stonehenge, but unfortunately, the tour operator canceled approximately five days before our departure. Jane and the Kimkim team were quick to accommodate us with an alternative that included Oxford, which we genuinely appreciated.

However, the replacement tour was on a full-size coach bus with a large group, and the day felt very rushed. With three destinations to cover, we had limited time at each location, making it difficult to fully enjoy the experience. In hindsight, I would have preferred a smaller-group or more private tour, even at an additional cost, allowing us more time to explore without feeling hurried.

That said, I recognize that the original cancellation was outside Kimkim’s control, and I appreciate the effort made to ensure we didn’t miss out on these destinations.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend Kimkim to anyone planning a trip to London. The communication, organization, attention to detail, and personal assistance made the entire process easy and enjoyable. I would happily use their services again for a future adventure!

Hotel Review

The Queens Gate Hotel

London

We absolutely loved our stay at The Queen’s Gate Hotel during our recent trip to London! The hotel was a wonderful choice for our visit. Its location in South Kensington was fantastic, with easy access to so many of the attractions we wanted to explore, while still being situated in a lovely neighborhood. We were especially pleased with how well the hotel suited our needs as two friends traveling together. It provided a comfortable and welcoming home base after our very full days of sightseeing, shopping, and exploring London. We couldn’t have been happier with our choice of accommodations. The Queen’s Gate Hotel was a wonderful part of our London experience, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone planning a visit. We would happily stay here again!

Authenticity & Character

Neighborhood was great

Location

Great location in Knightsbridge!

Staff

Friendly and helpfull

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were pristine!

Activity Review

Soho Evening Food Tour

London

We enjoyed our London food tour and appreciated the opportunity to explore different places and sample a variety of foods. However, I felt the experience was better suited for an afternoon outing rather than an evening food tour. As our guide explained, the tour was originally designed for the afternoon, and that became apparent in the types of establishments we visited. We began with a cinnamon bun and continued to several casual, quick-service locations, including a very small Chinese takeaway. While it was interesting to experience these different spots, the overall selection felt more like a casual daytime food crawl than the evening culinary experience we had anticipated. I would have preferred a little more variety in the atmosphere and dining experiences, particularly given the evening timing. Overall, it was a pleasant experience, but I would recommend positioning this particular tour as an afternoon activity or adjusting the stops to better complement an evening outing.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The trip was wonderful! All of the logistics were so well planned! The travel from the airport to Wales, the Farm to Cardiff, the train from Cardiff to London, and the London Marriott to Heathrow went seamlessly. The only improvement that I have is that the PBC Transfer vehicle from Heathrow to Wales was VERY small. We had to sit sideways in the back seat to not have our knees up by our chins (literally). It would have been optimal to have a larger vehicle for that 3 hour drive. The bicycle arrangements with Drover's Cyclery went very smoothly and the equipment (and support) was great! The Trans Wales horse trekking excursion was perfect! The group was made up of similarly skilled riders the horses were awesome! Hello Ladies! The trip was wonderful! All of the logistics were so well planned! The travel from the airport to Wales, the Farm to Cardiff, the train from Cardiff to London, and the London Marriott to Heathrow went seamlessly. The only improvement that I have is that the PBC Transfer vehicle from Heathrow to Wales was VERY small. Gary and I had to sit sideways in the back seat to not have our knees up by our chins (literally). It would have been optimal to have a larger vehicle for that 3 hour drive. Gary's bicycle arrangements went very smoothly and the equipment (and support) was great! The Trans Wales horse trekking excursion was perfect! The group was made up of similarly skilled riders the horses were awesome! I may have been the "short straw" on the first day, but I quickly I figured out that "is everyone o.k.?" meant we were taking off at a gallop straight away and then, after my first long rein gallop across unknown territory, I adjusted and fit in just fine! LOL The Marriott Park Lane in London was comfortable and convenient and the staff was pleasant. I would recommend the Hyde Park ride for your horsey clients (Corey was my guide) as well as one of the river cruises (with live narration). We did the City Boat Cruise. The hop-on hop off Big Bus was fine for a "windshield tour" of the landmarks, but it wasn't a convenient mode of transport. We found that we could get to most of the sites we wanted to explore faster by walking than by Big Busing. Finally, we just Googled what we wanted to eat and were pleased with the resulting options. We stuck mainly to pubs and ate pub fare but, honestly, enjoyed the food (and the quirks) of each pub we frequented. Our trip was a 10/10!!!

Hotel Reviews

The Old Black Lion

Hay-On-Wye

Our room was in the Annex. It was clean and comfortable and included an en suite bathroom. The food at the pub was delicious and restaurant hours were convenient.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Lovely town and convenient base for our planned activities.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pen-Y-Dre Farm Holidays

Abergavenny

The farm was a fun stop! The room was clean and comfortable and the house had SO MUCH character! The breakfast was delicious too!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location was very convenient for the activities that we had planned.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lanelay Hall Hotel & Spa

Hensol

We were at the hotel for a very short time and could not take advantage of the amenities. Since we arrived just after 7 p.m. and were not ready to dine until after 8, our in house dining options were limited to one restaurant However, the serving staff treated us (later arrivals) very well and the food was excellent. The room was well appointed and the oversized bath tub a welcome feature1

Authenticity & Character

Location

A good location but a bit of a drive to get to our scheduled activities.

Staff

Front desk staffer had limited information; wait staff in the restaurant and in the breakfast area was terrific.

Cleanliness & Comfort

London Marriott Hotel Park Lane

London

Clean and comfortable. Convenient to our planned activities.

Authenticity & Character

A classic Marriott hotel. Well appointed but nothing out of the ordinary.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private Transfer from Hay-on-Wye to Blaenau Farmhouse

Hay-on-Wye

A lovely clean vehicle and Kato was an excellent driver

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All of the drivers that were part of our plan were wonderful people very friendly, very engaging and very enjoyable to travel with. In particular, our driver Martin, the day that we went on our genealogy search to the region around Rosscommon was especially generous with his time and his interest in our agenda.
When it comes to the choice of hotels that you booked us into, we were a bit disappointed. When we first saw the hotels that you proposed for us, we were remarked to each other that these were top-of-the-line hotels, expecting four star quality. In actuality, two of the hotels did not really meet our expectations. one was old and in run down condition, and the other was located far from anything in the center of the city and therefore requiring a long, and expensive cab rides.

Hotel Reviews

The Gibson Hotel

Dublin

Location too far from the central city and tourist activities. Unattractive lobby to check in.

Authenticity & Character

Cold and unwelcome if

Location

Information on how to get into town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shamrock Lodge Hotel

Authenticity & Character

Of

Location

Nothing around the The hotel for tourist. Authenticity and character is the bathroom.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bathroom had a leaky faucet much needed repair. Room needed updating. Lobby area was much nicer.

No.1 Pery Square Hotel & Spa

Limerick

Authenticity & Character

Location

Far from city center and tourist activities

Staff

Everyone was very friendly and helpful, especially at desk check in

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Transfer/Taxi

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Driver Tour of Roscommon

Athlone

Ancestry report was very thorough, however, we did not receive it until the day of our trip and would’ve liked to read it ahead of time. Martin are driver and tour guide was fabulous. He really knew the area and was very knowledgeable about all the stocks we took..

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cycle Hire - Self guided - Limerick Greenway

Ireland

Transportation to and from the cycle rental should’ve been included in our cost. We had to hire a taxi to take us to from the area, which should’ve been done by kimkim.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private transfer

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided E-bike Tour Of Galway City

Galway

Location for pick up was confused with the new location of the bike rental. Took us an extra 15 minutes to find where the bikes were.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very helpful, especially dealing with the traffic. He was very sensitive to our concern about riding in the traffic.

Transport

Welcome to Limerick!

Limerick

Nothing we could’ve read this in a tour book

Welcome to Cobh!

Cobh

Weather was terrible. We came back early and did not take the tour scheduled. We had three hours of nothing to do in Cobb.

Our family trip to the land of our ancestors in Scotland was a tremendous success, thanks in large part to our local specialist, Jane Davey, and her associate, Marine-Héloïse, who helped create a truly one-of-a-kind experience. The trip took a great deal collaboration and planning beforehand, but with their expertise we were able to put together the perfect trip for our family. Jane and Marine also connected us with Graeme Clive of Kilted Piper Tours who guided us for five days of our journey, including the Isle of Skye which was one of the real highlights of the trip. We enjoyed visiting many historic castles and their gardens, as well as the tasting experiences of visiting several scotch whiskey distilleries. Overall, we learned a great deal about the history of Scotland and our ancestors (including visiting some of the film locations of the television series Outlander which we were great fans of). We highly recommend working with Jane and Marine if a tour of Scotland is in your future!

My input was included with Rae's. Overall a very memorable and fun experience. Kimkim reduced the stress and found nice places to stay.

Hotel Review

Tulloch Castle Hotel ‘A Bespoke Hotel’

Dingwall

A very friendly and fun place to stay! We did not get to see the green lady ghost, but we had a great room...

Authenticity & Character

Location

Our of town

Staff

very friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

good food and bar

Activity Reviews

Glen Afric, Culloden & Clava Cairns From Inverness

Inverness

Much better than I anticipated. Well worth the time. Culloden was an emotional experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tickets to British Museum

London

I was glad we went, however a few hours is not nearly enough time. It would take days to see the place. I did not especially like the "layout" of the exhibits, however it was impressive.

Quality of Experience

Our trip to Scotland was very enjoyable and by the end we felt like we had covered a lot of territory and had a good sense of the country and people. We enjoyed our tours and had an especially good guide (Duncan) on a Rabbie tour to the Isle of Skye. He gave amazing backgrounds on the landscape, history and music. He knew when to talk and when to let us just enjoy the views. Edinburgh was a good ending to the trip and while there we especially enjoyed Holyrood Palace and hiking up Arthur's Seat. The Johnny Walker tour was an unexpected sensory show that we enjoyed.
Perhaps the only complaint was the lack of air conditioning at the last hotel we stayed at. Room got warm and stuffy and opening windows on a busy street in downtown Edinburgh didn't offer a good solution. The hotel was cute but their kitchen was also a bit overwhelmed at breakfast and not as good as other places.
Thanks Jane and thank you Kimkim for another great trip

We had a wonderful experience using
Kim Kim and especially their local agent, Jane who helped organize our 13-day driving tour through England. Having an agent actually based in the country with local knowledge of major building and gardens made a huge difference. Her local recommendations, and attention to detail created a smooth and memorable trip from start to finish.
Our itinerary included:
* London
* Royal Tunbridge Wells
* Isle of Wight
* Lyme Regis
* St Austell
* Henley-on-Thames

I have done 2 trips with Kim Kim, England and Uganda to see gorillas. Both trips went
extremely well and would absolutely work with them again.
William Gordon, CA