Kateryna Garkavenko

Tours were very good. Very satisfied.

Dear Kate.

Sorry for not finishing this sooner. It turned out I had jet lag longer than I thought, and of course arriving back didn’t just mean I could stop and take account right away. As John Lennon said, Life happens when your busy making other plans.

In any case. Here is my over summation of my trip you helped plan for Scotland.
I will not comment upon the flights to or from there since that is really a completely separate and overall headache inducing tangent. So will merely say to anyone who might listen. Don’t book a flight with Iceland air. Moving on…

Transportation both gong and coming to and from most locations were reliable and covenant. With very friendly drivers all around.

The first leg of the journey in Edinburgh, which lasted from Saturday through Monday was very inviting and convenient with regards to both the hotel, Apex, as well as its proximity to all that we had scheduled to accomplish. Highlights especially were the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle and The Johnny walker experience (though it was slightly disappointing we couldn’t purchase anything we sampled). Along with the pool in the hotel.

Our journey to the highlands on Tuesday was long but beautiful. And our tour of Dalwhinnie Distillery as well as their bar and staff were well stocked, informed and friendly. The only downside was that because the tour was essentially in the early afternoon, by the time we arrived at our hotel in Pitlochry, I was pretty well sauced and had to struggle the rest of the day to make sure I didn’t pass out before sunset. Overall the accommodations and the breakfast the next day however were the nicest we had thus far.

The Next day our Train was delayed, and we had to maneuver ourselves to The Redcliffe In inverness with a little more effort than was expected. However, once we were settled in, the accommodations were actually the most spacious, comfortable, as well as enjoyable concerning its location, beer garden, and food. Along with the next day, which took us down Loch Ness, and to the castle by the sea. Up until then I would say it was the most fulfilling day in terms of expectations. And of all the places I would personally return to I would say Inverness was the place.

The next day, Friday started off wonderfully. In fact, I would say for me and maybe even my dad the highlight of the trip up to that point was the morning trip and personal tour of the Highlands near Craigmore. Both our drivers were extremely friendly and informative. And we even got relatively good weather considering the time of year. Truly a magnificent time spent out in the Scottish wilderness. With hardly a soul seen.

Which is probably why the rest of the day, and sadly by extension the trip was such a come down. But then you knew this was coming. But I have to speak honestly. Perhaps it was the expectations, or maybe just the contrast from where we had just come from. Yet when we arrived at St Andrews, and tried to check in to what I assumed was a hotel, we instead found our selves locked out of the place without a single person to answer the doorbell, nor an explanation of how to check in. We had to wait for someone’s wife who was already staying there to come down and let us in. and even then not a single brochure, pamphlet, or even map of the city was waiting for us. I had to try and get the owners on the phone, and was spoken to quite rudely for not knowing what either our room # was or how to enter or exit the flat. On top of that, our room was three floors up with no elevator (A perk I would have declined had I known from the get-go considering my several heavy bags and my fathers age.) As well as staying in what was up till then by far the smallest room we had been in so far. Completely false advertising to all the photos broadcasting the place. So from the complete headache of trying to “check in” the cramped and falsely sold space we had, and the indifferent rudeness of the owners, my dad and I were more than miffed. We were at the time outright angry. But of course, you knew that by my immediate messaging of you. Which had a cascading effect on the rest of the trip.

Admittingly we probably overreacted at the time. Feeling the need to find more spacious and overall welcoming accommodations, I was ready to split the coop after a single night, and pulled the trigger on a flat in Clydebank Glasgow. Which meant we only got half a day at St Andrews golf course. And having to forego our city tour, only to find ourselves basically in a cultural dead zone for an extra two days. Disappointing to be sure, especially considering my dads love for golf, and our expectation of relaxing for the last leg of the trip. But I will take most of the blame for the overreaction. However, I must admit it wouldn’t have had to happen anyway if there was at least a better sense of transparency concerning what we where we were headed. It is what it is. Just let future travelers know what to expect if they get room 1 there.

That’s about all I have to say, as the last two days at the Jubilee hotel were honestly refreshing and completely low key, and really just a necessary
preparation for the hell day we had to get back home. But like I said, that’s outside the realm of your teams input. Ultimately it was a very fun memorable trip. And like all trips had it ups and downs. But at least we made it home in one piece, and I would personally return certainly to the highlands and inverness especially. Maybe we will plan one again in the future.

Sincerely and gratefully
Nicholas DuShane-

Activity Review

Cairngorms National Park Wildlife Tour

Scotland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

As a frame of reference, I am lifetime Premier Gold on United (over 1MM miles) and at my level of British Air I was able to get upgraded to The CONCORDE when it was still flying. I have travelled extensively for both business and leisure in my life and am very aware of service quality. Following are my observations/reviews of my trip to Dublin and Scotland from 9/17 through 9/30 2026.

During trip planning, I advised KimKim that I had mobility limitations with regard to walking and this had significant impact on my ability to fully or even partially take part in most walking tours. I accept that my limitations are my own concern and that they had no understanding of the extent of my limitations, but I feel that they may have not factored it in. I say that because KimKim booked a trip for us in Sep 2025 with the same limitations and we had far less walking tours. I probably should have questioned the tours for this trip but I trusted them after last year.

DUBLIN

Trinity Townhouse Hotel: A
A boutique hotel with nice spacious rooms. Limited on-site amenities and dining options. Very good location. Note: there are no lifts.

Private walking tour: D
I was unable to finish the 2.5 hour tour and had to end it within the first hour and taxi back to the hotel. My wife did continue the tour and reported that she rated it a B+. I was concerned that they scheduled such a long walking tour for me and that it was in the morning of our arrival from the US.

St Patricks: F
I was unable to go to the cathedral after the aborted walking tour.

Wicklow Mtns, Glendalough, Kilkenny tour: C (rained most of the day)
The bus was reasonably comfortable and the guide and driver were pleasant. The scenery on the tour was very nice.
I was unable to walk the trails at Glendalough (the primary purpose of that part of the trip) but I did go into the visitors center (an additional 4 euro fee) while the others were walking. There was a very informative 15 min video of the history of the area that was well done. We toured the Kilkenny castle which was okay as castles go. We were limited by time and rain and were not able to see the Kilkenny town. Overall, the tour tried to do too much within the available time.

Guiness and Jameson tours: Jameson - B / Guiness - F
The Jameson tour was very well done. The man who did the presentation was excellent - informative, cordial, and humorous. The tasting was informative - it was interesting to actually see how the tastes differed based on how the products were prepared.

I can honestly say that the Guiness tour was a complete and colossal waste of my time. Unfortunate because i had been looking forward to it. Where do I start? We were told by a cabby that it is the most populated tour in Europe and based on our experience it may well be. The line to get in from outside was measured in blocks - we got in upon arrival as part of a tour group (the single and only advantage of being in the group). Once inside it was so crowded one could hardly move around. The major attraction of the tour was the Gravity Bar at the top of the facility where you could redeem your tour coupons for a glass of Guiness. We were never given the coupons by our tour guide so we never got our Guiness. Also, there were so many people we could not sit or really take advantage of the view. Our guide rushed our group so much through the facility that we never really got a chance to appreciate the tour itself. I couldn’t tell you one significant thing about Guiness except that they treat their employees well (which we learned from a taxi driver on our way there). As an aside, that driver showed us around some interesting things to see in Dublin which helped to somewhat save the day for me. (Also note that we took the taxi from Jameson to Guiness because I could not make the walk). We did see the old hospital/museum and he took some pictures of us.

I have to say that the guide for the Guiness tour was a major disappointment. While trying to be entertaining, he failed to be informative. The way he rushed us through the Guiness tour was appalling. I would advise some additional training or a new profession.

GLASGOW

Kimpton Blythswood Hotel: A+
A five star hotel with everything that one would expect from same. Comfortable room and nice restaurant. Excellent location.

Glasgow Essentials Tour: F
Once again unable to take the tour. My wife did take the tour and rated it a B.

Wee Food Tour: F
Again not taken. My wife did take the tour and really enjoyed it, rating it an A.

Train travel to Inverness - very nice comfortable ride with lovely scenery and WiFi for most of the trip.

INVERNESS

Ambassador Hotel: B+
A comfortable hotel in a good location. Lots of stairs but there is an elevator. A bit quirky layout with rooms laid out in a highly irregular fashion. Restaurant on-site with an acceptable menu. Our room was very nice though the bathroom was a little tight. But, for 500GBP per night I think we could have done better.

Inverness Walking tour: F
Again not taken. My wife did take the tour and rated it an A.

Loch Ness Cruise: A+
We took a bus tour to get to and from the cruise. The driver was very informative and made the trip enjoyable. The river cruise itself was very nice. Comfortable boat, excellent narration, toilets and food/drink on board. We had rare clear sunny weather and the views were spectacular.

Urquhart castle: F wife rating it an A-

Isle of Skye tour: F and A
A wonderful tour with an excellent driver (Roy Martin). The weather was an F. The isle of Skye was an A.

This day we both started to feel sick with cold symptoms probably contracted from the bus tour.

Candor Castle: F Wife rated it an A.

Culledon Battlefield: F Wife rated it a B

Train to Edinburgh: Not as nice as the earlier trip, but perfectly fine until we got to Edinburgh station. We looked for a taxi and were told to take an escalator or a lift. When we got to the escalator, the up side was not working. When we got to the elevator it was not working. We were then told to walk up a long steep ramp. So two elderly people with luggage trekked up this 150 yard ramp to get to the taxis. At least the taxi driver was very helpful. I am the one with mobility limitations but my wife was hammered by the walk up the ramp to the taxis.

EDINBURGH

Courtyard by Marriott: F
Check-in was uneventful except that whoever booked the room (KimKim) did so under the wrong name. The hotel tells me they cannot correct the error or they won’t get paid - really? So now i have to explain to everyone at the hotel that my booking name is wrong.

Our room overlooks a major trash/recyling area for the hotel and we get to listen to them dumping glass and cans into the bins. Keep in mind, this goes on all day while we are stuck in our room because we are sick. And continued into the night. Last heard after 9 PM.

After breakfast the first morning we returned to the room to find that our key cards would not unlock the door. I took the cards to reception which was crowded with incoming people. They asked for ID (my ID was inside my locked room). They then remembered that my name was wrong so they remembered me and reprogrammed the key. Tried to unlock the door then and it still did not unlock. Went back to reception and tried again. Key still did not work but they had sent someone to check it. He had to replace batteries in the lock. This event alone would have made us late for the tour if we were taking it. After breakfast the second day the same thing happened. Needed to get maintenance again to reset the lock mechanism. I’m getting afraid to leave the room.

Showered this morning. Water pressure was very low. Shower is not enclosed and was drafty. Towels were okay for me but not my wife and compared to our other three hotels were not very quality. Very disappointing but consistent with our experience at this hotel. Toilet seems to keep running frequently.

Day before check-out I stopped at reception (waited in line) to ask what if anything I needed to do to check-out the next day. The room was pre-paid and I left a credit card on file for other charges. The person who helped me said all I had to do was drop off my keys in the express check-out box. Upon leaving the next day that is what I did. As I left the hotel to get into my taxi a hotel employee chased me out of the hotel to tell me I hadn’t paid my incidental charges. He was quite accusatory and argumentative and I told him about my conversation the day before with his colleague. I was not happy. He made some vague comment about what would happen if I did not come back and pay it. My taxi was waiting. I went back and once again told them (loudly) what I had been told the day before. I paid it on my card, the same one they had on file. I advised them that this was the worst hotel experience I had had in a long time. Maybe forever and I left. Thank goodness. This was a terrible hotel experience that ranks as bad or worse than the Guiness tour.

Dining at the Witchery: F-
We were unable to do this dinner because we were both so sick. So we may be charged a 150GBP no-show fee.

Edinburgh walking tour: F
We were unable to take this tour, but did cancel it before pick up.

Edinburgh castle tour: F
Also unable to take this tour.

Had dinner at Mamma Roma. Nice dinner. Extensive (maybe too much so) menu. Excellent service.

Hollyrood Palace: me - B wife - B+
Managed to make this tour. There was walking and stairs but within what I could handle. It was self-guided with free audio headsets. Interesting stories and reflections on what life may have been like when the castle was in everyday use.

Had lunch at a place called Cafe Vivo near the Palace - the worst fish/chips I have ever had. Room service for dinner.

Roslyn Chapel: A
Excellent driver and guide (Christof). Interesting place with many stories. Filming location for the ending of The Davinci Code.

Glenkinchie Distillery: A+
An excellent tour with a great guide (Willie). Very informative and fun. The tasting was excellent. Lots of stairs, but I managed okay with proper motivation.

David Connor
1 352-804-3910

Hotel Reviews

Courtyard By Marriott Edinburgh

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Courtyard by Marriott: F Check-in was uneventful except that whoever booked the room (KimKim) did so under the wrong name. The hotel tells me they cannot correct the error or they won’t get paid - really? So now i have to explain to everyone at the hotel that my booking name is wrong. Our room overlooks a major trash/recyling area for the hotel and we get to listen to them dumping glass and cans into the bins. Keep in mind, this goes on all day while we are stuck in our room because we are sick. And continued into the night. Last heard after 9 PM. After breakfast the first morning we returned to the room to find that our key cards would not unlock the door. I took the cards to reception which was crowded with incoming people. They asked for ID (my ID was inside my locked room). They then remembered that my name was wrong so they remembered me and reprogrammed the key. Tried to unlock the door then and it still did not unlock. Went back to reception and tried again. Key still did not work but they had sent someone to check it. He had to replace batteries in the lock. This event alone would have made us late for the tour if we were taking it. After breakfast the second day the same thing happened. Needed to get maintenance again to reset the lock mechanism. I’m getting afraid to leave the room. Showered this morning. Water pressure was very low. Shower is not enclosed and was drafty. Towels were okay for me but not my wife and compared to our other three hotels were not very quality. Very disappointing but consistent with our experience at this hotel. Toilet seems to keep running frequently. Day before check-out I stopped at reception (waited in line) to ask what if anything I needed to do to check-out the next day. The room was pre-paid and I left a credit card on file for other charges. The person who helped me said all I had to do was drop off my keys in the express check-out box. Upon leaving the next day that is what I did. As I left the hotel to get into my taxi a hotel employee chased me out of the hotel to tell me I hadn’t paid my incidental charges. He was quite accusatory and argumentative and I told him about my conversation the day before with his colleague. I was not happy. He made some vague comment about what would happen if I did not come back and pay it. My taxi was waiting. I went back and once again told them (loudly) what I had been told the day before. I paid it on my card, the same one they had on file. I advised them that this was the worst hotel experience I had had in a long time. Maybe forever and I left. Thank goodness. This was a terrible hotel experience that ranks as bad or worse than the Guiness tour.

Authenticity & Character

it is like a poorly run US hotel in a historic and character-filled city

Location

Staff

training and customer service and attitude

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything about this hotel needs improvement generally clean. Had to request servicing. Exposure to exterior recycling noise at all hours was terrible.

The Ambassador Hotel

Ambassador Hotel: B+ A comfortable hotel in a good location. Lots of stairs but there is an elevator. A bit quirky layout with rooms laid out in a highly irregular fashion. Restaurant on-site with an acceptable menu. Our room was very nice though the bathroom was a little tight. But, for 500GBP per night I think we could have done better.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kimpton - Blythswood Square Hotel, an IHG Hotel

Glasgow

Kimpton Blythswood Hotel: A+ A five star hotel with everything that one would expect from same. Comfortable room and nice restaurant. Excellent location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Trinity Townhouse

Dublin

Trinity Townhouse Hotel: A A boutique hotel with nice spacious rooms. Limited on-site amenities and dining options. Very good location. Note: there are no lifts.

Authenticity & Character

See over all review

Location

See overall review

Staff

See over all review

Cleanliness & Comfort

See over all review

Activity Reviews

Private Glasgow Essentials Tour

Scotland

Glasgow Essentials Tour: F Once again unable to take the tour. My wife did take the tour and rated it a B.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer from Glasgow Airport to Glasgow

Glasgow

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer from Dublin to Dublin Airport

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dublin Private Walking Tour

Dublin

Private walking tour: D I was unable to finish the 2.5 hour tour and had to end it within the first hour and taxi back to the hotel. My wife did continue the tour and reported that she rated it a B+. I was concerned that they scheduled such a long walking tour for me and that it was in the morning of our arrival from the US. St Patricks: F I was unable to go to the cathedral after the aborted walking tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Loch Ness Cruise and Urquhart Castle

Scotland

Loch Ness Cruise: A+ We took a bus tour to get to and from the cruise. The driver was very informative and made the trip enjoyable. The river cruise itself was very nice. Comfortable boat, excellent narration, toilets and food/drink on board. We had rare clear sunny weather and the views were spectacular. Urquhart castle: F wife rating it an A-

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Ultimate Isle of Skye Tour from Inverness

Inverness

Isle of Skye tour: F and A A wonderful tour with an excellent driver (Roy Martin). The weather was an F. The isle of Skye was an A.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Clava Cairns, Culloden and Cawdor Castle Private Tour

Inverness

andor Castle: F Wife rated it an A. Culledon Battlefield: F Wife rated it a B Train to Edinburgh: Not as nice as the earlier trip, but perfectly fine until we got to Edinburgh station. We looked for a taxi and were told to take an escalator or a lift. When we got to the escalator, the up side was not working. When we got to the elevator it was not working. We were then told to walk up a long steep ramp. So two elderly people with luggage trekked up this 150 yard ramp to get to the taxis. At least the taxi driver was very helpful. I am the one with mobility limitations but my wife was hammered by the walk up the ramp to the taxis.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Inverness Walking Tour

Scotland

Could not attend

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Wee Food Tour of Glasgow

Glasgow

Could not attend

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rosslyn Chapel & Glenkinchie Distillery Private Tour

Edinburgh

Roslyn Chapel: A Excellent driver and guide (Christof). Interesting place with many stories. Filming location for the ending of The Davinci Code. Glenkinchie Distillery: A+ An excellent tour with a great guide (Willie). Very informative and fun. The tasting was excellent. Lots of stairs, but I managed okay with proper motivation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Edinburgh Old Town Tour

Edinburgh

Could not attend

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough & Kilkenny Tour

Dublin

Wicklow Mtns, Glendalough, Kilkenny tour: C (rained most of the day) The bus was reasonably comfortable and the guide and driver were pleasant. The scenery on the tour was very nice. I was unable to walk the trails at Glendalough (the primary purpose of that part of the trip) but I did go into the visitors center (an additional 4 euro fee) while the others were walking. There was a very informative 15 min video of the history of the area that was well done. We toured the Kilkenny castle which was okay as castles go. We were limited by time and rain and were not able to see the Kilkenny town. Overall, the tour tried to do too much within the available time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guinness and Jameson Irish Whiskey Experience Tour

Dublin

Guiness and Jameson tours: Jameson - B / Guiness - F The Jameson tour was very well done. The man who did the presentation was excellent - informative, cordial, and humorous. The tasting was informative - it was interesting to actually see how the tastes differed based on how the products were prepared. I can honestly say that the Guiness tour was a complete and colossal waste of my time. Unfortunate because i had been looking forward to it. Where do I start? We were told by a cabby that it is the most populated tour in Europe and based on our experience it may well be. The line to get in from outside was measured in blocks - we got in upon arrival as part of a tour group (the single and only advantage of being in the group). Once inside it was so crowded one could hardly move around. The major attraction of the tour was the Gravity Bar at the top of the facility where you could redeem your tour coupons for a glass of Guiness. We were never given the coupons by our tour guide so we never got our Guiness. Also, there were so many people we could not sit or really take advantage of the view. Our guide rushed our group so much through the facility that we never really got a chance to appreciate the tour itself. I couldn’t tell you one significant thing about Guiness except that they treat their employees well (which we learned from a taxi driver on our way there). As an aside, that driver showed us around some interesting things to see in Dublin which helped to somewhat save the day for me. (Also note that we took the taxi from Jameson to Guiness because I could not make the walk). We did see the old hospital/museum and he took some pictures of us. I have to say that the guide for the Guiness tour was a major disappointment. While trying to be entertaining, he failed to be informative. The way he rushed us through the Guiness tour was appalling. I would advise some additional training or a new profession.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See review

Transport

I appreciated the planning that went into the trip, and Kate's immediate replies when we had questions/issues during the trip.
Note: the Royal Hotel in Portree was probably "royal" 20 years ago, but now it's a 2-star hotel at best.

We enjoyed the Whiskey Food Tour, but expected going to more than one location and having wine besides whiskey (per the description).

Also liked the app. Used it multiple times a day.

Hotel Reviews

Merchiston Residence

Edinburgh

Nice apartment!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Most comfortable beds that we had for the entire trip. The restrooms were a nice size.

The Royal Hotel Portree

Portree

The pictures we were shown were VERY outdated. The hotel is quite run down.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Avalon

Inverness

Nice, clean rooms. Enjoyed breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

A little off the beaten path, but could walk to town in 20 minutes.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

East Claremont Guest House

Edinburgh

Each room was cute; had its own theme. The bathrooms were impossibly small. The breakfast was good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

We were approximately a 15 minute walk from Old Town / New Town.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

One of our rooms had a bed that slanted. Bathrooms were hard to navigate for our taller family members.

Activity Reviews

Private Scotch Whisky & Artisan Food Tasting Tour

Edinburgh

Joann, our guide, was quite enjoyable and knowledgeable. But disappointed that the "tour" was one restaurant. And disappointed that no wine was available to taste, as indicated in the write-up.

Quality of Experience

add another restaurant, and wine (or update the description to exclude wine)

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Since we only went to one restaurant, not sure why we met where we did, only to walk another 15 minutes to get the restaurant

Talisker Distillery

Scotland

Didn't do. It would have cost 100 pounds to taxi to and from the distillery from Portree. Would recommend scheduling something else in its place in the future.

Loch Ness Cruise and Urquhart Castle

Scotland

This was the family's overall pic. It was an enjoyable boat ride to the castle. Appreciated the comedy of the guide on board. The castle is beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

also loved the bus driver's sense of humor

Transport

Edinburgh Old Town Tour

Edinburgh

Stuart was a great tour guide! Funny and informative.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Explore Glen Affric, Culloden, and Clava Cairns Tour

Inverness

Our guide Cammy was awesome! She did an incredible job explaining EVERYTHING. Glen Affric is incredibly beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The trip was great. We began our adventure in Edinburgh. The airport pickup was flawless, and the Hoxton was fine except for billing error at checkout. The self-guided tours were great. The Hoxton is at walking distance of the start points for all the self-guided walking tours. The whisky tasting with Joanne was one of the highlights of the trip. She is a sommelier, with extensive whisky knowledge. We had food pairings with the guided whisky tasting. We highly recommend her and we may do in the future a remote (Zoom) whiskey tasting with her.
Next was Stirling which was a nice change in pace after Edinburgh. Our guide for the Stirling Old Town & Castle Private Walking Tour was Donnie. He is retired, lives in Stirling was very knowledgeable about the town history. From Stirling we drove to Inverness which was nice and our accommodations great. Our local guide for the private walking tour was good. We went to famous Hootananny Pub and had dinner and enjoyed live music. The atmosphere was amazing.

The rest of the trip went well except for driving the narrow roads to Portree and back to Glasgow from Fort William. Portree was nice but ourseeightsseing was limited by the seasonal rain.

Overall, excellent trip with outstanding support from Kate (Kateryna Garkavenko). Who helped us plan the trip to Scotland.

Activity Review

Private Scotch Whisky & Artisan Food Tasting Tour

Edinburgh

The whisky and Artisan Food Tasting was one of the highlights of the trip. Joanne, a sommelier, was extremely knowledgeable about whisky, food pairings and the history of Edinburgh. We highly highly recommend this tour with her.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was excellent and exceptional due to the attention to every detail!
Our drivers were so knowledgeable and helpful every day, even providing some special extra locations in our travel.
Throughout our trip we trusted Kate to assist us when changes had to be made. She was so professional and accessible, making our trip delightful!

Hotel Reviews

The Royal Adelaide Hotel

Windsor

The staff was delightful. The room was very large and accomodating.

Authenticity & Character

It was modernized to make the stay comfortble to foreign travelers, but maintqined a"British charm".

Location

A nice walk to the center of Windsor.

Staff

The staf was so helpful! And, special recognition to Sarah who was so friendly and charming in the reataurant!

Cleanliness & Comfort

The spacious bathroom with seperate tub and shower.

The Head of the River

Oxford, Oxfordshire

Enjoyed the entire experience here.

Authenticity & Character

Very popular pub and restaurant!

Location

Right on the river with a large, beautiful patio/deck. Obvioously a very popular place for local residents.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Indigo Bath

Bath

Spacious room and bathroom. Nice amenities including robe and slippers.

Authenticity & Character

Location

So convienient!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was great!!!

Primrose House St. Ives

St Ives

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Fox Inn

Dorchester

Just what we had hoped for as an experience in country English setting!

Authenticity & Character

Authenic locally sourced food that was outstanding.

Location

Pastorial setting.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Just a caution to some travelers who are not spry--no air conditioning and no lift.

The Southern Belle

Brighton

Authenticity & Character

Great traditional pub on ground level. Kitchen is not open every evening. Breakfast was great!

Location

Very close to the beach

Staff

The same gentleman was on stff in the evening when we arrive and in the morning when we were served breakfast. He was helpful and pleasant.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Canterbury Cathedral Lodge

Canterbury

Perfect location! Very friendly and helpful staff. Breakfast was a special benefit, with a separate dining room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lacked air conditioning.

Activity Review

Iconic Oxford Private Walking Tour

Oxford

Wonderful trip - itinerary, accommodations and drivers!! You really came through to provide a trip to exceed expectations Thank you for your professional attention to details.

Great experience working with you. You were proactive and responsive during every step of out trip. We used drivers John and Ollie. They were fabulous.

The accommodations that Kate selected for us were wonderful—easy walking distance to the castles and other attractions that we planned to visit. Every one of them was quaint, historical, and provided excellent breakfasts! The staff at each one were courteous, professional, and helpful.
Our drivers John and Ollie were terrific! They were knowledgeable, personable, and excellent drivers. We did a LOT of touring and felt completely at ease with them. Driving around the south coast of England in a London cab was a bonus!
We requested viewing an extraordinary number of sites in the time that we had available, but Kate was able to design a tour that exceeded our expectations. She’s awesome, and based on her performance, I would not hesitate to recommend Kimkim to others.

Hotel Reviews

The Royal Adelaide Hotel

Windsor

The hotel by the river in Windsor did not have a lift, which was a bit challenging for some of the older women in our group. The staff was helpful with carrying bags up and down the stairs, which was appreciated. It would have been better to know about these details in advance.

Canterbury Cathedral Lodge

Canterbury

The accommodations in Canterbury were superb. We stayed literally fifty yards from the cathedral, which was incredibly convenient. It allowed us to participate in evensong in the cathedral on Sunday, which was a beautiful and memorable experience. Overall, the facility was excellent and added a special touch to our trip.

Activity Reviews

Mysterious Stonehenge, Tickets Included

England

My favorite activity was visiting Stonehenge. It was a standout experience on the trip and something I highly recommend. The visit was well organized and truly memorable.

Iconic Oxford Private Walking Tour

Oxford

We had a wonderful time on our family trip to Scotland! Kate came up with a great itinerary for us so that we could see a lot of the sites in a limited amount of time. We had a couple of minor issues but we were able to work through them with some help from Kate. I would definitely recommend!