Kimkim Trip Reviews for England

We had a great time in London. The people at the Georgian House Hotel were very informative. When we arrived in London, we were quite confused how to travel around the city. The representatives at the hotel were understanding and told us about the app for the city which included the underground transportation. We had no problems after that finding our way around. The breakfast was outstanding and the room was just what we expected, a lot of steps to get to your room and breakfast. The breakfast was always cooked to order.
We missed the changing of the guards because of weather, rainy and wet.
The Thames River Dinner Cruise was good but would have liked a lunch cruise because it was our first day in London and would have liked to see the city and not just the lights. The meal was excellent though.

Tea at the Savoy was wonderful. We enjoyed the atmosphere, the staff and the food.
The food tour was informative, with tasty food.
We visited the Tower of London, to see the crown jewels. Beautiful with so much history.
The Hop-on Hop-off Bus was fun. The headphones on the bus were unexpected and a joy while riding around the city.

On to Edinburgh: Let me address the hotel first of all. It was smallest room I have ever been in, No where to put your suitcase except on the floor. Then you had to pick it up and put it on the bed every time you need something. The hotel staff was very helpful and they had a lift, no stairs. No water in your room. Nice hotel but no accommodations.

Jacobite train was a long day. We spend about 4 hours on the train verses 3 hours on the bus to get to the train and 6 hours to get back to Edinburgh after the train ride. Even though the country is beautiful it was not my ideal day.
Sarah our food and drink tour guide was wonderful. Filled us with just the right meal and the drink to go with it.

We went to see the Jacksonville Jaguar play and it turned in to so much more. Loved out trip, The private transportation to and from the hotels was a wonderful thing for a new person in a strange city.

My wife and I had for years dreamed of a trip to England to see our favorite football clubs (Arsenal for me and Liverpool for her) play. On a whim earlier this year, I went ahead and booked our flights for a sixteen day trip in October to cover the dates when Premier and Champions League games were being played, figuring we would be able to secure hospitality tickets to see one or both teams play once the fixtures were released in the summer. We also wanted to see much more of England than just Liverpool and London, including some of the countryside and areas between the cities.

I literally had no idea how to get started in planning such an ambitious journey, so I started doing some research. KimKim was one of the one of the companies that kept coming up in my research with near universal positive reviews, so I contacted them to see what they could setup for us. I gave them the dates of our flights, our goals for the trip and a rough outline of what we wanted to see/experience.

Our England travel specialist, Carolyn Ransome, contacted us the next day and we proceeded to sketch out a rough outline of our trip. We eventually decided on a trip plan beginning/ending in London with Stonehenge, Bath, the Cotswolds and Liverpool in between.

Carolyn was very thorough and diligent in assessing our needs and preferences while sketching out the details of our trip. This included our desires regarding accommodations, travel around England and sites to see/experience. Since it was a few months before I would know if/when we could secure tickets to the football matches, we left a rough outline of our trip in place to be finalized in summer.

After I was able to secure tickets to see our teams play and we had those dates set, I contacted Carolyn again and she set out planning our trip in detail. This turned out to be an ambitious undertaking beginning with the first 2 nights in London, renting a car to drive to Stonehenge and onto Bath, then to the Cotswolds and on to Liverpool, returning by train to London for the last 6 nights of our trip. Carolyn literally planned the entire trip for us, including all accommodations, car hire, train tickets and private transport pickups when needed at several points during our journey. She also arranged for our Stonehenge tickets, private Blue Badge tours in London for us to see the sites while there as well as securing tickets for the London Eye and a boat trip on the canal from Little Venice to Camden.

Once we paid and secured all our reservations, Brandon Williams of Routescape joined our trip as the Travel Care Executice to manage various aspects of the final details. He was very responsive throughout to my many questions and requests throughout the final stages of our planning. He sent us documents regarding travel practicalities, restaurant recommendations and even had a video meeting with us on the eve of our trip to answer any final questions/concerns. About 2 weeks before our trip he also sent us all the necessary trip documents including various tickets, accommodation confirmations and
contact numbers.

We’ve just returned from our dream trip and I must say the planning and execution of it was pretty much flawless thanks to Carolyn and Brandon. Only negatives I can think of were minor issues with our accommodations in Bath and one restaurant recommendation that was below our expectations.

Highlights of our trip included the games at Anfield and Emirates (our teams won both matches!), seeing and driving through the English countryside (Stonehenge, Cotswolds), canal walk in Bath and of course our Blue Badge tours in London. A very special shout out to our phenomenal Blue Badge guide, Sue Sturges. She was amazing.

I highly recommend KimKim for anyone contemplating an ambitious trip such as ours and will definitely consider using them again in the future.

Hotel Reviews

Native Kings Wardrobe, St Pauls

London

Fantastic place to stay. Nice roomy apartments, very comfortable. Great location just a 2 minute walk from St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Thames. Short walks with quick access to Blackfriars and St. Paul’s underground entries. Excellent and very responsive staff. Would definitely stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Perfectly situated for quick underground access. Close to St Paul’s and the Tube.

Staff

Very friendly and responsive to any requests.

Cleanliness & Comfort

It felt like our home away from home while in London.

No. 15 by Guesthouse

Bath

We were very disappointed in our room (Henrietta Jr Suite). The sitting area for the room was a tiny area between the bed and bathroom and was not a comfortable area to sit down nor relax. The floor was slanted and there was a step off between the bedroom and sitting area we frequently would trip over. Also, the bed was not a king size as requested. Certainly not a suite room in the traditional sense one could relax in for a few hours after a day touring. I had the feeling they had better rooms but we didn’t inquire further as we were only there for 2 nights and they appeared to be full.

Authenticity & Character

Historic building with very nice restaurant and bar areas.

Location

Central location with good walking access to most all of the areas we visited in Bath. Henrietta Park out the back door was nice for a quick relaxing stroll.

Staff

Very nice and responsive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room was clean but the suite we had was well below our expectations and frankly not comfortable at all.

The Lygon Arms

Broadway

Our nicest room and stay of the entire trip. Luxurious and historic hotel We stayed in the Gordon Russell suite and it was amazing. Would definitely stay here again if in the area.

Authenticity & Character

Historic hotel and setting updated for modern comfort. The bar and sitting areas as well as the restaurant we had breakfast in were beautiful.

Location

Great access to most of the areas in Cotswolds.

Staff

Perfect in every sense of the word.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The suite we stayed in (Gordon Russell Suite) was large and personified comfort. Large sitting room separate from the bedroom as well as and separate entry room. Nice large bathroom with all the creature comforts.

Hope Street Hotel

Liverpool

Very nice room (we had a studio suite). Separate sleeping and sitting areas which suited us perfectly. Comfortable bed. Nice modern upscale atmosphere.

Authenticity & Character

Upscale modern decor.

Location

Was abit removed from the central city areas of Liverpool (docks and city center), so we usually had to take an uber when we wanted to go anywhere.

Staff

Very helpful. Handled our 6 days of laundry we needed done upon arrival promptly and without issue. Very responsive to all our requests.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable bed. Only negative was the couch in the sitting area was abit hard and not comfortable to sit in for any period of time.

Activity Reviews

Half Day London Blue Badge Guide

London

Simply amazing. Personalized touring with exclusive access and insights. Our guide Sue Sturges was phenomenal. Would love to do more if these in the future if the opportunity presents itself.

Quality of Experience

Detailed tailored and personal touring.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sue was perfect for us and we quickly established a wonderful rapport with her. Would request her again for all of our tours if possible.

Little Venice to Camden Market Canal Cruise

London

We did the London Waterbus tour. Boat was covered with windows and the visibility of sights along the canal was very limited. I understand on a rainy day this type of boat might be preferable but frankly we couldn’t really see much of what was talked about on our ride.

Stonehenge Entry

Salisbury

Great to see on of England’s iconic attractions in person. Would’ve been even better to have had the opportunity for one of the personal dawn or dusk tours where you can walk among the stones (they weren’t holding those tours the month we were there, unfortunately). The posters around the perimeter encouraging and showing visitors how to take wacky photos seemed weird to me and spoiled our immersion in this iconic area.

St Paul's Cathedral Entry

London

Absolutely beautiful. Would do this again whenever in London.

Afternoon Tea & Roman Baths Visit

Bath

The tea was nice and checked our box for doing an afternoon tea experience. Would probably prefer doing a less formal structured tea in the future in another location though. The music they provided was good and provided the atmosphere for what they were trying to achieve. The Baths tour was interesting if nothing more than the historic context and seeing the ruins. The walkthrough was well planned a laid out perfectly. Nice to see these once but don’t feel the need to do it again.

Tower of London Entry Tickets

London

Must see experience. One of the highlights of our trip made even more special by our Blue Badge guide, Sue Sturges. The jewels, ravens and Beefeaters stood out here to us. Would probably go again if possible and had the time.

West End Show

London

Moulin Rouge at Piccadilly Theatre. Fantastic show, set and cast. Would’ve like to have seen more shows in London if we’d had the time.

Westminster Abbey with a Blue Badge Guide

London

Must do experience at least once for everyone. Blue badge guided tour made this all the more memorable. We preferred St Paul’s due to its beauty but the history here is unsurpassed.

The Churchill War Rooms Entry Tickets

London

Would recommend for anyone interested in Churchill and the history of England and WW II. It was crowded when we went so visibility was limited for certain areas and it was abit cramped with all of the crowds.

We had a great trip and Aleksandra was super helpful planning and booking our trip! She was also readily available during our trip to re-book lodging and tours due to missing our flight to England. The app was a great and easy way to store all of our bookings. Our lodging in the Cotswolds was fabulous and we liked the York lodging as well. The tours she booked were also very good.

Some things we think could be better are: 1)being able to see a line item budget of our trip in the planning phase thus making budgeting easier; 2)knowing the duration of our tours and the anticipated number of people on each tour in advance; and 3) (a small detail) the app should show the day of the week and date, not just date.

We did have a hiccough due to missing our flight. Somehow the place we were staying was not notified of our delay so our first couple nights lodging was cancelled when we didn't arrive on the expected date. When we told Aleksandra we missed our flight we had assumed she would take care of the notifications. If we were supposed to reach out to the hotel it would have been good to know. Nonetheless Aleksandra and the hotel worked hard to help us out and get us settled.

Finally some things we learned that you may want to share with others: 1) we travelled from the Cotswolds to York on a Friday - the train was packed and there was no room for our luggage. In the future we will try to avoid point to point travel on fridays to mondays; 2) we had two tours a day booked a couple of days in London. It was too much. It was difficult to get point to point and have a minute to sit and refuel and 3) we might have preferred first class train travel and it would have been useful for us to consider that with Aleksandra and 4) in light of missing our flight and losing a day of our trip, in the future we will avoid planning anything the immediate day after our arrival.

Overall we would recommend KimKim to someone looking for a travel agent and appreciate all that Aleksandra did for us! Thanks!

Wellington by Blue Orchid Hotel was an excellent choice for accommodations during our trip. We could walk or take Uber Boats water taxi to all venues in London — Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, Tower of London, London Eye and Victoria Palace Theatre. The tour bus tour to Kent for stops at Leeds Castle, Canterbury and Dover was particularly enjoyable thanks to our guide, Debra.

Hotel Review

Wellington Hotel by Blue Orchid

London

The rooms were comfortable. The location was ideal. The staff was friendly and professional. Anthwin’s espresso martini is the best!

Authenticity & Character

More spacious lobby.

Location

Walking access to Abbey, Museums and theatre.

Staff

Lobby bar staff were attentive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice shower.

Activity Reviews

Tower of London Timed Entry Tickets

London

Particularly enjoyed speaking with guide located near Crown Jewels and getting full description of how specific items are still used during annual ceremonies and other special royal events.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We arrived via Uber Boats water taxi.

Tickets to Westminster Abbey

London

There was a fairly large crowd present during our visit.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Walked to venue.

Small Group - From London: Oxford, Cotswolds, and Stratford Upon Avon Tour

London

Disappointed that coach tour finished two miles from start point.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Would have preferred an option of a smaller group tour.

Canterbury, Dover Cliffs & Castle and Leeds Castle is included

London

Very nice for a coach tour. Enjoyed visiting all three locations.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Debra was an excellent host.

Transport

Would have preferred a smaller group tour if offered.

Hampton Court Palace - Half Day Tour - With return transport

London

Museum displays were great and grounds were impressive. Missed seeing the altar room as it was closed on the day of our visit.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Entry tickets to The Churchill War Rooms

London

Impressive amount of information contained in the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walked to venue.

An Evening at the West-End! Tickets to a Show of Your Choice

London

The show, Hamilton, was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Excellent voices.

Transport

Walked to venue.

Cloak & Dagger

London

Great review of London history.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Main guide was quite good. Assistant was difficult to understand at times.

Transport

Walked to venue.

Tours were excellent and guides knowledgeable. Debra on the Kent trip was especially good.

Hotel Review

Wellington Hotel by Blue Orchid

London

Staff was amazing. Having a good restaurant and bar on premises was really nice. Rooms were clean and roomy enough. Great Indian restaurant attached to the hotel. Best of all was location. We were able to walk to many attractions.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Activity Reviews

Tower of London Timed Entry Tickets

London

Quality of Experience

Tickets to Westminster Abbey

London

Audio guide was very helpful. Kind of crowded

Quality of Experience

Small Group - From London: Oxford, Cotswolds, and Stratford Upon Avon Tour

London

Thought this would be a smaller group. Guide was okay but not great. A bit disappointed to be left a mile further away from our hotel than we began. Maybe this tour was too ambitious since we could have used more time at each stop.

Quality of Experience

Smaller bus size, more time in each place

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Canterbury, Dover Cliffs & Castle and Leeds Castle is included

London

Our guide Debra was wonderful

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hampton Court Palace - Half Day Tour - With return transport

London

Have always wanted to visit. Audio tour excellent.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Entry tickets to The Churchill War Rooms

London

An Evening at the West-End! Tickets to a Show of Your Choice

London

Hamilton was outstanding

Quality of Experience

Transport

Easy walk from our hotel

Cloak & Dagger

London

Fun take on the history of London. We got to see several things we might have missed as they were off the beaten track.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Had a great time, Sophie made everything super easy and smooth throughout my trip to the UK. Would definitely recommend!

The Rubens Hotel was beautiful. The staff was wonderful and very attentive. We did a day tour to Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor . That was great and our tour guide, Carlos , was so knowledgeable. I think the Churchill War Room was one of our favorite tours .
Alekasandra who put together our trip was wonderful. Very responsive to our questions

Tetiana was very helpful and user friendly. There are a couple things I would have liked to do differently, but it was a wonderful trip overall. The lodging was all perfect, the trains went pretty smoothly and were very nice.

Hotel Reviews

The Academy London

London

Some people might want a bit more central location, but it was a lovely hotel, and the staff were terrific.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Yard in Bath

Bath

Nice location and great staff. The breakfast was brought to our room in a basket and hung on our door - very cute. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was because the room smelled a bit.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cedar Manor

Windermere

I can’t say enough good things about this hotel. It was beautiful, the proprietors were wonderful, it was an easy walk to town and it was on the bus route. Check out Tilly’s restaurant - fabulous, with several gluten free options. Also, the 10 lake tour with Steve from Mountain Goat Tours was one of the highlights of our entire trip.

Authenticity & Character

Classic manor hotel.

Location

On the bus route, and a short walk to town and to the lake.

Staff

Very helpful and gracious.

Cleanliness & Comfort

We spent time in the comfortable lounge playing cards with our traveling companions.

Virgin Hotels Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Great location, wonderful staff.

Authenticity & Character

It’s a modern hotel, so not that much “character”, but I highly recommend this hotel.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Roomy, clean and modern.

The Ambassador Hotel

Wonderful hotel and staff. Great food. Highly recommend this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful and luxurious.

Location

Staff

The staff were so helpful and professional, especially the concierge when we checked in. We were late and tired, and we had an issue. He dealt with it calmly and professionally. Also, some of the wait staff in the dining room were wonderful and charming.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beautiful room - stayed in “Silk” #12.

Activity Reviews

Churchill War Rooms & WW2 Westminster Small Group Tour

London

Very interesting. A lot more walking around pre-war rooms than I realized, but we saw some interesting sights.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ultimate Full Day Scenic Tour visiting 10 Lakes

England

Loved this tour.

Quality of Experience

This tour was more than we expected. Loved seeing the stone circle and the slate mine, as well as all the lakes.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Steve, was wonderful. He grew up in the area, so he interspersed personal stories with local legends/stories. He took us to some special spots we didn’t know would be on the tour.

Transport

The small bus was very comfortable and clean.

Discover London in a Private Black Cab

London

Good way to start out seeing London.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, JP, was fantastic. He was flexible when one of our party didn’t feel well. He postponed our start time a bit, and still took us to all the expected places. JP was a good bloke.

Transport

The black cab was comfy, however, someone always had to ride “backward” in the jump seats. All the black cabs in London are like this, though.

Cotswolds Experience from Bath, private tour

Bath

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver, Kevin, was very nice. However, it wasn’t really like having a tour, it was more like just having a driver. When I asked where we’d be stopping for lunch, he acted surprised that we’d want lunch. He did accommodate us and make a few stops in the Cotswolds so we could shop and get something to eat, but I’m not sure if that was on his agenda when we started.

Transport

A black cab for such a long tour/travel day was not the best. One or two of us always had to ride in the jump seats, so we were looking backward at those times. The jump seats are much stiffer than the regular seats, and three of the four of us have bad backs. Also, some of our luggage had to be stored on the floor or under the jump seats. Not the best.

Edinburgh Castle & Old Town Private Tour

Edinburgh

We did the castle on our own the next day, so I’m not counting it as part of this activity. The Old Town private tour was interesting. Unfortunately, it was very cold, so the length of the tour got to us eventually.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide told us some interesting stories and gave us a good overview of the Old Town and some of the New. It helped us for being on our own the next day.

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

Tours were very good. Very satisfied.

We didn’t get to know Liam as he was on vacation. Jane was easy to work with by email, French speaker was very accessible but her accent was hard for me to understand on the phone.

Driver Darren in Glastonbury was very professional, fun and interesting.

Verdant Seafood bar and our lodging in Falmouth were wonderful.

We didn’t love Glastonbury.

Once we got to London we started using the tube. Drivers not necessary and I missed our pick up time with the driver back to the airport as I hadn’t stopped to realize you had lined him up.

Nice hotel in London and Kew was delightful!

Thanks very much!

Hotel Reviews

The Chamberlain

London

Nice hotel and great breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Used by business travelers as well as tourists. Seemed to be part of the neighborhood

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Star & Garter

Falmouth

This place was so charming, with an amazing view of Falmouth Harbor. We didn’t get a chance to eat in the little pub, but it looked very nice. Check in required us to find a key in a lock box and let ourselves in.

Authenticity & Character

You walk through the tiny restaurant to get to the room. An old building that is part of the fabric of the town.

Location

Amazing view

Staff

No staff. Maybe directions to hotel from train…

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Crown Hotel

Glastonbury

This hotel is right on the main intersection in Glastonbury.. one night there was a wedding in the hotel, so a lot of loud music. A good place if you are really into being part of the action in Glastonbury.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Fine for what it is, But not quiet and a lot os stairs

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Entry tickets to historic Kew Gardens

London

Easy subway to a lovely station and short walk to Victoria Gate. There are tours and a tram, but we found it easy to wander through on a September weekday, starting with the great broad walk.

Quality of Experience

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

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.

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

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.

Primrose House St. Ives

St Ives

Authenticity & Character

Location

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!!!

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Activity Reviews

Iconic Oxford Private Walking Tour

Oxford

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.

Kate was an excellent resource in planning our recent trip to the UK in August! We traveled all around Scotland and England. There were 11 people in our party and she did a great job at coordinating all the details and ensuring that all the key things that everyone wanted to do fit into our agenda. She was organized, very responsive to all my questions, provided great input and insights, and was available to answer questions during our trip. I highly recommend kimkim especially for large group travel planning. And, I especially recommend Kate. She was great!

Hotel Reviews

The Clermont London, Victoria

London

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Radisson RED Hotel, Liverpool

Liverpool

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Apex Waterloo Place

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Inverness Palace Hotel & Spa

Inverness

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kimpton - Blythswood Square Hotel, an IHG Hotel

Glasgow

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Stonehenge and Windsor Castle from London, private group

London

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Royal London Tour: Changing of the Guard and More

London

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Isle of Skye Tour including the Eilean Donan Castle, Portree and other attractions

Inverness

Quality of Experience

It was very rainy so we couldn't do everything we wanted to

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

St Andrews History Tour

England

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover London in a Private Black Cab

London

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer from Edinburgh to Inverness via St Andrews

England

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Beatles and History Guided Walking Tour

Liverpool

Quality of Experience

Didn't happen

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Didn't show up to our planned location

Transport

Thames Cruise with Dinner

London

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Edinburgh Old Town Tour

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Loch Ness Cruise and Urquhart Castle

England

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Salomé was very helpful planning our trip. He was even able to accommodate a last minute change and add my other daughter to the trip. We loved seeing Stonehenge. Our driver David was very pleasant and knowledgeable. We saw the book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre and had amazing seats.. the sanctuary house hotel was a very nice place to stay and would love to stay there again.

Hotel Review

The Sanctuary House Hotel

London

Great place to stay. The rooms.were clean and comfortable. we had two rooms and we were able to get them right next-door to each other. Would definitely stay there again.

Authenticity & Character

Quaint but modern amenities.

Location

Walking distance to most places

Staff

Staff was very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were exceptionally clean and comfortable

Activity Reviews

Tower of London Early Access Tour with Beefeater

London

The Beefeater was very knowledgeable and interesting. You get a nice history prior to exploring on your own. Love the ravens.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private tour of Stonehenge from London

London

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Changing of the Guard Guided Tour

London

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Thames River Cruise

London

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

An Evening at the West-End! Tickets to a Show of Your Choice

London

Excellent show “the book of Mormon“. Our seats were dead center right up front. Lovely theater.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All local tour guides were absolutely incredible, and I enjoyed talking to every single one of them as a means of learning about local life. Jack in London then Ruari and John in Inverness particularly stand out. Also, the Inverness Taxi company was amazing in their flexibility and reliability.

Hotel Reviews

Montcalm Brewery, London City

Looks wonderful from the outside, definitely needs updating on the inside. It was hot without AC, which was broken, and they seemed to struggle with providing two beds in one room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Bonham

Edinburgh

Beautiful, but we were in the basement and it felt that way.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Glenmoriston Townhouse Hotel

Inverness

Really enjoyed our stay here, and the staff as well as the restaurant were excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half-Day Loch Ness Tour from Inverness City

Inverness

Our guide, John, a former detective, was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Harry Potter's London Tour

London

The tour guide, Domiano, was excellent, but the sites scene were mid.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jack the Ripper Walking Tour in London

London

This was my favorite activity, and the guide, a PhD student, was incredibly knowledgable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover London in a Private Black Cab

London

Loved our guide, Jack. So knowledgable, and he did such a good job navigating the London traffic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tower of London Beefeater Welcome & Crown Jewels

London

Stonehenge and Windsor Castle from London, private group

London

Cairngorms National Park Wildlife Tour

England

Our guide, Ruari, grew up on the land and was incredibly knowledgeable and fun to talk to.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Loch Ness and Caledonian Canal Cruise

Inverness

Private Scotch Whisky & Artisan Food Tasting Tour

Edinburgh

The palace of Versailles and our guide were just incredible. All of the destinations Alessandra recommended were perfect. All transfer rides were timely and professional.

Hotel Reviews

2 Bed 2 Bath Central Shoreditch Modern Flat By Spitalfields Market

London

The home is fantastic and spacious. All the windows allow for a lot of air to circulate as there is no AC. Location is great!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Villa Eiffel

Paris

Great place a second toilet would have been helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Giverny & Palace of Versailles: Art, Royalty & Gardens

Paris

Tour guide was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer from Paris to Paris Charles dea Gaulle Airport

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer to the International Train Station

England

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Unlock the Secrets of Perfume-Making!

Paris

An absolutely incredibly fun experience. We were all so excited to create our own scent. The staff were so knowledgeable and friendly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Moulin Rouge Evening Performance with Dinner

Paris

Great seats and the show was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had difficulty getting water from the wait staff. They were great with everything else.

Eiffel Tower Summit Tickets

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Aleksandra planned a trip of a lifetime to London & Scotland for my husband & I. We spent 6 nights in London & 4 nights in Ediburgh. Aleksandra was excellent at communicating with my husband & I. We exchanged many e-mails over the course of several months, planning each day & constantly tweaking what we wanted to do. In addition to that, we had a ton of questions that Aleksandra answered, always within a day or two of sending the e-mails.

When planning this trip we needed the most amount of help with laying out, organizing & optimizing our time in each location so that we could do everything we wanted without running ourselves ragged. Aleksandra accomplished this objective. She planned activities each day that were close to each other or an underground stop or two away so we could move easily & efficiently between locations. Alexsandra fit the days together seamlessly & used every second to the fullest. Her directions to get us from one place to another were a godsend. In both London & Edinburgh we never got lost nor frustrated trying to find a particular location. While planning our vacation, she always provided fabulous choices & presented multiple options so we could select what most excited us. This was true in particular for restaurants & hotels. Aleksandra made us dinner reservations at our selected restaurants & every one of those restaurants worked out beautifully. She was even available to us during the trip, when a small problem or question arose. It was a nice feeling to know that no matter what we needed, she was there for us, both in the planning & while we were on the trip.

There were a few standout tours that Aleksandra booked for us. The first was a private tour while we were in London to see the Changing of the Guard with Delianne. A bucket list item for me. Delianne knew just where to stand for the best viewing in several locations. We did not have to line up hours in advance. All we did was follow her & each time we were exactly where we needed to be at the right time. She had a lot of interesting tidbits to share & we thoroughly enjoyed our morning with her.

The next tour in London that we loved was a small group historical pub tour. Our tour guide, Freddie, was fabulous. We went to 4 interesting pubs, all different from each other. He had a lot of fun information to share & we spent just the right amount of time in each pub. This was our last night in London & it was a perfect way to end our time there before traveling to Edinburgh.

In Scotland, we did two private tours. Both of them were well worth the money. The first was a 3 1/2 hour walking tour of Edinburgh with Zander. He was our introduction to Edinburgh. He took us to so many places & told us so many engaging stories. It was more interesting to us than to just be told a list of facts. The time went by very quickly & we attributed that to his way of telling us information about Edinburgh.

The second private tour was a highlight of our entire trip. We spent the day with Calais, a true gentleman & a delight to have as a tour guide. We went through the East Neuk, even stopping in Calais' hometown & going to his local cafe. We loved seeing where people live & learning a little about why they lived there. St. Andrews golf course was next & it did not disappoint. We could feel the history there & appreciated it all, even though neither of us are golfers. We loved taking our picture on the famous bridge, Swilken Bridge, which made my golf loving brother very jealous. We also toured St. Andrews University. The school is even more beautiful than we had imagined & again we enjoyed learning about the history there. The sad, but true story of the the St. Andrews Castle was very interesting & one we had not heard before.

We are only home a few days & are still talking about all the highlights of this trip. We have fabulous memories & many of them are from the tours outlined above. Both my husband & I highly recommend Aleksandra. Her work in preparing for this trip enhanced our trip & resulted in making our trip extraordinary. Using Aleksandra & her team was well worth it & gave us an unforgettable vacation experience!

Hotel Reviews

Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh

Edinburgh,

This hotel was perfect for our 4 night stay in Edinburgh. Room was clean, quiet & was located right off the Royal Mile. It was a good fit for us.

Authenticity & Character

It wasn't that anything needed to be improved. It was just your regular hotel with few amenities, but perfect for what we needed.

Location

Very near to Royal Mile

Staff

There was a small problem at check in that the manager quickly resolved.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was comfortable & room was clean.

Roseate House London

London

We had a wonderful 6 night stay at this hotel. The hotel manager went out of his way to make this an outstanding experience for us. We were lucky enough to stay in a junior suite which provided lots of extra room. The king bed was comfortable which was important to us as we had long days of sightseeing & were exhausted when we arrived back at the hotel. What set this hotel apart from your usual hotel was the staff. They wanted to make our stay the best it could possibly be & they did. We appreciated every bit of that! Highly recommend this hotel!!

Authenticity & Character

The hotel was a boutique hotel which was just what we wanted for this stay.

Location

It was super quiet, but very close to Paddington Station so convenient for seeing all the sights.

Staff

Exceptional in every way!! They went out of their way to make our stay fantastic!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Historical Pub Tour of London

London

We thoroughly enjoyed our historical pub tour with Freddie. He was an excellent guide through the 4 pubs we "toured". He gave us just enough interesting information without giving too much. We loved all the pubs he selected. They were very different from each other, but each had a lot of character. We never would have found these pubs on our own. We would highly recommend this tour! A really fun evening!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

St Andrews & Kingdom of Fife Private Tour

Edinburgh

This tour was one of our highlights of our entire trip to Scotland! Our tour guide, Calais, was the reason for this. He was absolutely wonderful & made this tour great! He picked us up promptly at our hotel & had the day completely laid out for us. He told us many interesting stories throughout the day; enough to get a good idea of the areas we saw without bombarding us with too much information. He took us to a few villages in the East Neuk, one of them being the village where he lives. We loved this because we got to see daily life in a non touristy area. We ate lunch at the St. Andrews Clubhouse which was delicious. Our view out the window during lunch was the golf course & we watched several people play through the hole we were near. Neither my husband nor I play golf, but we couldn't help but be taken in with the history of such a famous golf course. Of course we took our picture on Swilken Bridge which made my golf loving brother very jealous. Our tour also included St. Andrews University which was incredibly beautiful & also steeped with history. We had wanted to see something other than Edinburgh during our visit. We were very glad that we took this tour. It was a fantastic day!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Calais was a delight to spend the day with. Request him for an amazing day!

Transport

We were picked up in a Mercedes SUV which was quite luxurios.