Kimkim Trip Reviews for British Columbia

It was an amazing experience !
Our tour guide John and driver Mike were so accommodating , excellent trip planning . They went above and beyond my expectations. Kudos to this team in Kimkim. I highly recommend them !

Our tour guide John and the coach driver were awesome. we had a wonderful experience .

Hotel Review

Residence Inn by Marriott Calgary Downtown/Beltline District

Calgary

The ambiance was very good.

Authenticity & Character

Huge and spacious rooms.

Location

It’s close to downtown , walking distance to the places we want to explore.

Staff

Accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

It has all the comforts of home away from home.

Activity Reviews

Explore around Banff

British Columbia

Banff is so beautiful. The lake ar pristine. we visited when there was not a lot of tourists.It’s like having the place to ourselves. we had a great trip .

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour guide

Calgary Int. Aiport ( YYC)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

What a wonderful lifetime axperience with our group Canadian rockies. John our guide was friendly, exprienced and knowledgeable. The places we went are exactly the one in my bucket list. The trip was well planned with few changes but amazing alternates. Thanks to you Carl.

One of my best travel experiences. Priceless. From the time we're gathered at the arrival area by our tour guide, Joao aka John, and picked up by Big Mike with an attractive new and clean coach all to ourselves, onward along the famous Canadian rockies it's like stepping into paradise. Being emerged in such beautiful, stunning, esmerizing, captivating, amazing views, I felt kinda overwhelemed. Yes, we took thousands of pictures any seconds chance. As John said "hit or miss chance" to capture it. The hotels we stayed were good, special mention of Forest Park in Jasper- homey nice ambience. The John - Mike is a perfect team. Thank you Carl. Outstanding rate of 10!

Our Canadian Rockies vacatiion was an excellent one , relaxing and enjoying God's creation together with friends for life.. our tour guide John was very knowledgeable and our coach driver was excellent and make us feel safe for the whole journey...thank you Kimkim team for making it a memorable trip for all of us..our hotels are beautiful and very comfortable...i would recommend it to friends on their future travel.

We had have an amazing &1 wonderful time on our Canadian Rockies vacation....we have a super experience driver Big Mike that took us everywhere we go from flat lands to uphills to see the scenery...to our very knowledgeable tour guide John, who provides all info that we need to know about Canadian Rockies, all about Jasper, Banff, Calgary etc..etc & also in & out of our hotels we're all staying....super nice guy & smart John....
Never a dull moment to be with them
We were happy to have them as part of our journey to Calgary, Canada..
I would rate them as superb 10 & would recommend them to our friends who wants to explore Calgary, Canada...
Thank you....

Very good trip overall. Disappointed with some of the planning as certain places were closed for 3 years and were still on the intinerary. Overall service was pretty good, barring the weekend replacement Fernanda who dropped the ball. Carl did an overall good job.

Not impressed with Carl and his team; could be more organized and responsive
Their site is not easy to navigate
John was an excellent guide; our bus driver was excellent as well

Hotel Reviews

Mountaineer Lodge

Lake Louise

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Forest Park Hotel

Jasper

Love the vibe; perfect for the theme; love love the food and service; surprised with how good our dinners were Can’t give you 5 stars because our bathroom was not cleaned when we arrived; someone was doing repairs; caulking/glue gun left on bathroom floor, etc.. informed front desk and was taken cared of

Authenticity & Character

Love the overall vibe; decor, muted, fits the town, food was good

Location

Accessibility and ambience

Staff

Very responsive; anticipate needs

Cleanliness & Comfort

See above

Fairmont Banff Springs

Banff

Too big; tough to navigate; very expensive restaurants

Authenticity & Character

Old but have modern necessities but bathroom was so small; can’t put bath and makeup essentials together in there

Location

A castle in the woods!

Staff

Welcome team! Touched they knew my birthday!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed

Residence Inn by Marriott Calgary Downtown/Beltline District

Calgary

Clean, smell good, great location, great staff

Authenticity & Character

Just enough size, very clean and smells good, comfortable bed, sheets smell good, feels like home

Location

Staff

Very helpful and courteous

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Follow the Icefields Parkway to Jasper

British Columbia

John our tour guide was top notch; our driver Mike was very skillful

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Columbia Icefield Excursion

British Columbia

They made it so easy to love the place; my first time to step on ice outside of where I live.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jasper to Banff

Jasper

Surprisingly passed my expectations

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore around Banff

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

I am a tea drinker; I love the new teas I found here

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Discover Banff and it's Wildlife

Banff

Not really fond of seeing wildlife but I was in awe of what I saw here!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Despite the challenges of the weather; they still were able to provide the experience

Transport

Thanh’s fir the new coach!

Itineraries were exceptional.
Hotel accommodations were great especially we had 2 nights stay in this famous Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
We felt welcome upon arrival in Calgary Airport by tour guide John Ventura. He is very knowledgeable about our trip and able to plan ahead if changes are needed to meet our needs for the day.

Hotel Reviews

Mountaineer Lodge

Lake Louise

Room is ok No elevator though only 2 floors...difficult to carry luggage Breakfast area is located in separate building

Authenticity & Character

Location

Near restaurants and shops

Staff

Responded to needs

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lobby hallway noted to be clean

Forest Park Hotel

Jasper

Nice location Room is clean Breakfast area is great private for group of traveler Walkin

Authenticity & Character

Ambience is great

Location

Walking distance to shops and restaurants

Staff

Steve in the restaurant. Great customer service

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room dining area

Fairmont Banff Springs

Banff

It speaks for itself as an upscale hotel Large bathroom with extra toiletries Beautiful shops Definitely Clean

Authenticity & Character

Location

Awesome view of the mountain and sunrise looking out from your room

Staff

We didn't get the right assistance from female staff in the concierge on our first night. She should know better on how to direct guests to Waldhaus restaurant.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Expected

Residence Inn by Marriott Calgary Downtown/Beltline District

Calgary

Wow. Huge room Our group able to have get together in one of the rooms Clean Dining area is huge

Authenticity & Character

It caters need for guests especially those who are stay longer

Location

Walking distance to downtown Calgary

Staff

Accommodating and respond to needs

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom...hallway

Activity Reviews

Follow the Icefields Parkway to Jasper

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Exceptional guide and driver

Transport

Great coach exclusively for us

Tour guide

Calgary Int. Aiport ( YYC)

John is very knowledgeable and experienced tour guide. He blended right away with the group. He made sure we get most of our experienced from our itineraries. He plans ahead with option B if necessary. Approachable.

Quality of Experience

Well organized

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Exceptional guide and driver

Transport

Exclusively for us for this new big coach

Explore around Banff

British Columbia

It's just an spectacular view of nature- beautiful snow capped mountains left and right ✅️

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Discover Banff and it's Wildlife

Banff

Beautiful City of Banff

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Columbia Icefield Excursion

British Columbia

Had memorable moments and made the most of our time while in the glacier ❤️👍🇨🇦

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Brand new coach exclusively for us

Jasper to Banff

Jasper

Amazing view of of all lakes we visited in Banff National parks...

John Ventura is very knowledgeable of this tour. He made very interesting fir everyone to enjoy. He gave enough for our favorite photo sessions to get the most of these beautiful scenery for keeps. He made plans well for us to get great experience
Mike- driver is excellent as well. He's a safe driver.
Both maintain good communication for our great trip.

Our tour guide Joao is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He's very passionate about everything and very accommodating to all our requests.
The whole Canadian Rockies are awesome especially the mountains..
Our driver Mike very well experienced…

Hotel Reviews

Mountaineer Lodge

Lake Louise

Cleanliness & Comfort

Forest Park Hotel

Jasper

Location

Staff

Fairmont Banff Springs

Banff

Location

Residence Inn by Marriott Calgary Downtown/Beltline District

Calgary

Activity Reviews

Columbia Icefield Excursion

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Discover Banff and it's Wildlife

Banff

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Follow the Icefields Parkway to Jasper

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tour guide

Calgary Int. Aiport ( YYC)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jasper to Banff

Jasper

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore around Banff

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Tour Guide, John was very accommodating, flexible and knowledgeable of all the places we visited. He was patient with us who loved to take pictures and sometimes, with loud voices. We all were satisfied with the experiences in the Rockies because of our experienced Tour Guide, John.

The Coach driver also, very patient, fun, accommodating and good teamwork with John.

Best driver, Mike really made us felt safe.

Thank you, Carl from the Kimkim Team for giving us John and Mike!

Hotel Reviews

Mountaineer Lodge

Lake Louise

Clean and Quiet. Breakfast included, a plus.

Authenticity & Character

The view and the cleanliness.

Location

Close to places to see.

Staff

Yes, the Desk Lady who was fix our T.V.(not sure of name "Saki")

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was comfy. Only problem was we had a hard time bringing our luggages upstairs since no elevator.

Forest Park Hotel

Jasper

Simple, quiet and clean. Bfast free also, a plus.( tho nice if we could have boiled eggs).🙂

Authenticity & Character

The Restaurant in the Hotel great service, esp. Steve. We had Dinner there twice. The Room was good size and clean.

Location

Nice view and closed to places of interest to see.

Staff

Attentive to our Bfast. Our group placed in 1 room so we have good conversation.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom and floor in the room.

Fairmont Banff Springs

Banff

Nice views.

Authenticity & Character

I think because it is famous.

Location

Views.

Staff

The Staff at the Desk was no friendly. I think free Bfast is a plus in every Hotel esp. The expensive ones.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed and Bathroom.

Residence Inn by Marriott Calgary Downtown/Beltline District

Calgary

Amazing Room, loved it! As we were in group, we enjoyed our stay. We regret that we stayed only 1 day. This is the best Hotel of all the 4 Hotels in this travel. The Staff at the Desk super helpful! The Breakfast, free was the best!

Authenticity & Character

We could stay in this Hotel for a long time. Rooms were huge, with kitchen and nice beds.

Location

Closed to places we went. Safe place.

Staff

Very helpful and friendly!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Floor, Room and bathroom. Beds and pillows were comfy.

Activity Reviews

Tour guide

Calgary Int. Aiport ( YYC)

John was there to meet us. We bonded so easily. He was friendly. Then, the Coach driver Mike was there right away with his amazing new Comfy Coach and sooo clean!

Quality of Experience

The weather, the Tour guides knowledge and flexibility and patience. The teamwork between the Coach Driver, Mike and our tour guide, John made our trip amazing and safe!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Giving us the time to take pictures, allowing us to use washrooms, listening to us and also, giving us suggestions. Respect and friendliness. Knowledge of this trip. Flexible when weather not good for the day.

Transport

Coach Driver, Mike was amazing! He made us felt safe. Best driver ever! Always accommodating esp, when we love to take pictures of beautiful sceneries.

Follow the Icefields Parkway to Jasper

British Columbia

It was amazing Rides and the Views spectacular! Coach very comfy and both Tour Guide, John and Driver Mike were wonderful!

Quality of Experience

The Amazing places, Lakes, Trails and Mountains. We took lots of pictures. They gave us good times to enjoy the places. Thanks John and Mike!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very friendly and helpful. Patient and kind.

Transport

Safety, clean and very comfy!

Columbia Icefield Excursion

British Columbia

It was spectacular! Worth going there and had a wonderful experience.

Quality of Experience

The Glacier experience. More pictures to remember the Amazing views.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Safety. Knowledge.

Transport

Very safe driver. Attentive.

Jasper to Banff

Jasper

Spectacular views. We were given chance to take pictures, to use washrooms and to eat. Safe driver and Tour guide well expwrienced!

Quality of Experience

The vast knowledge of the Tour Guide, John and the safe driving of the Coach, Mike.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Their patience and friendliness.

Transport

Safe and patience. Attentive and we'll experienced.

Explore around Banff

British Columbia

Beautiful trails, mountains, Falls and Lakes! Amazing pictures we took, enjoyed the views.

Quality of Experience

The hiking trails to see the Falls, mts,lakes and Fall Foliage. Also, trees covered with snow. Amazing wildlife, Bears, Elks, Goats and birds.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly, knowledge, patience and not bored with us. Safe driving...

Transport

Safety.

Private Discover Banff and it's Wildlife

Banff

We saw Elks, Bear, goats and birds. We were inside the Coach but was able to take lots of pictures.

Quality of Experience

Seeing the wildlife was amazing. Not afraid to hike in the trail because we know our Tour Guide really knew the places.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Attentive and really nice!

Transport

Safety.

John our tour guide and Mike our driver were excellent!!!
I would recommend the places that were included in our trip but unsure of the Kimkim Team that handled our arrangements. However, the staff and teams of each place/accommodation that we were staying were amazing.
Thanks to all who made this experience unforgettable for us.

Hotel Reviews

Mountaineer Lodge

Lake Louise

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Forest Park Hotel

Jasper

Authenticity & Character

I love love the vibe of this hotel!

Location

Staff

I spent my birthday there; no appointment; we just told them if they can accommodate our group of 16; they did not disappoint; good food, good drinks, overall good service!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fairmont Banff Springs

Banff

While beautiful; it felt old. The attempt to bring the amenities and design to this century is appreciated; it fell short of our expectations. The rooms were small but I would have preferred a bigger bathroom with a larger shower with the absence of a tub, instead of a table and chairs near the windows which I really did not need because I prefer the bed to read and enjoy the views more.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The welcome staff A birthday card and a delicious slice of cake was appreciated. The food Team at the cafe were great as well

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed

Residence Inn by Marriott Calgary Downtown/Beltline District

Calgary

Perfect both in quality of accommodation and location

Authenticity & Character

Clean, smell good, courteous and accommodating dtaff

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Best hotel across all places

Activity Reviews

Private Discover Banff and it's Wildlife

Banff

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour guide

Calgary Int. Aiport ( YYC)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very patient, flexible, knowledgeable

Transport

New bus, great driver

Follow the Icefields Parkway to Jasper

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Columbia Icefield Excursion

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

surprising

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jasper to Banff

Jasper

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore around Banff

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Carl gave us some good initial trips ideas, but when we needed some more specific info we were left waiting. At the end we kept only 3 destinations proposed, the rest of the trip we planned independenty. We had the feeling that the packages offerered were pretty standard & for mass tourism.

Carl gave good tips especially about Banf & Jasper and flyght to Vancuver Island, even if here the accomodation was 45 minutes off the center of Tofino ... not so handy on a little village with no Taxis =we had to rent a car at the last minute!

The voucher organisation of Kim Kim is obsolete if we compare to all the travelling& booking apps we can get online, and the hotel selection was done via e-mail on a "have a look at this place" basis.
The vouchers for trips often had only date and no timing confirmed, so we had to phone the day before to reconfirm & do the follow up ourself (quite anoying knowing that kim kim charged a full price & commission)

Pricing in kim kim is not transparent, we got a lump sum and we had no break down to understand costing.

overall the kim kim service & system is not for us, will not come back.

Carl promptly responded to all our queries 👍🏼

Hotel Reviews

Lobstick Lodge

Jasper

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Canmore Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge

Canmore

Run down bathroom ceiling and tiles, not updated at all. Disappointed 😞

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bugs in the bathroom. Ceiling in bathroom had the tiles around exhaust fan almost falling. Baseboards loose and few little crawling bugs in the bathroom. Very small bathroom.

Sandman Hotel Calgary Airport

Calgary

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to airport but far from downtown. About 20 minutes by car.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Columbia Icefield Excursion

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our bus driver/guide was just wonderful. Good personality for the job. Took great photos for us. 👍🏼👍🏼

Transport

Explore around Banff

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We drove by ourselves. Didn't mean to give one star. Can't figure out how to remove it since it's N/A

Take the Banff Gondola to Sulphur Mountain

British Columbia

Quality of Experience

Carl gave some suggestions for exploring the stunning nature of the Canadian Rockies. He took into account our possibilities and limitations and warned us about possible tourist traps such as Lake Louise. This enabled us to make the right choice for our trips every day. The most memorable part was the trip from Banff to Jasper over the Icefield Parkway. Extraterrestrially beautiful landscapes, less crowded places such as the turquoise Bow lake, the imposing Athabasca glacier and waterfalls of the same name. In addition, we were joined a few times by foraging black bears, a group of bighorns and elks. The town of Banff itself and the Johnston falls were too busy. Surprisingly beautiful and very quiet places were (near Banff) the Minnewanka lake, the Vermillion lakes and (near Jasper) the Medicine Lake. All hotel accommodations were fine and picking up and returning the rental car went smoothly.

Hotel Reviews

Sandman Hotel Calgary Airport

Calgary

Convenient location close to the airport. Rooms are spacious and clean. Excellent breakfast and food at he Moxies's restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Excellent for transit stay.

Location

7 miles from the airport. Hotel provides a free shuttle bus.

Staff

Very fiendly and helpful. Due to flight delays, wa arrived after midnight. No one was present at the counter. It took 10 minutes before sombody showed up.

Cleanliness & Comfort

spacious and clean

Banff Rocky Moutain Resort

Banff

Clean. Spacious for 2 persons, but a bit tight for 4 persons. (sofabed). Large kitchen but with minimal crockery and utensils

Authenticity & Character

Tastefully decorated. Beautiful posters

Location

Quiet location away from the hustle and bustle in Banff

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tonquin Inn

Jasper

Looks a bit dated and could be a bit neater, but all in all OK. Few parking spaces a short distance away, so we had to go a long way with the luggage.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy access. There is a restaurant next to it

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Looks a bit dated and could be a bit neater

Activity Review

Drive from Calgary to Banff

British Columbia

A smooth hand fine drive with nice views.

Carl was super helpful he suggested out of the box destinations that were a perfect fit with what we wanted. Every place we visited was awsome. His attention to me and my family were great.

Hotel Reviews

Holiday Inn Vancouver Centre, an IHG Hotel

Vancouver

The Hotel was ok but the location isn't that pretty. The rooms did not have a safe in the bedroom so there was no safe place to store passports and computers. Parking was not included and was expensive per day.

Authenticity & Character

Very Standard Holiday inn hotel

Location

The Area could be better and more centric

Staff

Helpfull and spoke spanish

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds coul be impoved

Chateau Victoria Hotel and Suites

Victoria

Super nice hotel nice and fair tariff and tha location was great, very local, people were very nice and the rooms were super comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Loved all the detail the shampoo, the architecture, the views

Location

Awsome location very centric close to everything nice neighborhood

Staff

Super nice and helpfull during the visit

Cleanliness & Comfort

From all my hotels the very very best

Sandman Hotel & Suites Kelowna

Kelowna, British Columbia

The hotel was not very centric, it was very old, the rooms we got did not have lighting and illumination, felt very dark. The carpets were not clean, they did not have a safe in the bedroom, the door did not close correclt, the staff did not make your bed or clean your room. They did not have a restaurant and overall not a very good experience.

Authenticity & Character

Very old hotel needs a revamp

Location

Very far away from downtown

Staff

They did not clean the rooms unless told to

Cleanliness & Comfort

very old, beds were not done properly, old AC and dirty carpets

Activity Reviews

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

Vancouver

Loved this park it was one of the best suggestions !!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

we did not have one

Transport

we drove ourselves

Victoria to Vancouver, Depart (2 h 30 min)

Victoria

We bought the tickets ourselves

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrive in Kelowna

Kelowna

Loved the town but would have liked more suggestions on what to do there

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Good communication and when we had to make changes due to forest fires the team came thru!!

Overall our Rockies Road trip (Banff & Jasper) was a wonderful and unforgettable experience. Our specialist Marie-Christine quickly understood what we wanted and tailored a trip plan to suit our needs, including booking hotels, rental car and the Banff Gondola ride (which was amazing!) .
The drive from Banff to Jasper and back was exhilarating. Even though we only stayed overnight at Jasper It was worth doing - the views of the Rockies on the drive were fantastic and we stopped off at several places en-route to see the sights such as Maligne Canyon, Athabasca and Sunwapta Falls and lake Peyto.
On the negative side, picking up the Budget rental car was not smooth Their rep (whose English was not good) said no cars were available for 1-2hours and actively tried to encourage us to try the other rental companies! Also I am glad we got a Parks Pass online for the duration of our stay on advice from a friend rather than buy as you go as suggested by M-C. It is cheaper and saved us having to queue at the highway checkpoints. Also it was not pointed out that you have to book online for a Lake Louise Excursion to get a slot for the park & ride. LL is so busy that we missed a morning slot while doing this process and, unfortunately , the day turned out to a damper in more ways than one as we were caught and utterly soaked by full a Rockies thunderstorm :( . Apart from this we were lucky with the weather.
We have returned with wonderful memories. If you are thinking about doing this - do it!