Kimkim Trip Reviews for United Kingdom

I chose to work with KimKim travel based on a recommendation from my sister-in-law. Rachel and her team have been wonderful to work with, and helped me to plan a fantastic holiday for my son and mom, who was celebrating her 80th birthday. We loved the choices and locations of our accommodations - it was so easy to get around and explore the various areas in each city we visited. The attention to detail and quick response to our questions and last minute change of plans were handled so smoothly! Thank you, Rachel, for making our first trip to London and Paris unforgettable! We will definitely use KimKim again!

Eleanor made all the arrangements for our travel. Unfortunately, many of our visits were canceled due to the death of the queen. But Eleanor quickly gave suggestions for other adventures. Our tour guides were really great.

This was a last minute decision made for us to go to the UK for the first time. Rachel put together an amazing 9 day trip for us. Especially on such short notice. Then HM the Queen died and Rachel was on vacation. Emily had to reschedule so many of our activities. While we were on our trip Rachel was able to fix a couple of snafus we had. We did not have to stress about anything. They treated us like royalty. We loved every place we went. We cannot thank Rachel and Emily enough for the wonderful 30th anniversary. Absolutely will use again.

Hotel Reviews

Linthwaite House

Windermere

The hotel was clean and nice. The staff was not friendly or welcoming. It was hard to find. Just not a good experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Georgian House Hotel

Pimlico

This hotel was spectacular from the food, staff and room!! Location was fantastic. Room was spacious and luxurious. The staff was so helpful and nice. We arrive at the hotel about 10 AM after flying all night. The staff was amazing and got us to a room after we had breakfast. They will never know how much that meant to us. They were helpful with activities and reservations. So friendly and welcoming.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location was perfect to walk to almost everywhere you needed to go.

Staff

See above they were amazing!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room was so perfect. I hated to leave.

Hotel du Vin & Bistro Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Great location. Room was amazing and comfortable. Staff was really nice

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Staff was friendly but not really above and beyond.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cameron House

Alexandria

Cannot say enough wonderful things about this place

Authenticity & Character

Location

Perfect in every way.

Staff

Very welcoming, friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room was so comfortable and beautiful

Lygon Arms

Broadway

What a unique experience to stay here. Such a historic place. I would absolutely come and stay here again for a length of time next time.

Authenticity & Character

So much history and well preserved place.

Location

Such a great location to so many different sites and hikes.

Staff

Very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel du Vin Henley-Upon-Thames

Henley-on-Thames

This is a unique place. It was built as a brewery 300 years ago. Staff was not very knowledgeable or organized. They seemed new and not well trained.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Not really close to anything. Everything closes down on Sunday evening early.

Staff

Everyone was nice, just new and unorganized. Amanda was really amazing and the gentleman working the restaurant was very personable.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Glengoyne Distillery

United Kingdom

We learned a lot and it was a really great experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring London on a Hop On Hop Off Bus

London

It was ok. We really did not learn a lot. So many of the stops were closed due to the Queens death.

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Shard Viewing Platform

London

I was not sure how I would like this, but it turned out to be really fun. The drinks are amazing.

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Westminster Abbey

London

Unable to view because closed. It was beautiful from the outside.

London Eye Fast Track Tickets

London

This was fun. I thought it might be scary but it was air conditioned, thank goodness!! We could see all over London.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private tour of The Trossachs National Park

Edinburgh

He was darling.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lake Windermere Scenic Cruise

Lake District National Park

I would have like to have more time to explore the docking points. The boat ride was great. Sit inside.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Oxford

Oxford

George was knowledgeable and engaging. He had so much to tell us about Oxford. We could have probably had a longer tour and not have noticed how fast the time went.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eleanor planned the most amazing trip for us in England!! We stayed in beautiful places; she recommended great restaurants and things to see and points of interest as we drove to our different destinations. She gave us directions to take the scenic routes which were always spectacular!
Eleanor took care of every detail; she went above and beyond the call of duty! We will always have wonderful memories of this trip!
Thank you, Eleanor, for a fabulous trip!!

Hotel Reviews

The Bradley Hare

Maiden Bradley

The setting is beautiful, lovely gardens to sit and have a drink or eat. The rooms are very spacious and nicely decorated. The staff are very friendly and accommodating!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Grand, York

North Yorkshire

Great location, beautiful rooms, friendly staff!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Linthwaite House

Windermere

Beautiful location, friendly staff and delicious food!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lygon Arms

Broadway

Nice rooms, fascinating history, and beautiful outdoor patio.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Bird, Bath

Bath

Friendly staff, nice rooms and fun decorations, and good food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Duchess of Cornwall Inn

Poundbury

Friendly staff, comfortable rooms, nice location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Historic York Walking Tour

York

Sarah Cowling did an amazing job showing us around York and giving us the history that goes back thousands of years. She was interesting and welcomed our questions and was able to answer them all!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

York Minster

York

Definitely worth taking the time to go see it. Sarah our guide was great at pointing out things that we would never have seen or known about.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hill Top - The Home of Beatrix Potter

United Kingdom

Loved seeing Beatrix Potter's home, filled with her personal things that you see in her drawings. It is a beautiful spot. I can see why she loved living there! The docents where very knowledgeable and had a lot of great stories to tell.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Windermere Islands Cruise

United Kingdom

Beautiful ride on the lake, I appreciated hearing about the history and points of interest around the lake.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Oxford University and City Walking Tour

United Kingdom

Edward Taylor was interesting, and very knowledgeable about Oxford and its history. He had a lot of fun stories about the colleges, and buildings around town.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Blenheim Palace

United Kingdom

Beautiful house and gardens! The docents in the house were able to give us a lot of information about the history of the home and family. Well worth the time to visit!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Bath Private Tour

Bath

Tony Abbott was an excellent guide. He knew so much about the history of Bath and the architecture of the buildings. We learned a lot!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Roman Baths

Bath

It is amazing to see! Plan to spend a lot of time, because there is so much to see and learn. There is so much to learn, it is fascinating!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jurassic Coast Scenic Cruise

United Kingdom

It was a beautiful boat ride along the coast. We stopped along the way to learn about the history of some of the coastal towns, which was very interesting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kate was wonderful. Having her a text or call away averted lots of averted frustration. The emergency number was appreciated, as well. I knew that no matter when it was, she knew I was traveling and was there to assist.

Have had great service from Greece, as well.

However, the young couple I have been working with on a trip to Europe in May for my family is not giving me much confidence. Their service doesn’t appear to be up to your standards. They have made it very plan that they are unavailable on weekends and outside of regular weekdays working hours. I will be traveling over three weekends and trouble seems to always strike after 5.

They have a language barrier. I have lots of experience with English as a Second Language folks but I am struggling. I fear I am going to be on my own in Europe in three countries for almost a month with no safety net or the kind of backup and preparatory support Kate provided.

They are in Slovenia. I am going to France, Germany, and Prague. I only speak English and my arrogant American (I try not to be that way! Ask Kate.) ways expect service for the money I invest. I recognize their background in a different culture and hope that my years of teaching cross cultural awareness pay off when I travel. However, if their future business aspirations include service to Americans, they need to soften their touch a bit and plan ahead using their knowledge to benefit travelers who will benefit from that.

For example, they have not mentioned COVID. We will need tests before flying to Europe. More critically, we will need PCR tests in Prague before flying to Bordeaux where we will board a riverboat cruise which they are aware we are booked on. I have no confidence that they have even thought of that. Who knows.. It may not be required by then. However, the cruise line has already asked us to upload vaccine records and forewarned us about the COVID test requirement prior to boarding.