Two Week Vacation to London and Scotland
Scotland | Mar 20 - Apr 2, 2025

Michelle
Michelle M.
Canada | Reviewed on Apr 04, 2025

Working with Tetiana for my first KimKim organized trip was wonderful. Absolutely great! Tetiana was very attentive regarding any questions I had. Her reply was always very quick and professional. During the planning months, Tetiana found options to suit our requests and needs and offered a lot of expertise. She know the UK very well and I am so happy with the suggestions she made.
We spent our first 6 days in London. Tetiana arranged for a private driver to pick us up at Heathrow and booked us in to very comfortable accommodations in Kensington. The location was perfect! The next day we had an amazing private driver named Dean take us out to Highclere Castle for a tour. I am a huge Downton Abbey fan so thoroughly enjoyed that day trip. The second day, Tetiana organized us for a Rabbies tour to The Cotswolds & Oxford. I was travelling with my 26 year old son, and we both enjoyed seeing this part of England very much! For the next few days, we figured out transit and made our way to all of the amazing sights we wanted to see in London.
Our second week was spent in Scotland. Tetiana arranged train tickets for us to head to Edinburgh. Any time I had uncertainties or questions, I communicated with Tetiana via Whatsapp and she helped us immediately. She arranged a walking tour for us that afternoon which was incredible! I asked Tetiana to help me find a real castle for us to stay in, and Melville Castle was perfect. Our two-bedroom suite was gorgeous and spacious and everything we did and saw in Edinburgh was just amazing. Our next three days were spent in Inverness. The Highlands of Scotland are just beautiful. The people were so incredibly friendly and I can't wait to go back!
Our last day was spent in London again and we really liked The Sanctuary House that Tetiana found for us. It is a very excellent location if anyone wants to be near all the most popular landmark sights.

I can't thank Tetiana enough! She followed my request list perfectly and Jackson & I had an stress-free, wonderful vacation.

Hotel Reviews
Glenmoriston Townhouse Hotel
Inverness

Dated. I understand that Inverness is very old, but the rooms definitely need an upgrade. As well, the restaurant options were not what we expected. Breakfast was excellent, but in the evening the restaurants were too upscale for what we were looking for after long days out on tours. As well, the stairs with luggage were not expected. There is no elevator.

Authenticity & Character
This hotel definitely needs to be updated.
Location
Staff
Very attentive, kind and helpful.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Twin beds are very small. Rooms are very small. Bathroom is a great size though.
Ember Locke
London

This location is perfect. It is in the Kensington area with wonderful pubs, restaurants, grocery stores and easy transit access within minutes. It is safe and very walkable. The restaurant in this hotel is very good. There is also a wonderful coffee bar in the lobby.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
The rooms could use some updating. The hotel was kept very clean; the rooms are just dark and a bit dated.
Melville Castle
Edinburgh

The hotel itself was gorgeous. Staying in a castle was more affordable than I thought it would be and our two-bedroom suite was stunning! We dined at the downstairs restaurant on our last night there and the food was excellent! The Library bar is attractive and the atmosphere was casual and relaxing! I also loved that dogs were allowed and we got to visit with a few owners and snuggle their pups. My only disappointment was the staff. Michelle was a very nice receptionist, but the other staff members did the bare minimum. Our very first impression was disappointing. No one greeted us at check in or offered to help us with our bags. Two young people stood there and watched us, without offering help or even a "welcome or hello". There was an elevator, but we still had to manage our bags with 4 stairs into our suite on our own. The staff were younger and more interested in visiting with each other; their attentiveness was lacking. As well, the outside areas of the hotel were also lacking pride. The outer small buildings looked dishevelled; pieces of the roof broken off, hoses and pails lying around etc. Unforunately this was the view from our bedroom windows and that didn't leave a great impression. However, the daily cleaning service was perfect.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
As noted above. Our first impression was a receptionist who sat behind her desk and didn't acknowledge us until we said hello. Two other young people were on their phones and talking with each other but also didn't say hello or offer to help us with our bags. This was a disappointing first impression for our first time staying in a castle! The breakfast staff however were lovely and a lady named Michelle who worked later in the day & evening was very kind.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Our two bedroom suite, the Library Bar and the breakfast room.
The Sanctuary House Hotel
London

Excellent location! Wonderful "extras" in the rooms that we didn't see at our other hotels.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Receptionist was "flat". Just not a great first impression when checking-in. The pub attached to the hotel had amazing, friendly staff.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Our room was fabulous! Clean, great style, and really nicely stocked with extras!
Activity Reviews
Highclere Castle
Highclere Castle
London

I highly recommend this tour!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Dean White was the driver our KimKim specialist hired for us and he was just so fun to be with.
Explore Glen Affric, Culloden, and Clava Cairns Tour
Explore Glen Affric, Culloden, and Clava Cairns Tour
Inverness

Absolutely LOVED this full day trip. Our guide Ryan was funny, an excellent driver and wonderful at engaging with the tourists!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Edinburgh Castle & Old Town Private Tour
Edinburgh Castle & Old Town Private Tour
Edinburgh

Our private walking tour was great! Our guide was on time, very enjoyable and informative. The only thing I would have liked is if it was booked at least half an hour to an hour sooner. We only had about 45 minutes at the castle once we got up there before closing time.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Stirling Private Tour
Stirling Private Tour
Edinburgh

Our private guide Michael was SO friendly and wonderful. He was personally from Stirling and loved living there. He picked us up at our hotel and was dressed so professional. After seeing Stirling Castle, he took us to a local bakery that was incredible and he was just so professional, experienced and funny! A Great Day!!! Loved the area and highly recommend seeing Wallace Monument and the castle!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Churchill War Rooms & WW2 Westminster Small Group Tour
Churchill War Rooms & WW2 Westminster Small Group Tour
London

We misunderstood/so did Tetiana where we were suppose to meet our guide and didn't realize there was a one-hour walking tour involved before we went in to the War Rooms. Thankfully we found him just in time and it was all absolutely wonderful!!! :)

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
The Vaults Tour
The Vaults Tour
Edinburgh

This was so cool! Great guide on this tour and really fascinating to even think people lived and existed in these vaults in the 1700's!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Skye and Eilean Donan Castle Small-Group Day Tour
Skye and Eilean Donan Castle Small-Group Day Tour
Inverness

We had Ryan from Rabbies again on this trip. He is an amazing persona and an excellent, safe driver. We found this day far too long. Skye is nice, but being from Canada we didn't find it as "breath taking" as I had hoped. I think we could have spent the 12 hours doing something different and enjoyed that more. However, we met some really great people on the van tour and again, Ryan is the best tour guide we have ever had.

Quality of Experience
Our driver, Ryan.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Local specialist: Tetiana Smal
Tetiana
Tetiana Smal
Local specialist in London | Replied on Apr 05, 2025
Dear Michelle, Thank you so much for your wonderful words! It was an absolute pleasure working with you and Jackson to plan this special adventure through England and Scotland. Your enthusiasm and openness made the process not only smooth but genuinely fun! I loved helping bring your Downton Abbey dreams to life at Highclere Castle, finding that perfect stay in a real Scottish castle, and tailoring every step to fit your pace and interests. I’m so happy to hear that everything went... Read more

Dear Michelle,

Thank you so much for your wonderful words!

It was an absolute pleasure working with you and Jackson to plan this special adventure through England and Scotland. Your enthusiasm and openness made the process not only smooth but genuinely fun!

I loved helping bring your Downton Abbey dreams to life at Highclere Castle, finding that perfect stay in a real Scottish castle, and tailoring every step to fit your pace and interests. I’m so happy to hear that everything went smoothly and that you felt supported along the way—that means the world to me.

Thank you for trusting me (and Kimkim) with your travel plans. I already look forward to the next time we get to explore a new destination together!

Warmest wishes,
Tetiana