A Review by a River Cruiser
We took this tour starting on Sun, Jul 25th. After completing 3 Tauck river cruises this was our first land tour. We were nervous about the amount of bus time and number of hotel changes. For the most part, neither was a problem.
We were impressed with how smoothly the check in process was handled. Except for the Edinburgh Sheraton, in every case our bus pulled up to the hotel, the TD got out and received a stack of envelops with room keys from the hotel staff and we headed directly there. Except for the Savoy, our bags were already in our rooms before we arrived. I’m still not in love with living out of a suitcase, but packing cubes did help. Our impressions of the hotels on the tour:
- Edinburgh Sheraton – very modern, seriously confusing light panels, the best breakfast buffet
- Lake District Langdon – beautiful buildings and setting, dinners excellent (Sticky Toffee pudding – yum), read the room safe directions BEFORE using, spa/gym needs work
- Oxford Randolph – great location, lovely room, confusing upstairs layout i.e. you needed signs every time to find your room/lobby, restaurant Meh!
- Bath Francis – another lovely old bldg in a great location, fun/quirky décor, great restaurant
- London Savoy – the best of the trip – careful ordering at breakfast – they believe in giving you your money’s worth
Yes, there is a fair amount of bus time especially on the days between hotel stops. But our TD did a good job of keeping us entertained and educated on what was to come. This was also our first experience of the Tauck bus rotation plan. It’s not a bad idea, although it might need some tweeking. I believe it was back 1 row on the driver’s side and up 2 rows on the door side. We were a small group (29) and actually did not get a chance to sit next to everyone.
We enjoyed pretty much everything on the itinerary. Some more than others in part due to cool and/or rainy weather. The best was probably the day we spent touring Stonehenge followed by lunch in the Bath Pump room then a tour of the old Roman Baths. For both tours we were provided with the audio devices where you punch in the # and listen to the recorded info. Tauck guides are great, but we really enjoyed being able to go at our own pace. Was surprised at how much we enjoyed the tours of Blenheim and Windsor. Our least favorite was dinner with the former MP, although the food was outstanding. I’ll never deride mushy peas again.
Will we take another land tour? Not sure, but this gave us a good impression of them.
We were impressed with how smoothly the check in process was handled. Except for the Edinburgh Sheraton, in every case our bus pulled up to the hotel, the TD got out and received a stack of envelops with room keys from the hotel staff and we headed directly there. Except for the Savoy, our bags were already in our rooms before we arrived. I’m still not in love with living out of a suitcase, but packing cubes did help. Our impressions of the hotels on the tour:
- Edinburgh Sheraton – very modern, seriously confusing light panels, the best breakfast buffet
- Lake District Langdon – beautiful buildings and setting, dinners excellent (Sticky Toffee pudding – yum), read the room safe directions BEFORE using, spa/gym needs work
- Oxford Randolph – great location, lovely room, confusing upstairs layout i.e. you needed signs every time to find your room/lobby, restaurant Meh!
- Bath Francis – another lovely old bldg in a great location, fun/quirky décor, great restaurant
- London Savoy – the best of the trip – careful ordering at breakfast – they believe in giving you your money’s worth
Yes, there is a fair amount of bus time especially on the days between hotel stops. But our TD did a good job of keeping us entertained and educated on what was to come. This was also our first experience of the Tauck bus rotation plan. It’s not a bad idea, although it might need some tweeking. I believe it was back 1 row on the driver’s side and up 2 rows on the door side. We were a small group (29) and actually did not get a chance to sit next to everyone.
We enjoyed pretty much everything on the itinerary. Some more than others in part due to cool and/or rainy weather. The best was probably the day we spent touring Stonehenge followed by lunch in the Bath Pump room then a tour of the old Roman Baths. For both tours we were provided with the audio devices where you punch in the # and listen to the recorded info. Tauck guides are great, but we really enjoyed being able to go at our own pace. Was surprised at how much we enjoyed the tours of Blenheim and Windsor. Our least favorite was dinner with the former MP, although the food was outstanding. I’ll never deride mushy peas again.
Will we take another land tour? Not sure, but this gave us a good impression of them.
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Comments
We were impressed with how smoothly the check in process was handled. Yup
I’m still not in love with living out of a suitcase, but packing cubes did help. Yup After 8 it becomes second nature.
Our impressions of the hotels on the tour:
- Edinburgh Sheraton – very modern, seriously confusing light panels, the best breakfast buffet Yup Prior to leaving US we arranged (at extra expense) for a room with a Castle view- worth it.
- Lake District Langdon – beautiful buildings and setting, dinners excellent (Sticky Toffee pudding – yum), read the room safe directions BEFORE using, spa/gym needs work Yup Only downside- though we weren't there long there wasn't much to do, no town, just small nearby pub. No AC which we actually needed in 2013!
- Oxford Randolph – great location, lovely room, confusing upstairs layout i.e. you needed signs every time to find your room/lobby, restaurant Meh! Yup
How was the Quay Hotel in Wales?
Yes, there is a fair amount of bus time especially on the days between hotel stops. But our TD did a good job of keeping us entertained and educated on what was to come. Yup a good TD is essential.
This was also our first experience of the Tauck bus rotation plan. It’s not a bad idea, although it might need some tweeking. Yup. Again, an on-the-ball TD is essential. We've only had one that keep losing track- luckily we all knew the rotation by the second day.
We enjoyed pretty much everything on the itinerary. Yup. It looks like itinerary will change again for 2018. ( :
For both tours we were provided with the audio devices . . . Yup. Those and the "Whisper/VOX" are worth their weight in gold
Was surprised at how much we enjoyed the tours of Blenheim and Windsor. Yup. Blenheim was awesome!
Our least favorite was dinner with the former MP, although the food was outstanding. I’ll never deride mushy peas again. On our tour we had farewell dinner in Tower of London!
Will we take another land tour? Not sure, but this gave us a good impression of them. We have yet to take a cruise.
I'd say our room was fantastic - but actually it was a suite on the ground floor facing the water. Score! Huge living room with great view. About half our group had suites and the rest the typical single rooms with a view of the road or the interior garden/walkway. Would have been even better if the skies hadn't been so overcast most of the visit. oh well
Restaurant so-so. My least favorite for breakfast and dinner wasn't great. My stuffed pork chops weren't stuffed with anything and my very unpicky husband didn't like fish.
Our farewell dinner was at the Savoy. Excellent.
Looked at the 2018 itinerary and didn't see any differences from ours. 2017 didn't list Hadrian's wall but we did make 2 stops at different points to see part of it.
Did you stop for lunch and take a short cruise on Lock Lomond? We did, it wasn't much.
The biggest difference is Portmeirion vs Conway in Wales and possibly the sequence of a few visits. Also, we only stopped for the group photo in from of Anne Hathaway's house, but did tour their house in Avon. FYI, did your guide tell you the correct way to pronounce Avon- short A, accent on the first syllable, hmmm, I hadn't heard that before.
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/hot-puddings/little-sticky-toffee-puddings-with-pecan-toffee-sauce
I have Mary Berry's recipe (I adore the Great British Bake Off) but this sounds better. I have southern roots so the addition of pecans to any dessert is considered an improvement.
I tried to try as many local specialties I could on this trip (including haggis - meh). One drawback I've found to the high end hotels Tauck uses is they don't seem to feature local specialties as much as you'd expect. Sometimes you look at the menu and feel you could be any place in the world.
Somehow an 'end quote' is not being read? : ) Try adding a return or two between "sauce" and the 'end quote' bracket.
Oh, and we love Sticky toffee pudding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!