I'm not sure what you mean by "upscale". To me, the most important thing is the itinerary (where the tour goes and the various stops).
If you mean nice hotels, almost all the tours do very nice hotels. The Hawaii tour we did had some exceptional hotels, and on the England tour we stayed a few nights at the Savoy.
You'll probably get better answers if you better define what you're looking for.
Do you mean US tours or foreign tours, adventure, Europe, exotic.. what is your level of fitness for walking etc. . One thing for sure, the US tours are relatively expensive when you can go to European instead for only a little more.
OK, I'll try to be more clear. I am asking this on behalf of a fairly snobby traveler...the type who stays in suites in 5 star hotels. Yes, I know most Tauck tours are considered high end, expensive trips, but in my experience, many of the nicer hotels are not at Mandarin Oriental/Ritz/Four Seasons/Rosewood levels. Again...please don't take this as me disparaging Tauck! I am not, and for my budget they are absolutely wonderful and I fully enjoyed my experience and look forward to more. But there is a level above this that I was wondering if Tauck has on any (land) tours...either in the US or anywhere.
Yes, my most recent tour Singapore and Bali, private plunge pools at tour hotels. Also INDIA and more.
I’ve spoken to people who have taken A and K tours and not been inpressed. And hey, I don’t want to be on a tour with a snob, they are a pain in the….
There are at least two levels of tours and lodging above Tauck Tours that are much more "up-scale" for the very well-to-do, where you can stay in fabulous, but still chain, or boutique subsidiary hotels located in very large cities, where a room can cost several thousand and more per night. And then there are those places for the uber rich- celebrities, head's of state, industry moguls, etc. where you are shielded from and don't ever rub elbows with the hoi polloi. You never see these places and tours advertised and need a private jet to reach them. Cost? More than most of the top 1% can afford.
Tauck only uses high-end Hotels
The most lavish ones are on the India tour. But I haven't seen any Four Seasons being a bad hotel or location. One&Only are amazing too and the Aman resorts are best of the best ultra Plus-
Tauck visits the one in Bali.
You can go Private Jet world excursions and also check The Four-Seasons private jet journeys.
It’s the quality of the overall tour and experience for me. I’ve learned that yes, and of course I like very nice hotels but you’re staying in them for such a small amount of time.
Tauck tours are wonderful and the hotels have been very comfortable. However, they are not the most expensive by any means as numerous companies now have private jets and yachts. The Ritz-Carlton has numerous trips on their private yachts that can cost up to $55,000 per person for ten days. I think your friend would be much happier on one of these and not a Tauck tour.
So much focus on hotels. what about focusing on the content of the tour. I’ve had one experience with another company where some of the hotels were very poor but we saw way more than we did with Tauck in three trips with them. It depends what you think is important for a memorable vacation.
Everyone is entitled to their own priorities of what they are looking for on a tour. If I sign up for a less expensive tour like Rick Steves then I know the hotel might not be as nice as I'd like, the food included may be so so but I'd expect a good tour director and guides. But if I'm booking with Tauck I expect at a minimum a nice hotel, excellent food AND good tour director/guides. A room that is clean, comfortable and quiet is a minimum. I want to experience good local food though is doesn't need to be Michelin star gourmet. And yes, the itinerary is important along with some free time to do my own thing. On nights where dinner is on our own, if the room had a patio and view we've enjoyed just getting take-out and a bottle of wine vs sitting thru another long sit down dinner.
As to the main question rssherms asked, I can only answer for European river cruises and land tours. None of the ones we've taken were 100% upscale - at least in regards to hotel stays. Some of the hotels have been very nice and sometimes we've lucked out in getting mini-suites, patios, views, etc. Others, we've just had a standard king-bed room with nothing much to look at. Some hotels have been what I consider a nice business hotel (a place for conventions) - the Sheraton in Edinburgh, the Swisshotel in Basel, the Hilton in Dublin. Nice clean rooms with king sized beds but not luxury.
Smiling Sam started a thread about this several weeks ago - his vote being India if I recall correctly.
I think this person needs an agent to arrange independent travel. Tour companies are not going to provide that level of accomodations. I have a friend who has a daughter that married a very successful man, and he always requires a ‘room’ with two bathrooms. We had that with Tauck in Marseille, but I think that was an accident … along with the sixteen foot ceilings, etc., etc. etc.
Tauck these days negotiates with certain hotel chains and often does get the best rooms. Especially when they can guarantee they will take a certain number of rooms regular and on either end of the more popular summer months. On our most recent tour, one of the Four Seasons, when we were shown to our room, the bellman said it was one of their best rooms, and it was!
I remembered back in the day on one of our Canadian tours, we stayed in several hotels where we had full/ double sized beds, not even queen. There was a tall guy in the group who had difficulty but those were the only available hotels in certain beautiful locations.
Cathy, please report on the Indian hotels, several are different than we had when we went to India where they were just about all Oberoi properties. Except Khajaraho and Varanasi but your tour does not include the latter.
The private cooking class with the head chef of the Delhi Oberoi hotel is so memorable to us. He turned up to our table the next morning with special dishes he made just for us. This is one of the hotels that Tauck no longer uses.
The original question was about the most experienced tours, I think maybe that could be Antarctica and the Africa tours that include Rwanda.
rssherms Hi
After much thinking... Perhaps this snobby traveler should have a personal concierge to book her private trips, going on a personal private jet to amazing world destinations... I could give you some... but I'm at work.
Good luck.
The traveler should check out TCS World Travel. These are private jet tours that have great itineraries, knowledgeable tour directors and hotels that are top shelf with the best views. You get a private chef onboard the aircraft and a physician that travels the entire itinerary with the group.
Didn’t Travcoa (no longer in existence) belong to that group? I traveled with them twice. Then Travcoa changed into Zeagrahm and then again changed into Atlas. That, in itself, is very strange. I really liked Travcoa because if you didn’t feel like dining with the group, you could dine anywhere and the company would reimburse you. It would not reimburse for caviar or alcohol. That was just one reason it was such a top notch company. I don’t think anything like that exists anymore.
The hotels in the Kingdom & Dragon's tour are excellent, high class hotels, also the India tour. I enjoy the upscale hotels however the content of the tour is more important to me, the time spent in a hotel is not that long, I rather be out and about than sit in a plush hotel room.
Generally, Tauck uses the some of the best available hotels...or the most historic or situated. If you take one of their tours to a national park, you (or at least us) don't want to stay at the 5-star resort outside the park. We want to stay in the park.
And then there was the Four Seasons in the middle of the Serengeti...
I do like to explore every destination before, during and after the Tauck tour & daily activities and yes! I care more for what the destination has to offer, but a nice upscale hotel, with pillow menu , down Duvet, awesome bathtub and a nice pretty decor, as well as getting treated and feel like a Royal It's the Best! & even more if it has a Fav. SPA.
I personally will not stay in a hotel room that it's less than my own room at home... perhaps I can negotiate equal to home but never less.
I'm all about pampering myself (someone once told me.. you got to love yourself first! ( Iam not a narcicist but I do love myself I pass that course with an A++)
I work too hardw year-round ( self independent gal) so my Sin! is TAUCK! and love their hotel selections..
I cannot wait to be at the Aman- Amanjiwo resort, I went to the one in Turk & Caicos AMAZING !
Gladys, did you visited the Spa? do you think the 2 nights stay at the Amanjiwo was sufficient to enjoy resort and sorounding areas?
I will ask some question some time sooner to my trip next Oct2023. if I may.
I got at the O&O Cape town a corner suite, all to myself- with a terrace that would had fitted a cocktail party for 60 people easyly. I could not believe it... and all my friends are in Joburg... what a waste. They had to see I'm a member of the O&O cliente..
This was my room.
I did fully enjoyed my stay @ Cape town, spend 1 xtra day and it was heaven, left lots of friends and will be back soon.
O&O staff rock!
Mil...when I was recently in Athens, I met an American female who relocated to Dubai to work for the One & Only chain. I remember I had the choice to stay there or the Cape Grace in Cape Town--I chose the Cape Grace; however, the One & Only is fabulous as well
On our recent Canada Capital Cities tour, Tauck gave us an option to upgrade our room at our final 3 night stay (at the spectacular Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City). It came out to about $100/nt PP so we decided to do it. Only two other couples in our group had done the upgrade. It included a beautiful river view, an upgraded room, and access to a concierge lounge which was fantastic (and was something we didn't even know in advance was included). I post this just so anyone who is considering this tour and has this opportunity knows what it includes.
PureLuxury Hi.
The O&O's are amazing. I stay in both The Palm & The Royal Mirage. they are incredible.
Nice to hear from you, where are you going next?
Comments
I'm not sure what you mean by "upscale". To me, the most important thing is the itinerary (where the tour goes and the various stops).
If you mean nice hotels, almost all the tours do very nice hotels. The Hawaii tour we did had some exceptional hotels, and on the England tour we stayed a few nights at the Savoy.
You'll probably get better answers if you better define what you're looking for.
Do you mean US tours or foreign tours, adventure, Europe, exotic.. what is your level of fitness for walking etc. . One thing for sure, the US tours are relatively expensive when you can go to European instead for only a little more.
OK, I'll try to be more clear. I am asking this on behalf of a fairly snobby traveler...the type who stays in suites in 5 star hotels. Yes, I know most Tauck tours are considered high end, expensive trips, but in my experience, many of the nicer hotels are not at Mandarin Oriental/Ritz/Four Seasons/Rosewood levels. Again...please don't take this as me disparaging Tauck! I am not, and for my budget they are absolutely wonderful and I fully enjoyed my experience and look forward to more. But there is a level above this that I was wondering if Tauck has on any (land) tours...either in the US or anywhere.
Yes, my most recent tour Singapore and Bali, private plunge pools at tour hotels. Also INDIA and more.
I’ve spoken to people who have taken A and K tours and not been inpressed. And hey, I don’t want to be on a tour with a snob, they are a pain in the….
We just returned from the Northern Spain tour. The hotels were very nice. But tell your friend to bring his own Grey Poupon…
There are at least two levels of tours and lodging above Tauck Tours that are much more "up-scale" for the very well-to-do, where you can stay in fabulous, but still chain, or boutique subsidiary hotels located in very large cities, where a room can cost several thousand and more per night. And then there are those places for the uber rich- celebrities, head's of state, industry moguls, etc. where you are shielded from and don't ever rub elbows with the hoi polloi. You never see these places and tours advertised and need a private jet to reach them. Cost? More than most of the top 1% can afford.
Tauck only uses high-end Hotels
The most lavish ones are on the India tour. But I haven't seen any Four Seasons being a bad hotel or location. One&Only are amazing too and the Aman resorts are best of the best ultra Plus-
Tauck visits the one in Bali.
You can go Private Jet world excursions and also check The Four-Seasons private jet journeys.
From my two experiences with A&K, they are NOT better than Tauck!
It’s the quality of the overall tour and experience for me. I’ve learned that yes, and of course I like very nice hotels but you’re staying in them for such a small amount of time.
Doesn’t sound like we will be traveling with those snobby travelers in the near future unless they are treating.
Tauck tours are wonderful and the hotels have been very comfortable. However, they are not the most expensive by any means as numerous companies now have private jets and yachts. The Ritz-Carlton has numerous trips on their private yachts that can cost up to $55,000 per person for ten days. I think your friend would be much happier on one of these and not a Tauck tour.
So much focus on hotels. what about focusing on the content of the tour. I’ve had one experience with another company where some of the hotels were very poor but we saw way more than we did with Tauck in three trips with them. It depends what you think is important for a memorable vacation.
Everyone is entitled to their own priorities of what they are looking for on a tour. If I sign up for a less expensive tour like Rick Steves then I know the hotel might not be as nice as I'd like, the food included may be so so but I'd expect a good tour director and guides. But if I'm booking with Tauck I expect at a minimum a nice hotel, excellent food AND good tour director/guides. A room that is clean, comfortable and quiet is a minimum. I want to experience good local food though is doesn't need to be Michelin star gourmet. And yes, the itinerary is important along with some free time to do my own thing. On nights where dinner is on our own, if the room had a patio and view we've enjoyed just getting take-out and a bottle of wine vs sitting thru another long sit down dinner.
As to the main question rssherms asked, I can only answer for European river cruises and land tours. None of the ones we've taken were 100% upscale - at least in regards to hotel stays. Some of the hotels have been very nice and sometimes we've lucked out in getting mini-suites, patios, views, etc. Others, we've just had a standard king-bed room with nothing much to look at. Some hotels have been what I consider a nice business hotel (a place for conventions) - the Sheraton in Edinburgh, the Swisshotel in Basel, the Hilton in Dublin. Nice clean rooms with king sized beds but not luxury.
Smiling Sam started a thread about this several weeks ago - his vote being India if I recall correctly.
I think this person needs an agent to arrange independent travel. Tour companies are not going to provide that level of accomodations. I have a friend who has a daughter that married a very successful man, and he always requires a ‘room’ with two bathrooms. We had that with Tauck in Marseille, but I think that was an accident … along with the sixteen foot ceilings, etc., etc. etc.
Tauck these days negotiates with certain hotel chains and often does get the best rooms. Especially when they can guarantee they will take a certain number of rooms regular and on either end of the more popular summer months. On our most recent tour, one of the Four Seasons, when we were shown to our room, the bellman said it was one of their best rooms, and it was!
I remembered back in the day on one of our Canadian tours, we stayed in several hotels where we had full/ double sized beds, not even queen. There was a tall guy in the group who had difficulty but those were the only available hotels in certain beautiful locations.
Cathy, please report on the Indian hotels, several are different than we had when we went to India where they were just about all Oberoi properties. Except Khajaraho and Varanasi but your tour does not include the latter.
The private cooking class with the head chef of the Delhi Oberoi hotel is so memorable to us. He turned up to our table the next morning with special dishes he made just for us. This is one of the hotels that Tauck no longer uses.
The original question was about the most experienced tours, I think maybe that could be Antarctica and the Africa tours that include Rwanda.
Tauck also does private/very small concierge-like, custom ($$$?) tours. It is barely mentioned on the website. If interested, people need to call.
rssherms Hi
After much thinking... Perhaps this snobby traveler should have a personal concierge to book her private trips, going on a personal private jet to amazing world destinations... I could give you some... but I'm at work.
Good luck.
P.S:
https://www.abercrombiekent.com/private-jet?did=2848&utm_content=s-dc_pcrid_612853687868_pkw_+private +jet +travel_pmt_b_&&infinity=ict2~net~gaw~cmp~11824853940~ag~117924185507~ar~612853687868~kw~+private +jet +travel~mt~b~acr~6900306623&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1vSZBhDuARIsAKZlijTkY-usVjUOZrbu7rhxJSsYMD3l0eBShYfD-c-H8he8u_tZ9I875J4aAu_lEALw_wcB
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/trip-types/private-jet/?ef_id=Cj0KCQjw1vSZBhDuARIsAKZlijR5RhFtJaCC8pw1EMKNeFgPFdh9yi-K_jGa1t0wMJbjl5AnUPqp9eYaArEvEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!13884!3!603758211347!p!!g!!private jet&CMP=KNC-FY23_NGE_INS_DOM_NGEC_LGN_NGGN_ExpeditionsjjPrivateJetjjPhrase|G|5226750.NG.AM.01.01|M0Z5ENH|NB|603758211347&keyword_id=kwd-10335631|dc|private%20jet|603758211347|p|13884:3|&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1vSZBhDuARIsAKZlijR5RhFtJaCC8pw1EMKNeFgPFdh9yi-K_jGa1t0wMJbjl5AnUPqp9eYaArEvEALw_wcB
Best:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/7-luxurious-private-jet-trips-to-take-you-all-around-the-world
The traveler should check out TCS World Travel. These are private jet tours that have great itineraries, knowledgeable tour directors and hotels that are top shelf with the best views. You get a private chef onboard the aircraft and a physician that travels the entire itinerary with the group.
chitraveler Hi.
Yes! TCS is excellent, they are base here in Seattle, WA.
Didn’t Travcoa (no longer in existence) belong to that group? I traveled with them twice. Then Travcoa changed into Zeagrahm and then again changed into Atlas. That, in itself, is very strange. I really liked Travcoa because if you didn’t feel like dining with the group, you could dine anywhere and the company would reimburse you. It would not reimburse for caviar or alcohol. That was just one reason it was such a top notch company. I don’t think anything like that exists anymore.
OurTravels34 hi.
I'm not aware of any like it, now.
The hotels in the Kingdom & Dragon's tour are excellent, high class hotels, also the India tour. I enjoy the upscale hotels however the content of the tour is more important to me, the time spent in a hotel is not that long, I rather be out and about than sit in a plush hotel room.
Generally, Tauck uses the some of the best available hotels...or the most historic or situated. If you take one of their tours to a national park, you (or at least us) don't want to stay at the 5-star resort outside the park. We want to stay in the park.
And then there was the Four Seasons in the middle of the Serengeti...
gladysorlando984 Hi.
I do like to explore every destination before, during and after the Tauck tour & daily activities and yes! I care more for what the destination has to offer, but a nice upscale hotel, with pillow menu , down Duvet, awesome bathtub and a nice pretty decor, as well as getting treated and feel like a Royal It's the Best! & even more if it has a Fav. SPA.
but I do love myself 
I pass that course with an A++)
I personally will not stay in a hotel room that it's less than my own room at home... perhaps I can negotiate equal to home but never less.
I'm all about pampering myself (someone once told me.. you got to love yourself first! ( Iam not a narcicist
I work too hardw year-round ( self independent gal) so my Sin! is TAUCK! and love their hotel selections..
I cannot wait to be at the Aman- Amanjiwo resort, I went to the one in Turk & Caicos AMAZING !
Gladys, did you visited the Spa? do you think the 2 nights stay at the Amanjiwo was sufficient to enjoy resort and sorounding areas?
I will ask some question some time sooner to my trip next Oct2023. if I may.
I got at the O&O Cape town a corner suite, all to myself- with a terrace that would had fitted a cocktail party for 60 people easyly. I could not believe it... and all my friends are in Joburg... what a waste. They had to see I'm a member of the O&O cliente..
This was my room.
I did fully enjoyed my stay @ Cape town, spend 1 xtra day and it was heaven, left lots of friends and will be back soon.
O&O staff rock!
Corner suite 119.
And Mil, the flagger is on vacation, so you won’t get any flags for your photos!
Mil...when I was recently in Athens, I met an American female who relocated to Dubai to work for the One & Only chain. I remember I had the choice to stay there or the Cape Grace in Cape Town--I chose the Cape Grace; however, the One & Only is fabulous as well
On our recent Canada Capital Cities tour, Tauck gave us an option to upgrade our room at our final 3 night stay (at the spectacular Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City). It came out to about $100/nt PP so we decided to do it. Only two other couples in our group had done the upgrade. It included a beautiful river view, an upgraded room, and access to a concierge lounge which was fantastic (and was something we didn't even know in advance was included). I post this just so anyone who is considering this tour and has this opportunity knows what it includes.
British.. I got a flag, probably from my tour friend. (The Granny)
PureLuxury Hi.
The O&O's are amazing. I stay in both The Palm & The Royal Mirage. they are incredible.
Nice to hear from you, where are you going next?