England and the West Country Pre-Stay
For those who are booked or plan to book, could you verify that pre-stays are at One Aldwych in London (near Covent Garden) as it says on the website and not at the The Gainsborough Bath Spa in Bath. That is a new one for me, usually pre-stays are at the Day 1 hotel. Do your documents say when you will be picked up and driven to Bath? Were you given the option of a pre-stay in Bath instead of London?
I also noticed that when clicking on any departure in the Availability and Price page there is a pop-up that says, "Please Note: A valid driver's license must be shown for guests who wish to drive the Morgan sports cars. We regret to inform that all individuals under the age of 25 and over the age of 75 will be unable to drive the cars, however, they can be a passenger in them." What a bummer!!
Comments
We were given both options for the pre stay. You have to let them know which one you would like. I was told the coach will be leaving the London hotel at 9.
Alan, I'm so glad you posted your question.
It made me review our "England & The West Country" reservation for September 2026, and I see that our pre-stay nights were booked at the wrong hotel! They were booked in Bath, but we actually wanted the hotel in London.
So I called Tauck this morning, and the agent said that guests do indeed have a choice of pre-stay hotels, either in Bath (The Gainsborough Bath Spa) or in London (One Aldwych) pre-stay hotels.
Now my travel agent will try to change our pre-stay hotel to the One Aldwych in London, and hope that there are still rooms available.
I'm a little surprised that this choice of pre-stay hotels was not spelled out on Tauck's tour page when we made the reservation (11 months ago). But I'm even more surprised that even today it still shows the London hotel as the only pre-stay option. I hope that others haven't been inadvertently booked at a different hotel than they thought they were booking.
We will be taking two pre-stay nights- one Gift-of-time and one non-gift of time. Not that it really matters much, but does anyone have the cost of a non-gift-of-time pre-stay in London and Bath?
Here's what I have so far for 2026 pre-stays:
Gainsborough Bath Spa is $536 per night, for 2 people, non-Gift of Time. Gift of Time pricing is $783 for 2 people.
One Aldwych Hotel is On Request; I'll let you know pricing when we find out. Gift of Time pricing is $1,233 for 2 people.
It appears the Tauck pre-stay prices quoted are always inflated from what the hotel websites quote. In my experience, the Tauck rooms are generally upgraded rooms.
I try to keep in mind that Tauck bookings almost always include breakfasts, Wi-Fi, and gratuities. And the block of rooms that Tauck reserves are often not the lowest category (thus least expensive) offered by the hotel.
I believe you are correct.
I'm sure it is just a small part of the difference, but Tauck GOT room rates include breakfast. They could be upgraded rooms too, but no way to tell.
When we did E,S,W many, many years ago, I made arrangements with the concierge at the Sheraton and paid for an upgraded room that looked up at Edinburgh Castle (Tauck rooms were on the side of the hotel with no view.) The upgrade was worth it to us. We had a great view of the Castle and also the large boisterous crowd gathered in the plaza out front to watch a live feed on a Jumbotron when Andy Murray won at Wimbledon!! (the press always said he was British or from the UK- but he was a homeboy, born in Glasgow, Scotland!!)
In case anyone is interested this was what the weather was like the entire tour!!!
Has anyone booked a private excursion from Bath to Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey), Bampton, and surrounding area?
We are on the Sept 13th tour. The pre night stays during that time are slightly elevated due to the Jane Austen festival. We looked at Galahad Tours for possible day trips out of Bath either to Wales or to either Blenheim or the Downton Abbey tour but elected to day trip into London instead.