This was the second leg of a back-to-back trip on Tauck. First, let me say that our tour director, Kori Northrup was Outstanding. Very knowledgeable, friendly, hard-working and basically did more than you would expect from a tour director. Kudos to Kori- The Best! The first leg of the trip we stayed at the Sheraton Grand in Edinburgh which is centrally located and is a fine hotel. Our time in Edinburgh was well planned and we enjoyed our stay. Next stop was the Lake District. A long bus ride with really nothing to see in the small town we stopped at before going to the hotel. When Kori kept saying "did I mention the hotel was rustic" I knew it would not be on par with the normal places Tauck uses. The staff was very friendly and the food was good but the room was some where out of the 1970s. Next stop was another long bus ride to Northern Wales. Again, Kori was tasked with saying something nice about the hotel with some sort of phrase. We were lucky enough that she put us into a very large suite, since my wife was not feeling well. Next stop was Oxford and poor Kori had to say (again) "did I mention the hotel was old." That was an understatement. The Randolph is literally falling down; there was scaffolding on half of the building and the elevator could hold no more than four people. The floor in our room was so sloped that I almost fell out of bed one night. This place is an old, tired hotel. Our dinner at Pembroke College (part of Oxford) was one of the highlights of our entire trip. Fantastic! We stopped at Stonehedge and even though it was raining and cold it was worth the time to see the monolithic stones. Another long bus ride to Bath where we stayed at the Franscis Hotel. Again, great location but not a top flight hotel. The dining room was dirty with stained chairs that should have been thrown away a long time ago and the food was less than expected in a so called special eatery. Next stop was London with a lot of free time, which was fine for us since we have been there before. We stayed at the Savoy which is a world class top flight hotel. Kori helped us choose an excellent play "Come From Away" and our driver taking us to the airport was right on time. The middle hotels on this tour were not very good and there was not much to see in some areas with way too much free time there. Not the best Tauck tour we have taken.
