Christmas in London

Favorite part was greenwich Prime meridian and the camaraderie with all the group members

Tour had. too much walking

The tour met all of my expectations and our tour director, Rob Lipitt was outstanding. All of my dietary needs were met with dignity. I would recommend this tour.

The tour was well thought out wiith varied activities. I never felt rushed at a site and the individual guides enjoyed leading the tours as much as I enjoyed taking the tours.

I was anxious to see Blenheim Castle offered as part of the Collette tour. When we arrived we found the interior of the Castle was decorated in a Wizard of Oz theme and we were only allowed to walk thru a few hallways playing music from the movie with characters displayed. The rest of the Castle was closed off so we saw nothing of the Castle itself. We were not told of this until the tour bus reached the parking lot of Blenheim Castle. There was a food tour on another day that I felt was poorly done. We were offered a piece of fudge from a shop, fish and chips from another and a beer or tea from another shop. There was also something with chicken stuffed inside. There were probably 50/60 food vendors displaying some great food which I walked around and purchased on my own however they were not included as part of our food tour. We toured St Pauls which is beautiful. There seemed to be an abundance of shopping excursions... unnecessarily. Two of the best things we saw we booked on own. The Tower of London and Churchills War Room. Both terrific and informative visits, worth every farthing yet not included with Collette. Go figure. The "STRAND PALACE HOTEL" was comfortable, the staff was great and the breakfast in the hotel was outstanding. The Christmas lights were well done around London as big city lights are anywhere you go. Our tour guide, Gail, was very good. There was a dinner our first night. It did not seem we were expected at the restaurant, wires at Collette must have gotten crossed. The menu was limited and you received a 2oz pour of red or white wine. Yes, 2oz...I watched the bartender measure each glass from a measuring cup. I asked for a refill during dinner and the waiter just shook his head NO. I offered to pay but got another head shake. There was another dinner on our last night, I declined though other tour guests said it was ok. No hiccups. We will go back to London however we will do so on own. Bottom line...I think ( and it's just me ) I feel Collette failed the test of ever rebooking with them. I'm sure many people everywhere have enjoyed Collette tours. We did not and when Collette followed up with me from their first review request Collette offered nothing to offset our disappointment with Blenheim Castle and the food tour, only to wish us to have a better time on our "next" Collette tour. Be safe