Discover England Tours Review

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Discover England Tours
4.9 stars
Average rating for this product is: 4.9 out of 5

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Margaret Patterson's Review of Discover England Tours

20th Jul 2008

Overall Rating

5 stars
  • Value for money
    5 stars
  • Customer Service
    5 stars
  • Have you booked through this tour operator before?
    Yes
Good Points

Church House -- the home base for Discover England Tours -- is a beautiful house in a beautiful village. The food was superb -- much of it is from their own garden and local butchers, poulterers, etc.; everything was served at the peak of freshness, and the menus were dazzling. The individualized tours they offered as part of the accommodations were also outstanding. It was an ideal way for our group of 5 (3 adults and 2 children) to strike just the right balance of what to see, when to leave, and what pace to keep. The hosts/tour guides shared extensive background knowledge and insights that really deepened our appreciation for what we were seeing.


Bad Points

Perhaps the only bad point is that we didn't plan on a longer stay? Many of the other places that we'd gone on our own before arriving at Church House could have been visited from Church House if we'd arranged for a longer stay, and I think we might have had a better time if we'd visited those places (e.g., Bath, Stonehenge, Cotswolds) from a Church House home base.


General Comments

Discover England Tours is not your typical B&B experience -- it is far superior! We stayed at many B&B's in England, and while I would give high marks to all of them, the typical B&B room we experienced elsewhere was quite small. The rooms at Church House were large, and one could "retreat" to one's room when one needed a little down time. There was also a lovely sitting room where guests gathered for drinks before dinner. The gardens and gazebo were also great places to take a book, and the children loved having a big garden area to play in. What makes the Church House unique, however, is that gourmet dinners and guided day trip tours are part of one's accommodations package. The hosts' extensive knowledge of Dorset and nearby counties resulted in our going to fascinating places that we might never have found on our own, or, even if we had learned about them on our own, might never have gotten to them because they're not well-served by public transit, and we were quickly unnerved by trying to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. We aren't the type of travelers who would enjoy being part of large bus tours, and the rigid adherence to (someone else's) schedule that comes with them. Having our very own tour guide and comfortable mini-van transit that accommodated our schedule and tour preferences was an amazing and wonderful experience!

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