Isle of Wight Trouville Hotel (D)

My friend and I on the whole had a brilliant holiday but I do have a couple of gripes. Not long enough at Osborne House we arrived at 12.30 pm after visiting Ryde which was totally unnecessary, had to be back on the coach for 3.30 pm. We did manage to see Swiss Cottage but not the beach 🏖️. Osborne House is a very beautiful place and deserves more than three hours to visit ie all day would be more appropriate. Also the same applies to the Needles at Alum Bay 30 minutes not long enough at all. Get rid of the cream tea and spend more time there as cream teas are not necessary any more. Trouville Hotel was lovely, food was great and bedrooms very good and the location is amazing we went paddling twice which was a bonus. Thank you GB Tours.

Great Houses and Gardens of Yorkshire (U)

The Crown Hotel was perfectly situated in Harrogate. Lovely Valley Gardens a 5 minute walk away - beautiful. Hotel staff were friendly, helpful and food was delicious. Excursion on the steam train from Emblay to Bolton Abbey was very good, only one complaint, not enough time to go and explore the Abbey Ruins. We also visited Markenfield Hall, absolutely fantastic. It’s true what they say “THE LOVELIST PLACE YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF.” The guide was excellent, she brought the house to life with the history of the building plus the families who lived there, past and present. We felt the trip to RHS Harlow Carr was too long, but it may have been the weather, it was a very hot day, we were trying to find shady walks. Harewood House and Gardens were stunning. We could have done with longer there. By the time we had done the tour of the house, it was time to meet up with the Gardner (who was excellent), for a tour of the gardens and grounds. We ran out of time for him to show us everything in the grounds. So we didn’t have time to visit specific areas on our own either. On the whole a thoroughly enjoyable holiday. This is our first Stately Homes and Gardens holiday, we enjoyed so much we have now booked for Stately Homes and Gardens in Cheshire for 2026. Ps we must also add we have done and have booked more of the Warner Hotel Breaks, which are our favourites.

Great Houses and Gardens of Yorkshire (D)

We had a great journey up to the above gardens of Yorkshire with an excellent driver who was very informative each day of our 5 day trips. We were a little disappointed that our request for a walk in shower (which was confirmed from Head Office) was not available. The reception staff were not aware of this request and said the room with a walk in shower was not available until the following day. We therefore didn't unpack until the following day when we moved to the room with the walk in shower. Suggestions:- Harlow Carr is one of the great RHS gardens and we felt (along with other coach goers) that 3 hours was not long enough. Harewood House, another wonderful place to visit could have been extended a little as the talk/tour with the gardener had to be cut short due to lack of time. Thank you for showing us some beautiful places.