Golden Tours, Bulleid Way Departure Point — Attraction in London

I originally booked the Taylor Swift-inspired experience, but I could not make it and got to be booked when stopping by at the office, conveniently located across the street from the departure point. After the gentleman made a call at the front desk, he was able to book me for another similar experience, the classic Afternoon Tea Bus with Odun. She offered to take a picture of me and took six plus a mini video, which was real lovely. She then asked every one if they are celebrating a special occasion. Everyone was encouraged to celebrate a birthday and couple’s anniversary. Odun proceeded to play a “special song” for the lovebirds afterwards, which was Perfect by Ed Sheeran. It was a definite highlight and nice break from the Abba songs playing on repeat the whole time, but I found the volume to be ideal (not too loud, not too quiet). The sights were simply breathtaking. The guide was more of overhead speaker system, which was a bit offputting as I had imagined the tour to be from a live person. Expect a historical fact here and there, but not much more. Fortunately, I had done a good bit of preliminary research on most of the places along the route, so it made seeing them right in front of me that much cooler.

The quality of the bus interior and food were rather subpar. I think it was a good starting point/ introduction to buses in the London area.. Even though I had been on public transport for 12 hours and did not feel like going on more, I still enjoyed nearly every second of it. The glass of Prosecco was pleasant, as was offered in the original package. I would have appreciated even more if another glass were offered, but I wasn’t expecting more than a variety of teas anyway. Odun replaced the pastries with what was left over from the TS experience, which made me question the freshness although a traveler like me doesn’t mind all that much. For the average person, they may have found it offputting though. I was happy to be able to keep the picket and a few of the pastries (fruit tart, cookies n cream cupcake, blonde macaron) though! I was a bit sad to abandon the sandwiches, but I fancy trying a different kind anyway. I was allowed to bring my suitcase for the ride, as long as it lay flat on the lower level of the bus. They drop off at a different location than pick up, by the way. I got a kick out of Odun’s comment about chasing us down if we didn’t take our cups with us...

I have already notified customer service about my experience while on my tour, but I will be posting additional details:

1. I was the first person to arrive in my tour group at the bus station. I booked a solo tour, and I sat near the front. I paid for the premium package, and I was excited for my tour. However, I was rudely asked by the tour guide, Chris, to change my seat to accommodate a couple that had been running late to the tour who wanted to be seated together. I was put in a seat directly in front of the bathroom. Unfortunately, I had to stay in that seat for the duration of the tour. I did not appreciate being moved when I had arrived early and paid for a premium package to accommodate a couple who was late and had a regular package. I asked to return back to my original seat, but I was chastised by the tour guide and returned to my toilet adjacent seat.

2. There was a granddaughter on the trip who was traveling with her disabled grandmother. They were sitting near my new seat, and the grandmother saw what the tour guide did to me. She thought it was wrong, and emphasized with my mistreatment by the tour guide.

3. At our second stop to Windsor Castle, the tour guide did not give clear instructions as to where the bus would be parked after the tour. He was walking very fast and not keeping tracking of the group. I was helping the grandmother who was walking slow because of her disability. We got lost and could not find the bus. After asking several staff members where tour buses were stopped, the granddaughter asked me to run ahead and ask the bus to wait for them. I ran ahead, and begged the tour guide to wait for the grandmother and her granddaughter. The tour guide snapped at me for asking them to wait for a few more minutes. I told him that his instructions for departure were unclear, and he chastised me for “not listening” instead of taking responsibility for his actions. He even made a snide remark about the grandmother walking slowly to the bus when she was struggling down the sidewalk. I was disgusted, and I reported his behavior immediately to customer service. I have never had a tour guide treat his tour group with such contempt, and I was appalled with his lack of concern for...

Hello,

As a note: I am only giving this tour five stars as a general over view of these locations tour. If it were not for our tour guide and bus driver, I’d give it three.

Golden Tours: as a company has not provided enough time to explore at these locations, especially for people like my husband and I who love to take things in and stop to read EVERYTHING and learn about History.

So hopefully they will adjust their schedules better. This tour should’ve dropped Stonehenge and done a tour of Stonehenge alone. I understand why they’re grouped-to get the masses through as quickly and efficiently as possible. Just cause I understand it, doesn’t mean I like it. Also- I felt the other locations could have been day tours on their own. So let’s maybe re-work how those tours run in future.

Also, to be so strict on time to the point y’all have disclaimers, “The bus is leaving no matter what, make sure you’re here!”- again, seems more like an issue Golden Tours needs to sort out with their timing, instead one the tourists need to worry about on their vacations. Who wants to do tours and vacations while thinking about how much time they have left somewhere?

Anyway,

Tour Guide ZoZo W. - Top of the top of tour guides! We could not recommend ZoZo enough! Passionate and knowledgeable about every single location on tour. He even went out of his way to point out locations I asked about as a Tolkien fan. We felt at home and welcomed and loved ZoZo’s delivery and insights on the tour and most especially any time he spoke on architecture and history. If you’re looking for a tour with an engaging tour guide, this is the one.

Our bus driver, Charles was professional and safely got us to every single location on time and even made sure to let us know exactly where we would be picked up as we exited the bus. We could tell Charles truly cared for our safety and wanted to make sure we all got on at the right time. Friendly and excellent driver. Mad...