Gate One review: Hotel accommodations in Winchester on Tour of England/Wales/Scotland

This was our first bus tour and first trip with Gate 1. The tour exceeded our expectations overall and the tour was very satisfying with the following notable exception. We were especially disappointed when we arrived at the Royal Hotel in Winchester, and especially, to our surprise, to find a lack of air conditioning.

Temperatures were high on the day in question; i.e., ~90 deg F. on the 11th of June. After a hot day outside, we were looking forward to a comfortable room. We believe Gate One could have foreseen this issue by not booking a hotel without air conditioning during the month of June. We have travelled extensively over the last 10 years or more in Europe and with only one exception in Switzerland, due to lack of an alternative, have always had AC. We knew from experience that we would not get any sleep that night with only a small fan in a very hot uncomfortable room.

We registered our dissatisfaction with the tour manager, along with another couple (Mel & Susanne Shuster). At least one other couple to our knowledge expressed their desire, after the fact, to have not stayed in the Royal Hotel. We believe that all travelers should have been offered this alternative without reservation. We insisted on a transfer knowing that the consequence for us would have been a sleepless night. (We live in Savannah Georgia where AC is essential.)

We were told at the time that Gate One would pick up the expense of a hotel room with adequate air conditioning. Fortunately, there was a Holiday Inn in Winchester with air conditioning and adequate arrangements, for only GBP 114.00. The cab fare for two passengers (due to the luggage) was GBP 12.6. The hotel required payment from us after we were informed that Gate One refused to provide a billing address to the hotel staff. There was no alternative for us. We incurred the expense.

We booked with Gate One through Vacations to Go with the assurance and expectation of a high quality tour. I trust that you will understand the importance of this request to us, in order to preserve our belief that Gate One desires to maintain that reputation and our future business.