BOOK HOTELS DIRECT - Fantastic Prices on USA Hotels

Save up to 45% by Booking Direct with Tour Operators:

Thomson Holidays Direct   £10 DISCOUNT CODE

Portland Holidays Direct   Thomas Cook Direct   MyTravel Direct

Airtours Direct   Direct Holidays   Cosmos Direct

Try these Useful Links and Resources:

USA Links  Holiday Videos  Holiday Bargains  USA Late Deals

Add H-U to your Favourites?  Add Your Review  Holiday Discounts

USA (Non Florida) Resorts (A-Z)

(See Rest of World Other for Canada)

Arizona - USA

Fairmont Princess - Scottsdale, Arizona

Operator and Date: independant (via Trailfinders)

Opinion submitted in Apr 2004 by : Hilary - Cheshire (30, 29)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

You could not fault the hotel for its accomodation or amenities. This was a last stop in a 3 week honeymoon tour of the canyons, before winding up at the Fairmont for a 10 day rest.

Room - was beautiful, very elegant furnished with mexican type furniture. Huge bathroom with double sink, separate shower and large bath. Room was more of a suite really with dining table and couch also.

Pools - excellent, with good bar serving lovely cocktails. Quite strange to be the only non americans, expecially on fathers day when the place was besiged by freeloaders being let into the complex by their friends. But this was only one day.

Food - Hacienda restaurant was excellent quality and service, we returned 4 times just to keep sampling it - massize margaritas.
Food in the other restaurants was varaible. I was surprised to find bacon poeces in what was described as a clam pasta when I eat no red or white meat! Service can be hit and miss, for example when asking the restuarant manager to seat us we were abruptly told that wasn't her job!

Definitely recommend trip to the local fashion mall for clothes and shoe bargains and a trip to the ice cream parlour downtown - just like the fonz!!!

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Grand Hotel - Bisbee, Arizona

Operator and Date: INDEPENDENT - MARCH 2004

Opinion submitted in Dec 2004 by : PAUL AMEIL, CLEETHORPES (44)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This was my last hotel stay in what had been a very enjoyable 2 week motoring holiday in Arizona. Bisbee has an almost European feel about it, very friendly (it was not unusual while walking around for people to say hello!), but the hotel was awful. 

My room was the Old Western Suite, in which the bed was in the back of a replica wild west wagon. the biggest problem was that originally the whole ground floor of the hotel had been one large room which had been split into 4 suites with paper thin walls! Without going into details, suffice to say that you could hear every noise from the other guests! Apart from that, the room was not very clean, the breakfasts rubbish. I wouldn't recommend staying at this hotel. This spoilt what had other wise been an excellent holiday, the highlight being an all too brief visit to the Grand Canyon.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Hotel Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort - Scottsdale, Arizona

Operator and Date: March 2004 Independent Booking

Opinion submitted in Mar 2004 by : S.Infante-(52,52)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Stayed here for 5 nights beginning March.Good sized rooms with fridge inc free bottled water daily,safe deposit box,free local phone calls,local shuttle bus.Nice views over lake/mountains/desert and next to golf course.Good restaurant.Unfortunately we had unseasonable weather,and it rained and was quite chilly.But our last day was 83 degrees!

Assuming you have a car go to the Rustlers Rooste restaurant in Chandler. Quite an experience.Decorated like an old saloon with live bands nightly and great views over the valley.Drove to Tucson-nothing special,and Tombstone wih was a bit touristy.Do not bother going to Phoenix,no shops and nothing particular to see.Go see Sedona and see the countryside round there.

Some great scenery and canyons in Arizona.Worth a visit anytime!

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Scottsdale Hilton Spa and Resort - Phoenix

Operator and Date: Trailfinders  -  September 2004

Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : Kevin and Linda Davis 48, 46

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We flew to Phoenix via BA, collected a Dollar hire car (car was an intermediate Dodge Stratus 4 door) and drove to Flagstaff stayed in the Radisson Woodlands, highly reccomend it, stayed 3 nights, visited the Snowbowl  (ski lift) to top of Mount Humphries (highest mountain in Arizona which was brilliant. Loads to do in and around Flagstaff.
Then on to Grand Canyon, stayed for 4 nights at The Grand Hotel, would not reccomend this, rooms dark and dingey, restaurant over priced, would probably try the Best Western if we went back.

Grand Canyon is awesome and enjoyed every minute of being there inc the helicopter flight.
Then on to Lake Powell and stayed at The Lake Powell Resort complex, lovely,ask for a renovated room with lake view, it was beautifull. Stayed 3 nights, really enjoyed the trips on the lake.
Drove back south to Scottsdale Phoenix, very, very hot but the Hilton was great. The shopping in Phoenix is wonderfull, fantastic malls.

We loved Arizona,and only scratched the surface, it is so varied, from forests to deserts. City living to small town America, the awesome Grand Canyon to the blue of Lake Powell. It was our first visit to the USA and first fly drive but would definately go again.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Various Motels - Arizona

Operator and Date: May 2004

Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : Alan Gamblin (57)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Flew B.A. to Pheonix Arizona. An 11 hour flight but suprisingly agreeable getting through immigration. Officers very friendly & even shared a joke.

Trip was arranged on a fly/drive basis with all accomadation being pre-booked on the internet.duration of trip was 3 weeks & 3 days & we could easily have used another week.The first 3 nights were spent at the Hospitality Suite Resort Scottsdale which is a very affordable Hotel/Motel that we would highly reccomend. It is well positioned,offers a great complimentary breakfast & two free drinks around the pool.If you have never been to Scottsdale then I would say it is agreat place to start a trip out west.The shops & restaraunts are excellent & if you enjoy western art (as in cowboys & indians)you will be in heaven.We also took the opportunity to self drive the Apache trail which is a round trip of about 150 miles & despite what it says in the guide books should hold no terrors for any reasonably competent driver. Also visited "Rawhide" which is a second rate western theme park. Go if you are stuck for something to do but try to avoid eating in the restaraunt as it is overpriced & not very good.

Our next stop was Sedona which is an absolute must. Not so much for the town, which is nice enough but for the fabulous surrounding area. Don't miss Oak Creek Canyon & the Church in the rock also make time for a Pink Jeep tour (unforgettable).

Moved on to Williams which seems to exist for Route 66 memoribilia & the Grand Canyon Railway & little else.The Railway is great fun & well worth takeing the 2 hour trip to the Canyon. It is very much a cowboy experience with a genuinely amusing wild west shootout & "Hold up" on the return journey.We spent a further 2 nights at the canyon which can never be wasted time.We stayed at Bright Angel Lodge which is very basic but vey close to the rim & with an excellent restaraunt.Try to walk at least some of the way down Bright Angel Trail as it is wonderful to see the Burros return in the afternoon. Also try to catch the sunset which is spectacular.

After the canyon we drove a fll day through the Navajo reservation to Canyon De Chelly. A long drve through generally uninteresting, unattractive country but ultimately rewarding as Canyon De Chelly is fantastic.We stayed at the Thunderbird Motel which is owned & run by the Navajo. In our opinion it is overpriced for what it offers & the cafeteria is certainly not a gourmets paradise. We would reccomend eating in the nearby town of Chinley. The only practical way into the canyon is to join  an indian guided 6 wheel truck tour. We took the 4 hour morning tour which was brilliant & left us time to drive the canyon rim in the afternoon.

Our next stop was Moab which has an awful lot to offer being situated between Canynlands NP & Arches NP. We stayed 3 nights at The Tomahawk B&B. The Tomahawk boasts a wonderful website & we really expected to be staying at somewhere like the Ponderosa hoasted by the Cartwrights. Instead it was more like staying at Oil Drum Lane hoasted by the Steptoes.Vance the proprieter is a nice enough guy & the room was not too bad but the place is surrounde by junk, generally unattractive, offers no change of towels etc & our stay ws not helped by the promised gourmet breakfast being replaced by a self made banana sandwich because Vance did not appear one morning. No apology was forthcoming & being British of course we did not complain.If in Moab do not miss the National Parks & Canyonlands by night which is wonderful.

Our next stop was Mount Carmel (just outside Zion NP)& we took the very long scenic route over Bolder mountain & through Escalante which with stops was a ten hour drive but well worth while. We stopped overnight At the Arrowhead Country Inn which was everthing the Tomahawk wasn't.A woderful place run by super people.

We had a few hours in Zion a place definitely worth a revisit & then on to Vegas where we stopped 3 nights at the Alladin.The Alladin is a great place to stay let down by a disappointing pool & pool area. Vegas is better than ever. The Paris & Venetian are top drawer, New York, New York is vibrant n the evenins with a great Irish pub. The new pirate show outside Treasure Island is rubbish, the Luxor & Statosphere downmarket & too far down the strip.In Vegas the position of your hotel is everything because the town is nothing if not tiring & everything is further away than it appears. We caught 2 shows whilst in town Cirque De Sol (Mystere)& Lance Burton & would happily reccomend either.

Moved on through Death Valley for a one night stay at Mammoth Lakes & spent most of the next day exploring the Tioga Pass & Tuolome Meadows on the way to Yosemite NP.The Tioga Pass was only cleared of snow 2 weeks previously & was absolutely beautiful with it's mountain lakes & thick snow still lying. We actually hit Yosemite Valley on Memorial Day which was not a good idea as although this is truly one of the grandest places on earth njoyment is not enhanced when the place is jam packed & impossible to get around comfortably. For some reason best known to myself our hotel whilst visiting the park was in Mariposa which is about 40 miles away. If possible I would suggest it is better to stay in the park.Our penultimate stop was at Monterey on the California coast. Monterey boasts a large & interesting Aquarium,a lively wharf & a profusion of Sealions & Sea Otters which are quite wonderful. We had pre booked a 4-5 hour Whale watching trip & would say that whilst we did indeed see Blue whales & plenty of Dolphins it was not an experience we would care to repeat.We can only reccomend that unless you are an EXTREMELY good sailor think twice about this trip because it would test Noah.By the time we sighted the whales a large number of the passengers had lost the will to live & it was very little compensation to them that there was ONLY another three hours to go.

Spent our last full day driving down the Big Sur stopping for an interesting couple of hours at Hearst Castle.

Flew ot of LAX after a brillian t if expensive holiday.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Atlanta - USA

Hyatt Regency - Atlanta

Operator and Date: Hyatt Hotels - June 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Stuart Edwards - Hove (31,40)

Resort Rating: Poor

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Considereing how much we paid for this hotel, we were very disappointed. Granted, it was clean and quiet and the bed was comfortable, but never having stayed in a Haytt before we had expected more from one of their 4 star hotels.

The hotel is a huge ugly concrete block in a distinctly 70s style. On walking into the lobby, there is a large atrium which was quite dramatic, but that was the only impressive part about the hotel. The rooms were drab and dark and needed renovating. The furniture was chipped and scratched. There was no minibar or fridge. There was a notice on the back of the door saying that it was forbidden to bring your own food or drink into the hotel!! There was a balcony, but it looked onto the office block next door.

The breakfast was good - all you can eat f0r $10, but avoid the revolving restaurant on the roof as it is overpriced and the food is awful!!

Atlanta itself is boring! There is nothing to see and the weather was pretty bad too (thunderstorms every afternoon). The only redeeming feature is the shopping. Take the MARTA (underground train) from the station next to the hotel and you can get to Lennox Mall, Phipps Plaza and Perimeter Mall. Ask the hotel staff for directions. The Marta will also get you from the airport to the hotel. Flat fare for all journeys $1.75. Get off at Peachtree for the hotel.

Only stay in Atlanta if you are on your way to somewhere else... like we were!!!

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Sheraton Atlanta - Atlanta

Operator and Date: June 2005

Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Anne & Charlie  - mature

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Spent 3 nights at the begining of the holiday and 2 nights at the end in the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel.  Hotel was nice but we felt that it wasn't quite the same high standard of either the Sheraton in Edinburgh or Perth Australia.  It had a  lovely courtyard type swimming pool with a glass roof which is opened on hot sunny days. Wouldn't recommend paying the extra to have the use of the Club Lounge - but the rooms were nice and the food was good.

We certainly did not find Atlanta boring  - we can recommend taking a tour with Francine "See Georgia through my eyes" a local lady who shows you lots of things that you would not see with a large Grey Line Tour. For only $55 per person (we shared the comfortable mini bus with just one other person) we enjoyed 5 hours of Francine's Atlanta including experiencing "soul food" for lunch - she picked us up at our hotel and dropped us off at a train station because we wanted to go shopping rather than return to the hotel.

We saw good live music in a bar near the hotel and the Coca-Cola museum and Underground Atlanta were within walking distance.
We were able to fly to Atlanta from Edinburgh and we toured Tennessee from there.
It was a great holiday.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Boston - USA

Hotel Colonnade - Boston

Operator and Date: Independent

Opinion submitted in Mar 2005 by : williams 58, 24 and 20

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This hotel is in a prime location in copley square area, not far from the backbay areas too.. i walked a lot and it doesn;t take much time to walk the city. The trolley(underground)is cheap and easy to use. there was a stop right outside our hotel. The only downside i would say about the hotel is that it didn't have a coffee/tea maker, which in the great scheme of things is not a big deal especially when starbucks is across the road.. i did visit the copley square hotel and it comes with one, its just nice to wake up in the monring and have coffe before getting ready to go out.
its a lot cheaper than the copley square hotel so we saved money and spent it on clothes at the cambridge mall, the biggest and best within the central boston disrict.
it's also open until 10-11pm. great idea that.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Hotel Copley Place - Boston

Operator and Date: SEPTEMBER 2004

Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : Vicky, Rachel, Ruth(25,22,22)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We stayed in the Copley Square Hotel in Boston in September 04.The weather was very good we were in sleveless t-shirts the whole time. The shops are very good in boston.  Me and my friends liked saks, copley square shopping centre and the prudential centre. We spent alot of time in TFI Fridays were the food was very good and the staff were pleasent.

The hotel itself was very clean the staff were very friendly and the food was very good.  There is an night club in the basement of the hotel which we thought was very good. We also went to Quincy market which is well worth a visit but so is solem where the witches were meant to be.  Dont forget to go to cheers which is well worth a visit. All in all we really enjoyed Boston and would go again.  Rooms are spacious and clean.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Copley Square Hotel - Boston

Operator and Date: travelbag

Opinion submitted in August 2006 by : Jo 40. Peter 43 , Katie 12, Ashley 10

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Below Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The one thing this hotel has going for it is location.Two stations on the "T" are close by this is cheap safe and relaible. It is 3 mins walk from the Duck tours start point and 5 mins from the prudential centre with its skywalk.Both of these were a must. We arrived at 5pm and having checked in went up to the skywalk it gives great views of Boston and gives you and idea of how the city is laid out. 

We were not expecting 5 star luxury for the price of the hotel but it was disappointing. the entrance is impressive but the corridors and room smelt musty and there was evidence of past water leaks. The wall paper was peeling, white paint had yellowed and there was evidence of mould in the bathroom. We all shared a room but there were only 2 towels on our arrival and each day we had to go to reception after the maid had been to ask for an extra 2 towels. We had no toilet paper in the room on arrival and the shower gel dispenser was empty.The maid never emptied the bins in the room during our 4 day stay. It didn't spoil our stay as we only used the hotel to sleep and shower but I would not recommend it.

Must dos in Boston are the Duck tour, great fun and the drivers let children drive on the river; Whale watching we saw 30 hump back and minke whales on our trip... breathe taking. The street performers at Qunicy market went down well with the kids though we didn't think they were as good as the ones in Covent garden. After 3 days American history began to get on our nerves a bit. The first time we heard the story of the Battle of bunker hill 200 british red coats had been killed by the 4th time we heard it the number was up to 1500!!!!

Good places to eat, Steves Greek and American on Newbury Street and Applebees were very good value. There are also lots of places to eat at Qnuicy market. Try the clam chowder it is fantastic!

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Harborside Inn - Boston

Operator and Date: Indepent - June 2006

Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : Martina Brady -  Limerick, Ireland (40,40):

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We have just returned from this hotel and found it to be great. It's a fantastic base for visiting in Boston. We got the T from the Airport ($1.25) and it was just 2 stops away. When we came out of the underground the hotel was right there beside us. Initially things didn't look great as they sent us to a room that was already occupied but this was quickly rectified. Our room was really nice. Not like the usual hotel room, a bit more charming, very comfortable and very clean I would not hesitate to use this hotel again.

At the moment there's no restaurant and I'm not sure if thats going to change, However you are just 2mins walk fron Quincy market where you can get literally anything you want to eat either to sit down or take away. There are some really great restaurants around there too. We ate in McCormack and Schmicks on our last night. A bit pricey but fab seafood.

A tip - if you want to eat in the union oysterhouse BOOK IT no matter what night of the week it is.
Anyway don't worry about The Harborside Inn, it's great. We had read some dodgy reviews before we went but really couldn't fault it. We also read it was noisy at night - we never heard a thing - we were in an Atrium room, apparently these are quieter. Book away and enjoy your stay!!

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Lenox Hotel - Boston

Operator and Date: Vir-gin - April 2003

Opinion submitted in Apr 2003 by : Jackie Garrard - Leicester (41, 32)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Have recently returned from a wonderful weekend break to Boston. 

The flight with Vir-gin was excellent (as always) and we were lucky enough to be on one of the newer planes with a choice of 50 films, games etc.  It certainly passed the time on the flight (although it's only actually 6 hours to Boston anyway).

Before arriving in Boston I was slightly concerned about "The Big Dig" which is currently underway.  I thought that there would be roadworks everywhere etc., however I was pleasantly surprised that the work is actually being undertaken on the outskirts of the city so the centre of Boston was roadwork free.

The Lenox hotel is full of character (not like the modern, characterless hotels that you often find nowadays).  There was a bar (drinks quite expensive - we paid $15 for a cocktail and a Guiness - yes, we were drunk at the time!!), but there was also an Irish pub on site which was always busy and slightly less expensive.  They also did food although we didn't eat there (but it looked nice).  The rooms were spacious and had lovely marble bathrooms.  To be honest though we were hardly in the room (only to go to sleep and take a shower before going back out).  The staff were extremely friendly and even ordered us a chinese takeaway one night when we'd had a few too many in the pub and couldn't be bothered to stagger to a restaurant.

Regarding tours etc., we did a whale watch (very choppy seas, did see 2 humpbacks but they kept diving so only saw them for a few minutes - wouldn't do it again at that time of year).  We also did a ducktour which was excellent.  The driver was very funny as well as informative and let any children onboard drive the duck in the water which they really enjoyed.

We had some excellent meals.  We went to Kashmir indian restaurant, Tapeo spanish restuarant, House of Blues (when over at Harvard), Cheesecake Factory and Legal Seafoods (you must go for a seafood meal when in Boston - have the clam chowder - it's gorgeous).

Things to see - go to Harvard.  Also, Quincy Market, Fanieul Hall, top of the Prudential Center (great views of the city), Cheers pub (we didn't go in, just had photo taken on the steps outside).

Whilst we were there it was the Boston Marathon and the finish line is approx. 100 yards away from the hotel.  Didn't know it would be on when we booked but it was a great atmosphere, loads of people about enjoying themselves etc. 

Had a really great time and will definitely go back. 

By the way, the weather was nice.  Sunny all the time, but quite chilly on one day and freezing on the whale watch.  Two weeks previous they'd had snow so be careful if you want nicer weather.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Sheraton ( at Prudential), Boston, Mass

Operator and Date: Independent - January 2003. (Five days)

Opinion submitted in Jan 2003 by : J. Young, Yorkshire _ 45, 50, 14

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We booked all this trip ourselves, and were slightly apprehensive about how easy it would be to get from Logan airport into the city, and whether we'd be able to get around. Answer is that it's easy. Boston has a safe, reliable subway system, the T, which costs a dollar a journey.

The Sheraton was quite expensive, but has several advantages - you can walk directly into the Prudential Center, an office/smart shop mall, which has several good restaurants.  Ask for a room on a high floor, with a river view if possible, they wiill try to find one, if there's one free. The views are spectacular, and the beds are very, very, soft and comfortable.

The Cheesecake Factory we visited twice because we thought it was so good - and the prices were ok for a city centre place. Food was wonderful - the  youngest member of the party said the Choc Oreo cheesecake was the nicest thing she'd ever eaten! Marche/Movenpick was also quite a novel place, for a change.

Be careful if choosing a Trolley Tour. We went on the Beantown Tour, but after we were on, and had paid, the driver announced that we wouldn't be going out to the Museum of fine Arts, which was a scheduled stop. Also, you are supposed to be able to get on and off where you want, but our driver was keen for everyone to do a round trip and then get off. Since tipping is virtually obligatory, if we'd got off and then got on again, we would have had to tip again, so it would have been cheaper, and quicker to walk, or go by T.

It's quite easy to walk around the main part of downtown, although the traffic,and the building work that's going on all around, are a bit off-putting. There are the occasional disreputable types on street corners, but you'd get that in any city.

 It's lovely to walk across Boston  Common, (especially if it's snowing, as it was when we went). Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market are like a sort of Covent Garden, if you like that sort of thing.

Catch the T to Harvard, and have a look around. The Bertucci restaurant there serves wonderful, mouth-watering pizzas ( and is not expensive). Quite a few shops to look around there, particularly selling clothes etc that would appeal to students. DO NOT buy Harvard Univ. souvenirs in the famous Co-op there, you can get the same items cheaper in Boston ( fanueil Hall, for example).

The JFK Library and Museum is also worth a visit. Catch the T to JFK, and then there's a free bus every 20 minutes for the 10-minute ride to the museum. It's quite impressive. Takes at least a couple of hours to do properly. Small cafe there, ditto souvenir shop, but that's all.

All in all, it's an excellent place for a long weekend break. We didn't stay there, but the Midtown was not badly situated for a not-too-expensive hotel.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Wyndham Boston Tremont - Boston

Operator and Date: Independant - Sep 2003

Opinion submitted in Oct 2003 by : Andrew Smith - Lincoln UK (41,41)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This hotel was booked for a 2 night stopover prior to travelling further inland.  It is ideally situated to explore the city of Boston by foot. Set in the heart of the theatre district, you are met at the doors by eager staff who will whisk your car away to secure parking (about $26.00/day),immediately one less thing to worry about!  The hotel is clean and tidy. Our room rate was about $118/night(Incl)and we found ourselves way up on the 10th floor overlooking Tremont Street.  The room wasa little small but adequate for our needs.  

The concierges knowledge of the town was a little dodgy so with a good guide book everything that you would want to see in Boston is within walking distance. We did not eat in the hotel but there are many restaurants and bars in the vicinity.  A good breakfast can be had if you turn left out of the hotel, about 50yds on the left!!  Freedom Trail, Boston Tea Party (Although ship is closed), Boston Common, Cheers Bar (Both of them!) were all thoroughly enjoyed, to name but a few.  The 'High-Light' had to be lunch in the restaurant at the top of the Prudential Tower - fantastic views, excellent service.  The set 3 course lunch was great value for such a setting.

Only one word of warning, with reference to the hotel, it is also the venue of probably the most popular night-club in Boston. Saturday night sees the side walk across the hotel entrance absolutely mobbed, this can be a little intimidating when trying to get back to your room.  The noise of the crowd on the sidewalk was audible until the early hours, although I cannot remeber hearing music from the club.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

California and the Golden West

America's Golden West - California

Operator and Date: Travelsphere June 06

Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : Frank & Darlene - McNeice  (50, 48)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Just returned from a 12 day tour of Nevada & California with Travelsphere. There were 2 bus groups & we never stayed at the same hotel as each other once, (rumour had it they always stayed at better hotels than us, but I bet they heard the same rumour)

Our tour guide hadn't done this tour for two years so her knowledge of Las Vegas was limited, however our bus driver Harold was an expert, as well as a magnificent pianist(& driver)

We stayed at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. The hotel is a little futher out than most of the hotels on the strip & looking a little tired but the rooms were enormous & exceptionally clean. Vegas is fantastic & 3 days is not enough time to do it justice. I cannot describe the Grand Canyon trip, we did the 3 - in - 1 trip  (I think it was about $320 each), Plane to the canyon, helicopter down into the canyon & boat ride along the Colorado river, along with lunch on the rim. It was out of this world. You need to check out as many hotels on the strip as you can, each one is amazing, my favourite was the Venetian, the ceiling looks so much like the sky you won't beleive it.

We went on to Palm Springs where we stayed at the Comfort Inn. The rooms were fine & clean & the pool was a Godsend considering the 105 degree heat. Palm Springs was a relaxed little haven after the hustle & bustle of Vegas & gave us the chance to unwind. The aerial tramway ride was worth the $30 each for the view alone.

A couple of days later we headed for Los Angeles. This is my only serious complaint about the holiday. We were staying at the Figueroa hotel & the tour guide advised us not to wander, as the area was none too safe. I have to ask the question:
"If Travelsphere knows that the area isn't suitable to allow us to walk about, why book us in there?"
The hotel seemed content to overcharge us so 27 of us wandered into the local diner en-masse, much to the shock of the waitresses.
On the whole we found Los Angeles to be disappointing, all smoke & mirrors, even the area aroung the Chinese Theatre was really run down, although Disneyland was excellent & worth the $66 per head. Universal Studies is a must for anyone who likes movies & rides at $59 per head (I don't do rollercoasters but even I had a shot on the Mummy's Tomb)& the Terminator 2 show was magic for those of us who are still big kids at heart.

We had an overnight stop at the Vagabond Inn San Luis Obispo on the way to San Fransisco, which was fine. The Madonna Inn next door has to be seen to be believed (New definition of tacky) but the meal was nice & as usual the staff were extremely attentive.

San Fransisco was fantastic & we were lucky to get some clear warm weather too. The trip round the bay is a must & a trip without a meal at Fishermans Wharf is a waste. We even managed to geta trip onto the "Rock", our very kind tour guide arranged everything for us whilst we were out on our boat trip. The Catherdal Hill hotel is a lovely hotel with large clean rooms & very helpful staff.

Our final night included dinner at the Fisherman's Wharf & a cocktail from one of the tallest restraunts in San Fransisco.

Tipping is expected so we just left 15% on the table for the waiters/waitresses wherever we went.

Your luggage is taken to & from each  hotel (tip-free) The only thing is that it has to be packed 1 hour before you are due to leave (04:45 on the last morning!!!!)

This was our first visit to the states & it was a great way to see as much as possible without driving.

We would certainly go back to las Veags & San Fransisco & would reccomend this Travelsphere trip to anyone who does not mind living out of suitcases for 10 days & wants to see as much of the west coast as possible in a short space of time. We met some lovely people, had fantastic weather, good food & lodgings (on the whole) & saw some amazing sights...... What more could we ask for?

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

America's Golden West - California

Operator and Date: Travelsphere - October 2004

Opinion submitted in Jan 2005 by : Pat Riddle - 56, 61

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

I cannot add anything more than has already been said in previous reviews of this tour.  Although hotels differ.  I gather that hotels can differ for each tour.  Our tour guide was Patrick (Canadian) very professional and the best tour guide I have come across.  Driver was very good too.  

Of course, the fellow passengers make the difference and we had a very good bunch.  We still keep in touch with a few.  I would recommend this tour to anyone.  It is a very good way to see Las Vegas and California.  Would perhaps and have liked more time in San Francisco but this is an available add on. It is good value for money.

We were very lucky with the weather and it was glorious even in San Francisco, which apparently can be changeable.  Perhaps October is the best time to go.
Hope to travel with Travelsphere again in the future.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

America's Golden West - California

Operator and Date: Travelsphere

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Dave Percival - Wrexham (52,49)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Went on Golden west tour on June 22nd 2004 - flew to Chicago with BMI (excellent) and then onto Las Vegas with Ted (United Airways low cost option) which was not so good - immigration at Chicago was a nightmare - it was a good job that the flight to Vegas was delayed over an hour.

First stop - the Stratosphere hotel in Vegas - slightly off the strip but a 301 bus takes u to the strip in minutes(cost a dollar and 25 cents)- accommodation good - Went to Rio for the Carnival show, Bellaglio for the fountain show, looked around the Ventian, Luxor , Flamingo and Caesars Palace - all excellent hotels in their own right - Vegas well worth visiting

Went onto Palm springs staying at the Vagabond Inn - again good accomodation - just minutes from downtown with its many restaurants etc - this was via Calico a ghost town

After a couple of days moved onto the Sportman Lodge, Studio City in Los Angeles - another very nice hotel with many shops within walking distance - this was via the Crystal Cathedral and Long Beach

From there had a night in the Vagabond inn in San Luis Obispo - right across from a small shopping mall and a few restaurants - again accommodation good - via Solvang

Last stop - Cathedral Hill in San Francisco - on main bus route into Union Square taking a 38 Geary - this was via Monterrey and Carmel and the Big Sur.

Tour Manager was Tom - he was excellent and as he was american knew where to go and what to do

Overall , an excellent holiday, extremely well organised with an excellent tour manager and bus driver (john) - well worth the money.

If you are looking for a relaxing beach holiday then this is not for you with early starts but if you are looking for a taster with lots of sightseeing then this is made for you

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Coach Tour - California and the glorious west 

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook  : October -November 2006

Opinion submitted in December 2006 by : coach party was mixed from 20- 70+ ( full coach load)

Resort Rating: No rating

Accommodation Rating: No rating

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Having done the Thomas Cook East coast USA tour( review posted) and much of Florida by fly drive over the past 10 years, we now consider ourselves fairly seasoned travelers about the USA.
The tour consisted of 14 days. Flying from Heathrow to Los angeles by BA.
As usual TC( Thomas cook) provide a free taxi service both ways as part of the price. A good idea and pain free especially when coming home.Cost was £1,300 each, which is about standard for this type of tour with a discount through airmiles.
The start was spoilt by TC relocating the head office and not supplying tickets in a reasonable time.(October 2006) We had to phone a number of times to get them delivered at the LAST minute. TC this is just NOT ON and has lost many customers because of your inept customer care. Many were very cross about the terrible service.Shame on the company.

Hotels were very good  to excellent and the locations were mostly well sited for the tour.
Hotels were Waterside Coast long beach: fine.3 days .Wyndham at Palm Springs for 2 days: Nice. Little America at Flagstaff for 2 days: excellent.Golden Nugget at Las Vegas for 2 days: OK but not told about refurbishment, pool 'US' etc ( thank you not TC )and not the best location at the very end of the stip which is 6 miles long. Shilo Inn at Oakhurst (for Yosemite) for 2 days: fine. Finally The holiday Inn at Fishermans wharf San Francisco for 2 days: ok.
The tour covered 2,800 miles which was a lot and you can expect a couple of very heavy travel days covering 500 miles or more approximately in a day. A sort of 8am to 6.30pm with stops, drive. This can be almost too much even for those who expect it.

The tour guide was fine but why, oh why, do they believe that they have to fill in the gaps and repeat in some cases 3 times the same information in a parody of a school teacher. They actually need a lesson in how to deliver a topic and a few Ray Mears/ Lonely Planet/ tourist videos would have been far more effective and interesting. After a while the standing joke was that every tree or bush in the desert was a 'Yucca' tree etc. I speak as a geographer/ geologist/educationalist. Do not let this put you off because all tour guides have strengths and weaknesses. Some may have done the same trip many years and it can show. They need to refresh the  approach from the 'new excited tourist' and cater for their needs. It is a difficult balance. But experience should not breed indifference or complacency. Above all they should cater for the unusual needs or problems encountered and not dismiss, as 'not my problem or part of my job'. Yes it is. The remit of a tour guide is wide indeed and should be very flexible. Enough said on this point.The coach driver was Super.

The places visited were extremely varied and exciting. They included Los Angeles, Long beach, Venis beach, Santa Monica, Hollywood, San Diego, Palm Springs, Flagstaff, Grand canyon, Las vegas, Calico ghost town, Oakhurst, Yosemite, Monterey,Carmel, Sausalito and San Francisco. There were lots of other places also and many, many  things to do.
It was an an EXCELLENT trip for its cross section of places and well worth the pain of coach tour logistics. It catered for the Canyon/Yosemite fans to the I'm going to hit Vegas, people, which frankly for UK people is, Margate or Blackpool on steroids! But well worth the fun even if you would normally stick your nose in the air at such places. Do see a show in Vegas and tour the hotels. Grand Canyon and the Yosemite are simply drop dead awesome DUDE. LA is as you would expect. A lot of cars with only one person in each. Traffic jams in rush hour, but fun when sitting in a coach. Holywood is tacky but a must and I would love to see a concert at the Hollywood Bowl for a $1.00 ticket. Nice to visit Venice beach etc.Now where was Baywatch filmed? San Francisco was a real mix and exciting. The Fishermans Wharf area at night is NOT a very safe place and we were targeted by a pick pocket gang in a camera shop but spotted them attempting to do the close body squeeze. Take care in this area and other places such as the tenderloin? Despite this there is much to do and see. It is a very good place to visit. A ride hanging onto the tram care is a must for all. Not sure about the cable or wooden brakes though.
Ok, now about the gripes, whinges or moans:
Expect to be really tired and jetlagged at LA, Visiting places such as Universal studios whilst the body says 'need sleep in soft bed'.This will continue for some  of the tour because of the early mornings and late evenings and long hours on the coach. The tour is a taster OK!
A major moan. some of the paid tours( most) should have been the official free tours. The Las Vegas night tour was without doubt a real cheap trick. To pay was mean and wrong. Money back please and also a few others should have been free. I will not budge on this view TC.

Next was the organisation of the tour. Many hours were wasted travelling extra distances.For example, to visit the Grand Canyon from Flagstaff required a fairly long journey. What a waste. better to stay nearby and have precious extra time. To visit a place such as Carmel for 40 minutes or Calico for for less than 2 hours is partly bad planning. In the Canyon or Yosemite the total time available was measured really as a few hours at each.Very rushed, better organisation of routing and distances is needed to give the maximum stay time and better use of the coach. We will simply have to go back on a private tour to see them correctly.
 To sum up and despite the moans the trip was worth doing and I would say do have a go. You will have a good experience but not a relaxing holiday. Also if you are of the older generation please go only with a friend. If you need HELP, then this is not for you and neither should the tour company accept you on your own. Only you can decide if you come into this category. We will do another tour so we must have enjoyed the experience.
One final point that can be overlooked. The coach was full. This was a strength. Such varied and nice people who were a pleasure to meet, who were never clinging or in your face and of ALL ages. Variety is the spice of life and we would be happy to meet all of you on a tour again. For those of you who may read this, the author was the pain in the posterior with the new camera who shot everything dismally. ( not a david Bailey)

I do hope this is a fair assessment of the trip and no criticism of any person is ever intended and will be instantly removed if required.  

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Tour - California and Golden West

Operator and Date: Titan HiTours - September 2005

Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : Alan & Vivienne - London (50s)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We travelled with Titan on the California and the Golden West tour in September/October, 2005.  We spent 14 nights in 9 different hotels, plus the last night on the flight home.

We made our reservation directly with Titan, and found them to be surprisingly inflexible in their dealings with customers.  For example, they offer a bus service to Heathrow airport, but will only pickup from one address, even if two couples are travelling from close addresses and are on a direct route to the airport.  We found this could be resolved by booking the pickup from the furthest address, then asking the driver (for a tip, of course) to stop at the second address.  However, reading the latest Titan brochure it seems that they are changing to individual pickups - and not before time. 

The return journey was much more efficient, with both couples in our party being dropped at our individual addresses.  This service is, of course, included in the price, and it is irritating that customers such as ourselves, living four miles from the airport, must pay the same overall price as other living much further away.  I asked about this when making the reservation, but was told that this is the way Titan work and no concession could be made for customers living close to the airport - another example of their inflexibility.

The greeting service at Heathrow Airport was impressive - a representative meeting you from the minibus, summoning a porter, and a further Titan representative inside the terminal, introducing us to our tour manager.  A particularly good feature of this holiday was that the tour manager travelled out with us at the start of the holiday, and back again at the end.  As this was our first experience of Titan and tour-style holidays, we could not speculate on whether this practice is standard.

Tour holidays are not for the faint-hearted.  They involve a lot of hotel changes (packing/unpacking sometimes every night), early starts in the mornings (although everyone on this tour seem to handle this very well, and even I didn't complain at the regimentation), and long journeys in the coach (this is handled sympathetically, though, with stops every 2 hours or so; and the coach was comfortable, if a little noisy from a faulty emergency window).  On the plus side, however, you have no route planning, no driving and no navigating, and you can sleep through the traffic jams rather than getting hot under the collar.

Our tour manager, Bea, was excellent, filling us with facts on every place (sometimes on every building) from her mine of information, and although I have forgotten most of it, it was all very interesting at the time.  Every morning she related to us the plans for that day. Every time we made a stop, she pointed out where to get coffee/food and where the restrooms were.  At every hotel stop, she would dash out of the coach to get our room keys for us, and every time we stopped at a hotel for more than one night she called each of our rooms to ensure everything was OK.  To illustrate her attention to detail, she even maintained a stock of postage stamps for sale to us, so we didn't have to venture out to the post office - that's service!

The tours involved staying at nine hotels in 14 days, and although the hotels varied in their size, standard and levels of service, all were generally of an acceptable level.  All had large rooms, most had good-sized bathrooms, and several had pools.  The main criticism I would make of the hotels that Titan use is that some of them were not particularly well-located.  Even after a day of traveling and sightseeing, some people like to take a walk to an outside restaurant in the evening, or perhaps to a local town centre, and it was not always possible to do this.  All the hotels except the Stardust in Las Vegas had coffee-making facilities, but to get the water hot enough for tea, and to get any sort of reasonable substitute for fresh milk in the rooms, was all but impossible.  All the hotels offered a reasonably-priced breakfast with adequate variety (although we did not try the hotel breakfast in the Holiday Inn in San Francisco).

By far, the most negative aspect of this holiday was the flights to and from Los Angeles.  Although direct, spending 9 or 10 hours in the Economy section of a BA flight was absolute hell.  The legroom is appalling, even for smaller people like ourselves, and the food and service not much better.  When booking our holiday, I tried to find ways of upgrading to World Traveller Plus or Club World, but Titan were adamant that their seats were not upgradeable - another example of their inflexibility.  Mysteriously, two of the people in our tour group travelled home in Club Class, so there are ways if you can find them..  If anything would stop us going on another tour-type holiday (with any operator) it's these hellish flights.

The hotels where we spent more than one night were as follows:

San Diego - Red Lion Hotel (2 nights):

Although this sounds like a pub with a few rooms, it is actually a low-rise 400+ room resort style hotel in pleasantly landscaped surroundings.  There was a nice outdoor pool, and a good restaurant where I had the best roasted rib of beef of the whole holiday.  Breakfast is a choice between a la carte and a buffet and was reasonably priced, so all types are catered for.  The rooms have safes.

The hotel is situated out of the town, but the bellboy will drive you into town in the hotel minibus for a tip of $1 per person, but if you want a lift back, it has to be by 10pm.  However, taxis are available in the town, and cost about $5 to the hotel. 

San Diego itself is a pleasant, atmospheric town, with a distinct Mexican influence.  The harbour area is interesting, and the old town has been rebuilt in authentic style to include shops and restaurants.  Titan included a half-day tour of the town, which was very interesting (but why does it need to start as early as 8.30 on the day after arriving?) and the harbour cruises are interesting and informative.

Las Vegas - Stardust (2 nights):

The Stardust is a 32-storey 1,500-room hotel built 50 years ago, but quite smart and in a good location.  Probably like many of the hotels in Vegas, it is impersonal, with a casino that seems to be full of people at all times.  Being one of the older hotels in the area, it does not have the novel shows, shops or attractions of the newer hotels, but in a way, that's a relief because these attract crowds of non-residents.

The rooms in the Stardust are large, with good-size bathrooms, but there are no tea/coffee making facilities.  There are several restaurants, but you need to watch the time you want to eat, as queues to get in can be long.  Because of this, we didn't try the official breakfast, but ate at the deli counter in the lobby, where you could get Continental breakfast type items at reasonable prices, and a decent cup of tea.

Everything has already been written about Vegas, so I won't attempt to repeat other writers' reviews.  Suffice to say that Vegas is big, bright, brash, naff and enjoyable all at the same time.  The two nights we spent here were definitely not enough, but that's typical of a tour-type holiday (it also means that if you hate a place, you don't have to worry as you won't be staying there long).

San Francisco - Holiday Inn Van Ness (2 nights):

San Francisco was the disappointment of this holiday for our group.  All the aura built up about the city from various music over the years is exaggerated, and this hotel was undoubtedly the worst one we stayed in on the holiday.  It is a 26 storey 60s-style concrete tower, with a small and extremely unattractive-looking outdoor pool, inefficient and unresponsive staff, and restricted facilities.

Unlike all the other hotels, where we identified and labelled our bags before they were taken to our rooms, in San Francisco we were dropped at the sea front, and our bags taken to our rooms from the coach.  This resulted in a number of bags being delivered incorrectly, one couple receiving six bags instead of two, and one of our bags going missing for more than an hour due to it being delivered to an empty room.  The staff were hardly helpful in trying to resolve the problems - they seemed to be overwhelmed by the hordes of people arriving on numerous other coaches.

On the first evening (a Sunday), after having an optional group meal at a waterfront restaurant, we arrived back at the hotel just before 10.30pm looking for a nightcap.  We entered the only bar in the hotel through an open door, sat down, and went to the bar to order, only to be told the bar was closed - an example of the attitude of staff and the restricted facilities.

On the first morning, after spotting the queue to go into the breakfast room, we decided to follow the tour manager's recommendation to eat at the New Village Café, behind the hotel.  The food was good, at reasonable prices, with boiled water for tea (fairly unusual in the States, as in many other countries).  However, do not venture too far away from where the café is situated, as the hotel is near an area frequented by vagrants, alkies, druggies and various other dubious characters.  On the free evening that we had, we took a taxi to Ghirardelli Square, where we had a superb - if expensive - meal at McCormick & Kuleto's restaurant, overlooking the bay.  The taxi cost $10, and avoided the need to use the roundabout routes necessary on public transport.

Overall, we thought Titan should seriously consider using a different hotel to this one due to its location and poor service.

Anaheim - The Clarion Hotel (3 nights):

At first glance, the Clarion looks quite a reasonable hotel.  It has nine floors, is not unattractive in appearance, with tidy grounds.  We were given a room on the 7th floor, which was undergoing redecoration on our arrival, so the lift door opened to a strong smell of wallpaper paste and various decorating debris.  To be fair, this did not detract from the general enjoyment of our stay, but decent hotels often close floors when refurbishment is taking place.

The Clarion is reasonably well-situated, on the main Harbor Boulevard, near to various shops and (mainly fast food) restaurants, and within walking distance of Disneyland (which was just as well - see later).  It has a pleasant and clean outside pool and surrounding area.  The room we were allocated was a double suite, which had two beds, a sofa, several comfortable chairs and a fridge, but the ordinary doubles were a little smaller.

We spent a day at Universal Studios on the optional Titan excursion, but the hotel is not ideally located for this attraction, with the journey taking around 75-90 minutes in the LA traffic.  Universal Studios are brilliant, being oriented slightly towards adults, and the highlights for us were the trolley tour of the studio sets and special effects, and the Waterworld show.  Queuing did not seem to be too much of a chore, with all the queue areas being shaded, and fine mist jets cooling the air.  Because the journey to and from the hotel cut down the time we actually at Universal, we were not able to take full advantage of all the attractions on offer.  If Universal were the main reason for visiting the area, it would be better to stay at a more convenient hotel and leave a full day to enjoy the studios.

We took advantage of the included day pass at Disneyland to see what was on offer.  Disneyland can be summarized in four words - crowds, queues, kids and noise.  From the moment when we started queuing for the shuttle bus to take us (watching several go straight past, full), we resigned ourselves to a day of waiting in line.  Several of the attractions had queues indicated of 70-90 minutes (although we found these queue time indicators were often inaccurate).  Disney operate a 'fastpass' system, whereby you can book a priority admission to some of the most popular rides.  We took advantage of this for the Indiana Jones ride, booking at 2pm, but the earliest time we were allocated was 6.50, so we eventually decided not to bother.  One really irritating aspect of Disneyland was that, unlike Universal, many of the queuing areas were not shaded, so it was extremely uncomfortable when waiting for rides.  Disney are also adept at hiding queues; several times we thought we were close to the admission gate, only to find the queue snaking around the area once again.

Back to the hotel, and the most negative point - trying to eat.  Breakfast was taken in the Tivoli Gardens Café, and was totally table service.  Unnecessary queues formed at the door, while the only waitress seemingly capable of showing guests to their table went about the more important task of clearing tables.  Service was painfully slow, with each of the courses having to be served by waiters, and on each of our three mornings, having a simple Continental breakfast took about 45 minutes.  We had similar problems in the hotel grill, where we were told at 8.30 on one evening that the headline dish on the menu (roasted rib of beef) had 'run out'.  We were offered an alternative, but were then told we could not have the accompaniments that went with the headline dish.  After some acrimonious discussion, the manager was called and agreed we could have the alternative with our choice of vegetable and potatoes. He then returned to his other job - running the karaoke in the bar. 

On our final evening, we walked for about ten minutes along Harbor Boulevard (away from Disneyland), and found Il Capo, and excellent Italian restaurant with good food and courteous staff.  We would suggest this as an alternative to the hotel restaurant.

Overall, this hotel could be reasonable with an injection of decent management, particularly in the food service area.  Considering the age profile of the people on these tours, it might be better for Titan to swap the ticket for Disneyland to one for Universal Studios, and book an alternative hotel near the studios.

The hotels at which we stayed for only one night were as follows:

Phoenix - Holiday inn Midtown
Williams - Holiday Inn
Visalia - Holiday Inn
Modesto - Courtyard by Marriott
San Simeon - California Sea Coast

All these hotels were of a reasonable standard, with good-sized rooms, some with very small bathrooms.  None had room safes, and all but the Sea Coast had restaurants.  Some had pools, and several had small gyms.  The main criticism of these hotels was the locations - only one, in Williams, was within walking distance of the town centre, and another, in Modesto, was in an out-of-town mall that had had a small number of shops and restaurants nearby.  The others required a taxi to get to outside restaurants, so the organizers of these hotels do not expect customers to venture out in the evenings.

Overall, we enjoyed our holiday, and were impressed with Titan once on our travels.  Dealing with their reservations department was frustrating, and the flights in Economy Class were absolute hell.  This is the sort of holiday for fit people, and definitely not for children, who would be bored by long periods on the coach.  It is a good way of packing in a lot of sights in a short space of time, and can act as a taster for future holidays.  We are not looking for another tour holiday, although we would consider one if, as on this occasion, we found a number of attractions in one area that we wanted to see within a short time.  However, I would never want to repeat the flights we had, so any future tour holiday would have to be with a company that would offer more flexibility on flights than we had on this one.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Tour - California and Golden West

Operator and Date: Titan HiTours June 2005

Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Neil Wainwright - Oldham (56, 54)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This was a great value for money 2500 mile 16 day tour including main visits to San Diego, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco and La/Anaheim (Disneyland). Short stops at Sedona, Santa Barbara and Monterey made you want to stay longer. The 1 hour stop in Hollywood was 59 minutes too long - what atacky dump. The majority of hotels were on the better side of acceptable but the Clarion at Anaheim could be improved on. Driver Mark Whitaker was efficient and helpful with a good sense of humour. Tour Manager Gail Niece was excellent - if you are lucky to get on a tour of hers she adds an extra dimension with her knowledge and personality.  

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Tour - Hollywood / Palm Springs / Anaheim

Operator and Date: Self organised March /April 2005

Opinion submitted in Apr 2005 by : Peter & Lynne Martin (54)

Resort Rating: No rating

Accommodation Rating: No rating

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This was stage one of a 'rundfaht'planned for over Easter 2005. First few nights were spent at the Best Western in Hollywood. we cannot sing the praises of this place highly enough. Older 30's main building,full of character, and a new extension at the rear built around a small pool. Rooms are themed and very individually decorated; ours was '007'style. The walls were covered with beautifully framed posters, photographs an other 007 memorabilia. The hotel was 10 minutes walk from Hollywood Boulevard with it's 'stars' set in the 'sidewalk' every few yards, Man's Chinese Theatre etc etc.A pleasant stroll during the day but NOT recommended by night!!! 

Downtown LA is but 15 minutes away by car. Farmers Market is a splendid place to relax, eat and take in a film. Rodeo Drive was interesting but I felt that 99.9% of the people there were, like us, only 'gorping' in the windows of overpriced retail designer shops. The wide division between 'have's' and 'have not's' was summed up nicely by a homeless and obviously down on his luck ethnic minority sitting on the pavement under the window of Cartier's begging for change with a McDonalds paper cup. If you get the chance visit the Gene Autry Museum of the West in Griffith Park. Most entertaining and informative and able to burst a few myths and misnomers of the 'Wild West'. The Tar Pits near downton LA are also worth a walk and view.

The major draw for us was Universal Studios. A rather splendid place which caters for all tastes. One can be turned upsidedown, shaken, shocked and come away totally awestruck.
An overnight stay in Barstow en route to Las Vegas allowed us to visit Calico, a reconstructed 'ghost' town. Worth the diversion especially the staged confrontation between the cowboy and the ind...native american! We've left a narrative about Las Vegas alrady and so to a rather nice surprise.

We found ourselves, on the way to Anaheim, in Palm Springs. This should be re-named 'Pleasant Valley'. I'm led to believe that this is the equivalent to Eastbourne, Southport or Harrogate. (God's waiting room western USA). Having said that there is a vitality whech is infectious. Young and old seem to be happy inn each others company and there is a complete absence of litter, graffiti and anti-social behaviour. Every thursday there is a street market in the main shopping street. This is substantial and attracts a great many locals and visitors. Our particular favorite was a modest stall consisting of a table behind which sat a bearded gentleman. A hand made nanner over the table declaimed "Ask The Rabbi..", so we did!

From Palm Springs to Anaheim and the "Red Roof Hotel" on Disney Way. Obviously well placed for Mouseland but equally good for reaching Santa Monica, Venice Beach and other spots. One evening diversion which we recommend is "Medieval Times". On offer is an evening of jousting, feasting and entertainment. A bargain at about $50 of their dollars. I must confess that we went in quite prepared to take the p**s but were totally captivated by it. We've learned that the Americans may not be 100% accurate in their undertakings but that this is more than compensated for in their tremendous enthusiasm.

We intend to return to the West Coast next year to continue our endeavour which is to , once again, teach them the English language!!

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Tour - Wonders of the Golden West, California

Operator and Date: Jetsave - August

Opinion submitted in Oct 2003 by : Tracy - Aberdeen (31, 41)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

A brilliant holiday. Travelled just under 3000 miles in a fortnight. Loads of brilliant sights.

Travelled from LA to the Grand Canyon (you actually stay in lodges at the Grand Canyon). Onwards to Las Vegas then up to San Francisco via Yosemite National Park then back down to LA to fly out.

Tour is 14 days long + your night on the plane back to the UK. You stay in 9 different hotels over the fortnight.

Touring is not an easy option, you move onto a different hotel most nights, but it is great way to see the country.

PS I do recommend watching the sun set at Hopi Point over the Grand Canyon. Truly beautiful!

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Hotel California - Santa Monica, California

Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : J Paviour

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: No rating

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This hotel was the one of the worst we've ever stayed in and we travel a lot. The rate was exorbitant, the rooms were dirty, there was no air con, and the rooms were noisy. 

However, the worst aspect by far was the fact that we discovered bed bugs crawling around on the sheets on the second morning of our stay. Neddless to say, we checked out immediately and the manager didn't seem all that surprised by our discovery. We were offered no compensation but told that they would "put the room out of service" - yeah right!!! Don't go there get a room farther from the beach it'll be cheaper and, hopefully, cleaner.

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

The Hilton Towers - Aneheim, California

Operator and Date: sept 2004

Opinion submitted in Apr 2005 by : NICOLA 22. 22

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

After coming here after Las Vegas i literally burst out in tears! the hotel is lovely it was just empty and in the middle of concrete city. We were close to Disney, which is the same layout as the florida one, but slightly smaller. We managed to squeeze 3 days out of it. That was the only attraction near us. The hotel had a small swimming pool,which is surrounded by the building, so goes in the shade quite early, 2 spa pools which were in the shade, & loads and loads of sunbathing area, the pool bar/cafe was closed and many nights we dinned alone in the restaurant!

The hotel i would say is a conference hotel not a holiday hotel, and you really must have hired a car to stay there, or in Aneheim.
I thought i was staying close to Hollywood in LA,near shops and people.We werent!We flew to LAX and got taxi from the airport, 95dollars later, we arrived at our hotel!!
We managed to find a shopping mall but it wasnt anythin like i expected, more of a local hangout.

Dont get me wrong the hotel was immaculate but just sadly, in the wrong place and a bit too quiet!

Book this Hotel Direct    Package Holidays    Holidays Direct    Last Minute

Macarthur Place - Sonoma, Wine Valley, California

Operator and Date: Direct - June 2003

Opinion submitted in June 2003 by : Patrick & Philippa Vickery (37,32) - Glasgow

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

On our 3 week trip of California & Nevada this was our favourite place.

The Wine Valleys are beautiful and the towns quaint, the wineries fabulous to visit, the food exceptional and the locals really friendly. (Although Napa town itself feels different as it is a lot bigger)

We stayed when there was an annual wine auction so it was incredibly difficult to get rooms. As a result we paid much more than we usually would but wow, what a difference.

MACARTHUR PLACE has rooms ranging from £227/$357-£367/$577 a night and we could only get the most expensive, a Cottage Suite. However this was a detached cottage overlooking most beautiful gardens, with a private patio. Inside was an enormous 4 poster bed, a study, dining area, seating area by the fireplace, walk-in closet and a huge bathroom including jacuzzi bath for 2.

There is a complimentary library with cheese & wine reception, free DVD's for each room, stacks of books and games, 24 hour free web access and settees by the fireplace.

The restaurant, SADDLES, has a bar and casual dining area used by guests and locals alike. We ate the best steaks ever - apparently Prime Selection is the top 2% of beef produced and only available to the catering trade.

There is also an outdoor heated pool and an incredible spa which offers a wide range of massages and complimentary type therapies.

One day we did a winery tour. You can either drive yourself, go one a guided tour, hire a limousine (although the wineries think this is a bit brash!), walk or hire a bike as we did. The concierge had suggested this was the most fun and it was - luckily we stayed quite sober through the exhiliration of riding a bike for the first time in years!

We also took her suggestion and made a picnic from the amazing deli on the Main Plaza. THE CHEESE FACTORY offers more than I have ever seen and makes great sandwiches to go. Pack up a bag and head off to the numbers of wineries around the valleys.

We visited RAVENSWOOD who sell a great Merlot and onto BARTHOLOMEW where we bought a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and sat in beautiful grounds overlooking Sonoma. Many locals were doing the same but on a much grander scale (linen tablecloths, etc).

For dinner we ate at THE GIRL AND THE FIG - a French restaurant in town where we could eat outside as the temperature here was perfect. However, on a Sunday night Sonoma closes pretty early so grab that bottle of wine and take it back to your terrace (a perfect end to the evening).