Royal Palaces of Sweden: Private Drottningholm & Gripsholm

Worst Experience

First off I contacted the company and asked if I could bring our luggage along with us and get dropped off at the airport after. I was told this would be fine, but we would have to pay extra for the ride to the airport, which we were happy to pay. I asked them if I could order through trip advisor since I had a good deal with capital one shopping. They said that would be fine, but they would have to send me a separate invoice for the airport ride. So I booked the event and thought everything was good. Weeks later I realized that I had never received the invoice for the airport ride, so I contacted them. They canceled my reservation and sent an email stating that they can’t do the airport ride if I don’t book through them. I would have been fine finding my own ride to the airport so I was annoyed they canceled the reservation. I tried to rebook through trip advisor even-though the price had gone up a couple hundred bucks. I made the reservation and by the next day it was automatically canceled. We really wanted to take the tour so I ended up paying more and booking through their website. When I booked they did not give me the option to get dropped off at the airport. I emailed them and the best they could do was drop me off at the train station. Every time I tried to contact them it took multiple emails. I was told that I would receive more information a day before the tour, but at 11:00 at night the day before I still had not received anything, so I contacted them via WhatsApp and was told someone would contact me at 9:00AM (an hour before our tour). At 9:45 I still had not heard anything and we were getting kicked out of our Airbnb at 10:00, so I contacted them again and then I finally received a call from our guide. He said he was at a hotel on our street, not at our location so we needed to find him. It was just across the street so that was not a big deal. However our driver was not there yet, so we had to wait 15 minutes in the rain for our driver. When the driver showed up I was surprised to see a sedan instead of the van I was told we were getting when we booked. We ended up cramming most of our bags in the trunk and ourselves in the back seat. We then went to our first location. The guide was originally from Russia and was a little hard to understand because he muttered, but for the most part we could understand him. The biggest issue was the information overload. He just kept talking and giving every bit of information he knew including all dates. My wife has a history degree and even she was overwhelmed with trying to follow what he was saying. We could have, and probably should have told him not to be so specific and to keep things more general, but we didn’t want to be rude. The next location was a castle that was also a picture gallery. You could tell our guide knew very little about this location. He just walked through the pictures reading names and if he knew who they were he would go through all the information he gave us at the first location. We ended up only having an hour at this castle, and we spent the majority of the time picture hunting. The last 15 minutes were spent flying through the interesting parts of the castle (armory and theater). There was probably more, but we didn’t have time for it. When we went back to the parking lot the driver was not there so we waited another 10 minutes for the car. The one highlight was the driver was able to take us to our hotel at the airport. Our driver was pretty good, but the guide and the company should be avoided at all costs.

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, and while we are glad that your full itinerary was completed successfully and you ultimately received your requested airport drop-off, we are disappointed by the low rating. ​We would like to address a few points regarding your experience: ​Airport Transfer: Although there was initial confusion regarding booking platforms and invoices, our driver did ultimately accommodate your request and safely transported you directly to your airport hotel, fulfilling your original wish. ​Itinerary & Guiding: Our guides are highly passionate and aim to provide a deeply detailed historical context. While we understand the amount of information and dates can be overwhelming, our goal is always to offer a thorough educational experience rather than a superficial overview. ​Vehicles and Timing: Traffic and logistics can occasionally cause minor delays or require vehicle adjustments, but we ensure all guests and luggage are securely transported to each destination on the itinerary. ​Since the tour was fully realized and the airport drop-off was honored, we hoped the overall experience would have merited a higher rating. We will, however, use your comments regarding communication and pacing to improve our services moving forward. Best regards, The Guide Father Team

via Tripadvisor

Worth a visit

Beautiful historic building. Opulence at its highest. Would have got 5 stars but there was no sign saying where the entrance was!

Response from the operator: ​Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We are delighted that you appreciated the historic beauty and opulence of our property. However, we truly regret that the lack of clear entrance signage detracted from your arrival. Please rest assured we are addressing this immediately to ensure a flawless experience for your next visit. We look forward to welcoming you back. Best regards, The Guide Father Team

via Tripadvisor

Excellent tour guide

Kate was a wonderful guide! She explained Swedish history in a way that was somehow interesting and made the castle and palace much more fun to tour. We are a family with 2 kids (ages 17 and 15) and we were all interested in the interesting stories she shared about Swedish royalty. She was knowledgeable and friendly, and drove a clean minivan to transport us. Highly recommend!

via Tripadvisor

Game of Thrones- Swedish Edition. 😂

This was a fantastic tour of two amazing locations just outside of Stockholm. Kate made Swedish history come alive. Not only were the locations spectacular but with Kate‘s knowledge, enthusiasm, and professionalism it took everything to another level. We would highly recommend this tour for anyone wanting to know a little bit more about the history of Sweden and see amazing historical places.

via Tripadvisor

Calm and Reflective Tone

Beautiful tour that blended elegance and education. Drottningholm and Gripsholm were stunning, but it was the quiet insight and depth from our guide that truly stood out. A peaceful, meaningful experience.

via Tripadvisor