Luxury England & Ireland Trip Review, Mayo Castle, Dublin, London Walking Tour, Crystal Factory, Cooking Class

We have just a couple suggestions:
1.  The lunch cruise on the Thames in London was just "ok" - we realize that we specifically requested an experience like this so no fault on the travel team's part.  But it was just an average experience at best.
2.  The hotel in Oxford was magnificent and in a beautiful area of the country.  For us, though, it was a little too much.  The dinner we had there the night we arrived totaled more than $600, which we thought was excessive.  We prefer more casual dining and not as much "presentation food". 
3.  When in Ireland, we were surprised at the number of times that our guide had to say "They will charge you a Euro or two to get in here" -- not much money but we kind of felt "nickled and dimed."  This happened at the sheepdog demonstration, the Cliffs of Moher, the beehive huts and a stop we made to see a stone circle.  We would suggest that the travel team gives it's tour guides a small allowance to account for these incidentals and just include it in the package.
4.  With as nice as the Castle in Mayo is, we would have actually liked to have had two free days there instead of just one to explore all the property has to offer.  It also came at a good point in our trip where we were ready to get off the road for a while and relax.
5.  The Kilmainham Jail tour was also just average.
6.  In England, the guides we had, as we said, were excellent.  They did not, however, seem to know who this travel team were.  We would highly suggest the travel team use them both in the future but perhaps getting to know them on a personal level would help this travel team's business even more in the UK.

Travel Company Comments

Dear Paul & Marlene,
Thank you for the kind words and feedback. We are delighted that you had an amazing trip and the feedback you provided is very much appreciated.
Some city experiences can be overrated by friends and family who have tried a particular attraction in the past. The Thames River cruises fall into this category but guests do enjoy seeing the London iconic landscapes from the water so there are many positives to take in. I suppose there is a lack of exclusivity and attention to detail in the product so in essence it could come across general and touristy. 
The hotel in Oxford is a great property and quite unique in its culinary offerings. There are wait lists to dine here during high season. With your interest of taking in a cooking class we presented the best option as their cookery school it one of the worlds most esteemed. This feedback is very useful and I will take this on board when explaining the property to other potential guests.
Regarding the attraction fees in Ireland, this is an error on our behalf as these fees were supposed to be covered. As per my email I have refunded 200 euros to your credit card. This was a miscommunication between the office and the guide - Our apologies again. 
You are so right about the Castle in Mayo. Its a haven of relaxation and an atmosphere you just want to savour. We do recommend that most guests have a chill day at the property. There is so much to see in the surrounding area of Connemara and we wouldn't be doing our job right to not explain what's on the doorstep of this property. A happy medium might be to do a half day of touring around Connemara. The Castle is a property most of our guests return to and its a tough act to follow for the next hotel on every guests tour!
Kilmainham Jail has become one of the top attractions in Dublin. Its so highly rated that purchasing tickets in advance during high season is a requirement. I often have to go there in person to buy tickets for guests as online sometimes shows unavailable. I will chat to you more in detail about this as its one of the attractions that guests learn so much about the events (revolutionary prisoner executions) which were the catalyst to uprisings and Ireland becoming a sovereign nation. 
Regarding the London guides being unaware of this travel team, I was surprised with this and rang the guide. I was actually on a tour with him a few days later and we spoke about this in length. He was a bit dumbfounded but will be sure to nurture the connection for future reference. The walking guide is one of many guides we use. On this occasion this guide dismissed the source of the connection to us but there was no harm intended. Either way, I appreciate you bringing this to our attention and will ensure the guides are more aware about the source of their work.
Thank you so much for the feedback. Your comments will help us improve as we strive for nothing but the very best.
Best regards.