I've been a loyal customer of Gemini for a number of years and to be honest, they have generally…read morebeen good, prompt, reliable etc. Last time I used them for a trip to London in the summer, a taxi arrived with no air conditioning (the summer of 2018 being the hottest on record, this mattered a lot!). When I called the office to complain I was blamed for not specifically requesting air conditioning and the lady actually said I could have taken the train!! Given I am a customer- a loyal one at that- and had booked the taxi for practical reasons, this shocked me! Promised myself I won't be using Gemini again after that!

If I'm ever ordering a taxi, I use Gemini…read more Every time I use this company I am impressed. As a student I'm used to being ripped off or belittled but Gemini drivers are always professional, fair and friendly. The phone calls are quick and simple with the operator always chirpy and helpful no matter what time I ring up (sometimes 4am - I couldn't be that happy working at 4am!). Often the journeys I take are with many people so require many stops, but unlike other taxi firms the drivers never seem annoyed and know the area so well that it doesn't present a problem. If I'm travelling alone I still feel safe, which as a young female is rare. What most impressed me, however, is that when we hired a few of their taxis to take us to the station for a night out, the driver insisted very politely that we all put our seatbelts on before he moved off. I found that unbelievably safe and assuring.

Driver was waiting when we arrived. Got us and our luggage to Heathrow in a comfortable Mercedes…read morevan.

Used Heathrow Gatwick Cars on the recommendation of a friend and so glad we did. Easy to use, Tim…read morewas waiting on us in both locations and easy to find. Loads space for us and our luggage. On our trip back from Gatwick to Heathrow we had less time and there was backed up traffic but Tim ensured we were at Heathrow in plenty of time for security and our flight.

Deutsche Bahn UK…read more Note! Call centre 08718 80 80 66 (8p per min.) sales@bahn.co.uk http://www.bahn.de/db_uk/view/index.shtml Have you ever thought about going to Germany? Wonderful Berlin, Hamburg (home of Qype and Xing), the pretty Rhineland, boisterous Bavaria, the magical Black Forest I have and it's quite a spiffing place. I lived there for over 12 years in fact. The natives are quite affable and jolly, many speak passable English, the food is good, many of the wines are severely potable and the cost and quality of life are really rather acceptable. The lavatories are generally very clean, they build good cars and have been very successful in exporting royal families throughout Europe. You can get away with eccentric behaviour as long as you remember not to mention the war, (as I was reminded by an eminent German Qype professor last week). I rather fancy that few people here in fact realise that the Germans are actually quite fond of us and I can certainly testify that their sense of humour is the closest you can get to ours, even although they are foreigners. On a more serious note, German culture over the ages is something that you can spend a long time studying. Land of thinkers, poets, musicians and efficient machine builders. The public transport system there is 'somewhat' better than here, ranging from a serious network of amazing high-speed trains to environmentally-friendly trams in most cities. Their various packages can cover anything from the whole country to a region or locality and often if not always include tram/bus tickets. The prices are staggeringly good value. After St. Pancras had opened its portals last year I happened to be lurking in the Black Forest. One day in Freiburg, I nipped into the main station to go to the Deutsche Bahn information centre, where they are always very friendly and go to great trouble, insisting on digging out the best deal for you from their computer. I asked for a 'quote' to St. Pancras. The guy needed to know when I intended to travel so I came clean and explained that I was just being nosey. How about a price for tomorrow? He typed, muttered, clicked and moused about and eventually came up with a price which was pretty good. He pointed that if you are over 60, you travel for half price on Eurostar. Fascinated, I bore it all in mind and buggered off home by air via Switzerland as planned. So: recently I was intending to find out doing this the other way round and going from here. I needed a Eurostar ticket to Brussels, from where I wanted to go on the German ICE high speeder through to Duesseldorf and on further south. I called Eurostar who explained that this was not really on, but they could book me through to either Cologne or Aachen via Brussels (which was not what I wanted). However, they told me to contact another company called Eurotravel or similar, who could book me through to anywhere I bloody well felt like. Fine, I called these guys who explained that they could do anything I wanted. Except book me on Eurostar. For that, I must contact Eurostar. Bugger and damnation! Since the Deutsche Bahn in Deutschland had told me they could me get me from Germany in one fell swoop, I wondered whether they could get me to Germany as well. In a moment of inspiration, I Googled Deutsche Bahn UK and CRUNCH! Calling the number, I asked whether they could book me from London right through to wherever I wanted to sodding well go in Germany and they said Yes sir, of course! They searched for deals and came up with a package which took me from St. Pancras, delivering me in a relaxed mood at Duesseldorf at 15:00 the same day. 52 Euros, including 1st class travel on the amazing ICE trains from Brussels to Duesseldorf. NUFF SAID? Check out their website

We just used this service and it was terrific. Richard (?), the owner is very friendly and gave us…read moresome interesting details about the surrounding area while we sat in a comfortable coach. This service is a quicker and cheaper way to get either to/from Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle than train. Tip: Due to huge coach crowds in the morning at Windsor Castle (on their way to Stonehenge and Bath), it's best to go to Hampton Court first, then take the later (not the first one) shuttle to Windsor because there's really a lot more to see at Hampton Court.

"Because of the pandemic," you can no longer reach a human at Tristar but must book online. Virgin…read morealso used this to eliminate the spa in the Upper Class Lounge. I didn't realize the Virgin website to book Tristar used military time and booked a 1:45 pickup from hotel for a 6:20 p.m. flight from Heathrow Upper Class on July 30. Tristar arrived at 1:45 AM!! Did it not occur to them (they had the flight information) that most people would not want to spend 15 hours in the middle of the night at Heathrow when Duty Free is closed as well as the Upper Class Lounge? Tristar charged me in full to wait 5 minutes until hotel told them to scram, then charged in full again to come back at 1:45 p.m. No accommodation made for a longtime customer used to booking in person and not used to military time. Even a driverless car would have known something was up with a 1:45 a.m. pickup. Will book a comfortable black cab in the future. Too bad about all the takeaways at Virgin.

What do you do when you have to get to the airport before the public transport kicks in? If you're…read morelike me, you probably booked your flight without even considering getting there at that ridiculous hour, then suddenly found yourself in a bit of a pickle. You see, (at the time of writing) the first Heathrow Express train from Paddington to Heathrow is at 5:10am, if you have one of the first international flights out of Heathrow, that doesn't leave much time to play with, plus you have the hassle of getting to Paddington to start with. With all this in mind, I asked around my more jet-set friends and was recommended Tristar cars. This is no minicab service (which start at about £35), but a chauffeur-driven service that is used by many of the top airlines. Including all taxes, I was quoted about £70 for a 4:30am pick-up in Bloomsbury. This is more than a black cab is likely to cost at that time, but this is more than just a black cab. I booked over the telephone and they were very professional and helpful. I received a confirmation email, so ticked it off my list and started thinking about beaches and flip-flops. On the morning of my trip I received a text message a few minutes before the arranged time of my booking informing me that the driver was here. As soon as I emerged from my door he was out the car assisting me with my luggage. The car was a brand new Volvo (you can pay more for better cars, such as Mercedes S-Class), immaculate inside and out and set up for optimum legroom and comfort. The driver was very polite and was just the right level of professional whilst not being too formal. When we got to Heathrow he patiently waited at the drop-off area for a good spot to become available and helped me with my luggage, wished me well and I was on my way, pretty much as happy and relaxed as you can be arriving at Heathrow at that hour. All in all, I'd say that while it's not cheap, the service is faultless so I still think represents good value vs other alternatives. If I were travelling with a group of people, then it would be my first choice every time and is also a no-brainer if your company is picking up the tab. My only slight grumble is that credit card payments have a 3% charge, but if you use the regularly then you won't need to worry about this as you can arrange an account with them. I'll certainly be using them again, not just in London either, they seem to have most major cities covered worldwide by their network.

Driver was on time, helpful, personable and played Dire Straits on the stereo! It won't let me…read morepost without more characters

We were very pleased with the services of Twelve Transfers on a previous trip to London that we…read moremade prior arrangements with them again to have a driver waiting for us when we came out of customs at Heathrow Terminal 5. Our plane was late in arriving and somehow signals got crossed and the driver was not there. After a few phone calls, we found each other. It was a quiet and uneventful ride. We have come to rely on the efficient and prompt service we have received from Twelve Transfers. We highly recommend this company. It is nice having a picture of the car and driver who would be taking us from London to Southampton. Karim was waiting for us when we left our hotel. The car was a Jaguar and was most comfortable. Karim was a very skillful driver getting us out of London in no time and on the motorway to Southampton. It was an uneventful trip. We through enjoyed our conversations with Karim on various topics. He was a very nice young man.

Located near the Thames off the Kingston Road (sort of Surbiton/Thames Ditton I guess) I have…read morevisited and eaten at Raintree restaurant 3 times. The food is always splendid: far more authentic than the generic Bangladeshi cuisine in city centres that the UK public have come to associate with "Indian" food. Meats from the tandoor are superbly seasoned and moist. Curries are full of flavour and have true character rather than being all "samey". The side dishes tried on last visit: okra, daal, tandoori roti and rice all truly excellent. Costs is cheap to reasonable. My only real criticism is that the place is a bit dead (never more than 2 or 3 tables occupied), which is a shame as the restaurant deserves a full house rather than a few loyal regulars... Thoroughly recommended.

No A/C. Wireless only worked on the ground floor. No outlets in the bathroom. No easy fix if you…read moreneed something since no one on site. The major hit was Just after having long day out and wanting to hit the sack I discovered blood stains on the pillow. Maybe this was karma getting me back from all the hotel sheets I've destroyed in the past, but that was definitely a deal breaker for me. I checked out the next day. Had a minor issue coz I prepaid for a week, but was able to bail with the manager promising to give me a refund. Place a little out of the way if you're using public transport. No reason to go back there. On way out the door, random employee asks for my phone number so he can order some electronics from the states and have me ship it to him.