We had a 2.5 hour tour with Tod, which focused on celebrity homes in Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the Holmby Hills. This tour was chosen as a surprise 60th Birthday present for one of our party, who had expressed an interest in celebrity homes in Beverly Hills.
Communication with Jimmy, who is the head of Glitterati tours, was excellent from the beginning. We discussed with him potential ideas and the kind of tour that we wanted. We told Jimmy that the birthday guest liked films of the 'golden age', and actors like Bette Davis and Jimmy Stewart. So we arrived at a kind of 'golden age' themed tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills homes. We also requested Tod to be our guide as he seemed best-suited to providing this kind of tour. Jimmy was very helpful in all of these aspects, and provided us with detailed information about where to meet our tour guide.
We were met and picked up by Tod at the location at the exact time we had agreed on. Tod was very friendly and gave us a brief overview of the kind of tour we were doing. Our birthday guest sat in the front of the car so she could ask Tod questions. The car had lots of water bottles and snacks so no need to bring these. We then headed up to the Hollywood Hills, with information given of the places before. At the Hollywood Hills, Tod drove us around a variety of celebrity homes, with information and history and other generally interesting stuff told to us. We then headed to Greystone Mansion, which was very interesting and exciting, as we never knew it had been used for so many films. We then headed to Beverly Hills and was given a tour around various other homes of interest. It's a crazy place - with Tod telling us that modest homes means $5 to $15 million. Tod then drove us back along the Sunset strip and towards our parting destination.
We found the tour very enjoyable and Tod was an excellent guide. He did not overload us with information as some tour guides can, but gave us enough as to provide a good picture of the areas and places visited. Initially I was sceptical of the idea of using iPads to show us the inside of the homes, but it actually works very well. Tod was also very helpful in giving us information and tips for visiting other places in LA. In fact, he told us the best route to reach the Hollywood Sign. We then visited the next day using Tod's instructions and saw Tod taking another party around!
If we had one quibble it would be this. Although we found the tour very enjoyable and interesting, we would have liked the tour to focus a little bit more on the themes and people that we had suggested, as it felt like the tour wasn't as focused on the 'golden age' actors that the birthday guest would have liked. However, it was still very fun seeing all of the houses, regardless of the history, or who live or were associated with them. You just cannot believe some of the houses! You look at the houses with a mixture of awe and disgust. Awe at the size, and disgust at the greed, considering the extent of poverty and deprivation in large swathes of LA.
Overall, I would recommend the tour wholeheartedly. Despite the considerable price, the tour really was excellent - the kind of tour that all tours should be.
PS - A special thanks to Tod for giving an excellent tour, and answering our questions. It was also very interesting hearing his anecdotes about working as an actor.
Réponse de l'hôte
Jan 2019
If we had the opportunity to rate reviews, we would give your review 5 stars! We thank you for your detailed evaluation of the services that we offer. We take into account every aspect of our guest's commendations, expectations, suggestions, and recommendations. We are so happy you enjoyed your customized tour of the celebrity homes tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. We specialize in themes, and our Golden Age tour is certainly one that is the most popular, because it really focuses on the incredible history that helped build our city. I apologize that we fell a bit short on this emphasis. As a guide myself, I know that we can get so excited in showcasing every street, that sometimes we may bring up a "Simon Cowell" or a "Taylor Swift," when we really should be focusing on a Rosemary Clooney or Marilyn Monroe. Every corner in Beverly Hills has a dozen different stories to tell. We really appreciate your review of Glitterati Tours here on TripAdvisor and happy your special birthday guest enjoyed their big day!