My wife and I had a thoroughly enjoyable experience on this ilimo tour to the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak. In particular, Mason was an outstanding guide and skilful driver and never at a loss for words. I really enjoyed the sparkling repartee. He was very knowledgeable about the local geology and vegetation and had a delightful wry wit. He taught us about the rapid development of communities we passed during the excursion, gave us some tips on where to get lunch in Manitou Springs and even pointed out the NORAD base - a fun fact that struck me as relevant to the ultra-well connected seeking shelter in the event the ICBMs rain down some day.
Having a skilful driver allowed me to focus on the scenery rather than the alternative of keeping a rental car on the 150+ curves while ascending and descending the 16 miles of road that were open. It was super windy on top and we had to stop at the Devil's Playground/16 mile turnout because the final 3 miles to the summit were closed due to the wind.
Be sure to bring some warm clothes for Pikes Peak. Although it was ~ 30 C at Manitou Springs (shorts and tee shirt perfect), the temperature plummeted to roughly 6 C by the time we reached the Devil's Playground at > 12,700 ft and I was glad I'd brought a fleecy top, wind parka and a beanie. That 40-50 mph gusty wind was really cold. We spent about 20 minutes on the top which was enough time to take in the spectacular top-of-the-world view.
The Garden of the Gods portion of the tour gave us 45 minutes or so to hike the trails through the rock features and another 15 minutes at Balance Rock after which we had a bit over an hour to explore Manitou Springs, sample the mineral water from the different springs and grab a bite to eat.
This was a very enjoyable excursion and definitely worth the investment.