Testimonials

Snapshots from Host Family Visitor Books

Written Testimonials

Carsten

Thank you for a fantastic week. You have been most helpful for me and my students organizing homestays and your assistance finding solutions about transportation from Stansted to Eden Park, Eden Park to Cambridge and Greenwich to Stansted was of the greatest help.

It saved me a lot of time. Communication is with you is easy and quick – always a quick response from you. It is very nice that all the students and I are picked up and taken to the train station at Eden Park.

There is always a friendly and caring approach to the students` well being at the host families. When some unexpected incidents happen, and we are late for our arrival at Eden Park, we just have to make a phone call, and everything is reorganized very smoothly.

Thank you very much for a brilliant week with the host families, Linda and Peter and yourself.

Carsten
Skovland. Denmark

Skovland Students

Maria Kathrine Tøstesen Madsen
It was a very good experience trying to live with my English host family. They taught us a lot about their culture. Both them and their children were very nice people.

Mia Sophie Strømgaard Zachariasen
I was on a school trip and we lived with host families. My host family was lovely and very open for other cultures. Overall it was a pleasant experience and I really got an insight in the English culture.

Nicholas Lundkvist Bundgaard
My school class stayed in Croydon with Homestay and our stay exceeded my expectation fully! We got an insight into the English culture and way of living and my host family welcomed me and took extremely good care of me.

Stine Telling
I think the homestays trip to England was a really good trip. Mostly because we were staying with authentic Englishmen. It made the trip way more exiting and insightful than if we had stayed at a hotel.

Skovlund Students
Skovlund, Denmark

Skovland Students continued..

Liva Vinther Madsen
All in all, I think the house where I was staying was a good place. The family was very nice, and they seemed to enjoy having us there.

Caroline Kjær Garp
The stay in England was a great success and that was definitely due to the fact that we were staying in private homes. It gave us an authentic insight in the life of Brits which we all appreciated.

Peter Spindler
Great place, much Better than hotels. My host fit me up with packed lunches and it was overall very enjoyable to live with and other person under other circumstances from home.

Kristian Dahl Andersen
The host was so nice, and she really made you feel at home. The train connections from the city were really good and it made it so easy to get around in England. All in all, it was a very good experience.

Skovlund Students
Skovlund, Denmark

Veronique France

“Our 57 pupils have been enthusiastic about their stay in London and especially about the warm welcome they received in their families in Croydon.

We teachers were happy to see that our pupils enjoyed the contact with the families as much as we did.”

Veronique
France

Claudia

Now, I hope it’s without mistakes 😉

Our German group has come to British Homestays for over 15 years now. It has always been a pleasure for the kids as well as for the teachers. Elaine Tait has enabled us easy booking. She has always organised everything and booked tickets for the theatre, boats and for Madame Tussaud’s.  The kids enjoy their stay a lot. The host families are very welcoming and friendly. So our students can experience living in English families and gain knowledge of the British culture. There is a representative of Homestays at the meeting point daily. 

Students say: “It’s been a wonderful stay. In that week we learnt more than within a year at school.”
“Our host family was so nice and the dinner we had was very tasty.”

Thanks a lot for everything!

Claudia
Germany

Dominique France

I have been working with Homestays for 9 years and particularly with Elaine Tait, the managing director.

I think that everything is well-organised, flexible and reasonably priced for a city like London.

Moreover when one of the families doesn’t meet our expectations, Elaine tries to sort things out immediately.

Therefore I would definitely recommend this company if you need accommodation next to London.

Dominique
France

Edward PG Trips

I have been working with BH for more than 10 years now, Elaine is someone practical, professional and running her business in a very efficient way. Families are very well selected and slight problems when they can occur are always dealt with on the day.

I always get very positive feedbacks from my groups and I often get returning people which is a good sign, above all in the great London area.  

Edward
PG Trips - France

Bernardino Perez School

By living with local families, British Homestays provided a more authentic cultural experience. Homestay presented an opportunity to experience the realities of daily life in England.

Hosts cooked local meals and made students feel in such a way that most other tourists or visitors would never even know of. Moreover, lovely family members and British Homestays staff provided us ( teachers and students ) tips and advice on “surviving” in our new environment.

Bernardino Perez Primary School students, described the advantages they gained living with a host family: “They were super helpful in learning the culture, history and local traditions that we might not have learned otherwise. The food they provided was also amazing, and a healthier choice than what we could get at a restaurant.”

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Justo López, Irene Merino, Rosario Marcos
Bernardino Perez Primary School

Lajos Budapest

Lajos Tankovics
Budapest, Hungary

George

Dear British Homestays,

Thank you for a wonderful week and for all your help. This is probably my 6th or 7th visit to London using British Homestays. The professionalism and helpfulness of the staff make my job so much easier. All our needs are catered for; the coach from and to Stansted, being picked up and dropped off by our hosts every day along with breakfast, packed lunch and an evening meal.

My pupils and their parents often tell me that they have had an amazing trip with many fantastic experiences one of which being the opportunity to experience living with a London family. For some it is probably what they are most excited about before the trip and possibly what they feel was the best part of the whole trip afterwards. Thank you for always giving them such a wonderful experience. I’m sure that it will be something they will come to cherish for a very long time.

Personally, I always have a great trip. I enjoy living with Graham and Mavis, as they are very easy to talk to and interested in what we are planning to do during our stay. It is also reassuring knowing that my pupils are being well looked after by their hosts.

This year we stayed in a hotel in Russell Square for the first night. The rooms were small and the breakfast insubstantial. It goes without saying that I was relieved that we had planned to spend the rest of the week with British Homestays.

With the very best regards,

George
Denmark

Jurgen Germany

What a long, long time it’s been! It was June 1989 when I first decided to try my luck with family accommodation in South London for my school group. Fortunately, I found a tiny ad in a teaching magazine from a German colleague (no world wide web then). He brought me into contact with British Homestays and since then, not a year has gone by when I didn’t bring my students over (sometimes twice). Why?

Well, simply because BHS have never let me down. They could always provide us with accommodation that befitted our needs, sometimes even at short notice. Booking was extremely easy and trustful, it only took one e-mail and things were settled. The families have usually been to my liking (and in the few cases when they weren’t, a quick solution was found).

What helped me most as a teacher and group guide is the fact that my energies could be channelled into organising all the other aspects of a student visit, because I always knew there would be absolutely no problems with the families. Thank you so much for that, Elaine, it made my life a whole lot easier!

Students tend to be extremely nervous before they meet ‘their’ family for the first time, but usually settle down fast and easily. R-E-S-P-E-C-T is of the utmost importance, because rules and customs may be very different from what the kids are used to at home. It is always a joy for the teacher, however, when his students exchange details about their hosts and realize the various ways of life and the different circumstances of living. Communication is at the heart of the matter, and only family accommodation offers students of English the opportunity of using their abilities in a real-life situation.

Jürgen Kanhäuser
Staatliche Realschule, Rain, Germany

Richard – Agent from Belgrade

“I have used British Homestays for several years now and will keep coming back. The service is both professional and friendly, they really want us to have a good experience – AND – the families are great. I see the same families each year and know that the students are going to have a good time.

The area is friendly and convenient and perfect for that British family experience!!

Richard
Berlin

Xenia, Germany

We want to say thank you for a pleasant week. Despite some gusty weather conditions this time – which is obviously unswayable – you made our stay perfect: starting with the organisation of transportation, guest families and itinerary before the trip, the assistance on the arrival at Eden Park, the lovely hospitality and legendary evenings with Peter and you, and lastly the well-organized departure – even at an early hour!

However, the most important thing for us teachers is the well-being of our students: If they are happy we are pleased too. Although cultural and linguistic boundaries may sometimes cause problems, the kids felt totally comfortable in their host families, enjoyed the time and food there. It is always a great experience for them on their way to adulthood.

Every year our stay with you is as familiar to us as coming home. Thank you for that!

Xenia
Gustav-Werner-School, Germany

Video Testimonial