I cannot say enough wonderful things about our experience here at Rubel Castle. Our host, guide,…read moreand local "Rubelligent" volunteer, Ms. Kathleen had all the intel about this historical property. She was so knowledgeable and helped set the stage for us to slip into a forgotten era and get a glimpse of how imagination met inventiveness with a DIY charm. ~ A LITTLE BACKSTORY FOR YOU ~ It's not pronounced Rubel as Barney from Flintstones. Rather, it's like Target is to Targét when we are trying to be fancy. So that's Rubel as in "Roo-bell." Unlike modern-day construction, Rubel Castle wasn't built overnight. It was made of collected recyclables and construction rubble that spanned many decades and took several friends and volunteers to build it. For Michael, however, the lifetime inspiration was first sparked at the age of 9. His love for canons was where it started and the rest is history you can hear about on the tour. But don't just show up like we did randomly one day. To book, visit RubelTours.org and make a reservation. ~ OUR TOUR EXPERIENCE ~ It's as if Michael Rubel, the creator and mastermind of this enchanted dominion had intended it to be--magical. Built in the castle period of wood and tin, every corner captured our interests, from antique cars to the 1890's Seth Thomas Tower Clock with a unique backstory (and only six in existence today). There were old vending machines, tools, trinkets, and machinery that time had long forgotten. Did I mention there was a drawbridge? Yes, and a dungeon too. I was just waiting for a dragon to come swoop down on us next. Walk in the footsteps of famous visitors like Alfred Hitchcock, Dwight Eisenhower, Jack Benny, and Bob Hope. It's a feast for the eyes no matter where you glance. I particularly enjoyed the bottle house that Michael built in 1968 as his "home" as a kid. That independent spirit was quite charming to see. ~ WATERCOLOR NATURESCAPE ~ We were fortunate to have our gracious host lead us on a tour and organize a special art crafting experience outdoors. It was absolutely lovely beneath the trees and between rusted vintage cars from the turn of the century. We each got a small canvas to paint our flowers in watercolor. (This particular experience takes place in the Spring and Fall, weather permitting.) We heard the squirrels rattling in the leaves and birds chirped and sang in the trees above. We discovered that peacocks apparently originated from this property, compliments of Michael Rubel. And did I mention that on the far side of the property, a custom garden was in full bloom? BOOK A TOUR Help support the Glendora Historical Society and keep this magnificently unique city-castle maintained. It's worth it.

A castle in Glendora? Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you--Rubel Castle is real, it's magnificent,…read moreand it's gloriously eccentric. Thanks to the sheer persistence (and probably delightful stubbornness) of Michael Rubel, we now have this quirky, towering State Treasure sitting right in the middle of Glendora like a fairy tale that accidentally took a detour through a hardware store. This place is beautifully done, and part of its charm is that it's a full-on hodgepodge of relics, antiques, crystal trinkets, and "wait... what is that doing here?" moments tucked into every nook and cranny. You'll marvel, you'll laugh, you'll squint in confusion--honestly, it's everything you'd want in a castle built with love, imagination, and a dash of madness. And let's talk about the makeshift cemetery. Quirky? YES. Fun? Absolutely. Slightly spooky? Only if your imagination is over-caffeinated. But it fits the vibe perfectly--like the castle whispered, "You know what I'm missing? A tiny cemetery." The tours are fantastic, the guides are passionate, and the whole experience feels like you're stepping into a living scrapbook of California history and charming chaos. Overall: Amazing, amazing place. Book your tour. They only do tours every first Sunday of the month, so set your alarms, mark your calendars, tie a string around your finger--just don't miss it. Rubel Castle is truly a California State Treasure, and an absolute must-see for anyone who appreciates creativity, history, and a little eccentric sparkle.

Interesting, fun and tasty. Nancy was great leading the tour. Looking forward to doing another one.read more

Loved the K- Town food tour with Nancy. So delicious and included tastes and flavors with which I…read morewasn't familiar. Will definitely go back to the spots we visited. Nancy imparted so much information about the dishes and Korean food traditions we were experiencing -- it was an epicurean delight!

Everything everyone says in these reviews is absolutely true!   The Rock 'n Walk Tour of Sunset…read moreStrip is unlike any tour you will ever go on.  Jonny's the real deal, and if you love Rock, he will blow your mind.  He's done it all.  He rattles off the names of legends--many of whom he knows, knew or worked with--and recites so much rock history and stories of his own experiences that you will start to feel like YOU are an insider!   And it's not just the Strip.   Jonny fist-bumps his way through security desks and into closed-door venues (he's on a first-name basis with people all along the way) as you sneak behind the scenes through hidden doors and back alleys into the secret hideouts of the famous.  The tour is comprehensive and moves at a fast, fun pace.   Jonny is a consummate professional, and he takes his work seriously.   Things move quickly, and there's plenty of walking, but it's all very doable.  (My partner and I are in our 70s, and all we needed was decent walking shoes.)   So, if you love Rock 'n Roll, this tour is a must-do worth every minute and every penny spent.  ​*   Oh! and if that's not enough--BIG BONUS--the very next morning, Jonny sent me all 40 of the amazing photos he took of us along the way--the very best pics of our trip!   ​*   Thank you, Jonny.  We hope we meet again.  You are a true gift to Sunset Strip, L.A., and to Rock 'n Roll!

Jonny D'Amico's tour is an absolute must-do for anyone even remotely interested in the Sunset Strip…read morehistory. I'm a repeat customer and never miss this tour when in LA. First off, this is real and not for weaklings. You will have to walk your ass off, and get the history of the entire neighborhood in a balls out, no holds barred way. This is not a stale corporate tour, with a guide reading a script and going through the motions followed by a tip can. Jonny is like visiting a long lost family member who will tell you all the hidden neighborhood stories, as you bump into locals and celebs alike while covering the major hotel, music venue, restaurants, etc. in the area. You will complete this tour feeling a connection to the people and history of one of the greatest neighborhoods in the global music scene. If you have found yourself watching Sunset Strip type documentaries or major films recently (e.g. The Dirt), come and experience it first hand with Jonny and separate the hype from the reality before all is lost to history. Rock on my friends .

My friend and I had a great time with Miles, the tour guide. He was extremely knowledgeable and it…read morewas a very fun time. It was nice and balmy out and my friend even had an experience! When Miles was talking about a ghost's strong smelling perfume, she immediately smelled it and then it went away. So we had a great time! Thank you so much.

To reply to your message, Candace, yes we did join your tour. Probably not the smartest idea to…read morethrough my real name out to write honest reviews, but people really do need to know. I can recall your memory by telling you that we had 6 people in our group, and 3 of them walk out half way, making me feel terrible for having them pay that much for some terrible dad jokes and a sad excuse for "factual" stories. Now I do apologize and will remove this post if I am indeed mistaken. Here's the dishonest review site that was emailed to me after the tour, and below is my email confirmation with purchase ID removed. https://pro.peek.com/reviews/sample/5907ae6893d2da304f00005b/1 Email confirmation: Thank you for making a purchase with Santa Monica Tour Company on 2017-10-18. Here is a receipt for your order. Please note that a separate confirmation email which includes details about the activity you booked will be sent separately. ORDER DETAILS: Purchase ID: xxxxxxxx Order Summary: Haunted Santa Monica Ghost Tours (6x Adults) Subtotal: $210.00 Taxes & Fees: $15.28 Discounts: $0.00 Total: $225.28 Thanks, Jeb --------------------------- This tour was run by Zack and Candace, two really friendly people. Zack is super energenic, threw dad jokes, and would be an awesome person for regular tours (not haunted tours), and Candace helped tell half the stories. Not sure how this averaged 5-stars. I would give it 0-stars if possible. Biggest disappointment and waste of money. Our group of 10 people all felt scammed. Wasn't what we expected at all. The places we went to were just too crowded to set the mood. Most of the "facts" that were described weren't delivered well to draw us into the stories. Good information on the buildings, but all the haunting stories didn't have any emotions behind it to create the atmosphere. That coupled with the noise and crowdedness of the entire tour just took everyone completely out of it. The whole tour was missing the Mystery aspect of a haunted tour. Delivery of the stories using "factual" statements such as "EMF" and "Séances" does not make it scary, mysterious, or convincing. Not even drugs or alcohol would make it close to what you would expect (Not to say there was any of that involved). TLDR; If your not doing this for your 5 year old kids, don't waste your money or time. Additionally, the tour sent me an email asking to rate my review from 1-5 stars. If you pick anything below 5-stars you get sent to a fake reviewing site that doesn't allow you to submit; Clicking 5-stars sends you to this Yelp page. That's just terrible. https://pro.peek.com/reviews/sample/5907ae6893d2da304f00005b/1

Great host, very interesting venues and stories. The perfect spot to walk around and see history…read morethat still exists.

We did the Kellog house tour and our tour guide was great. She was very knowledagable of the…read morehistory of not just the house, but the surrounding city/cities as well. The length of the tour was well worth the money, I also know that some stories are passed down through history or just lore. We enjoyed our experience and how everyone got into character/dressed as the era. My next goal is to do the Disney mansion tour. See you soon

We booked a tour with Urban Adventures which was awesome! We had a really good time with our tour…read moreguide Jennie. We are all from southern Ca but decided it would be fun to play in our own back yard and it was the best! We leaned things about LA that we did not know! We got to ride the metro the bus and we were gonna ride a bike but we just ran out of time because we took so many pictures and stayed at the farmers market longer than we should have but that was ok because we were really enjoying ourselves. We also went to the LaBrea Tar Pits which was nice because I had never been there! All in All A very good time was held by everyone. We will definitely be signing up for more tours and hopefully Jennie will be out tour guide.

Born and raised in LA I thought I have seen it all. My family and I decided to do this little…read moreadventure to see our city from a different perspective. Well I'm so glad we did. So many things I have never noticed before. Things that I passed by hundreds of times and never paid attention to. Jenny was our tour guide and I could have not asked for a Better guide. I have gone on these types of tours in different cities and always felt very rushed. Jenny was awesome about time she didn't push us to make every location at a specific time. We did the entire tour except for the bike portion and our group was okay with not going that. So we ended up grabbing some dinner and drinks! I will be booking the different tours in the future!

Great tour! Dave made the experience memorable! Highly recommend the tour and the guide.read more

Arrived Early, Treated Rudely, Safety Issues, 30+ Minutes Late…read more We prepaid for the 11:00 AM open-air tour 4 days in advance and arrived at 10:40 AM with printed confirmation stating the bus leaves on time and all late arrivals are bumped to the next tour. Instead, we were repeatedly told to "come back closer to 11" and then that there was a "bus issue" and come back at 11:15 am. We wandered around in the cold. We checked in 3-4 times because we had lunch plans after the 2-hour tour. Staff claimed another group was late (which turned out NOT to be true). Meanwhile, employees were trying to recruit more passengers. Only after we said we were canceling 30 minutes late, did they send us to board a bus. The driver was nice, but one seat behind him had no working seat belt. Three blocks after leaving, the bus was called back to pick up a group of 8 even though there were only 7 seat belts available. We were pressured to give up our safe seats and wait for another bus. We refused to exit. We refused to sit without a seat belt. The older male staff member was aggressive and extremely rude. The tour left over 30 minutes late. Disorganized, misleading, RUDE older man and unsafe. Horrible experience for the start of our vacation. Would NOT recommend.