|
We pride ourselves in offering the highest quality service and value,
which explains our very high customers return rate. See what
our customers are saying about us. If
you would like to send us your comments, please email us. We would
love to hear from you and see how we can improve our products.
|
"Hello!
The trip to Italy was
absolutely wonderful. Our flight from the USA arrived on
time and the driver was waiting for us at the airport with
our names on a sign. He immediately took us to his car and
drove us straight to the Amalfi Hotel in Rome. The
transportation that you booked for the entire trip was
absolutely great. We had the same driver from the airport
to the hotel on the first day and again on the last day he
picked us up from the hotel. We also had the same driver
from Sorrento to Amalfi and then again from Amalfi to
Pompeii. The drivers from that company are extremely
efficient, professional and take their jobs very seriously.
They are consistently on time or even early. In Italy,
sometimes it is difficult to gage the traffic and
the drivers took this into account. They all get kudos.
The Amalfi Hotel was great and approximately four/five
walking blocks from the Coliseum/Forum. Great location and
ok rooms and close to restaurants. The tour of Naples was
great as they let us out along the water to take pictures
for a few minutes. Then on to Pompeii and this tour was
also very good. The tour guide was very good, informative
and quite engaging. This was my third trip there and it was
the most inclusive. After Pompeii, we boarded a small bus
and were driven to Sorrento and our hotel. We stayed at the
Bristol for two nights...it was wonderful!!! We were given
a large room overlooking the water with huge windows that
open. The hotel is large, extremely well maintained and
gorgeous. The food was absolutely wonderful and we were
given a choice of meals each night. Breakfast was great and
included a choice of fresh fruits, and other prepared
breakfast foods. The service was excellent and we were
really made to feel like we were royalty. From Sorrento, we
went to Capri, Anacapri and the Blue Grotto. We would have
loved to spend more time in Sorrento and on the island
because all were absolutely beautiful and we would have
loved to do some shopping in Sorrento. Amalfi was great and
the hotel was very good. We spent most of our time in
Amalfi shopping because it rained every day except for the
last morning in Amalfi. Finally, we were able to take some
pictures. The other side trips to the surrounding areas
were tabled because they were mostly outdoor sites and it
was recommended that we not go if still raining. If given
the choice, we would have chosen to spend another day in
Sorrento instead of Amalfi. The trip was great and we
thoroughly enjoyed it.
As a side note, we were told that bottled water could cost
as much as six Euro for small bottles. We always managed to
find grocery stores and purchased large bottles for 1.80
euro and hauled it around in my back pack. Things are
expensive there but you can conserve and still enjoy the
great sights, the wonderful aromas and the fantastic food.
Thanks for all your work and the arrangements. Marcia L.
|
|
Amalfi Coast, Emerald tour and Post tours to Italy -
March 08 - Marcia L.
|
"We
had a great time and all the arrangements you made for us were
perfect.
The car transfers/drivers were wonderful, especially Gilio, he
picked us up
from the Naples train station and from Positano, very very nice
man. We loved Positano, it was quiet but quite perfect for
us especially after spending some busy days in Rome sightseeing.
All in all it was a wonderful trip, we thank you very much for
all your help
and your advice. We left Italy very pleased. Now we just have to
do
something about the American dollar because its killing us.
I hope you have a wonderful time in Italy and I hope to keep in
touch with
you.
Many thanks again and kind regards,
Georgia " |
|
Naples & Positano Nov 07- Georgia - Citigroup
Investor Relations, NY
|
"It
has been hard to catch up after being away 2 weeks!! The trip
was great and we loved all the cities. The three hotels were
very
nice and we would go back to them. We did have terraces at all
three
and the view from Due Torri was fantastic! We had great meals in
all
cities an d the only overcooked fish was one evening at Due
Torri.
The list of fabulous restaurants is too long but ;we did get the
chance to eat at three of the best Restaurants in Italy( San
Pietros
in Positano, Rossellinis in Ravello, and Don Alphonso 1890 Due
Golfi in Santa Agata. Expensive but worth it!!. Thanks for your
help with the trip and enjoy Italy even if it is not 75 degrees
and sunny!!! Mille gratzie, CIAO Barry
" |
|
Naples, Positano, Ravello, Nov 07- Barry D.
|
|
"
THANK YOU!!! Everything you arranged went perfectly!
- The three transfers were on time, great drivers and in
great vehicles.
- Your recommendation to limit Naples to two nights was spot
on.
- The Royal Continental in Naples was the right choice -
right on the water overlooking the Castel D'Ova and in the
nicest part of the city (Santa Lucia waterfront).
- The tour to Pompeii was okay. While the half day tour was
a bit of a rush, we would have been really worn out if we
stayed for a whole day (it was 80+ degrees). On the way
there, we noticed the driver was totally focused on the
attractive, female tour guide. We got there safely but he
hit a motor scooter in Naples on the way back to the
hotel!! The motor scooter driver went flying and there was
some time spent sorting out the accident. Recommendation
- remind people that a Pompeii tour is a crowded, fast
paced, bustling experience that requires lots of walking on
uneven ancient rock roadway.
- Transfer to Sorrento was so good, we hired that service
and that particular driver on the spot to take us down the
Amalfi Coast for a day later in the week. Great choice! I
don't know how anyone could rent a car and drive the coast
road themselves. It was 40 euro per hour (320 for the day).
This also allowed us to do whatever we wanted and get
dropped off and picked up on our own schedule as the day
progressed. It may be a more expensive approach but the
experience was A-1. We were able to visit Positano, Ravello
and Amalfi with a stop at a grotto near a ceramics store.
The grotto boat ride was very short but a lot of laughs.
Highly recommend the Garden Ristorante in Ravello just
before the tunnel into the village. That meal was, without
question, the best of the trip.
- Hotel Imperial Tramontano was fantastic! Elegant, old
world hotel built right into the cliff in the perfect
location! It had it's own "beach" (man made piers with
lounge chairs) and a beautiful pool with flowered gardens.
The views of the Gulf of Naples and Vesuvio were
spectacular. One minute walk to the central shopping area.
Couldn't recommend this hotel more highly for a stay in
Sorrento.
- Took a day trip to Capri. Highly recommend renting a
small boat with "captain", which we did, to take a private
tour around the island. This two hour boat ride was the
highlight of our trip, truly spectacular while incredibly
relaxing and peaceful. The small boat was 25 euro per
person but the experience was, I'm sure, much different than
doing it with 75 people on a larger boat. Recommendation -
make sure people know that Capri is mountainous terrain and
probably warrants an advance plan for the day. It requires
hiking!
- FYI regarding the air travel that I (not you) took care of
- the Air France plane transfer at CDG in Paris was way too
tight at one hour. We and many others had to make a long,
mad dash to make it and it was wasn't fun. Also, good thing
we had plenty of time to check-in at Naples Airport. It was
a zoo.
Thanks again. Our trip was magical!
Peter M.
" |
|
Amalfi Coast -Naples - Pompeii -Sorrento Sep 07 -
Peter M.
|
|
"First, let me thank you for all your
efforts. The trip
was wonderful and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you and your
agency to my friends and family.
Here is my trip in a (large) nutshell:
We arrived on Saturday (March 31) on time
in Rome (self-booked) from Atlanta. Your transport met us with a sign,
and the ride to the hotel was uneventful.
The Hilton Cavalieri has to be experienced
by everyone in life! Beautiful view of the city (and the dome of
St Peter’s) and luxurious rooms.
My sister mentioned to the concierge that she needed a
nice restaurant for a birthday dinner for me (April 2) and the
hotel sent up a bottle of champagne and petit fours.
We used a hotel shuttle to get to the Via
Veneto and had our first dinner in a very nice restaurant just
off the main street.
The tour company had a driver waiting for
us on Sunday morning and we went on tours 1&2, including by
lunch.
Unfortunately, I bit into and swallowed something that didn’t
taste quite right and got ill about two hours later, halfway
through the second tour.
We returned to our hotel about half way through that
tour. The women-folk
(my wife and sister) ate alone that night, but I was much better
the next day.
Tour 3 (Vatican
museums/Sistine Chapel) started with a little excitement when
the driver arrived a full hour earlier than scheduled.
Luckily we are all used to getting up early, but our
morning showers consisted of spray deodorant.
We scrambled and made the
tour. It was Palm
Sunday and we joined 50,000 of our closest friends on the square
with the Pope. (Nowhere near as crowded as the pictures I saw
for Easter!) I
personally don’t mind ending the tour with a stop at the gift
shops and my women-folk enjoyed them (and one of the Murano
glass factories in
Venice).
Along the way I changed the train tickets
to an earlier time so we could make the Pisa
tour in Florence.
The hotel in
Florence
was within an easy walk of the train station as was the tour(s)
departure point. We
strolled around Pisa at a leisurely pace
after the guided portion.
Florence
tours were also uneventful, although we did have one day of
cold/blustery rain showers (every other day was sunny and
pleasant). Warmest day was in Venice, but still not
uncomfortable.
Hotel Minerva was very nice (but could not
compare with the Hilton).
Service/hotel personnel throughout the tour were
excellent and went along with my poor Italian until they jumped
in to straighten things out in English.
A funny thing about both the train rides
was that both were actually late (no more than 15 minutes, but
an eternity if you don’t know what to expect) and the departure
track was not announced until relatively late.
There was a bit of last minute scrambling to get down the
platform. In the
train to Venice,
we were in the last car in a long train and thought we were
hiking all the way.
Hiking, by the way, was a little tough on my wife who will be
having hip replacement surgery next month.
She stuck with us all the way, but we did end up at the
tail end of most tour groups.
The Carlton
and Grand Canal Hotel in
Venice
was also nice, although the rooms/bathrooms were a little small.
It was also an easy walk (across a bridge) from the train
station. I almost
screwed up our major tour when it turns out that the water taxi
has about a zillion stops before we got to St Mark’s Square.
In the chaos of tour groups, we actually managed to
stumble into the correct one (already in progress by 15 minutes)
and things went smoothly from there.
The last bit of excitement was that the
water taxi pickup confirmation FAX from the company had an
incorrect departure time (2050).
The next FAX went back to the correct time, but, as we
knew, didn’t give us enough time for the mandatory 2 hour
check-in/security screen.
We finally got an earlier pickup (same company) arranged
with the help of a concierge and things went smoothly again.
We actually had lots more time to kill than we expected
because the Delta flight was delayed for an hour on the ground
due to air traffic congestion (we still arrived in DC at about
the scheduled time).
There was a lot of construction throughout
the places we visited and some of the views were obscured (like
the entire front of Santa Maria Novella).
It gives us an excuse to get back.
Crowds were large, but not impossible. We
knew this up front but were stuck because of my wife’s school
vacation schedule.
The idea was to give my two rookie travelers an overview of
Italy, and I think we
succeeded. We were
fascinated by the number of tiny cars (especially the Smart Car)
and were equally amused with no cars in
Venice.
I think there is a correlation between the
“Euro” and “agua”, because money seemed to flow like water.
Again, we knew what to expect and didn’t mind spending
(especially the women), with very little scrimping along the
way, especially for meals and tips.
So that is my report.
We had a great time and now we have to get back to work
and save for the next one!
Again, thank you for your help.
Please share this with your boss, because you have worked
hard for us and we appreciate it.
Sincerely,
John F.
|
|
Venice April 07 - John F. Fairfax
|
"This is my new e-mail address - my husband got tired of reading
all my Italy stuff!!!
Anyway got back from Italy on Monday night and things are now
back to normal. I am just writing to say that we had a
wonderful time, everything worked well. The weather was great
(it rained only twice).
The Emerald Tour was great - Hotel Vesuvio is just beautiful.
We stayed at a different hotel than the one listed for Amalfi,(ande
I can't remember the name of it at the moment) but I think the
one we stayed in was probably nicer 'cause it wasn't on the main
road. It was up the hill and there was shuttle service down to
the town of Amalfi quite regularly. For those who didn't want
to ride the shuttle bus, it was 1097 steps down to the town (we
walked down twice but not up!!!)
The hotel in Venice was really nice, the one in Florence the Rex
not quite so nice. I think the Rex was just older and hadn't
been updated in quite a while. The room I was in was one of
those that the shower was literally the whole bathroom and you'd
better remember to take the toilet paper out of the bathroom
before showering!! La Spezia hotel was great and we just walked
up the hill a few minutes to the train station and got our
"Cinque Terre cards" which were good for using the trains from
La Spezia to the 5 towns or the paths for walking and cost 5.40
euros for a day. Siena was a really nice hotel but there was
only one restaurant (with very good pizza) within walking
distance and we didn't really want to have to drive anywhere.
The Zone Hotel on the outskirts of Rome was also very nice but
again not a lot of restaurants, but the one we found was good.
We got a Fiat Ducato van as the rental - good thing 'cause by
that time there was a lot of luggage. I didn't know people
could shop so much!! I managed to get us lost in every city,
but there were a lot of nice people who told us how to get where
we were going. Some even jumped in their cars and said "follow
me". But I also managed to get us to the beach outside Rome
without getting lost.
I had hoped to have some pictures to send you, but Bonnie the
official photographer, hasn't sent them to me yet. I will
forward them as soon as I get them.
Anyway, thanks for all your help in organizing this.
Kathy" |
|
Emerald Tour, October 06 - Kathy F.
|
|
"We're back and what an amazing trip - we had a fabulous
time. Wanted to thank you for all your efforts. Also, just
wanted to give you our feedback positive and negative on our
experiences.
Itinerary:
1. Transfer airport/hotel Rome
- Perfect person was actually waiting with a sign - did not
have to look for counter. All worked out well.
2. Rome - Delle Nazioni Hotel
- The hotel was good (great location 1/2 a block from Trevi
Fountain). But they are going through major renovations and
some days elevator would work other times not? Also, staff
was ok - not the friendliest. I wouldn't say that Delle
Nazioni Hotel was a four-star if the Grand Minerva Hotel is
rated as a four-star too?
3. Vatican museums tour - Perfect great
tour. The guide actually got us into the Basicilla as well
(wasn't part of the tour). Only negative - your information
you provided said we would be picked up at our hotel at
7:45am - they showed up at 7:00am (thank god we were ready -
didn't get breakfast though). They pick you up (in a
minivan) and then bring you to the main bus stop for
departure at 8:00am. This information needs to be provided
to your clients.
4. Florence - Grand Minerva Hotel - Great
hotel - very nice. We understood the comments you see
online about this hotel based on the square (shambles) and
the type of people that hang out in the square at night -
could be intimidating to some. Would be a great
recommendation if the square would get cleaned up - nice
area otherwise. Close to train station.
5. Day tour to Siena and San Gig. -
Tour was ok but we
actually liked the town of Lucca better (we did this on our
own the day before).
6. Gondola Serenade -
Very nice - but a large amount of people were there at the
same time with vouchers - if we were not as early as we were
- we would have gotten turned away (as others did).
8. Transfer hotel/airport Venice -
Since the hotel in Venice had no idea what we were talking
about - they said no one ever comes to the hotel to pick you
up? I had to call the Rome office to find out the name of
the company in Venice who would be picking us up (not
Applianline as you mentioned). Then had to call that
company two times until they faxed us a confirmation - but
didn't get this until late Friday night - when we were
getting picked-up at 5:25am the next day. The day of
pick-up though, all went extremely well. Very glad we paid
the money for this because of the early time. The complaint
would be that no one wants to explain the process - they
just expect you to know it.
Overall, as I mentioned, a great trip and experience of a
lifetime.
Thanks again,
Monica M.
" |
|
Sep 06 - Monica M., Senior Manager Marketing
Communications - Piscataway NJ.
|
"I
just want to tell you that your web site is WONDERFUL! I'm
planning for next year and I look forward to being a customer.
Anyone who puts this much thought and care into the creation of
their web site has to have superior products.
So many web sites just throw things on the web and expect the
"customer" to search through everything to find what will work
for their vacation. You have made it not only easy but
enjoyable!
Applause, applause, applause!" |
|
France Experience Tour
- Ann
|
|
"Thanks for all your hard work (and quick work!) in making a
great trip possible for myself and my wife, Toni. We had a
spectacular time.
As we expected, the room at the Due Torre was grim to say
the least. But I pled my case with the Desk Manager,
Vincenzo (a very sweet and competent fellow). He said that
the hotel was full but he asked for a day to see what he
could do. The following day, he offered me the best suite in
the hotel for about 300 Euros more for the week. Turns out
that the owner was planning on staying at the hotel for the
week. When she heard of our situation from Vincenzo, she
gave up the "honeymoon suite" as they call it, for us. It
was wonderful. Three rooms, 20 foot balcony, lots of
storage, located at the end of the hall and quiet but on the
same floor as the lounge. Perfect!
Minori is a quiet, charming town and a great home base,
especially if you have a car. The town's people and the shop
owners are lovely and there are very friendly. There are
also small restaurants with great food, very nice shops and
for the ladies, Minori is home to one of the two locations
of Sandali Tipiki. Sandali Tipiki is a shop where they will
design and make shoes while you wait. The owner, Alfonso is
a gifted cobbler and great guy. His brother runs the other
shop in Positano. My wife and Alfonso are now very close.
Minori is 20 - 30 minutes by car to Amalfi to the north and
the same to Vietre Sul Mare to the south. Small boats leave
Minor every morning to connect with boats to Capri,
Sorrento, Salerno, Naples. Minori also has the longest and I
think, the best beach on the Amalfi coast. I know that
Minori is not as desirable as Positano, Ravello, Priano and
other towns but it was for us, the perfect spot.
I highly recommend that
you send folks to a restaurant in Minori, Capo d'Orso. It's
a ten minute drive from downtown, south along the coast.
Capo d'Orso has perhaps the best views on the coast and the
chef is committed to high art in food preparation and in
paying creative tribute to the local, fresh foods. Each
course, each dish is truly a work of art. The service is
formal and yet friendly in a way that we never see in the
U.S. It's expensive and worth every Euro.
The Hotel Club Due
Torre is definitely 4 star. We loved the place, the people
the service, the views(!), the location. It's just up a
small hill from the downtown, maybe 100 meters walk. Some
folks would be disappointed that there is no pool but it's a
5 minute walk to best beach around. I do not think that the
other hotels in Minori are ones that I would recommend. Kind
of blah.
Cathy, please don't hesitate to reprint this and to forward
it to the nice folks at Due Torre. You may also call for
more details.
Thanks,
Philip
|
|
Sep 06- Philip B. CPC Vice President, Partner Market
Research Practice - Stamford, CT
|
|
"Thank you for your rapid and exemplary resolution to my
issue... When I made my first purchase with you, I was leery of
the unknown when dealing with a web based company. You have
proved that reliability and customer service are still available
without the face-to-face interaction that many people rely on.
Now I know why you are on top of all search engines. I
will be back to make additional purchases and I will refer you
to all of my friends. Thanks again" |
|
- Charles, TX
|
|
"I
would like to tell you I really like your web site. It is user
friendly. And the very first time to your site I bought some
excursions. Thank you for putting it together." |
|
- Gene
|
|
"It doesn’t happen often but you folks exceed my expectations
and you deserve to know it! The quality of the tours in France
were great, and I can't wait for my next trip. |
|
-M.K., Iowa |
|
