Kaletour Tourism/ Day Tours
Kaletour Tourism/ Day Tours
4.5
عرض كامل
Kaletour Tourism/ Day Tours
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عرض الخيارات4.5
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carol r
virginia68 مساهمة
بمفردك • يونيو 2024
Review of kale tours Mesopotamian Happiness
I had the most wonderful solo trip to Southeastern Turkiye organized by Chevy of Kale Tours. Chevy and I worked together to plan my itinerary of several cities in southeast Turkey. Chevy organized my domestic Turkiye airline transportation, my hotels, and most importantly my wonderful driver/guides. Pickups at airports and hotels were perfect. During my trip, Chevy kept in touch with me continually.
Mr. Mehmet Cihat Yuzgul was my guide for one day to the Zeugma Mosaic Museum. He was extremely courteous and knowledgeable about the mosaics, making the day ever so interesting and pleasant.
For the next few days, Mr. Abdulbaki Karakecili was my driver and guide. Mr. Abdulbaki Karakecili was beyond excellent. He was a careful driver, taking me to different places including Gaziantep, Mardin, Midyat, Sanliurfa, and Diyarbakir, all with wonderful UNESCO sites, Islamic Learning Centers, icons of Mesopotamia, museums, beautiful mosques, Christian monasteries, archaeology wonders, and bazaars in ancient cities. His knowledge of the history of Turkiye is unsurpassed. His experience in touring was extremely helpful, as he knew the best restaurants, the best views, the best shops for what I wanted, where to park to minimize walking, etc. When at the sites, he explained the history and meaning of each site we visited.
I have mobility issues and could not have asked for a kinder, more patient, more interesting and helpful guide to walk with me along all the wonderful sites. My thanks to Mr. Abdulbaki Karakceili, Mr. Mehmet Cihat Yuzgul, and Chevy Noratli of Kale Tours.
I had the most wonderful solo trip to Southeastern Turkiye organized by Chevy of Kale Tours. Chevy and I worked together to plan my itinerary of several cities in southeast Turkey. Chevy organized my domestic Turkiye airline transportation, my hotels, and most importantly my wonderful driver/guides. Pickups at airports and hotels were perfect. During my trip, Chevy kept in touch with me continually.
Mr. Mehmet Cihat Yuzgul was my guide for one day to the Zeugma Mosaic Museum. He was extremely courteous and knowledgeable about the mosaics, making the day ever so interesting and pleasant.
For the next few days, Mr. Abdulbaki Karakecili was my driver and guide. Mr. Abdulbaki Karakecili was beyond excellent. He was a careful driver, taking me to different places including Gaziantep, Mardin, Midyat, Sanliurfa, and Diyarbakir, all with wonderful UNESCO sites, Islamic Learning Centers, icons of Mesopotamia, museums, beautiful mosques, Christian monasteries, archaeology wonders, and bazaars in ancient cities. His knowledge of the history of Turkiye is unsurpassed. His experience in touring was extremely helpful, as he knew the best restaurants, the best views, the best shops for what I wanted, where to park to minimize walking, etc. When at the sites, he explained the history and meaning of each site we visited.
I have mobility issues and could not have asked for a kinder, more patient, more interesting and helpful guide to walk with me along all the wonderful sites. My thanks to Mr. Abdulbaki Karakceili, Mr. Mehmet Cihat Yuzgul, and Chevy Noratli of Kale Tours.
كُتب بتاريخ 10 يونيو 2024
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CSummer
Canada342 مساهمة
بمفردك • مارس 2024
Visiting Turkey was an amazing experience. I approached Chevy via email after reading client comments. As a solo, female traveler I wanted the reassurance having everything organized and handled.
Chevy worked with me to plan an incredibly complex itinerary which involved domestic flights, land transfers,all hotels, and guides for each location, from private guides to small group tours.
For the most part, the subcontractors were excellent. One area, which doesn't see many tourists, had a few hiccups but these were resolved speedily by Yalčin who was my local contact and always available. Chevy also provided his WhatsApp number in case of issues.
I can't compliment these gentlemen enough on all their hard work in creating an excellent experience.
Thanks Chevy! I want to come back with my partner in a few years and see more!
Chevy worked with me to plan an incredibly complex itinerary which involved domestic flights, land transfers,all hotels, and guides for each location, from private guides to small group tours.
For the most part, the subcontractors were excellent. One area, which doesn't see many tourists, had a few hiccups but these were resolved speedily by Yalčin who was my local contact and always available. Chevy also provided his WhatsApp number in case of issues.
I can't compliment these gentlemen enough on all their hard work in creating an excellent experience.
Thanks Chevy! I want to come back with my partner in a few years and see more!
كُتب بتاريخ 12 مارس 2024
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AJAY YADAV
عمان14 مساهمة
زوجان • مارس 2023
We completed our 16 days tour of Turkey and Greece which we booked with Chevy . From the very first interaction he was very supportive, helpful and very patient in organizing the trip.
My ratings for trip
Organization of trip- 5/5
Vehicles - 5/5
Punctuality of drivers in pickup and drops - 5/5
Guides - 4/5
Problem resolving by Chevy- 5/5
We had little issue in recital hotel , Istanbul. Chevy not only resolved it on priority, he compensated by upgrading one of our hotel from 4 star to 5 star
Honestly of Chevy- 5/5..Greece recently started accommodation tax. When I informed Chevy, he immediately agreed to refund that money which I am sure that any other person would have tried to pass on us by hook and crook.
Hotels - 4/5
I would like to rate the hotels in which I stayed based on facilities in hotel and in room, interiors, room size etc.
Recital hotel, Istanbul- 3.5/5..small rooms, no kitchen ( only breakfast), no swimming pool, a small so called Gym, no room service, too expensive for facilities
MDC cave suites, Cappadocia- 5/5, excellent experience
Charisma deluxe, Kusadasi...5/5, in fact it deserves 6/5, not only deluxe hotel by name a real deluxe hotel where you can pamper yourself with Olympic size internal pool, spa, levish buffet etc.
Royal Olympic, Athens- 4/5,officially it's 5 star however even giving 4 stars is unjustified due to small size room/ washroom, no drinking water and tea maker in room, pathetic services in washrooms( hardly any pressure of water, mixer of hot and cold not working in both room, we stayed twice)
Olympian Asty, olympia- 5/5, officially it's 4 star but deserves 5 stars
Apollonia ( Delphi)- 2/5 ( low budget hotel)..crumpled room, pigeon hole toilet, basic interiors, no drinking water, no buffet for dinner, pathetic bed, , forced to take dinner between 7.30- 8.0 as they didn't have staff, local geyser with limited use of hot water, limited breakfast, who keep plastic apples in breakfast!!)
Divani collection hotels, meteora- 5/5..officially it's 4 star but really deserves more than 5 star..we had best food in Greece at this hotel
Mykonos Adonis, Mykonos - 5/5, again officially it's 4 star but deserves 5 stars, the only drawback is that all balconies are not sea facing
Atlantis, Santorini..4/5..the real drawback is a real pigeon hole washroom
So, in conclusion, our overall experience was 4.5/5. 4.5 because of 1-2 bad experience at 1 or 2 hotels and for that honestly I will not blame Chevy. He booked a good hotel ( Amalia) at Delphi however somehow the local tour operator ( Key tours) somehow manipulated and changed the hotel.
After completing the trip I can say that Chevy was very honest at all bookings, he tried his best to provide the best services..so value wise our trip was 5/5...I definitely will book trip through Chevy in future at the sectors in which his company is dealing and I will recommend him to others also
My ratings for trip
Organization of trip- 5/5
Vehicles - 5/5
Punctuality of drivers in pickup and drops - 5/5
Guides - 4/5
Problem resolving by Chevy- 5/5
We had little issue in recital hotel , Istanbul. Chevy not only resolved it on priority, he compensated by upgrading one of our hotel from 4 star to 5 star
Honestly of Chevy- 5/5..Greece recently started accommodation tax. When I informed Chevy, he immediately agreed to refund that money which I am sure that any other person would have tried to pass on us by hook and crook.
Hotels - 4/5
I would like to rate the hotels in which I stayed based on facilities in hotel and in room, interiors, room size etc.
Recital hotel, Istanbul- 3.5/5..small rooms, no kitchen ( only breakfast), no swimming pool, a small so called Gym, no room service, too expensive for facilities
MDC cave suites, Cappadocia- 5/5, excellent experience
Charisma deluxe, Kusadasi...5/5, in fact it deserves 6/5, not only deluxe hotel by name a real deluxe hotel where you can pamper yourself with Olympic size internal pool, spa, levish buffet etc.
Royal Olympic, Athens- 4/5,officially it's 5 star however even giving 4 stars is unjustified due to small size room/ washroom, no drinking water and tea maker in room, pathetic services in washrooms( hardly any pressure of water, mixer of hot and cold not working in both room, we stayed twice)
Olympian Asty, olympia- 5/5, officially it's 4 star but deserves 5 stars
Apollonia ( Delphi)- 2/5 ( low budget hotel)..crumpled room, pigeon hole toilet, basic interiors, no drinking water, no buffet for dinner, pathetic bed, , forced to take dinner between 7.30- 8.0 as they didn't have staff, local geyser with limited use of hot water, limited breakfast, who keep plastic apples in breakfast!!)
Divani collection hotels, meteora- 5/5..officially it's 4 star but really deserves more than 5 star..we had best food in Greece at this hotel
Mykonos Adonis, Mykonos - 5/5, again officially it's 4 star but deserves 5 stars, the only drawback is that all balconies are not sea facing
Atlantis, Santorini..4/5..the real drawback is a real pigeon hole washroom
So, in conclusion, our overall experience was 4.5/5. 4.5 because of 1-2 bad experience at 1 or 2 hotels and for that honestly I will not blame Chevy. He booked a good hotel ( Amalia) at Delphi however somehow the local tour operator ( Key tours) somehow manipulated and changed the hotel.
After completing the trip I can say that Chevy was very honest at all bookings, he tried his best to provide the best services..so value wise our trip was 5/5...I definitely will book trip through Chevy in future at the sectors in which his company is dealing and I will recommend him to others also
كُتب بتاريخ 17 أبريل 2023
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Jeff Daoud
شيكاغو, إلينوي6 مساهمات
نوفمبر 2018
I visited Turkey last October with my wife; we had Kaletour Tourism for the entire trip. Our guide was Yalcin Dogru, he was the best and kindest guide we ever had. I am thinking of going to Istanbul again because we had so much fun. I recommend them to any one trying to visit Turkey.
كُتب بتاريخ 3 أكتوبر 2019
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I thank you for your kind review.
It was a pleasure to host you in Turkey
While we always try to do our best to make our client's holiday trips be perfect.
Happy travels & keep in touch
Encounter Tours Travel Agency
كُتب بتاريخ 8 أكتوبر 2019
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Sasa
الصين33 مساهمة
الأصدقاء • يناير 2019
We were 20 people group to Turkey tour for several cities, organized by Yalcin (Rocky) , also he guided our Istanbul tour by personally, he was very helpful and informative to us. Also suggested us delicious dinner restaurant at Taksim, unforgattable foods was there. We loved Turkey and in Capadochia hot air balloon was fantastic also cave hotel is very interesting, highly reccomend it. Other favourite place Pamukale is good too.
كُتب بتاريخ 26 يناير 2019
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I thank you for your kind review.
It was a pleasure to host you in Turkey
While we always try to do our best to make our client's holiday trips be perfect.
Happy travels & keep in touch
Kind regards
Chevy & Rocky
Encounter Tours Travel Agency
كُتب بتاريخ 31 يناير 2019
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Footprints116500
مساهمة
بمفردك • أكتوبر 2018
I want to express my thanks and provide my unqualified endorsement to Encounter Tours and Chevy Noratli. I recently used them plan and execute a 22-day trip to Turkey, Greece and Egypt. Encounter \ Chevy handled all of the logistics (transportation, lodging, local guides, etc.) flawlessly. Changes to the itinerary were either upgrades (e.g., hotels) or accommodating my requests. Chevy took personal responsibility for ensuring that everything was running smoothly. He stayed in touch with me through text on virtually a daily basis. Having Encounter handle all the logistics allowed me to focus on the experience without worrying about how to get to the next destination or what to do. I strongly encourage anyone planning a trip to these three countries or any listed on Encounter’s website to consider using Chevy. Thank you, Chevy, for all you did for me on my trip.
كُتب بتاريخ 7 ديسمبر 2018
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Thanks a million you for your kind review.
It was a pleasure to host you in Turkey, Greece, and Egypt
While we always try to do our best to make our client's holiday trips be perfect.
Happy travels & keep in touch
Kind regards
Chevy S. Noratli
كُتب بتاريخ 31 يناير 2019
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Magneto
تايلاند9 مساهمات
العائلة • سبتمبر 2018
Just got back from Turkey (along with short visit to Crete and Santorini) with my sister September 2018. We had a WOW holiday and experience thru the help of Chevy and Rocky. Thanks most especially to Chevy for all the input, efforts and organization that you put into it!! This tour operator is reliable, honest, and trustworthy. We love Turkey and Crete! What a beautiful country/place! The local people are also friendly and approachable.
كُتب بتاريخ 15 أكتوبر 2018
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Jan D
Leopoldsburg, بلجيكا62 مساهمة
زوجان • أغسطس 2018
We had a 12-day customised trip in Turkey with this company. There is realy nothing negative to mention. The few problems we encountered had nothing to do with them, as a delayed flight or a driver stuck in a traffic jam, yet they did everything possible to help us. Communication via WhatsApp, which is a good idea for not making extra costs.
Private guide in Istanbul, private airport transfers and driver from Pamukkale to Cappadocia, good and excellent hotels in Istanbul, Pamukkale and Ürgüp. Well-chosen restaurants. Joining realy small groups in Pamukkale and Cappadocia ; no big busses....
Realy very well organised. Thank you, all the people from Kaletour
Private guide in Istanbul, private airport transfers and driver from Pamukkale to Cappadocia, good and excellent hotels in Istanbul, Pamukkale and Ürgüp. Well-chosen restaurants. Joining realy small groups in Pamukkale and Cappadocia ; no big busses....
Realy very well organised. Thank you, all the people from Kaletour
كُتب بتاريخ 12 أغسطس 2018
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Dear Jan
Thank you for your such a nice comments, it was a great pleasure to host you.
Keep in touch
Chevy S. Noratli
كُتب بتاريخ 22 أغسطس 2018
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Noof A
بغداد, العراقمساهمة
الأصدقاء • أكتوبر 2017
Just got back from my 10 days around Turkey Trip, and honestly I was upset from Chevy’ behavior and disorganization of our trip, he kept downgrading the hotel after we arrive to each destination even though that we already paid for certain type of hotels then when we reach we discover that he downgraded our hotels, he tried to manipulate us by agreeing on certain activities then trying to recharge us on them...bad in communication after he received the money and then made a huge mistakes with our return flight tickets, as well as that he kept lying to us about sending drivers and other things... for me I will never travel with them again and I recommend others not to do the same
كُتب بتاريخ 21 أكتوبر 2017
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Dear Noura Bou Azar
While we always try to do our best to make every holiday trip
perfect, we ourselves are not perfect. As a result, things happen and
mistakes or miscommunications happen. What we appreciate is when
clients tell the good and the bad. We appreciate the good because we
learn and know what we are doing right.
We appreciate the bad because then we learn and know what to improve on.
We do want to respond to some allegations made with this particular trip:
We didn’t downgrade any of the hotels. Because it was the end of the season, and this trip was booked last minute, some of the hotels originally organized and shown had closed down for the season by the time the clients arrived. Therefore, we used similar category 3-star hotels where that was the case. In Antalya, we even provide a
complimentary upgrade to your hotel, at our expense.
This client is correct in that there were mistakes made with the flights.
Not to make excuses on our end, but it actually was the flight company that mistakenly
made the tickets to the wrong destination. We corrected this and did
not charge the clients, it came out of our expense.
We did not lie, and we did not try to recharge for something we had
already charged for.
That being said, we did, and we do again, apologize for anything that was or was
not our fault.
كُتب بتاريخ 30 نوفمبر 2017
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jpaesq2017
لوس أنجلوس, كاليفورنيا7 مساهمات
زوجان • أبريل 2017
I rate our 26-day Encounter Tours custom vacation in Greece (April – May 2017) as an “A-“. I rate Mr. Chevy Noratli’s planning, preparation, assistance, communication, and responsiveness as a “B.”
In general, the 26-day custom tour went well. Chevy made all of the hotel arrangements (reservation / payment at 3-star and 4-star grades), transfers, tour guides, island ferries, and local airplanes based on what we wanted to see and do based on a combined payment of U.S. $9,000. The hotels were generally of decent quality or better, and all were well located. Breakfast varied from lavish offerings to simple but hearty options. Our various tour guides were good or better, and transfer assistance to and from hotels/ports/airports went smoothly and promptly. Most days only breakfast was provided via hotels, while we were on our own for lunch, dinner, and snacks.
We did have a number of hiccoughs during the trip that required Chevy’s Noratli’s immediate intervention:
Contact Information:
Chevy provided 2 contact numbers for us in case of issues: his U.S. cell and a local Greek phone number. We called Chevy a number of times for issues. The Greek phone number he provided did not work at all. The U.S. cell did work.
Responsiveness:
Chevy did not pick up his cell phone. I called him and left a voicemail message each time and followed-up with e-mails. He would return my call within minutes or hours. Sometimes I had to call a second or third time to get a hold of him.
Stanley Hotel (Athens):
In Athens, Chevy booked us into the Stanley Hotel for the first 3 days and for the last day of our vacation. Ours was a 6th floor exterior room with a balcony overlooking a busy public square below and a side view of the Parthenon. The hotel did not provide air conditioning although there was a wall unit and thermostat in the room. The unit only provided very poor ventilation. We complained to hotel staff several times of being forced into two unpleasant options: close the balcony door for peace and quiet but deal with a hot / muggy / stuffy room, or open the balcony door for fresh air and deal with constant noise from the traffic below. The staff indicated: (1) air conditioning is unavailable during the “winter” months including April, and (2) their Chinese clientele prefer the rooms “warm.” I explained that it was no longer winter, and that I am not Chinese. They smiled and said nothing. I further observed that the lobby was cold to which front desk staff responded that the lobby door (front door) was kept open – it was not air conditioning. Interestingly, the second floor (breakfast area) and 6th floor common areas were cold, yet without a front door! In any case, the hotel finally gave us a large portable fan to cool the room to make sleeping possible.
Had we known this information in advance, we would have chosen a different hotel. We asked Chevy to book us into a different Athens hotel for our last night in Greece.
El Greco Hotel (Thessaloniki):
In Thessaloniki, Chevy booked us into the El Greco Hotel for several nights. The wallpaper in our room was ripped, dirty, stained, and peeling in many places. The furniture was visibly damaged from constant use. We sent photos to Chevy. He apologized and stated that he would not use this hotel again in the future.
I asked Chevy if he had ever visited or stayed in the hotel. He did not respond to my question. I can only assume that he did not.
Also at the El Greco Hotel, Chevy’s credit card did not work during check-out. The hotel demanded payment from me directly (approximately 220 Euros). The tour guide intervened, paid, and indicated he would collect the money from Chevy.
Marin Dream Hotel (Heraklion, Crete):
At the Marin Dream hotel a week later, we had a similar issue with Chevy’s credit card not working. The hotel staff demanded that I pay 80 Euros. Again I called Chevy and left a message. Chevy called back a few minutes later after speaking to the hotel and the issue was resolved promptly without further ado.
Overnight Ferry (Patmos to Athens) Toiletries:
Chevy did not provide critical details about overnight ferries that would have been helpful to us. We were booked for an overnight ferry from Patmos to Piraeus (Athens): a private room with a bathroom / shower. Once on board, we learned that we could not take our large luggage (containing our toiletries) to our room. Having been on many cruise ships around the world, we had always been able to take our large luggage to our cabin. Here, large luggage remained below deck and we could not access it until we arrived in Athens. As such, we were unable to shower or refresh in the morning despite having our own bathroom. Had we known this fact, we would have prepared a separate small bag for toiletries to take to the room.
Overnight Ferry (Patmos to Athens) Breakfast:
Also, Chevy did not inform us that the overnight ferry does not offer breakfast. The itinerary for that day indicated that breakfast was included (and paid for). We then assumed we would eat breakfast at the Olympic Hotel when we checked. As explained below, this was not the case.
Olympic Hotel (Athens) Check-In:
Chevy knew that our overnight trip via ferry would deposit us in Athens at 8 AM. However, the hotel he booked us into – The Olympic Hotel – did not accept check-ins until 2 PM. This would have been nice information to have in advance to choose a different hotel with an early check-in time, see if they had a temporary room until ours was ready, or make other arrangements. We called Chevy to figure out what to do. We had just come from a ferry where we could not bathe. We wanted to check-in, bathe, and eat breakfast before anything else. We ended up depositing our luggage at the concierge and leaving the hotel to look for breakfast as well as to prepare out a makeshift itinerary to keep us occupied until 2 PM. We returned to the hotel at 2:30 PM to bathe, refresh, and get ready for the remainder of the day.
Olympic Hotel (Athens) Breakfast:
We also expected to eat breakfast at the Olympic Hotel since we did not have it on the ferry. The hotel informed me that breakfast had not been paid for, and that an additional 25 Euros per person would need to be paid for this privilege. By the time we arrived at the hotel from the ferry port, it was 9:15 AM and breakfast was only available until 10 AM. We ended up eating breakfast in town after waiting an hour plus for Chevy to work things out with hotel. Chevy promised to reimburse us for the cost of the breakfast.
These issues were the result of misinformation or no information. Better and more detailed information up front would have made eliminated or at least minimized on-the-fly workarounds and inconveniences.
To be fair, Chevy did attempt to make it up in various ways. He upgraded our hotel in Patmos – although I did not see the initial choice so I have no actual basis for comparison. He also arranged for transportation from the Patmos Hotel to the ferry port – a short distance but still inconvenient with heavy luggage. He also upgraded us from the Stanley Hotel for our last night in Athens to the Olympic Hotel based on our poor experience. Unfortunately, we also had problems at the Olympic Hotel as described above. He also rearranged several outings to avoid cruise ship crowds, May 1st strikes, and Easter Sunday closings.
In general, the 26-day custom tour went well. Chevy made all of the hotel arrangements (reservation / payment at 3-star and 4-star grades), transfers, tour guides, island ferries, and local airplanes based on what we wanted to see and do based on a combined payment of U.S. $9,000. The hotels were generally of decent quality or better, and all were well located. Breakfast varied from lavish offerings to simple but hearty options. Our various tour guides were good or better, and transfer assistance to and from hotels/ports/airports went smoothly and promptly. Most days only breakfast was provided via hotels, while we were on our own for lunch, dinner, and snacks.
We did have a number of hiccoughs during the trip that required Chevy’s Noratli’s immediate intervention:
Contact Information:
Chevy provided 2 contact numbers for us in case of issues: his U.S. cell and a local Greek phone number. We called Chevy a number of times for issues. The Greek phone number he provided did not work at all. The U.S. cell did work.
Responsiveness:
Chevy did not pick up his cell phone. I called him and left a voicemail message each time and followed-up with e-mails. He would return my call within minutes or hours. Sometimes I had to call a second or third time to get a hold of him.
Stanley Hotel (Athens):
In Athens, Chevy booked us into the Stanley Hotel for the first 3 days and for the last day of our vacation. Ours was a 6th floor exterior room with a balcony overlooking a busy public square below and a side view of the Parthenon. The hotel did not provide air conditioning although there was a wall unit and thermostat in the room. The unit only provided very poor ventilation. We complained to hotel staff several times of being forced into two unpleasant options: close the balcony door for peace and quiet but deal with a hot / muggy / stuffy room, or open the balcony door for fresh air and deal with constant noise from the traffic below. The staff indicated: (1) air conditioning is unavailable during the “winter” months including April, and (2) their Chinese clientele prefer the rooms “warm.” I explained that it was no longer winter, and that I am not Chinese. They smiled and said nothing. I further observed that the lobby was cold to which front desk staff responded that the lobby door (front door) was kept open – it was not air conditioning. Interestingly, the second floor (breakfast area) and 6th floor common areas were cold, yet without a front door! In any case, the hotel finally gave us a large portable fan to cool the room to make sleeping possible.
Had we known this information in advance, we would have chosen a different hotel. We asked Chevy to book us into a different Athens hotel for our last night in Greece.
El Greco Hotel (Thessaloniki):
In Thessaloniki, Chevy booked us into the El Greco Hotel for several nights. The wallpaper in our room was ripped, dirty, stained, and peeling in many places. The furniture was visibly damaged from constant use. We sent photos to Chevy. He apologized and stated that he would not use this hotel again in the future.
I asked Chevy if he had ever visited or stayed in the hotel. He did not respond to my question. I can only assume that he did not.
Also at the El Greco Hotel, Chevy’s credit card did not work during check-out. The hotel demanded payment from me directly (approximately 220 Euros). The tour guide intervened, paid, and indicated he would collect the money from Chevy.
Marin Dream Hotel (Heraklion, Crete):
At the Marin Dream hotel a week later, we had a similar issue with Chevy’s credit card not working. The hotel staff demanded that I pay 80 Euros. Again I called Chevy and left a message. Chevy called back a few minutes later after speaking to the hotel and the issue was resolved promptly without further ado.
Overnight Ferry (Patmos to Athens) Toiletries:
Chevy did not provide critical details about overnight ferries that would have been helpful to us. We were booked for an overnight ferry from Patmos to Piraeus (Athens): a private room with a bathroom / shower. Once on board, we learned that we could not take our large luggage (containing our toiletries) to our room. Having been on many cruise ships around the world, we had always been able to take our large luggage to our cabin. Here, large luggage remained below deck and we could not access it until we arrived in Athens. As such, we were unable to shower or refresh in the morning despite having our own bathroom. Had we known this fact, we would have prepared a separate small bag for toiletries to take to the room.
Overnight Ferry (Patmos to Athens) Breakfast:
Also, Chevy did not inform us that the overnight ferry does not offer breakfast. The itinerary for that day indicated that breakfast was included (and paid for). We then assumed we would eat breakfast at the Olympic Hotel when we checked. As explained below, this was not the case.
Olympic Hotel (Athens) Check-In:
Chevy knew that our overnight trip via ferry would deposit us in Athens at 8 AM. However, the hotel he booked us into – The Olympic Hotel – did not accept check-ins until 2 PM. This would have been nice information to have in advance to choose a different hotel with an early check-in time, see if they had a temporary room until ours was ready, or make other arrangements. We called Chevy to figure out what to do. We had just come from a ferry where we could not bathe. We wanted to check-in, bathe, and eat breakfast before anything else. We ended up depositing our luggage at the concierge and leaving the hotel to look for breakfast as well as to prepare out a makeshift itinerary to keep us occupied until 2 PM. We returned to the hotel at 2:30 PM to bathe, refresh, and get ready for the remainder of the day.
Olympic Hotel (Athens) Breakfast:
We also expected to eat breakfast at the Olympic Hotel since we did not have it on the ferry. The hotel informed me that breakfast had not been paid for, and that an additional 25 Euros per person would need to be paid for this privilege. By the time we arrived at the hotel from the ferry port, it was 9:15 AM and breakfast was only available until 10 AM. We ended up eating breakfast in town after waiting an hour plus for Chevy to work things out with hotel. Chevy promised to reimburse us for the cost of the breakfast.
These issues were the result of misinformation or no information. Better and more detailed information up front would have made eliminated or at least minimized on-the-fly workarounds and inconveniences.
To be fair, Chevy did attempt to make it up in various ways. He upgraded our hotel in Patmos – although I did not see the initial choice so I have no actual basis for comparison. He also arranged for transportation from the Patmos Hotel to the ferry port – a short distance but still inconvenient with heavy luggage. He also upgraded us from the Stanley Hotel for our last night in Athens to the Olympic Hotel based on our poor experience. Unfortunately, we also had problems at the Olympic Hotel as described above. He also rearranged several outings to avoid cruise ship crowds, May 1st strikes, and Easter Sunday closings.
كُتب بتاريخ 13 مايو 2017
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Dear John & Melody
I thank you for your fair and honest review of your trip to Greece.
While we always try to do our best to make our client's holiday trips be perfect, we ourselves are not perfect, and things happen and mistakes or miscommunication happens. What we appreciate is when clients tell the good and the bad. We appreciate the good because we learn and know what we are doing right.
We appreciate the bad because then we learn and know what to improve on. We will thoroughly investigate and where necessary change the hotels with the problems you mentioned for clients in the future. We also will take special note of your suggestions for better communication to clients regarding ferry information.
It was a pleasure to work with you
Kind regards
Chevy
كُتب بتاريخ 21 نوفمبر 2017
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