Greatly Appreciated
Reena Kanji
(England (United Kingdom))
Trip to Bengaluru (Bangalore), Chennai (Madras), Kumarakom, Mangalore, Goa
(Written on 07 Jan, 2013)
Please see following my feedback of our trip:
Tamil Nadu
Didn't really the point of Chennai, it was a boring city. Pondicherry was a bit more interesting (wouldn't go back to either)
GRT Gra (Read More)nd great hotel, friendly staff, yummy food in both restaurants
the Promenade well situated hotel, room was sufficient, food was yummy BUT front desk staff slow to check us in and out and not approachable.
Driver - Ganesh was on time every day, accommodating.
Guides - Nandakumar; polite, patient, spoke English clearly and knew Chennai well.
Narran; polite, friendly, spoke English well and knew Pondicherry therefore made the tour enjoyable.
Kerala
Overall we enjoyed Kerala (would go back)
Dream hotel was great, staff friendly, food yummy, room very comfortable – felt like an International hotel.
Lemon Tree was perfect in the sense we relaxed in the pool enjoying the view, cycling and gymming. But food was not very good at all and they didn't have a liquor license (would have good to know this in advance). Front desk staff were courteous, we found the rest of the staff a bit reserved.
Houseboat we didn't really enjoy. Happy to say we did it, BUT will not do it again. The two staff on the boat were polite and gave us our privacy which was great but their English was poor so communication was nil. Food was horrible. And I don't know what I agreed to book but that wasn't 4 or 5 star - the boat looked like it had seen better days – it was the worst part of our trip.
Not worth the cost of the boat I'm happy I didn't book an extra room especially as we had to leave at a ridiculous hour to catch a plane.
Driver - Pradhu was lovely; quiet but accommodating. He sent us texts to make sure we were okay regularly.
Guide - Riojin: very knowledgeable, spoke English well and good company
Karnataka
Bangalore; not impressed with the hotel as you know already And we were not picked up at the airport which you have already explained.
Apart from that: our first driver Vittal was pleasant and took us around Bangalore; shopping and site seeing.
Our second driver in Karnataka - Sadiq was a gem. If you are able to give feedback on anyone we would appreciate you giving it back for him. He was professional, polite, gentle and spoke English very well And to top it all he was a great guide as well. He also went out of his way getting Indian CDs for my father. We enjoyed his company and he made our trip all the more memorable.
Regaalis - staff were great, food at Charcoals was yummy, gym and pool great. They gave us packed breakfasts becausec our check outs were so early.
Room was average, we had ants.
But it was bearable as we didn't spend much time in the room.
Mysore is a lovely city, we enjoyed seeing all the magnificent structures and learning the history told to us by Sadiq our driver.
Goa
Cidade de Goa for what it was it was okay – I didn't appreciate having to pay for WiFi and then only being able to use it in reception. The room was not of 5 star quality - the whole hotel looked like it had seen better days – it needs a revamp. I’m sure when I asked you to book all the hotels I asked for Goa to have at least 5 star – this was not of that standard or what would be considered 5 star internationally.
And in regards to the half day tour my parents did in Goa – you advised that the driver would be adequate (as in be able to speak English) therefore we would not need a guide – on this I agreed to forgo the guide. When the driver came he could not speak English and therefore the tour was a waste of time.
All in all the tour was good – I think for you
I understand in India you guys work to a different timetable but globally this is not acceptable. Even with the payment to Sadiq – you told me when I was in India that he would have the funds by the next day – it has taken you 2 weeks to do it (if you have indeed done it). Just don’t say you will do it unless you 100% mean it. I would rather know I had to wait for something than be led to believe in false promises.
Hopefully you find my feedback co
