Review: Italy Vacation, Salina, Taormina, Food Tour

Initially, the travel agency was great in planning my trip because they were very knowledgeable and attentive, giving great recommendations and responding to all of my inquiries in a timely manner.  However, they do not provide itemized bills so I have no idea where exactly my money went, or how much each component cost.  This made it difficult to tip tour guides, as I had no idea what the individual price was of that particular activity.  

Overall my trip was good.  I especially enjoyed my food tour in Rome and my stay in Salina and the property I stayed at there, which was a recommendation from my travel agency.  However, my transfer from the ferry station in Salina to the hotel never showed up so I was stranded there and had to find a taxi.  The hotel did their best to make up for it, but this was definitely disappointing, especially since I was traveling by myself.

The last leg of my trip was in Taormina and I was very disappointed with my hotel.  The room was dirty and I found a live bug in the bed.  I immediately complained to the travel agency and was not happy with the way it was handled.  Eventually I was switched to a new room which was equally dirty and also had a live bug in the bed.

Upon my return home, I sent the company a full description of my issues with the last hotel, including pics, so that they could attempt to obtain a partial refund on my behalf.  I had to follow up to find out that they could not get me a refund and I am now attempting to get one on my own.

Travel Company Comments:

Dear Jamie, 

Thank you for your review and feedback.

While it took longer than I hoped, I'm glad I was able to get you a partial refund for your stay in Taormina.

It is always our goal to earn a 5 star review, and this is almost always the result. Unfortunately, your Trip was less than perfect, and this is unacceptable to us. The Hotel where you experienced the bug is under new Management, and unfortunately, the quality and service have seemed to suffer. While it is extremely unfortunate you had to experience this for us to learn of the decline in quality, please know, we no longer cooperate with this Hotel. 

While the issue with the transfer in Salina was unfortunate, I'm glad I was on the phone with you as soon as the issue occurred, and was able to resolve the misunderstanding quickly. I do hope you enjoyed the complimentary upgrade and lunch we arranged for the inconvenience. 

Jamie, thank you again for your feedback. I hope you give us another chance to work with you in the future. If so, I promise we will deliver on our top quality and service.