Travel Review, 6-Week Luxury Croatia Honeymoon, Montenegro, Split, Hvar, Adriatic Coast, Bay of Kotor, Food & Wine, Korcula

Review by traveler

Shannon P.

11.15.2018

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Croatia

Montenegro

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

We had a wonderful time on our vacation in Croatia and overall, I would definately recommend our travel agent/agency!

We gently suggest that our travel agent/agency be prompt in confirming that they have received (thousands of dollars in) payments overseas. With the amount of internet fraud occurring daily, not hearing a peep from our agent for 2 1/2 days after full payment up front, gave us cause to hold our breath. We initiated a phone call to our agent confirming she received our payment, which she had. I was cordial during this brief call but it seemed to dampen her enthusiasm & contact with us during our stay in Croatia in our opinion. She was wonderful in planning our trip from start to finish with such short notice yet inflexible when we asked to make 1 change/cancellation to our itinerary (tour) 24 hours in advance. We did indeed read the no refund policy before we paid for the trip however, we consistently met up with other travelers who frequently made last minute changes to their itinerary w/out problem with our shared agent. Overall, this was not a huge deal, but we were definitely not high maitnence travelers by any means. We asked for nothing else during our stay.

When we arrived in Split our driver never showed to pick us up. We spent 2 hours at the airport waiting, then transerfing money to buy a sim card to get a phone call to our agent to try to arrange another ride to our hotel- a disappointing start to our luxury honeymoon. This happened again when we arrived in Hvar by boat and the individual who was supposed to meet us as soon as we got off the boat, was not there. He went to a different port and never thought to look for us as we waited and searched 45 minutes before we found him. Not the end of the world by any means, yet at the same time, we paid for a luxury vacation.

I know the agent/agency felt bad about the airport hiccup in Split and they did have a guide buy us some lavendar chocolate in Split & one of our drivers treated us to a piece of lavendar cake while touring in Hvar. We certainly appreciated the thought and the delicacies!

When you travel abroad, you have to expect a few things to go astray. Nothing can be pefect. The small difficulties we encountered were nothing compared to our overall experience of Croatia along the Adriatic Coast over 12 days. Each place was more beautiful than the next. ALL of our tour guides were simply wonderful, sweet, entertaining, and engaging! We adored them all!!! And the locals, so friendly! It was a beautifully planned holiday we can only thank our agent/agency for and we are grateful to have experienced it!!!

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

We really enjoyed the privately guided walking tours at each new location we stayed.

The island and cave hopping experience in Hvar was not only fun but relaxing. The skipper charming, the views breathtaking.

Dining at the abandoned village in Hvar was another unforgettable evening. Such a unique experience!

Our favorite experience by far was when our driver picked us up on the mainland driving us to a family owned winery (& wine tasting) tour. We stopped next in Ston (I think) on our way to Dubrovnik where a private boat took us out to a little cove where our Skipper demonstrated how oysters & mussels are havested. Later he grilled them served with wine and brandy. This was such a delightful treat! Lastly, we dined at an amazing gourmet restaurant right off the boat called, "Bota". The food & service were beyond exceptional. Wow, we were blown away by the entire day!!!

Our day trip to Kotor, Montenegro was also a favorite. The Bay of Kotor was breathtaking!!!

Most of our private drivers were excellent and so were the cars!

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

While the exterior of the hotel in Korcula is beyond lovely, the rooms are due for a heavy cleaning if not an upgrade altogether. Korcula was an amazing, delightful location to visit. We would not stay at this hotel again simply because our room was so dirty (for a 4 star hotel, we also had to wait over 2 hours to check in ). The exterior really is just beautiful but when we entered our room (the size is good-BIG) the white area rugs were grey with dirt. The wood floors were scuffed w/ sticky goo(tar ?) & hair of other people all over the bed and room floor.

The hotel in Dubrovnik was nice. The ameneties all 5 star! Our room however, was a little dirty and small. GREAT view. Wonderful location. We had a great time swimming, exploring and snorkeling. We really just used the room to sleep in. unfortunately, the bed was not comfortable.

We LOVED the hotel in Split. A new, beautiful, boutique hotel that was very clean with a very sweet and friendly staff. We would stay there again for sure.

We also LOVED the hotel in Hvar. It was a large room w/ a harbor and town square view and clean. We could've spent an extra day in Hvar at this hotel to explore it all. Fantastic location!!!

Travel Company Comments:

I am thrilled to know you had a wonderful vacation in Croatia and would recommend using our services! I am sorry to know that certain aspects of your trip did not meet your expectations though.
Regarding payment concerns/confirmations, we offer two methods of payment: (1) credit card using SSL encryption and (2) wire transfer. As you chose to make your payment by credit card, after the transaction was submitted, you were sent an automatic payment confirmation. Usually, for most of our clients, this confirmation is enough as they have the proof that the payment to us did go through. The same confirmation is also sent to us. In some cases, when the client wants additional confirmation from us we send the information that the payment was successful and that we have started the confirmation process, which in this case we did. I apologize if this process did not ease your concerns.

As you mentioned, having read the no-refund policy before paying for your trip, you were aware there would not be able to provide a refund for any unused portion of a travel booking nor portions of the trips canceled while the trip itself was in progress. We were pleased that we were able to cancel the full day tour to Krka National Park and provided a full refund back to your credit card. However, the other tour which you were trying to cancel was within 24 hours of your tour, and unfortunately, we were unable to achieve in getting this refunded.

Regarding the transportation/pick-up issues, due to the peak-season travel in which both the airport and harbour was overcrowded, I could understand the difficulties you faced in finding them. I do apologize for this inconvenience, but I am happy to know you enjoyed the lavender chocolates and cake we provided as a means of an apology for the difficulties and minor delays you experienced.
Regarding the cleanliness of your room in Korcula and in Dubrovnik, there are only couple hotels we use in Korcula. For the previous few years we have utilized this hotel for our clients and have never received a complaint regarding their cleanliness. For this, we felt confident in bringing you there during your stay. I wish you would have contacted me upon your arrival to this hotel room regarding your dissatisfaction with it, as it would have been my pleasure to intervene and either change your room or move you to an alternate hotel. We are happy you were able to enjoy the amenities in the hotel in Dubrovnik and hopefully were able to enjoy the Free upgrade in which you had a seas view and balcony.
Again, thank you so much for traveling with us and providing your feedback. We are grateful to have served you and hope you have wonderful memories of Croatia!

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