Travel Review: Cultural Tour of Portugal and Spain with Private Tour of Royal Palace

If I had the trip to do all over again, I would have selected private English-speaking tours for the entire trip and I would have focussed more on securing better accommodations. The hotels we stayed at (while nice) did not have concierge service and the staff was not overly friendly or helpful in suggesting restaurants, providing directions, suggesting events to attend, like flamingo dancing, etc. I guess we were looking for hotel staff to help us sort out the best things to do and see; the best restaurants, etc. Travel Company's Comment: We are quite pleased that Karen really enjoyed her trip and we had a wonderful time working with her to develop the details, and of course we are disappointed that some of her experiences were not entirely up to her liking. As a result of Karen's (and other clients) experiences with what seems to be general decline in group tour quality, we are re-evaluating all of the tours we offer, and how we communicate the details of those tours to our clients. One of the changes already in affect is that we now provide very clear information to our clients about the size of the tour group, which languages the tour may be conducted in, if a coach tour, the availability of bathrooms on the coach, and details like that. We always advise our clients to choose small group or private tours over larger group and coach tours, as well as the highest level of accommodations, but we also understand that not every budget can handle those additional costs. I think that where we let Karen down was by not managing her expectations properly. A clearer understanding of the tour details and the accommodations she approved may have convinced her to go the extra mile and increase her travel budget in favor of the more expensive tours and hotels.