As promised, I am sending you more detailed feedback on our recent trip to India.
Hotels:
Delhi – Claridges – Excellent in all ways
Varanasi – Radisson – Very good
Khajuraho – Radisson – Very good but pool was not functioning. We would have expected to be informed about this scheduled maintenance – we might have selected a different hotel. Management of hotel did not offer any compensation other than being ready to transport us to another hotel to use their pool.
Agra – Radisson – Very good – One of the room was a twin bed not a double bed. Hotel was willing to change room next day but we did not want the hassle for only a 2 day stay.
Jaipur – ITC Rajputana – Excellent in all ways
Cochin – Vivanta by Taj – Excellent in all ways (again first night one room was a twin room) They made up for this on the second stop were they gave us top floor corner rooms with excellent views.
Munnar – Windermere Estate – Very good – Food was nothing special with no choice but considering the location it was not a major issue.
Thekkady – Spice Village – Excellent in all ways
Allepy – Boathouse – Good - Very comfortable room – Air-conditioner set to 21c and could not adjust it. Gabby froze! Food – average – but considering the environment it was very acceptable. We were disappointed with the poor level of cleanliness at the berthing station for the overnight stay. The company have an office block where the surrounding grounds are filthy. They need to clean it up immediately.
Bangalore – Goldfinch Retreat – good – served our purpose well for wash and change + had dibnner there – good value for money.
Car and Driver service
We always had a Toyota Innova which was the right size for us. Car always clean – water not always provided, however drivers always accommodated our requests. Driving is chaotic to say the least in India, but the drivers made us feel safe on the roads. Drivers were always punctual and friendly. Special mention for Kamal who went out of his way to satisfy our additional requests from him.
Tour Guides
All very knowledgeable about the area, palaces / monuments / places of interest and general knowledge about India and its people. All guides accommodated our requests as sometimes we would tell them how long we would like to spend in a particular location.
Comments and suggestions
(1) Westerners need to be warned in advance about the dirty environment in Varanasi. I am a seasoned traveller, however, this place impressed me – it needs an immediate clean up. Walking the streets is not easy.
(2) If we have to be critical about anything it would be our day in Thekkady. This was the location with the least to offer. The elephant ride is a pure “tourist trap” – a rectangular walk through some fenced off spice field. Nothing “real” about it. Also, when reading the program, I was under the impression that we would be visiting Periyar Wildlife Park – but this was not to be. There is no point mentioning all the animals in the program if one cannot even enter the park. We also never got close to the lake shore and it was not possible to use a boat. Good thing that the driver suggested to us to visit a Martial arts show in the evening.
(3) The guide in Jaipur never organised the camel ride for us. He said he did not know about it.
(4) We did not see the sound and light show in Khajuraho as it was raining. (cancelled)
(5) It was our decision not to go to the Katakhali dance show in Cochin. We wanted to enjoy the hotel and we were exhausted.
(6) As this was a very intensive program it would have been a good idea if half way through we took a day off just to relax at a hotel with no sightseeing or any other commitments.
Did we feel safe in India
Thanks to your excellently planned trip we always felt safe in India. We were so well looked after that we knew we were never alone.
Thank you once again for the memorable experience of India!
Regards
David
+99 711 599 90
