We had a very good experience with Rita from ...
Italy
|
Sep 6 - Sep 26, 2024
We had a very good experience with Rita from initial contact to planning and booking the various aspects of our trip. There were some aspects that did not meet our expectations. For the most part, guides contacted us through What's App to confirm and clarify. This was greatly appreciated as we had some communication failures on a number of occasions. There were also times with accommodations that may have been a great property but the room location and/or size/quality missed the mark. For example...
Accomodations
For the most part about half of the hotels met our expectations or more.
Accomodations that met or exceeded our expectations
- El Faro, Alghero
- Baunei, La Bitta (Room overlooked the parking lot a highway but everything else was awesome.
Fantastic location, hotel but maybe not the view we would have desired
- Balocco, Porto Cervo - Beautiful Resort but Garden view.
- Quarry Resort, Matera - Awesome but no view at all. Room was great
- Hilton DoubleTree, Amsterdam - great location from train, nice room (upgraded)
Accomodations that were far below expectations
T Hotel, Cagliari - We realize the hotel Rita wanted to book was unavailable. G7 Finance Ministers were also in town but the room wasn't great, aweful view and even the hotel staff told us there wasn't much around us. It was a good 30 to 40 minute hike to get toward the marina and places we wanted to go. We feel this choice was well below expectations even knowing the circumstances
- Masseria Francescani, Lecce
This was the first major let down. We had a tough time pulling it together to enjoy the rest of the trip. The property was interesting but we ended up in a horrible room. It was likely a servant quarters recently as it is location on it's own at the very back of the building next to the kitchen and delivery trucks. The room was very dated and cobbled together. The shower curtain rod was rusty and the room was renovation years ago to provide wheelchair access. Even the Masseria staff apologized for the room and let us know it wasn't great but they had nice rooms if we wanted to come back.
Dimore di Brando, Polignano a Mare
This was expected to be the highlight of or trip. We had 4 nights to explore the region and enjoy this area of Puglia. Major disappointment in many aspects.
Very difficult to find. Davida is a very nice man. Jodie was roaming the area trying to find the room. She called the hotel to find out where to park. Davida asked if it was Jodie as he was anxious to get in touch with us. He explained he never received contact info to guide us through the check in process. We eventually connected and they sent a staff member to the parking area to help us. Parking was about 5 blocks away which we were expecting.
When we hauled our luggage to the room it was a ground level room in one of the busiest parts filled with street merchants and tour groups passing our door. The room was a complete miss from all aspects. It literally had no windows. The door was glass and it had a port hole but if the door was blocked for any reason we would have been trapped. The bed size was not what we requested, the room was incredibly small. We smashed our heads on overhanging rock several times. It was brutal. We came close to abandoning that room for one with a terrace and view but decided to stick it out. It was tough to get past.
Tours and Activities
All booked tours and activities were excellent, we had a number of activities booked and all were very informative and enjoyable. All guides were in touch in advance for the most part which really helped with the overall experience.
There was a tapas tour in Olbia where we arrived well in advance to the meeting point but were unable to locate tour guide. After contacting you via the chat feature, we decided to get back on the road to our hotel as a major rain storm was starting. Once on our way back your team responded as to where the guide was and we realized we were right there, in the square in front of that restaurant before we decided to leave. By this time we were on our way back to hotel, 40 minute drive, and caught in a rain storm like we have never experienced. All the guide had to do was to look out into the square and see two people looking around, we were virtually the only two people looking like we were looking for something, Outside of this issue, two of our sailing adventures were cancelled due to high winds, which is beyond anyone's control.
We do want to add that the app with links for driving and sights to see was really appreciated, helped us in getting around and seeing things we probably wouldn't have seen. All contact when needed was responded to within a timely manner.
You should know we have referred two different groups to KimKim and expect another 3 or 4 friends to move forward with KimKim in the near future.
Activity Reviews
Great day and great guide!!
This is covered off in our comments
This was cancelled by tour group due to high winds
Great day and guide
Great experience!
Great guide, great day!
Great experience
This was cancelled by tour group due to high winds
Dear Jodie, thank you very much for such a detailed review! I'll forward your feedback to our team and local guides who will be for sure happy to receive your comments. Also, thank you for the feedback regarding the hotels, we will take it into account for our future travelers. I'm glad to hear that you had a great time in Italy and thank you for referring us to your friends. It has been a pleasure working with you, hopefully, we will be in touch for your future trips! All my best, Rita 🥰