Problems with the guide and the bus. The hotel is cold.

Good afternoon! I am writing a review about the New Year's tour "Mix weekend: Budapest + Vienna" (dates - December 30 - January 02).

A couple of suggestions as a background :) This is not the first time I go on bus tours, but with Adriatic Travel - for the first time. My young man found on the tour operator's website a favorable offer for the New Year both in terms of price and geo, and it finally persuaded us to go.

We booked a trip at the end of November and everything was super ok until the trip itself: from responsive operators who advised on all issues, to organizational issues that were resolved on time and without problems.

Now for the trip itself. I'll break it down point by point:

1. Hotel. We had 2 overnight moves and 1 overnight stay at a hotel. He was not in Budapest (1-1.5 hours drive), so for a transfer to the city, they paid extra 10 euros per person. The hotel is ordinary, everything you need was, except for warm batteries. Fortunately, in the bathroom you could turn on the heating of the air and not completely suffocate. Wifi was there but didn't work.

2. Bus. Bunk, moderately comfortable, clean and tidy. The drivers are adequate, there are no questions about driving.

My seat jammed a little, so I could not fix the back at first. But then at some point the regulation button began to work normally and there were no further problems.

The screens on the bus are a separate issue) Both are broken, with terrible, eye-corrosive color reproduction and dead pixels. It would be better if they didn’t turn on the movie at all than like that .. It was impossible to watch.

3. Group leader and organization into groups on the ground. Our leader was a girl Ulyana. And before I evaluate Ulyana's work, I emphasize that I evaluate only her professional competence.

So. Compared to all the guides who have accompanied me with the group before, Ulyana is the most indifferent and silent guide. Here I will describe in a very detailed way, because I want to argue my words.

- It was very strange when she answered my questions and clarifications on timing (which was not always voiced), as if she was doing a favor. At stops and during excursions, she often talked on the phone, and it was difficult to ask for something. In our general group in Viber, she didn’t answer tourists’ questions at all ... I’m not even sure that Ulyana went there. As a result, the guys themselves guided each other by time and place of the meeting. Yes, and after a couple of attempts to talk with Ulyana, it was easier for me to write to the chat or ask the guys from the group.

Is this normal at all?

I've never seen such a disregard for a group before.

- Also, our nice guide did not warn us that in Budapest itself you cannot open the luggage compartment, since a fine is due for this. I knew it, but some guys didn't even know it. So, I heard a couple of girls next to me telling Ulyana that they didn’t get their hats / scarves and had to walk around in the cold all day like this.

- Before one of the excursions, my group and I were waiting for our bus, which was 20 minutes late. During this time, my boyfriend decided to go to the WC at a nearby restaurant. Because of this, he was late for 2 minutes (no more - that's for sure). When I went up to tell Ulyana that the guy was already running up, I sharply heard “We are already late. So let's go without him." It's very respectful and polite to respond to people for whom you are responsible, isn't it? Especially when they have already paid 40 euros for a tour for two, and then waited 20 minutes on the street. No comment. Thank you at least for waiting another 30 seconds and not leaving, leaving us on the street. It just really felt like that.

- In general, for those 3 days that we spent on the same bus, there were enough such moments. Perhaps previous trips and great guides have greatly raised the bar, but the fact remains that there was no interesting introduction about the cities we visited, no mood, no high-quality and professional organization of the group.

Fortunately, the guide is not the whole trip, but only part of it, which could not spoil the overall impressions of Budapest and Vienna! By right, these are one of the noblest and most beautiful cities in Europe, and the architecture and its scale are breathtaking. We will definitely come back here, but not by bus :)

4. Excursions. The cost of the trip included mandatory sightseeing tours of Budapest and Vienna. And, cheers! - they were very exciting. Local guides told a bunch of interesting things and oriented along the routes in their free time. We were satisfied with these and paid excursions (a little less, but still), thank you)

Summarizing my huge review, I hope it will be useful both for those who are going to go and for the company itself. I am writing with a desire to improve the service at all stages of the organization, because I left pleasant impressions after the trip (despite everything :))

And in the future, I would not want problems with a guide, a hotel, or something else to spoil the impression of other vacationers. Thanks!

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