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What travelers are saying

"When I signed up for the Wonders of Costa Rica at a slower pace. The hotel listed in the itinerary for day 8&9 was a 4 star hotel on the beach called the Punta Leona. I'm not sure when but Road Scholar changed the Punta Leona hotel for the 3 star Villa Lapis Jungle hotel. I was shocked when we drove up to this dump. Others in the group wanted to leave and find another hotel. I had black bugs under that shower mat and the shower did not drain, Spiders on the wall and roaches coming out of the cracked in the bathroom. The bed was a thin mattress on a board and was hard as a rock. The food they put out was covered with a wrap but 15 minutes after the plastic wrap was removed it was covered with fruit flies. I passed on the open food bowls. The walls were real thin and the neighbors were real noisy until 11:30 pm. Others in the group complained about the late night noise, spiders and toilet seat being broken. I'm not sure where this place gets 3 stars. After I saw the roaches, I give it a 1 star. Road Scholar put us up in beautiful hotels and then they take us here. You can do better than this Road Scholar. The end the story, Road Scholar customer service called me about my concern and said they have never used the Punta Leona, (I sent her my itinerary that said PUNTA LEONA). She also said they haven't had any complaints about this Villa Lapis dump. After her call, I'm not sure if I'll ever travel with Road Scholar again. Enough said...."

What travelers are saying

"When I signed up for the Wonders of Costa Rica at a slower pace. The hotel listed in the itinerary for day 8&9 was a 4 star hotel on the beach called the Punta Leona. I'm not sure when but Road Scholar changed the Punta Leona hotel for the 3 star Villa Lapis Jungle hotel. I was shocked when we drove up to this dump. Others in the group wanted to leave and find another hotel. I had black bugs under that shower mat and the shower did not drain, Spiders on the wall and roaches coming out of the cracked in the bathroom. The bed was a thin mattress on a board and was hard as a rock. The food they put out was covered with a wrap but 15 minutes after the plastic wrap was removed it was covered with fruit flies. I passed on the open food bowls. The walls were real thin and the neighbors were real noisy until 11:30 pm. Others in the group complained about the late night noise, spiders and toilet seat being broken. I'm not sure where this place gets 3 stars. After I saw the roaches, I give it a 1 star. Road Scholar put us up in beautiful hotels and then they take us here. You can do better than this Road Scholar. The end the story, Road Scholar customer service called me about my concern and said they have never used the Punta Leona, (I sent her my itinerary that said PUNTA LEONA). She also said they haven't had any complaints about this Villa Lapis dump. After her call, I'm not sure if I'll ever travel with Road Scholar again. Enough said...."

What travelers are saying

"When I signed up for the Wonders of Costa Rica at a slower pace. The hotel listed in the itinerary for day 8&9 was a 4 star hotel on the beach called the Punta Leona. I'm not sure when but Road Scholar changed the Punta Leona hotel for the 3 star Villa Lapis Jungle hotel. I was shocked when we drove up to this dump. Others in the group wanted to leave and find another hotel. I had black bugs under that shower mat and the shower did not drain, Spiders on the wall and roaches coming out of the cracked in the bathroom. The bed was a thin mattress on a board and was hard as a rock. The food they put out was covered with a wrap but 15 minutes after the plastic wrap was removed it was covered with fruit flies. I passed on the open food bowls. The walls were real thin and the neighbors were real noisy until 11:30 pm. Others in the group complained about the late night noise, spiders and toilet seat being broken. I'm not sure where this place gets 3 stars. After I saw the roaches, I give it a 1 star. Road Scholar put us up in beautiful hotels and then they take us here. You can do better than this Road Scholar. The end the story, Road Scholar customer service called me about my concern and said they have never used the Punta Leona, (I sent her my itinerary that said PUNTA LEONA). She also said they haven't had any complaints about this Villa Lapis dump. After her call, I'm not sure if I'll ever travel with Road Scholar again. Enough said...."

What travelers are saying

"Italian dream or a nightmare? I had the misfortune of booking a trip to Italy, THE ITALIAN DREAM, package, with my wife through wingbuddy for June 6, 2004. After the first flight from Edmonton to Toronto went very well, when I was preparing to make my flight from Toronto to Rome, the airline informed me that I could not make the flight to Italy because my passport did not meet the necessary requirements. The Transat airline told me to contact Wingbuddy to re-book my trip when my passport met the requirements, which I did immediately using Wingbuddy's emergency email. I received the reply that they were very sorry but that I had to be patient because they would never re-book my trip or pay credits, and they canceled my trip to Italy on the first day, which for Wingbuddy means that the process ended there and the services ceased to exist. I couldn't come to terms with the idea of losing a $7,000 trip, because most of the services were not provided by wingbuddy, such as the hotels in Italy, the bus trips, the meals, the visits to the museums, and even the return trip to Canada which, from Rome, was scheduled for eight days after they canceled my trip without informing me. Despite the fact that wingbuddy and its partners never did most of the services, I was left without seven thousand dollars, which I had saved with a lot of effort over two years. This, was money that immorally ended up in the hands of people who only see the profit in front of them without caring how it is acquired. Wingbuddy never proves that it pays for its services in Italy because it doesn't even know which hotels its clients are staying in. I was out seven thousand dollars, but from what I've read in some reviews of other customers, I'm unfortunately not the only one in this situation. There are lots of concerns all over. I just wonder how long our government will allow wingbuddy to continue having these non clear procedures about payments for services it never provided to its customers because it doesn't even have proof of such. I will never recommend Wingbuddy, because it's an agency that specializes in selling products and then never takes any responsibility for what it sells. Wingbuddy's responsibility ends at the moment you pay them, a way before you take your flight. Finally, I want to say to Wingbuddy that I don't need your whining as an answer, or that you weren't to blame for anything that happened, or that you paid for the services in Italy, because that Wingbuddy will never prove for the simple reason that in my case it never was paid. If wingbuddy paid, use this space to prove that the hotel rooms in Italy were booked in my and my wife's name, and that Transat did not use our return seats to Canada to sell to other customers. Clarity of procedures should also be one of your priorities, so that you become a credible company that your customers can trust and feel proud of. Until you do, you don't deserve the slightest trust from potential customers. I think the best and safe way to visit Italy is to book our own flights and contact a local agency in Italy to do the same tour. As far as I know, it will be cheaper and safer. Eduardo Mesquita"

What travelers are saying

"Our 8th OU tour was to Switzerland. We visited many sites in Switzerland, Austria and also a quick stop in Germany. O.U. takes all the stress away by using outstanding Tour Directors who handle everything. Our T. D. Kiara was fantastic! She worked flawlessly throughout the tour, even when we were stuck in Zermatt after a flood. I highly recommend O.U."

What travelers are saying

"Our 8th OU tour was to Switzerland. We visited many sites in Switzerland, Austria and also a quick stop in Germany. O.U. takes all the stress away by using outstanding Tour Directors who handle everything. Our T. D. Kiara was fantastic! She worked flawlessly throughout the tour, even when we were stuck in Zermatt after a flood. I highly recommend O.U."

What travelers are saying

"I recently took a trip to Kenya and I cannot imagine any other tour operator doing a better job. Let's start at the beginning. My flight from the US landed first in London and then a second flight was to have gone to Kenya. The airline nightmare began with AA being two hours late causing me to miss my next flight on British Air. BA had given my flight away before I got off the plan and had no acceptable replacement. I spent three days and nights at Heathrow airport forcing me to miss those days of my tour. I stood in lines hours long at the airport and my second replacement flight never left the ground after being held hostage in the plane for hours. I was ready to go home. My phone would not work much of the time in the airport, but I was finally able to contact Best Singles Travel. They figured out a way to arrange for a driver to meet me at the Nairobi airport three days after my trip began and take me to Samburu, a five hour drive where the group was then located. If it had not been for this effort in figuring out a way for me to meet my group then this trip would have been lost for me. And what a shame that would have been because once I finally arrived it was magical. I saw every animal as well as much of the countryside driving all over even with missing three days. The lodges were picturesque with monkeys playing on expansive grounds, wild birds and animals, beautiful colored geckos, mountains and streams in the background where the sun met a landscape expanding as far as the eye could see producing sunsets like those seen in National Geographics. Oh, did I mention the food? No US chemicals. Just organically grown and delicious. If anyone reading this decides to travel to Kenya then I hope you stop to see David Sheldrick's rescued baby elephants. I am grateful that Best Singles Travel and Patrick, our knowledgeable considerate tour guide, took the time, effort and resources to make the remainder of this trip happen for me because now I cannot imagine having missed it. This trip was organized, included lovely memorable hotels/lodges and attentive to our needs."

What travelers are saying

"My Mother and I planned this trip for 11 months, we were celebrating our 40th & 60th birthday together. We arrived to Paris on Monday the 26th. I had requested 2 extra nights so we would have some time to adjust after traveling. The company decided to book a tour for us the second day after being asked not too. We arrived to our hotel in a disgusting part of Paris and quite a ways from the sights. Even our taxi driver (the one the company hired) told us this part of Paris was unsafe, especially for women and at night. It took 35mins to get from out hotel to the eiffel tower by car. Our room was so not great, it faced inside looking at a wall. That's considered 4 stars? The staff however was amazing and helpful. They even warned us to not be out at night as the area wasn't the most safe. I let the company know and they said that guarantee the area is safe and central to the sites. 80% of our hotels were not as advertised but the "or similar" ones. Had we gotten the one as shown on the advert, we would have been in a beautiful area, with lovely shops and restaurants. (We went by the hotels we should of had, and all had availability) Fun fact, we had been put right across from the train station, yet none of the transfers were out of this train station, but another 30min Uber ride to a different train station. I contacted customer service over 15 times on this trip about various issues and each time they ignored what was happening and used some lame excuse as why they couldn't help. For example; One tour in Beaune required that we make our way to a winery on a friday morning. We asked the front desk to help us when we couldn't get uber/bolt to work( heads up, they don't have that service there, except sometimes on sat/sun) they also do not have a taxi service available during the week. All 5 of the front desk staff, looked at us like we were crazy. They all tried so hard to find us a way out there besides walking 5miles to get there in 90° weather. They kept saying we're not sure why the tour company keeps saying there is a way out there by public transit, but there isn't. I called customer service.. they argued with me several times over the matter. They sent me info on taxi services that didn't exist there, bus schedules that were for children's bus routes for school and told us that walking was an option. Sadly, we missed the tour. I was shocked. I asked for a phone call from a manager.. I still have yet to receive one even after asking repeatedly. Another fun fact, Discovery Nomads books tours for you that have to paid when the tour is over, as with the walking tour of Paris they arranged for us. The guide himself was amazing, but the only way the guide makes money is by us giving him money at the end. Weird that a company who charges me for tours, made me pay for a tour on site. Not to mention, buyer beware, when it says you get to see the Louve, they mean look at it. You'll have to buy a ticket to go inside. As well as Versallies, where it says a day at Versallies, they mean a couple hours at best. We got there at 2, the tour was 2hrs. and it closes at 6pm. O no time to see the home and gardens. That's not even half a day. I let customer service know that too. They ignored me. We missed a train due to it being delayed and then cancelled. I tried to call customer service again for help, this time no answer. Unfamiliar with what to do, we rebooked a train and paid over 250 euros for it. I let the company know and their reply, it says the train wasn't cancelled so we can't help you. Yet here we were with about 12 other people who also had to rebook a train. Had we had help from the company at the time, we could have just switched our tickets to the next train. But alas, no help from them just excuses. Overall I spent more time trying to figure out how to get transport from A to B, emailing and calling them, spending over 800 euros in transport just to get to train stations and tours, and not to mention the awful train schedules they had us on. This trip was a complete nightmare. I wanted this trip to be amazing for my mother and I, and all we wanted to do was come home. I will never use this company again, and I will share this horror story with others as much as possible to warn them of using Discover Nomads."