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Dear Anupama
Many thanks to you and everyone at Compass for an excellent holiday in India - quite fascinating and enjoyable. We were very well looked after. We also appreciated the considerable trouble Compass went to to make alternative arrangements for us once fog in northern India meant we needed a change in itinerary.
We look forward to travelling again with Compass some time in the future.
Best regards
Tim 9/1/10
Anupama,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We are back home and would like to thank you for the great trip we had. Everything was perfect and service excellent. All guides and drivers were very nice and we really had a wanderful experience.
I hope to come back soon.... and I will contact you again to organize a new wildlife + cultural tour.
Thanks again!
Kindest regards,
Silvia
Hi Anupama,
Happy New Year to you!
Thank you very much to Compass Tours for making our Indian holiday a very enjoyable, organized and safe experience.
We are still talking about our wonderful trip and are recommending your services to everyone we talk to!
If we were to rate our Guides and Drivers, we would give a rating of 9 out of 10. Our Compass Guide in Delhi caused us some stress as we were trying to get the train to Amritsar, this was after us putting the pressure on him to get us moving from the restaurant we were at. To make matters worst, we were unable to park the van close to the train station and had to struggle with our luggage some distance to even get to the station. We were very relieved when we arrived at the train only moments before departure! Late starting the tour, we waited both days. Our guide in Goa took us on a 2 hour diversion to drop him off home – this was after we had briefed him earlier that day that we wished to return to our hotel early. On a positive note, our guide in Jaipur (Nidhi) was amazing, we really warmed to her and would recommend her to everyone!
The remainder of the Guides were good and showed us a great time, we felt safe the entire journey.
We really appreciated being met at every stage of our journey, whether it be train, plane or arrival and departure from a each location. And compass certainty made our experience a wonderful.
Would recommend the hotel in Navsari, this was a lovely place to stay. Thought that you would like to know this as there are not many places to choose from.
Thank you Anupama for your organization. We hope to visit again shortly.
I have attached a photo of all of us taken in Delhi at the stone tower.
Kind regards
Janelle, Chris, Margaret, Graeme, Jackie & Dhiman
Anupama,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We are back home and would like to thank you for the great trip we had. Everything was perfect and service excellent. All guides and drivers were very nice and we really had a wanderful experience.
I hope to come back soon.... and I will contact you again to organize a new wildlife + cultural tour.
Thanks again!
Kindest regards,
Silvia
Dear Sukriti,
Sorry for the late response..was caught up with work. I have written a testimony based on our vacation:
From day 1 as we arrived in New Delhi to Day 17 when we took off, the representatives of Compass India Inc assured that we faced no inconvenience anywhere. The hotel check in’s, sight seeing, shopping, everything was well planned and executed. The cars used for travelling were clean, spacious and comfortable and the drivers were well informed and alert on the roads.
The guides at every site gave an in depth insight into the history of things. Some guides were national guides and hence a wealth of knowledge. We were constantly kept informed and were contacted regularly by the Operations staff to ensure our safety and comfort.
Lastly, the office staff members in New Delhi are pure professionals and did everything to make our vacation one of the best. They replied to each and every query we had since 2 months before our travel and made sure all our concerns were addressed promptly.
We would definitely use the services of Compass India Inc whenever we visit India and would recommend Compass India to anyone who wishes to travel to India.
hope this helps. I will send you pictures a little later in low res. Should you decide to use any and need a high resolution photo, I will send it over as well.
Thank you and have a good day.
Regards,
Rupak
Subject: Re: REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK
To: Anupama
Hi. I hope you are all doing fine!!
My family and I are glad we took the tour we your company, it was a nice experience. The services offered by the company were excelent, some of the problems we had were with most of the guides, with 2 hotels (Mumbai and the other that I don't recall), and with the driver form Mumbai; but It was a nice experience and if we go back to India, we would choose Compass India again.
Thank You for everything!! Hope to see you again.Dario Villalobos
Dear Surbhi
I just want to thank you for all the trouble with our trip in India. We had the best time and I am sure much of it would not have been as nice if it was not for your effort and suggestions.
George, our guide in Kochi, was very knowledgeable and had a good sense of humour. Robert was the best driver ever and it was great to have him with us for such a long time. He went out of his way to inform us and accommodate our wishes. He is a great guy. We had a great ayurvedic massage in Kochi - will tell anyone going there to do the same.
We loved the houseboat and the staff made my birthday extra special.
Thanks for the part you played there too.
The Devaaya Resort in Goa was also great. It was quiet, but as expected seeing we did not go in season.
I would not recommend the Sterling Resort to anyone. It was great being in the teaplantations and enjoyed travelling there, but everything from the check-in to the rooms without water and not warm enough blankets were not nice. The waiter's clothes were as dirty as the table cloths and the service was not good. We still had fun and laughed about all of this, but circumstances like these could spoil a holiday!
Once again, thank you for making our holiday one of the best ever.
Regards
Esta
Hi,
Its good to be back home, however we had a superb holiday...THANK YOU.
The service was excellent, our experiences amazing, beyond words.
We appreciate the support that was given to us and will recommend your organisation to
other interested travelers.
The Hotels met ALL our expectations----they were all excellent.
The drivers were extremely polite, showed tremendous patience and doubled as superb guides. Stanley in Mumbai was ever so helpful and willing to go the extra mile to ensure that we were comfortable.
Mr. Daya Ram in Delhi did his best to ensure that we were comfortable thro' out our
trips in Delhi as well as in Agra. He gave us a guided tour of all he cities, took us to the various sites we requested and showed great concern for our safety.
He did not hesitate to assist us with our luggage onto the platform on our trip to
Surat, as there were no porters around.
The driver in Surat was quiet, but extremely trustworthy and very accommodating to our needs.
With reference to the guides, we were truly blessed to have someone like Yumani,
in Mumbai. Her approach, her gentle manner, her demeanour was totally impressive
and she was knowledgeable, and interesting to listen to. Her command of the English language was impressive.
Mr Rai in Mumbai was such a darling, he stressed himself over our comfort. Our flight
to Delhi had been cancelled, and with a fair bit of running around and tons of stress
he eventually got us onto a flight.
Our experience in Delhi will be remembered with a chuckle. My husband had gone to
the Jamma Masjid to offer his prayers. He chose to leave his shoes beside him. Upon finishing his prayer, he looked beside him and was aghast that his shoes were stolen
We then bought him a pair of sandals as he has a high instep and is unable to wear just
any shoe!!!!!!!!!!!!
Recommendations;
We were not fully informed of the benefits due to us like having the services of a
driver and car in Mumbai and Delhi. In Delhi we had requested a change of hotels
because we were unaware that we had a driver and car at our disposal.
My suggestion is that all clients should be well-informed.
Our train trip to Surat was disappointing as we were expecting a first class AC
berth and not a 2nd class. For foreigners maybe the 1st class is a wiser option
especially if travelling for 15hours.
In panic we then requested a change of the train to Mumbai. We were however pleasantly surprised...the CC-AC compartment was extremely comfortable. And were glad of the experience.
Our Bangalore leg of the trip was very interesting, however were disappointed that the guide insisted that we leave Mysore at 9'00am,when our flights were only at 6pm and 9pm. Basically we spent our day sitting, which was a waste of precious time for us. We spent the best part of the day sitting at the air-port. The Bangalore agent did not meet us on the return journey, and called us a few hours later at the airport requesting us to fill out a feedback form. This was the only time that we experienced inefficiency. The standard here needs to be improved.
Overall we had a lovely, interesting and memorable trip and on behalf of my family
I say a big THANK YOU for the efficiency, the warm welcome and the amazing organization.
To you and the rest of the Compass Team...your services are excellent May u always
maintain such a high standard.
Your company will certainly be RECOMMENDED to others.
Wishing you and the Compass team a Happy New Year and the very best for 2010.
Best Wishes
Soraiya Moola
South Africa.
Hi Anupama,
Thank you for arranging this tour for us. I was very impressed with
the services we got from the representatives, the driver, the guides,
the hotels and YOU.
The hotel in Delhi, because of the old carpet, the smell was too strong. It was switched to a different room after we requested on the
3rd night (The first two nights, we thought that was what we could get
with the money we paid).
I have told many of my friends about your services. May be, some of
them will get your service in the near future. I wish that India is
not far away so I can get more people to use your services.
I have forward your email to Poay-cheng. May be she will give you feed
back, too.
Susan Hsiu-fang
Dear Sukriti,
Thanks you for your greetings. At the same time, a big thankyou for the wonderful arrangements made by you & Compass, it exceeded my expectations and everything went super smooth.
Rgds
Sunil
Dear Ms Kapoor,
We are back in our home country, and indeed filled with sweet memories of Incredible India !
The last 10 days we spent at the house of our daughter, son in law and grandchildren, and we had a wonderful time.
Quite some time we spend by visiting things in the city and the surroundings.
As promised, I will write you a more detailed “report” with some suggestions we have for you. These not as critic, but merely to make it possible for your company to even perform better/more focused on our culture and way of thinking, which will, I hope, make it possible for people from our countries to better understand each other.
But the most important is that we had a great/wonderful/unforgettable trip in India.
And it was very well organized by Compass, and we will most certainly recommend your company to anyone asking for it!
The drivers: Rajesh and Josef: how can we ever forget them ???? Besides being great, safe drivers, they also told us, during the long trips, all kind of things about what we saw, their personal lives and India.
All guides did a good job, telling stories and listening to our questions.
The warm welcomes at the airports, the detailed information, in short : an excellent tour operator you are !!
And it all started with you! Thanks to the way you personally gave us all the needed information made us make a choice for Compass.
In due time I will also send an e-mail to your director.
For now, thank you very much indeed for making this a never to forget experience!!With warmest regards,
Marcel de Breet
Dear sukriti,
It's a pleasure for me to come back with this Feedback form.
It will be a very detailed feedback
Delhi
Arrival on Delhi Airport: Good Welcoming and very kind person at the airport
Hotel on delhi: Poor conditions, and not very well situated
Guide: Very short presentations, not very communicative and left us before the hotel in the middle of the road.
Agra
Hotel: Good conditions
Guide: Very cultivated and very helpful
Sightseeing: Very impressive and very good program
Jaipur
Hotel: Very Good conditions
Guide: Correct, needs to improve communication with guests
Sightseeing: Impressive and very good program
Jodhpur
Hotel: Very Good conditions
Guide: Good
Sightseeing: Good program
Udaipur
Hotel: Just good conditions
Guide: Good and communicative
Sightseeing: Good program, but preer to know from the beginning that there was no water in the rivers
Flight to Mumbai:Good Assistance on the airport
Overall conditions of transfer between the cities: Good conditions, very very kind driver but not a verygood english, a small problem of car on the road in the mountains.
Mumbai:
Assistance on the airport Good
Hotel: Good
Guide: The best we saw in our Indian Trip , very cultivated, devoted, simple, near to the customers and try to make the journey suitable to our forecast, enjoy knowing her
Sightseeing: Good but sometimes no place to park in to admire the full sightseeing, but we get some bonuses to compensate this
Assistance on the airport: Very Good
I enjoyed the whole trip an it was magic. If it was to repeat, I would not hesitate.Tarak kachouri
Dear Anchal Suman,
Sending short feedback on the tour. It's in Portuguese, because I have some difficulties in translation (sorry).
The program of the trip was always a great follow-up, including service support (excellent) in all airports. Cars and drivers with a good performance, excellent even in the initial route (Delhi / Agra). The performance of the guides in general, was very close to good, removing the Goa guide that looked like a esperitual (VERY BAD, I should be refunded the amount paid). The hotels, removing the Dehli (not recommended), were good especially the "Crown Plaza" in Kathemandu. The Resot "Hyatt" in Goa excellent, beautiful, cheerful staff and always well prepared and a excellent catering service (wine a little expensive).
As recommendations, I would say:
- Office of the guides should be more careful;
- Some of the sites indicated by buying guides convenient little;
- After completing the visits, was an interesting involvement (estimates) with routine of the cities, thus better understand the culture and realities of each city;
- Include a small tours in the evening visit to the centers, or places major cities was positive.
In summary, we conclude that the service as a whole was very good. The my thanks.
All the best for you, and maybe even a day.
If they need some help from Portugal, have.
Best regards,
Alfredo Cardoso
Dear Anupama
I loved India and I think our choice of Compass India was the best we could
do. I appreciated your organization of schedules and tours, transport, the solicitude of guides and drivers. I could only suggest perhaps that travelers could give the total amount of tips at the beginning or at the end of the tour and not almost day by day, sometimes is not the most comfortable alternative. I also think that you didn’t need to hide that we would change in Agra for a worse hotel than the indicated: saying the true, and not that we would have a better hotel, would be understood by us.
Anyway, I liked the tour very much and certainly I´ll recommend you to any
friend of mine to go to India!
Thank you and a lot of success to Compass India!
Dear sirs,
Our experience was funtastic! All the trip was an excellent discover. The services, hotels, transport, guides were the best possible. In a scale of 100 points we will give you 96!!Best regards
Maria Silva (Portugal)
Ms Varsha Gent.ma,
we have not forgotten you and the beautiful, perfect trip to India and Nepal of 20/07/2009 As promised, albeit with considerable delay due to commitments and the difficulty of organizing thousands of photos taken, allegations that a first batch of photos you can use at your leisure without any limitation.Followed by other 3 groups of photos.
Thank you and your staff (especially drivers and guides) for a great trip touting our friends and acquaintances
Regards,
Franco Rigotti
Shweta,
I’ve been meaning to write to thank you for all to did to make our trip possible, but have gotten distracted with away from it each time I sat down to type out a note. We are happy to supply a comment for Compass as we truly could not have managed the trip without you.
“Although we have traveled as a family internationally several times, planning our trip to India quickly became an intimidating exercise. Once we found Compass India, however, the stress and uncertainty associated travel in India quickly dissipated. They allowed us to customize our itinerary and select options from their informed selections of stops, sightseeing and hotels. It was very comforting knowing that we would find things as represented once our trip got underway. Two things were especially rewarding in our dealings with Compass. One, the car, driver and tour guides were all beyond expectations. While planning, we felt like this was really extravagant, but once we got there it proved to be a necessity. We learned so much and were able to focus on all the beauty and fascination of India and not how to get to the next stop. Secondly, when faced with a 12+ hour train delay, which turned out to be a canceled train altogether, the Compass Team went to work and found a solution that resulted in virtually no delay and more importantly no missed stops on our itinerary. Had we been on our own, I’m sure we would have blown two of our 16 days in country, not to mention the likely divorce proceedings that would have followed from all the stress and venting! Joking aside, having Compass and their team looking out for us, allowed us to enjoy being together as a family in one of the most enriching environments possible, creating memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.”
“Compass was great! Just the right level of assistance and care…there when you need them, close at hand when you don’t. They made our trip to India more than we could have hoped for”
I hope those comments help. Not for your web site or marketing efforts, but I want to make special mention of the driver and tour guide we had for 12 of the 16 days. Meenu, our drive, was more than we could have ever hoped. He was focused, attentive, and skilled. We never doubted his ability to negotiate every possible object on the road way, animate or inanimate! He was also just a wonderful person with a great personality and sense of humor that we enjoyed throughout the trip. Surendra, our guide, was so far beyond belief, we must say thank you to whoever assigned him to us. He was so well informed, so helpful, so unobtrusive and such a wonderful person that we felt as though he was and is a member of family. We witnessed so many other guides that just didn’t seem to be of the same caliber and could not have imagined spending 12 days with them. With Surendra, and Meenu, the 12 days flew by and we never once grew tired of their company. Please pass these comments on to the person at Compass that coordinates the drivers and guides so they know how special each of them are.
Well, we only saw a small part of India, so hope to find time to return. We’ll certainly be in touch if/when we do.
Regards,
Charlie Sloan & Family
Shweta ,
I echo Charlie's comments. As you may recall, I had a certain amount of anxiety about traveling with our two daughters, particularly after the tragedy of Mumbai. Your reassuring words alleviated all my concerns and made us realize this was a trip that we had to take - and we are so happy we did. The beauty of India and its people will stay with us all for the rest of our lives.
Thank you!!
Becca Sloan
Mrs. Varsha ,
many thanks for the marvellous experience that your company gave at my family and at my friends also Attached at this mail you can find some picture for your website , I and my family , I and my wife and all the group.
Regards
Rodolfi Fabrizio
Dear Mr Durjay,
with this mail I , my family and my friends will want explain to you and all your staff a big thanks for this trip.
We are very satisfied about the trip programm and about all the services.
All the people involved in this trip , the assistant , the employee in the locations , the driver , the guides , all , are very professional people that know very well his job and understand what the customer need and are proactive to satisfy the client's request.
In few words , very high professional people.
I repeat , we are very happy to avoid this experience with your company and if any people 'll ask me a name or a reference regarding tour operator in India I will assure you 'll recommended Compass India and , off course for all my next travels in India subcontinent the solution it's only one , your company!!
Thanks a lot for all tthe service
Best regards
Rodolfi Fabrizio
Dear Sukriti,
Sorry for the late response..was caught up with work. I have written a testimony based on our vacation:
From day 1 as we arrived in New Delhi to Day 17 when we took off, the representatives of Compass India Inc assured that we faced no inconvenience anywhere. The hotel check in’s, sight seeing, shopping, everything was well planned and executed. The cars used for travelling were clean, spacious and comfortable and the drivers were well informed and alert on the roads.The guides at every site gave an in depth insight into the history of things. Some guides were national guides and hence a wealth of knowledge. We were constantly kept informed and were contacted regularly by the Operations staff to ensure our safety and comfort.
Lastly, the office staff members in New Delhi are pure professionals and did everything to make our vacation one of the best. They replied to each and every query we had since 2 months before our travel and made sure all our concerns were addressed promptly.
We would definitely use the services of Compass India Inc whenever we visit India and would recommend Compass India to anyone who wishes to travel to India.
hope this helps. I will send you pictures a little later in low res. Should you decide to use any and need a high resolution photo, I will send it over as well.
Thank you and have a good day.
Regards,
Rupak
Dear Varsha,
we would like simply thank you for the perfect organization of the tour .
We arrived in Italy as scheduled and all was OK
All partecipants recognized that you are a professional and reliable company ,particullary for the customized tours .
The driver and his assistant were kind and extremely professional .
If we will organize other tours in India ,of course we will contact you.
best regards
franco r. group
Dear Mr Durjay,
with this mail I , my family and my friends will want explain to you and all your staff a big thanks for this trip.
We are very satisfied about the trip programm and about all the services.
All the people involved in this trip , the assistant , the employee in the locations , the driver , the guides , all , are very professional people that know very well his job and understand what the customer need and are proactive to satisfy the client's request.
In few words , very high professional people.
I repeat , we are very happy to avoid this experience with your company and if any people 'll ask me a name or a reference regarding tour operator in India I will assure you 'll recommended Compass India and , off course for all my next travels in India subcontinent the solution it's only one , your company!!
Thanks a lot for all tthe service
Best regards
Rodolfi Fabrizio
Dear Sirs,
herewith I really want to thank you for the unforgettable sightseeing tour I've had over there!
Rarely in my life ( and trust me, I've travelled quite a lot! ) I have seen such fascinating places! India is truly a magic land, worth to be visited!
As far as our own tour is concerned, I'm really satisfied with your services and I'd like to underline that your efficiency has been fully appreciated!
The hotels you have provided have met my expectations: excellent food, kind and courteous staff, nice bedrooms with reasonable range of facilities ( even though it has been hard to get a hairdrier at the Rajdarshan hotel in Udaipur!!! ). Moreover, I'd like to point out that the Ratan Vilas of Jodpuhr was absolutely the best regarding cleanliness!!
All the guides have been cooperative and helpful ( some also very patient when we went shopping! ) but I must admit that the Indian accent is sometimes difficult to understand when people speak English! My personal sincere congratulations to Mr Mahendra Sharma, our local guide in Jaipur: the best guide of all! and with a real excellent English!!
To conclude, I'd like to make you notice that our tour would not have been the same without the help of our precious driver, Mr Shammi Rajput, so caring, patient, efficient and punctual! I had rarely met such an intuitive person, especially abroad where customs and traditions are so different from European ones! I would recommend him to any of your best customers!
My hope is to come back to India as soon as possible, maybe in another part of your wonderful country and... who knows.. I could also be interested in finding a temporary job as a teacher there!!
Looking forward to hearing from you, please accept
M best regards,
Grazia Rosso
Dear Surbhi
Please allow me to congratulate you personally and Compass India for providing us with such an excellent tour. I just got back and I appreciate all the help that you have given us in our trip.
Thanks again for your prompt help each time we had questions.
Ehsan
Hello Shweta,
Happy new year -- I hope you had an excellent start to 2009! I have been meaning to write you for awhile but have neglected to do so -- but I just wanted to drop you a quick note to offer my sincere thanks for all of your work (and that of all your colleagues at Compass) in arranging our Kerala + Agra tour last month. It was a fantastic trip, start to finish (just as the Rajasthan trip that you organized for me and other friends was in 2006), and we were consistently impressed with the facilities, guides, and seamlessness of the Compass Tours experience.
I specifically wanted to highlight the absolutely outstanding work of Rajesh Yadav, our wonderful driver for our Delhi-Agra round-trip. Particularly given the tough circumstances of our very late arrival into Delhi, and the Midnight - 4.00am drive that he had to pull off, he was an excellent driver, consistently professional and safe, while also clearly a very good person and real pleasure to talk to. I know that your colleagues had mentioned that he is your company's top driver and that you assigned him to us for that reason, and this was clearly borne out by his performance. I hope he is suitably appreciated and rewarded by Compass!
As with my last trip, I will most certainly refer you and Compass India to friends and colleagues who would like to plan tours in India in the future, and I will not hesitate to contact you again for my next trip! In fact, I have already recommended you to a friend here in the U.S., Neeru Jyoti, who's niece and nephew will be traveling to India soon.
With best wishes,
Anuj Gupta
Dear Surbhi
Please allow me to congratulate you personally and Compass India for providing us with such an excellent tour. I just got back and I appreciate all the help that you have given us in our trip.Thanks again for your prompt help each time we had questions.
Ehsan
I hope you are well. I am writing to say THANKYOU SO MUCH for the wonderful tour. Everyone we met from your company were excellent, always friendly and helpful and nothing was too much trouble.
We were met at each city by your representatives who helped us with hotel check in and made sure we had all we required, all were very polite and well mannered.
We saw more than we expected and everything was explained by your very knowledgeable guides, all three of them were good company and we learnt a lot from them.
I feel that I must mention our driver for the tour, David. He drove perfectly, always kept us safe, was always polite and again nothing was too much trouble for him, he is an excellent man.
When we travel to India again we will use Compass and we will recommend your company to anyone we know visiting India, we cannot recommend you highly enough.
Could you please thank all our good friends at Compass for making our holiday so enjoyable.
The attachment is a picture of David and my wife Christine.Once again THANKYOU
Your good friends Alan & ChristineI just want to thank you for arranging our tour and to let you know how much we enjoyed it.
Everything went smoothly and we were very well taken care of, and although it was a busy schedule, it worked out well as we never left too early in the mornings. Each day was a new adventure, and was so very different to any other place in the world that I have visited.
The people I met were delightful.....I haven't met nicer people anywhere else in the world.
Karen who drove us around Rajastan was a delight, I hope if I go again to India we would have him again.
Please thank Mr. Gupter, I hope I have his name correct for his help, and I would happily use your service again.
Sincerely, Janet WebbJust wanted to say a huge thank you for organising our recent trip to India.
We loved the tour & your country.
We enjoyed both north & south, they are very different.
The train trip was very daunting; we did not expect to have to share a cabin especially with men & no other westerners in sight.
The hotels were mostly very good with the exception of The Corus, Delhi, which you had advised me about & the last hotel at Kovalam, which was not very good.
Our driver in the south Rajeev was delightful & very patient especially when we were shopping for jewellery. He made us feel safe & had a great sense of humour.
Once again my sincere thanks & if you ever make it to Australia, you would be a most welcome guest at Lee & my home.
I must also thank you for the beautiful shawl that you gave me, I will treasure it always.
Many thanks & I hope to see you again.
Kind regards,
Kathy Cheetham
Thanks for your mail. Nice to hear from you. The whole arrangement from the pick up at the airport until the drop off at the airport was perfect! Nice driver and very good tour guides. At arrival and check out from the Hotel was always one of your representatives looking if everything was OK. Really a perfect organization and we have plenty of nice memories from India!
We definitely will come again and of course by then shall get in touch with you.
With kind regards
Franz Christen
simply worldwide
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Hi Anchal,
Ben and I would like to thank you and the entire compass India team for planning and executing such a wonderful tour for us. The service was nothing short of fantastic. Mr Suresh Yadu very extremely nice and helpful. The driver in Delhi Mr Karan Singh was great. He really made our trip exciting with his lovely manner and light-hearted nature. I would also like to personally thank you for organising this trip at short notice. We are thrilled that everything went as planned and we got to see all that we wanted. So great planning on your part.
Take care
With regards
Sneha Narayan
Dear Sukriti,
I want to thank you for arranging a wonderful trip for us of Rajasthan. We enjoyed very bit of it. Your arrangements were superb. Your company executives in every city were very professional, friendly and on time. They were prompt in their response. Raj in Udaipur was superb. My daughter got sick there and he was very responsive and prompts to our requests. Guides were good. Raghu in Jodhpur was superb.
Hotels were excellent and we loved staying in all of them. We enjoyed our last night at the Lake Palace Hotel.
In summary, I want to say that it was a very well organized trip. Every detail was taken care of. I really enjoyed meeting you personally. We definitely will contact you again for our next holiday and will highly recommend you to all our friends.
Best of luck in your profession.Surinder Kallar
We got back to the US after a very enjoyable vacation in India, thanks in large measure to Compass Travels' arrangements in Delhi and Udaipur. Your agents were responsive to our needs beyond our expectations. The guides were knowledgeable and friendly.
We will definitely consider your company for future vacations in India.
Regards.
Santanu Dutta
Thank you very much got organizing the tour for my parents. They has immense amount of fun.
I cannot thank you enough.
Regards
Sreedhar
My husband and I took our first trip together to India in January 2008 and we are VERY fortunate and grateful that we used the excellent services of Compass India. Anupama, our travel agent, was very courteous, detailed and most of all, extremely patient in all our communications. We had explained what we were looking for via email and she coordinated and created an itinerary which suited our needs and budget accordingly.
Our flight from the US got canceled due to bad weather and we had to adjust our travels immediately. All it took was one phone call - Anupama was very swift in re-arranging our itinerary while we were on our way to India the next day and we still managed to see all the things as previously planned. All we had to do on our end was get to India! The driver Rakesh was a wonderful person - trustworthy and courteous. The guides we had for every location (Agra, New Delhi and Jaipiur) were very knowledgeable and friendly as well. We told them what we wanted to see and they facilitated this. Even if we had not done our research in advance, Compass India provides recommendations based on interests and time. The hotels we stayed at were amazing - top quality! And Compass India ensured that we were comfortable and content with the rooms and services. I received calls from Anupama throughout the trip to ensure that everything was going well and that there were no issues which they weren't because everything was so well planned for us from the time we landed till the time we left India!
Overall, this trip to India was an amazing one - an experience that we will never forget. And I am very glad we used Compass India for our first trip. I will strongly recommend their services to others and am sure my husband and I will be using them again for our next trip!
Sincerely
Vibha
My wife and I have enjoyed the tour very much.
-Hotels: hotels were chosen also according to our own specific request and were very good, perfect service;
-Transport arrangements: the tour was organized with care and professionalism; we had an appointment delay one morning but it was caused by local traffic problems and was easily recovered to everybody's satisfaction;
-guides were very experienced and very knowledgeable, with some differences from one guide to the other but very good in the average. The spoken English can be improved.
Dario DiFrancesco
Hi Anupama:
A Happy New Year and seasons greetings for 2008
I have no reservations about commending the service quality of Compass and particularly your personal touch and endearing voice! You have certainly gone the extra mile in terms of providing quality service. Compass staff met us as crucial points during the tour and that was reassuring. Also convey my regards to the driver and his assistant- both were very nice and patient folks. The hotels were good. We particularly enjoyed the Taj hotels at Agra and Ranthambhore.
Ranthambhore hotel stay was positively experiential. We, particularly my American friends, enjoyed it. If there was a let down it was we did not see tigers, neither too many other animals except for an occasional Samba deer here and there. The expectation built up by the guide was that we were going to see tigers roaming around and hoards of 25 other animal species and birds. What a disappointment! Having visited Madumalai in the South, where we saw flocks of Birds and herds of Elephants and deers, Ranthambore I think is being oversold as a tourist destination. That is my negative impression.
Taj Mahal was undoubtedly the highlight. Truly deserves to be in the seven wonders list.
India is truly and incredible country! My American friend felt that the trip to Taj was worth all the effort, despite the squalor and poverty in the streets, the smog and seemingly anarchistic environment. For me particulaly, the positive self -confidence displayed by people of Delhi augurs well. And India seems to be in the midst of a great 'big dig' as we see roads being constructed or broadened everywhere.
Well done and thanks Compass!
Best regards
Elan
Dear Anupama,
I hope you had a great Holi holiday.
Karin, Peter, Matty and I returned to Australia safely last week-end.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for organising an excellent tour for us in North India. We enjoyed the experience very much. India was all we expected and more. The history, culture, architecture, art and people were all wonderful.
Some aspect of life in India and the infrastructure does need improvements. We have high hopes that this will get sorted out in the next decade or two!
We are very impressed with the organisation and professionalism of Compass India Inc. We had your representative meet at every destination and very promptly.
Their friendliness and professionalism in general was exemplary. We also found the guides very professional and very knowledgeable.
Special comment on Ram our driver in Rajasthan. Ram is a great driver and took customer service to a new level.
Ajay at Jodhpur was also very helpful and we spend our second night in a palace room at Balsamand Palace that was very "palatial". Jodhpur ended up being one of my favourite places in this trip which had so many highlights. Umesh in Khajuraho also was great in customer service. Peter, Karin and I had an Ayurvedic massage at Khajuraho.
My favourites:
Cities:
Jodpur
Jaipur
Architectural marvels:
Taj Mahal
Baby Taj
Kajrahoe
Ranakpur Jain temple
Forts:
Mehrangarh Fort
Palace:
Balsamand Palace (gardens were beautiful)
Umaid Bhavan (looked beautiful only saw the museum section!)
Hotels:
Trident Hilton (mentioned first because of the service and breakfast choice was great)
Balsamand Palace (ambience and heritage value was great breakfast was so so!)
Deogarh Palace (foe a small place the food was good. We had our one and only cappuccino here!
Bikanar Palace (quite nice! food service so so!)
Guides:
Varanasi - Indrajeet
Ashvini - Kajaraho
Vneet - Delhi
Ragunath - Jodpur
Sham - Jaipur (very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the religious tales)
All the guides you recommended were good - but these guys were exceptional.
In the trip my least favourite place was Pushkar - the temple was dirty and I did not feel the spirituality of the place as in some other temples. The quietness and "lack of " priests in some of the other temples actually let you feel the spirituality of these holy places. Pushkar was also the only place I could honestly say lacked the warmth of other places we had associated with in India.
We all had some form of a "Delhi Belly" during our trip. My husband was the first to go down after eating chicken in Mandawa. Peter and Karin had days when things were not quite normal but nothing too serious!! I escaped, until the last day when I just did not feel like having any curry meals.
I will be planning an Ayurvedic holiday with my father in Kerala as soon as I can fit the time and a South Indian Holiday in 2010 and will be consulting you on this. Next year is France and seeing family in England.
All in all a very lovely holiday. Thank you very much for organising this. I will recommend your company to my friends, colleagues and relatives. Feel free to keep in touch.
Kind Regards
Ranji
Hello anupama.
I am just writing to you to tell you that we are already back in spain. We've not had problems with fligths or laugagge. Everything has been perfect.
About your tour, just to thank you a lot about everything:
- the van and the driver mr. Jae ram have been excellent. I really recomend this man for any tour you organize with any other tourist. Very save driving and very good person.
- the places visited as good as expected. But thank god we canceled periyar because all of us were very tired and so long driving on india roads would have really killed us. The two day rest in kovallam hotel have been fantastic.
- the hotels were excellent. We have really enjoyed with the atmosphere and the service. Especially hotels in mysore, madumalai, ooty and kovallam. Hotel in kochi was ok but as it was so old and the place is near the beach, there were some big cacoroches we could not avoid in our room. But rest was totally ok.
- about the two guides we had in mysore and kochi, we really have to thank you. They were very professionals and showed and gave us all the information we needed.
- about your corresponsals in bangalore, kochi and trivandrum airport, they have been very kind and helpfull.
Anyway. Just to thank you for all you have done for us and we´ll definitly recomend you to any of our friends in spain that would like to visit south india. I don´t know if you also work we other areas of india, or only south. Just let me nkow so i can keep it in mind for myself or other friends.
Regards. Naren harjani. 01- april- 2.008.Good Afternoon Varsha,
We are sorry that we were not able to send you a feedback until now. Both of us have new jobs since January, and our internet access is limited.
We would like to forward our highest appreciation to you and your colleagues for the effort you made on our exceptional journey to India. We had a really great time during one month starting the trip from Delhi to Madurai, and such experiences that only a few people can have.
As we both work in hotels in Hungary, we probably were living the adventure from a different point of view, this is why we made a spreadsheet to summarize everything.
Our overall opinion is, that the heritage hotels in Rajasthan are the ones of the highest quality.
Thank you once again for your flexible and professional work. We hope that we can join your tour again very soon.
Best regards,
Katalin Fekete and Monika MerenyiDear Varsha,
Thank you for arranging such a wonderful trip for us. your staff were wonderful.
The guides in Varanasi and Jaipur were our favourite , so wonderful and looked after us.
The drive in Gwailor was excellent he even came to the magic show with us on our request !! we were very pleased!
We didn't manage to do our tour on the last day in Jaipur as it was going to be too far for us to travel in a day and then back to catch our flight so we went shopping which we wee very happy to do.
All the very best
Tammy Mitchell and familyHi Varsha,
Just a short note to thank you for a well planned and enjoyable Rajastan trip. We are travelling a fair bit out of Mumbai in the next 2 weeks and will write a detailed email to you on our return to Perth which will be post 15/03.
Regards,
Patricia
Varsha
We have now returned to the UK and we had a wonderful time in Kerala thanks to you and your team. We really enjoyed our stay and the Marari Beach and Kovalam Lake Resort which were brilliant hotels. Fort Cochin was not so nice and we would not want to stay there again but the rest of the trip, including the houseboat, was excellent.
Thanks again for helping to arrange this lovely holiday. Thanks especially to Shine our driver and guide for the last four days. We will recommend you to our friends and colleagues for when they visit India.
Kind Regards
Mark DoddsPartner
DPP
Everything went easily - and India is a fabulous destination for people who love to see and understand other cultures, history and food -as well as India's changing society.
Glad you liked the gifts - maybe one day we'll meet.
Thanks again,
Dear Geetha
Although it is a beautiful, sunny day and the air is filled with joy, nothing could be greater than our experience in the most amazing country, India. I often stay awake late at night dreaming about the awesome time we had, and yes we might have everything in SA, but India somehow just offers a little more.
Searching aimlessly on the website Incredible India, we did not expect to find the best travel agency that the world has to offer, your agency has made our trip, one of the most memorable trips ever. Although my family has been there before, they still did not enjoy it as much as they did this time. As a teenager, we often become real picky and I was real skeptical about coming, especially after seeing India on TV, but right now, I can’t wait till I can jump on the next plane and come right back.
We look at the photos and videos daily, however it isn’t the same as being in India, the place itself is has a history that leaves mankind wondering, beaches that leave you breathless, architecture that leaves us artists amazed and most of all the people that we love so much.
My best places were definitely Varanasi, Kerala, Mumbai and Putturpathy, but however it wouldn’t have been, if it weren’t for Compass Tours. I thank-you in the biggest way that I can, especially coming to a strange country and not knowing anything, you have made it the best trip anyone can have. Of course I would be coming back, but nothing will beat my 2007 experience in magical India. Your tour company has so much to offer and you’ve impressed us dramatically. Your staff was exceptional throughout the tour and we could really see that you’ll have gone that extra mile so therefore we are most appreciative.
People who have dealt with you’ll, will realize that each one of you touch our hearts in a very special way.
May god bless each one of you’ll, and may your company succeed to the highest level, because we South Africans know that we can’t get anyone better than you’ll.
I pass my love to all
Geetha I’m definitely coming for my Hindi lessons so I hope you are prepared J. Varsha we will always keep in contact and may you have a prosperous year ahead.
Kind regardsPranusha Naicker
(Daughter of Ronnie Naicker)”
Varsha
We have returned from our trip and I just wanted to thank you and Compass for providing service and experience far above and beyond anything I could have hoped for. We were met at every stop by one of your representatives, and our driver Murare was incredibly professional and helpful. We enjoyed ourselves immensly, and above all there was never a time when we felt insecure. Thank you and your company for a trip we won't soon forget. Regards
Paul and Laura
Hello Varsha,
Once again a big big thank for the journay.
I know it is very unpolite to ask if the book about Finland has received you, but I thought it was so important to show you how our country looked like.
Have a really nice year 2008,
Anneli & Channe
Varsha
We have returned from our trip and I just wanted to thank you and Compass for providing service and experience far above and beyond anything I could have hoped for. We were met at every stop by one of your representatives, and our driver Murare was incredibly professional and helpful. We enjoyed ourselves immensly, and above all there was never a time when we felt insecure. Thank you and your company for a trip we won't soon forget. Regards
Dear Varsha
This is just a short letter to tell you how much we enjoyed the tour which you arranged for us. Our only disappointment was that we did not meet you so that we could thank you personally.
Everybody was very friendly and helpful to us. We became very fond of the people we met.
Thank you again for your kind involvement.
RegardsHugo
Subject: Thanks
Hi Varsha,
We are now back home in Perth after a five week overseas stay. Both my husband and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for arranging the Rajastan tour for us and the Behramfram's. Here are some of our comments.
Transfers:
The transfers were well organised and timely with the operators being very helpful and respectful. The meeting and greeting officials were co-operative and polite, providing us with all documentation and necessary information.
Hotels:
All the hotels were excellent except in Mt Abu where we were originally provided rooms which were sub-standard. This was rectified by your local representative who booked us at the Bikaner House which was comfortable and satisfactory. Unfortunately in Udaipur due to the Minister Praful Patel's daughters marriage we were unable to stay at the hotel requested but were provided with alternative accommodation which was satisfactory.
Driver:
We wish to make special mention about our driver Rajiv Sharma who was with us throughout the tour. He was very helpful, accomodating and guided us where necessary. He was extremely polite and respectful. We wish to pay special thanks to him for the excellent services rendered by him. Please convey our thanks to him.
Once again we wish to thank you Varsha for organising a memorable Rajastan trip. I will not hesitate to recommend your company to others as we were truly pleased with all aspects of the tour. In fact, I have given your name to a friend of mine who wishes to do the same tour sometime this year.
Kind regards,
Patricia
Dear Varsha:
We are back home after our extraordinary trip to your beautiful country... we had an amazing time over there and my wife and I would like to extent to all your staff our sincere appreciation for all the kindness, politeness, and professionalism that anyone of them showed to us and made us feel at home.....
Sincerely,
Kyra & Gilberto
Dear Shweta
The company is so good to us and so very helpful and thoughtful.
We can’t praise Compass highly enough. We loved our trip and the experiences you organised for us. I only wish we’d had even longer to explore some of the fascinating places we visited.
Our driver, Piarchand was exceptional. We enjoyed his company and were always safe with his excellent driving skills. He really was very thoughtful when I became sick. Peri cried when we left him in Delhi because she said she would miss him AND the car!!!
Our hotels were fabulous but I didn’t really like the one at Mandaw or Bikaneer.
I think I have already told you about our wonderful guides. I can’t remember all their names but the man in Delhi was great and the one at Agra was truly exceptional. Sham in Jaipur was also exceptional as was Vickram at Udaipur. Sham took me shopping for saris in the truly Indian way and that was an absolute ball! I just loved being smothered in layer after layer of gorgeous fabric. It was so hard to select just one. I ended up with 4! The temple at Ranakpur was incredible and so worth seeing. We bought some wonderful carpets nearby there and that in itself was a great experience. Our guide in Jodhpur, I cannot recall his name but I will never forget him. He was a beautiful man and so well educated and his knowledge of the area and history was detailed and totally fascinating. I Iearned so much from him. I remember he said he had been to Australia last year to visit an uncle in Melbourne. He was a lovely man and we loved the time spent with him. Also, he had the coolest shoes and took us to a really fabulous place for fabrics and textiles and I just loved that.
You know, I really learned a lot about marble and granite and sandstone and how to tell true quality stone from the ordinary. I particularly loved the buttery golden stone of Jaisalmer. The way it wears down to become so soft and shiny and smooth. Sandstone in Australia is always ‘sandy’ and grainy. Not at all like the Indian sandstone.
Nepal was great and I finally saw a doctor there and she got me on the road to recovery quickly. (I should mention that Piarchand was always wanting to get me a doctor but I kept thinking I’d be fine the next day. I should have listened to him and got one sooner, but not to worry.) Our guides there were all so friendly, fun and knowledgeable. The hotels were gorgeous too. We loved Fishtail Lodge but the beds were as hard as rocks. It was so nice there though, we made allowances! It’s a gorgeous place.
I am almost forgetting the truly magical night we spent in Deogarh. What a gorgeous place and a simply stunning location. Their nightly entertainment with some most unusual dancers that danced sitting down and with cymbals on their arms and legs, was fantastic and mesmerizing. To have dinner on the castle walls and watch the sun set was just exquisite
Truly Shweta, there were so many ‘moments’ like this that just cannot be compared to anything else.
I always find after traveling that I need a few weeks to process my experiences and let it all sink in. As soon as we arrived home we had to head straight back to work and change our brainspace back from being in India to being back at school. That was hard to do after such overwhelming experiences. I mean being in Varanasi and on the Ganges one day and then in my classroom the next, it was pretty much ‘culture shock’ for me for a while
My class loved all the gifts I bought back for them and they hear a little more each day about India. We took so many photos. They have filled 3 CDs.
I hope this feedback is helpful and we cannot praise Compass highly enough.
ColleenI am also sorry that we did not have a chance to meet--I hope your dental agonies are over. We enjoyed the tour very much and have no major complaints. The Wall Street hotel in Jaipur was perhaps not up to the standards of the other accomodation and the tents in Pushkar could have used a second sheet on the beds, between us and the quilted top covers. There was a bottom sheet but that was all. It struck us as not hygenic. The breakfasts at the Pushkar Bagh were also sub-standard. Nevertheless, seeing the Pushkar Fair was a highlight of the tour.
We experienced our most outstanding guides in Jaipur (Vikram), Agra (Vishu), and Varanasi (Aman Chouderey). Among the rest, a couple of them struggled with English, but on the whole all were helpful.
You may want to offer travellers the option of not having all meals included in the package--that would be our preference on future tours of India.
Your agents in every city were deeply solicitous of our well being. I would recommend Compass to any Canadian friends wishing to travel in India. I understand more hotels are being built so travel there will be even better in future. Some of this critique has already been made by my husband Daniel to your colleague Sanjay, but I wanted to let you know as well.
I hope to meet you when I'm back in Delhi some day. Sincerely,
JudyDear Shweta,
and to all at Compass India,
We have arrived home now with wonderful memories of India. What an amazing country, and so different to anything we have experienced before. We have to thank you for your wonderful organization of our trip that meant that it all went smoothly and we had a worry-free trip. As soon as we arrived at Dehli airport we felt that your company was there to do all you could to make our trip a memorable and happy one - for this we must thank you.
At every destination we were met by your representatives who all made it clear to us that anything we needed we were not to hesitate to contact them. All hotels had our bookings and all made us very comfortable. We must especially mention the hotel at Udaiphur who gave us a wonderful room in the palace. At every destination we had our own guides who took us around the sites and told us about the history, religion, architecture etc in a clear and interesting manner.
I especially would like to thank our driver, Narenda, who was constantly helpful, kind, courteous and good fun. Our trip would not have been quite so enjoyable without him. I would also like to especially mention our guide in Jodphur - Raghu Rathore, who was also very kind, knowledgable and fun to spend the day with.
We had a wonderful trip all in all and I hope very much that at some time in the future we will be able to visit India again - we would like to tour the south of India which, I believe, has a different feel to it. Should this happen I would certainly book through your company again and I would like to have the same driver for the whole trip and Raghu to show us around. I will certainly be recommending your company to anyone who wants to visit India.
Thank you once again for a memorable and magical trip. Yours sincerely
Christina Lambert-Karpodinis
Dear Shweta,
The trip was fabulous! Getting to experience India first hand was a trip of a lifetime. There were too many highlights to mention them all. Thank you for making it happen.
Our driver Joshi and his assistant Bhoopi were exceptional. Joshi learned quickly what things we wanted to see in addition to the normal tourist attractions. He would initiate many side trips and events. He would take us walking through small villages, stopping at weddings on the roadside, visiting local farmers, meeting village families and being invited into their homes, and touring local schools. These were among the best things we did during the 32 days in India. During these visits no one was trying to sell us anything. No one was holding out their hand wanting to be paid or tipped. We loved this. Much different than visiting a dhurrie rug factory, or a textile shop, or an inlaid marble store where the guide was looking for his commission and the craftsman wanted us to buy his expensive product. This was even better than seeing the forts and temples. Not that it wasn’t interesting, but nowhere near as fascinating as seeing how real people live and not the people that sell things to foreign tourists. (Just as an aside, you should warn American/European tourists that driving in India is not for the faint of heart. Every day they will face many dangerous situations on the roads in India. Driving in America is quite different – no cows, no goats, no ox-carts, no tractors, no camel-carts, no tuktuks moving at 15 km/hr, etc. and tourists should probably be warned.)
The hotels were excellent value. They were all clean and well maintained. With only two exceptions they more than met our expectations. The hotel in Varanasi – Palace on Ganges – very importantly on the Ganges – but our room didn’t even have a window! Ouch and the hotel in Pushkar. Some were spectacular like the Deogarh Mahal and the Samode Palace.
The details for the trip were well taken care of. The guides were always waiting for us at our hotels. They spoke excellent English and were informative, intelligent, and knowledgeable about the sites. The hotel reservations were almost always in order and the hotel was aware of our needs with only a couple of minor exceptions. We of course needed two rooms, one for us and one for my sister-in-law and her husband - the Zebelmans.
If I were to take this trip again I would suggest several changes. There was too much driving. We drove approximately 4100 kilometers in 28 days. I would recommend that there be several rest days – like staying at Deogarh and Samode in order to sit by the pool and relax. I would also suggest that we would spend 2 weeks less in Rajasthan. One doesn’t need to see every fort and palace. Perhaps take the train from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer and then back to Delhi to save some 4 solid days of driving. Too much time in the van – Tempo Traveler. But the money to take a van instead of a car was money well spent. To be able to spread out in the van was very important in terms of comfort. The two weeks removed from our trip in Rajasthan could have been spent as one week in Kerala and one week in the mountains perhaps Darjeeling . This would add to the expense of the trip, with two more flights, but would greatly change the scenery and we would have experienced more varied parts of the country.
Again, Thank you for an amazing trip. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Compass Tours to anyone thinking of traveling in India. ***** Five Stars to Compass.
Howie
Howard & Paula Myers
Dear Shweta
I recently received an e-mail from a lady named Patricia who had been given my name by your company as a reference. I copied my reply below-please feel free to use any portion of it. I would also be happy to have future guest contact me. I would ask that you give them my personal e-mail address (peggy7781@hotmail.com) as I check it regularly and only check other one periodically.
Peggy
Sorry it has taken me so long to reply. Shweta gave you my work e-mail which I have not been checking regularly as I am not working at the moment.
You will have a wonderful time in India. I loved it! I cannot tell you enough good things about Shweta and her company. Everything, and I mean every last detail, was exactly as Shweta told me it would be. She was a pleasure to work with, very knowledgeable, informative and responsive. I had never traveled to India before and relied on her advice for some of our destinations and she directed us to some I would never have considered. The trip we planned with Shweta lasted 12 nights. My husband and daughter went to India in Jan 07 and Shweta planned their 5 night trip and everything was exactly as expected. We are already looking forward to going again next year and there is no question but that Shweta will help me plan it.
We were met at the airport in Delhi by a very friendly guide, introduced to our driver and delivered to our hotel, where a Compass agent checked us in. It was the same at each destination. We never, ever had to worry about where we were going, how were we going to get there, etc. We were able to relax and enjoy our trip. We had a different guide in each city, but only changed drivers when we would fly to a new city. The driver is such a help in knowing what you are seeing. For example, there were food vendors on the street and I was fascinated by what they were selling. He would explain to me what the food was and offer to stop so I could sample if I wanted.
I am looking back over this e-mail and I sound like a raving fan, which is exactly what I am. Rarely have I found a company that provided the level of service that Compass and Shweta did. I would be happy to answer any specific questions you may have and would do so more promptly if you were to send them to peggy7781@hotmail.com.
Enjoy your trip,
PeggyHi Anupama
I had such a wonderful time in India that it has been slow to return to normal here and I am still working on the thousands of photos that I took when I was there. When I finally finish I will send you the link to the site so that you can see them if you wish.
"This once in a lifetime trip to Northern India and Nepal was made extra special by the hard work and attention to detail by the Compass team, their representatives and the carefully chosen guides and drivers who all made sure that I was safe, saw everything there was to see and was comfortable in every way. I really could not have asked for more. Having chosen the tourist/budget level of hotel, they did not disappoint - being clean, well located and having all the necessary amenities. The itinerary put together by Compass had a little of everything with trains, planes, cars, rickshaws and elephants with insights into the hindus, the muslims, the maharajahs, the moghuls and the buddhists. It was an action-packed adventure from start to finish and any fears I had about being a woman travelling alone quickly vanished. I can't wait to do Southern India and Sri Lanka in the future."
Anyway, thank you all once again and I will drop you a note of the photo site once it is complete.
My best wishes to everybody
Isobel MurrayDear Durjay
Thank you so very much for the amazing support you gave me and my group during our trip to India. I was totally amazed by the level of service provided by your staff in all the cities. In particular, all of us (each and every student) enjoyed Saurabh Sharma’s company in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mysore. He was outstanding in all respects. He made my life a whole lot easier. The students related to him very well too.
I wish I could have met you. I hope this e-mail expresses what I feel in my heart. I am truly grateful for all your help. Sue Hunter is the best there is on this side of the Pacific. Now I know a person on the other side! Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Sue Umashankar, Ph.D.Academic Director, GBP
Senior Lecturer, Marketing
Eller College of Management
University of Arizona
Hi Anchal
- We arrived home yesterday after our trip to India and then a visit to family. Our experience of India was very positive and we have wonderful memories and photos of our visit. Below I will comment in detail on our travel -
The transportation arrangements were good - we were always met, taken to our hotel and provided with advice.
Guides - The tour arrangements and guides provided were excellent - information provided and their driving skills were first class.
Overall, Compass India was fantastic and exceeded our expectations. David recommended the company to the Public Service Staff College (where he stayed the first week and attended a seminar) and intends to email them with the company details.
Anchal, you have done a fantastic job in organizing our trip. There were adequate rest periods after long days on the road and we had the opportunity to see many different lifestyles in India, from village life to bustling city. We intend to visit India again and will recommend your company to any friends who might consider a trip to your country.
Kind regards,Pat Boadle
Helllo Anchal,
I want to tell you how much we appreciated the service we had from your company when we were in India. Your drivers and guides were prompt and courteous and knowledgeable. I always worry when I arrange things on the internet but we were very much pleased with your service .The trip was very well planned. I will recommend your company to any friends that are considering India as a vacation.
Aydan TezicTurkey
Dear Anchal,
Hello, I am sorry it took me so long to send this, just getting back in to normal routine after 3 wks of vacation. I miss your emails, for last few months or so I used to wake up to your emails and end the day with your emails. It was very nice working with you, too bad we could not meet in Delhi. May be next time I hope.
I wanted to congratulate you as the trip was what you promised and we had a good experience. We will definitely consider using Compass again and will recommend this to our friends and family. And I hope we can do this soon again, if we do, we would want you to arrange for our future trip that is if you don't mind.
We will point out all the good things about the trip and then may be few things you can keep in mind when planning such trips in future.
First of all the Innova car was very comfortable, and worries free. Thank you for changing. Mr. Pradeep Sati is a very safe and excellent driver, he was always courteous, polite and very professional at all time. We will give him an A+ for his professionalism and for taking care of us. He was always on tiime and always had a nice smile, he will have the car nice and clean for us with water bottles ready. This really helped in the heat, thanks for including them. When we plan a trip with you in future, we will definitely ask for him and will highly recommend him to our friends and family. We are sure that he knows that we are pleased with him, but if you can again relay this message to him, we will really appreciate it. My son Ankit had great time and he too liked having Mr. Pradeep Sati as our driver.
All the reps from your company and guides were nice and accommodating. Mr. Revat was very nice, even though he was not informed about few things, he received us very well, we did not hear from Mr. Singh who was suppose to greet us, we had to call him. Mr. Naka was kind enough to call to apologize and to make sure everything went in order in Jaipur.
Package given to us in Udaipur was very good and had all the names and phone numbers of persons greeting us in different cities, which was helpful.
All the Hotels were nice except some of the rooms were in the back part of the Hotels.
Ajit Bhawan was very nice, staff and service there was excellent. They also had a business center with internet free of charge, where we were able to transfer some of the pics to our web albums to make room on the memory cards.
One more thing you may want to include in the pamphlets is the names of local restaurants and good, clean places (even Dhabas) to grab some lunch and dinner, as this was always a dilemma for us, one gets tired of eating Hotel food all the time and it gets expensive too. In Jaipur Mr. Rewat suggested a place that was nice and in Jodhpur Mr. Atul had recommended a place. We were very cautious and did not get sick from food or water anywhere which was a great blessing. It was just a little cold, which was not too bad. Thanks for calling me on to check how I was doing, I am sorry, we were in middle of checking out from Hotel so I could not talk much.
Over all and all we had a fun trip despite of the heat. Luckily there was no rain anywhere. We took lots and lots of pics, which I look at everyday and reminisce the good time.
Thank you for putting this package together for us and making this trip a special one for my son. We hope the feedback that we gave you would be helpful to you for future improvement. And if you have any specials in future please keep us posted.
Thanks.
Surekha
Hello Anchal!!
This mail is so long overdue.
I feel terrible as were meant to mail you with our feedback long before our wedding in May (you will not remember, but we came to India specifically to shop for the wedding), but it has been crazy hectic since. Excuses aside, this is a summary of our experience:'
"One of the best travel choices we have made by far was to opt for the Indian based operator Compass Tours. It was initially a risk we took, to pick an operator outside our own country, but it was so well worth it! The representatives and guides were attentive, punctual, ever so obliging and knowledgeable. Compass made our luxury tour of the sub-continent a truly memorable one, with their painstaking attention to detail and enjoyable tours. Our anniversary in Cochin was made so special by the wonderful folk who took us on a private Harbour cruise with especially prepared Kerala delights- sublime, and we won’t forget it! Our trip in Feb 2008 coincided two months before our wedding, and as we were having a Hindu ceremony in South Africa, we had planned the trip around shopping for the event. Spoilt for choice, we were like kids in the proverbial candy store. From Amritsar to Bangalore and back to Bollywood city, Mumbai, our guides escorted us to wonderful stores brimming with the brightest, shiniest things. Overall, the standard of accommodation, planned tours and explanations we received at the historical sites and monuments were superb. Can’t wait to return to Mother India. We definitely recommend Compass Tours."
On a separate note, and as our experience in India showed us that the general attitude was one of "help our fellow brothers and sisters".
Best wishes
Ishay and Jelle
Dear Anchal,
We are completely sure that travel with Compass has been the better option.
Everything was more than fine, hotels, transport arrangements, guides...and also our driver, Lal who was specially kind and responsible with us.
We won't hesitate travelling with Compass in our next travel to India!! (you have a wonderful country).
Thanks for all, sincerely
Irena & ArnauThank you for booking our tours.
We enjoyed the trip, the service was excellent and the hotels were very good. We find that The Taj Hotel in Varanasi was out-dated but the room was comfortable and clean. All the guides were knowledgeable, helpful and accommodating.
I have everything good to say about Compass Travel Services. We do plan to see other parts of India in the near future and looking forward to meeting you.
Yours truly,
Eva Lee
Hi Anupama
Sorry for the delay but the week was too busy after 3 weeks of vacation.
All the hotels were excellent, the service, the decoration, rooms, everything, but the most I enjoyed was Oberoi Udaivilas.
The drivers were very kind specially Krishna.
The guides on the most were very good, they gave us a lot of information, and were kind. But I would like to be specific with each one:
Delhi, Katmandu, Varanasi, Agra, Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur: Excellent, but the best of all was in Udaipur.
All the assistants were excellent but I would like to remark on the guy that took us on Khajuraho to the village and to the train in Orchha to Agra and the one on Ranthambhore who was with us in the other village and in the second safari.
The service quality of Compass India was the best!, thank you for the calls during the trip, and for the organization, we had a wonderful experience, and marvelous memories. All the people that I talk with ask me about the travel agency, I’m sure if they travel, they will contact you.
If you want extra information, please contact me
Alicia Hop
Anchal
I am very happy to provide some feedback on our India trip. Firstly I would like to say we had a superb holiday from start to finish. India is an amazing place with buildings, temples, forts that take your breath away and of course, very friendly hospitable people. The service we received from Compass India from pre trip planning through to meeting us off the plane at arrival, trip coordination/organization whilst we were there and delivering us back to the airport for departure, were absolutely first class.
We were met at every destination by a friendly Compass representative who took away all the hassle of registration etc. We had a very safe and reliable driver for the road travel part of our tour that looked after our "on the road" travel needs very well.
Our Guides at each destination were all first class, friendly and all very well informed. Honorable mentions go to Atul (Agra), Govinder (Jaipur), Ragu (Jodhpur) and Ravi (Delhi) for providing their own unique charm and character to our visits. Ragu in particular was first among equals for "going the extra mile" and for his super quick mastery of English wit and humour - marvelous! Our walk through the Bird Sanctuary at Bharatpur with Navandra was outstanding - we have some stunning pictures taken through his telephoto lens with our camera.
Hotels were all of good quality - no bad ones with the Heritage Hotels providing their own brand of "old India" charm.
Compass India are to be congratulated on their organization, attention to detail (nothing was too much trouble and always with a smile). They cannot be faulted for the service they gave which undoubtedly contributed to a unique and extremely memorable experience. We would have no hesitation in recommending them to others.
David and Jane Vaughan
Dear Durjay,
We are back to the usual routine here in the States with the children on their long summer vacation. It was great to meet you at your home with your lovely wife and daughters. It's too bad that we spent such a short time together as we enjoyed the company and conversation.
Ashwin was thrilled with his stickers.
We would like to give you our feedback from our vacation, and we have broken this down in chronologic order.
Being met at the airport : We were met by Vikram and he was very welcoming and had us settled into the Hotel very quickly.
Park Hotel: Very comfortable.
Shatabdi Express to Amritsar: This was an excellent journey and a good experience for the children. The food and service on Indian Railways was also very good.
Ranjit Svaasa Hotel: This was an excellent hotel and we would recommend it highly. The rooms were very good and the overall service and ambience of the hotel very appealing. The food was wonderful and the staff who ran the hotel were also very welcoming.
Golden Temple:
Visit was a good experience. With the guide we were able to avoid the long queue, which was appreciated because it was very hot. Having the guide was also helpful in terms of providing the history and background.
Gate Closing ceremony: This was a good experience for the family. I would encourage you to suggest to future visitors who come in the summer to bring a towel, to sit on as the seating area was very hot. Also bring plenty of water
Chandigarh: Taj hotel was excellent.
Toy train from Kalka to Shimla: This was a great journey and experience for everyone. Highly recommended
Springfields Hotel, Shimla: This hotel had good food but basically needed an overhaul.
Tattapani and Naldhera: This was a great excursion. The horse ride in Naldhera we would highly recommend. The horses were well cared for and the guides friendly and good natured.
Kufri: We would not recommend this at all. The area was busy and overcrowded with vehicles, horses and people.
Chail Palace: Poorly run hotel. The description of the hotel on the web is deceptive. For a building which had significant local history it was disappointing.
Kashauli:
Interesting town. The hotel staff was unable to provide any historical perspective and did not seem knowledgeable about the area. The trip up to Hanuman Temple Monkey Point was great. Spectacular views
Chandigarh: We enjoyed our stay and were able to see the important sights, the Rock Garden is well worth a visit as is the Rose garden. We also managed to do some shopping in Sector 17 market, which is also to be recommended.
Delhi: We enjoyed our stay. The Akshardham temple was magnificent. We would highly suggest that visitors also eat there as the facilities and restaurant were very clean and well run. We also went to Dilli Haat bazaar which was very good.
We overall enjoyed our trip to India. We were very happy with our Driver and we had no problem because Sudhir speaks Hindi, someone else may have had difficulty. The schedule did specify a Hindi and English speaking driver.
Having the mobile phone was great as it allowed us to keep in communication with Compass as well as with the Driver. Compass were very flexible in the way that that our requests could be accommodated.
We hope this feedback is helpful. We look forward to further communications. Best wishes to your family.
Sudhir and KayDear Sanjay,
First let me apologize for the delay in replying to your email, we have been very busy since we returned from India!
We had a fantastic time!! Our vacation was organized to the usual exceptionally high standard that we have come to expect from Compass. It was lovely to have the opportunity to meet you again Sanjay. Thank you again for the gifts you presented to us in Delhi. You are very, very kind.
Durjay, unfortunately we missed meeting each other again! I know you are a very busy man so I guess we are going to have to plan another vacation in India to finally meet you!!
The hotels were fantastic, as was the guide in Delhi. We were particularly impressed with the way he tailored our short excursion in Delhi towards Rebecca. She really enjoyed India, and didn't stop talking about the rickshaw ride for days afterwards. Words fail me when I try to describe the tree-house hotel in Bandavgarh, it was absolutely breathtaking and we loved every minute of the time we spent there. Our driver in Bandavgarh National Park, Yadu, also deserves a mention he was exceptional and enabled us to get some wonderful views of tigers.
Cochin was everything we had expected and more. Kerala is indeed "God's own country". The suite at the Brunton Boatyard Hotel was fantastic with an amazing view over the harbour. I must thank you again for arranging the backwater cruise at short notice. It was a lovely day out which we all enjoyed immensely.
I will now mention any issues/suggestions for the future, but please note that these did not detract from our enjoyment of the vacation and I only mention them for completeness. On the second day we had to leave Delhi very early, before the hotel served breakfast. We asked if the hotel would prepare a packed breakfast that we could take with us, but they would only do this for an extra charge. This might be worth mentioning to your guests in the future. On leaving the Tree-house Hotel at Bandavgarh we were asked for a voucher for the elephant safari ride, which we had not been given. We were also asked for a voucher by the driver who drove us from Bandavgarh to Jabalpur airport, which again we had not been given. These incidents were not really a problem for us, but they could make some guests feel uncomfortable. Finally, the time of year that we stayed in Cochin is apparently the low season. Consequently a lot of hotels/restaurants had a much more limited menu than during the high season. Again this is worth mentioning to guests who are visiting at this time of year in the future.
Thank you for arranging such a wonderful vacation for us. Rebecca really enjoyed the experience and I'm sure she will want to return again. Elaine and myself also had a wonderful time and we will definitely be returning - if only to finally meet Durjay!! We will not hesitate to use your services again and to recommend you to others.
Thanks to you both and to your wonderful staff at Compass.
Regards
Keith, Elaine & Rebecca
Dear Varsha
My family and I would like to take the opportunity of thanking you and your staff for arranging our holiday itinerary. Apart from a few minor glitches, this had been the most memorable, exciting and fun filled holiday. So much so that my daughters are eager to come back to India – in spite of the fact that on a few occasions they were very sick.
We would like to commend most of your tour representatives at all the major cities– their customer service levels had been exemplary.
We have formed some long lasting friendships with some of the drivers whom we found to be very honest , helpful and friendly . We will be writing to them shortly.
This holiday has also been very inspiring and knowledgeable – in the sense that besides visiting places of interest , we learnt a lot about our religion .It was a great pleasure and privilege to listen to Mr Prem in Varanasi . He was truly a learned scholar.
Thank you very much for the Ambassador Pallava where we received outstanding service . My wife really enjoyed herself. We had a great Christmas Eve party at Uday Samudra . The ambience and dancing by the local folk was out of this world (we definitely like to go there again ).
Varsha , I will certainly be recommending your company to all our friends and family.
And I will definitely be using Compass tours on our next holiday to India which I hope will be soon.
Thank you
Kind regards
Ronnie
To: Shweta
Shweta We are back from our trip and I just wanted to thank you and Compass for all that you did to make our trip a great success. All of the guides did a very good job of guiding us around the various cities and were so knowlegable about the sites and the history of India. Our driver was excellent both in his driving skills and in his care and consideration for us throughout the entire time he was with us.
Feel free to use this message to advertise your services or refer people to me for a recommendation.
Varsha,
I hope you are well. I have made it home and miss India. I wanted to let you know a couple things. First of all Adam and I had a wonderful time during our travels together. For the most part my experience was fantastic. The guides were great and respectful.
Suresh was great and we always felt safe with him driving and the representatives in each city were very helpful for the most part.
Thanks,
Scott
Hi Varsha,
we would like to thank you and all your collegues for the great support you gave us in organizing our tour in Rajasthan, Mumbai and Kathmandu. I do travel a lot and, based on my experience, you and all Compasstours people are really the best travel agents I ever met!
A special thank from all the four of us to Mr Beer, our driver:he was really helpfully, very collaborative and always on duty, he did a fantastic job!
We are now thinking to visit soon South India and Laccadive Islands as soon as we have the dates for our trip we will contact you again.
We wish you all the best,
Elisabetta, Giuseppe, Cristina and Luca
Dear Shweta,
As Loraine has said, we do want to give you some feedback concerning the holiday you arranged for us: not least because we understand your wish to hear what could have been done better.
The overall content of the tour was exceptionally good, giving us insight into the different cultures that have influenced India and Nepal during several millennia. We also enjoyed the opportunity to see the Himalayas at close quarters. The range of activities and the time available for each balanced very well with our interests: although it was often difficult to move on from one spectacular location to make sure we didn’t miss anything from the itinerary later.
Our driver from arrival in Delhi through to taking the train in Agra (Lal Bahadur) was absolutely first class. He drove with care and consideration for his passengers throughout and handled difficult traffic conditions smoothly and without showing any sign of stress. We had complete confidence in him at all times.
Our guide in Jaipur (Devendra Singh Khangarot) was especially knowledgeable: we particularly appreciated his descriptions of the Observatory instruments and the care he took to find a shaded spot whenever he wanted to describe something to us. It was an honour to visit his home for Diwali and we are grateful to him and his family for their hospitality.
Our guide (Omeese) and driver in Khajuraho looked after us very well. Fortunately they stayed at the airport after we checked in to depart. I was ill that day and when my wife asked them if a doctor could be arranged for when we arrived in Varanasi, they took me to a doctor in Khajuraho and back to the airport, so I was improving by the time I got to Varanasi.
The gentleman who met us in Varanasi (Nitin) was very helpful. Because we arrived later than expected (see above) he had rearranged our schedule so we missed nothing out. He was most helpful on our departure to Nepal, explaining the Nepalese visa system and exchanging our INR 1000 / 500 notes for INR 100 notes before we left.
Our room at the Grand Imperial in Agra was most impressive and we enjoyed the live music whilst we ate an excellent dinner both nights. (Unfortunately, the room service and service at the front desk fell short of expectations for a hotel of this class.)
Dwarika’s hotel in Kathmandu was amazing: the best hotel we stayed at. The architecture was very interesting: the rooms were vast (especially No 55 which we stayed in for the first 2 nights), with many interesting artifacts dressing the rooms and public spaces. We particularly enjoyed our meals in the coffee shop and in the Krishnarpan restaurant during both our visits.
The dinner and dance show in Kathmandu was a very enjoyable evening, as were the sound and light show and musical evenings in Khajuraho.
Overall our visit was a brilliant experience. We saw a lot of wonderful things: made by man and naturally occurring, and witnessed so many festivals and cultural events, all of which have broadened our knowledge and, I hope, enabled us to better understand what is happening in India and Nepal.
Thank you very much for all your hard work to ensure we achieved so much in the time available and had such a memorable and enjoyable experience.
Also, thank you very much for the hand bag and carved model of the Ashokan column which are pleasing reminders of Diwali 2007 and the many interesting things we saw, including the archaeological museum at Sarnath.
Best wishes for a very happy Christmas and for your good health and success in the New Year
From
David & LoraineBrookfield
17A The Whiteway
Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 2ER
Dear Shweta
Here we are back home after our short but very memorable tour of India.
We all need to thank you for arranging the tour and answering our e-mails so promptly.
Initially we thought it a bit of a risk finding a tour company on the internet, but out fears was ill founded.
The accommodation in Mumbai was basic, but very close to the Taj President. Several of the players changed their accommodation to the Supreme Hotel which was certainly cheaper than the Taj. We were able to watch the finals of the Scrabble championships, which were most interesting. Noelene had asked other agents to find suitable accommodation in Mumbai, but you were the only one who was able to do so, so thanks for that. The touring arrangements worked out very well with the eight seater. We must commend Ram for his driving skills in all the heavy traffic. The guides were excellent, with special commendation to Raj in Delhi.
Trevor and I enjoyed a swim at the hotel in Jaipur. This was certainly the best of the tour.
I'm sorry we were not able to meet you in Delhi. With all the correspondence, Noelene and I got to know you well, without meeting you.
I trust you received that very small momento from South Africa which we asked the agent to pass on to you.
To sum up, it was a very interesting tour and we thank you for the efficient way you organised it for us.
I'm not sure if we will be visiting India again, but if we do so we will contact you at Compass Tours.
On behalf of Estelle, Trevor, Noelene and Joy
Best wishes and regards
Dear Sukriti
This is just a short message to thank you again for doing such a good job of organising the tour to the Taj Mahal. I am very impressed with the efficiency and the attention to detail, and will certainly recommend you to other people.
Best regards
Martin van Veelen
Hi Shweta,
Thanks for following up. Sorry it's taken me a few days to get back to you. The trip to India was amazing. All guides, tour operators, etc., were terrific and we made it through Delhi traffic in one piece. We really appreciate all your efforts and how accessible everybody at Compass was.
Thanks again,
Julie Cudmore
Subject: Our India Tour 27/11/07 to 3/12/07 - DR T Patel and Miss Manisha Parmar
Morning Anupama/Durjay
Its 4.20am and I can not sleep as I am in India timezone at present so I thought I would email you.
I wanted to say that both Dr Patel and I had a very good time in India last week. What you promised you delivered so thanks Anupama.
Please find below some feedback of all our experiences and where we feel it would help your company when dealing with your clients. It is not meant to be critical more our opinions to add to your already surperb customer service.
Meeting and greeting - this was superb. All your representatives were excellent. There ensured we were comfortable in each hotel. We did not have anyone meet us at Ajmer but this was fine. We thought Anil (in Agra) was the best respresentative - very thorough, polite and went beyond our expectations. Please send him our thanks.
Hotels - in order of ranking excellent (1) to ok (5)
1 - Royal Orchid Jaipur
2 - Howard Park Plaza Agra
3 - Ritz Plaza Amritsar
4 - Connaught Delhi
5 - Mansingh Palace Ajmer
Tours and tour guides - each tour guide knew their area and history very well. We learnt a lot about the places we visited. Very well planned.
The overall sightseeing was superb. The guides were very friendly, clear and knowledgeable so please pass our thanks to them for this.
Food - flawless - it was excellent and we have both put on half a stone in weight last week so we are off to the gym this week!....great food and excellent service
We will definately be booking with you again. To kick start our next trip (which may be in August next year) can you let me know the places worth seeing in and around Shimla?
Once again, thank you for your service
Isha
aka Manisha Parmar
Hi Anupama,
Happy New Year to you!
Thank you very much to Compass Tours for making our Indian holiday a very enjoyable, organized and safe experience.
We are still talking about our wonderful trip and are recommending your services to everyone we talk to!
If we were to rate our Guides and Drivers, we would give a rating of 9 out of 10. Our Compass Guide in Delhi caused us some stress as we were trying to get the train to Amritsar, this was after us putting the pressure on him to get us moving from the restaurant we were at. To make matters worst, we were unable to park the van close to the train station and had to struggle with our luggage some distance to even get to the station. We were very relieved when we arrived at the train only moments before departure! Late starting the tour, we waited both days. Our guide in Goa took us on a 2 hour diversion to drop him off home – this was after we had briefed him earlier that day that we wished to return to our hotel early. On a positive note, our guide in Jaipur (Nidhi) was amazing, we really warmed to her and would recommend her to everyone!
The remainder of the Guides were good and showed us a great time, we felt safe the entire journey.
We really appreciated being met at every stage of our journey, whether it be train, plane or arrival and departure from a each location. And compass certainty made our experience a wonderful.
Would recommend the hotel in Navsari, this was a lovely place to stay. Thought that you would like to know this as there are not many places to choose from.
Thank you Anupama for your organization. We hope to visit again shortly.
I have attached a photo of all of us taken in Delhi at the stone tower.
Kind regards
Janelle, Chris, Margaret, Graeme, Jackie & Dhiman
Greetings Varsha,
Well we have settled back home now after our wonderful journey through India with Compass. I would just like to thank you for the excellent organisation of the trip. Everything went very well and in most places exceeded our expectations.
Our driver in northern India, Vikram was absolutely wonderful. He looked after us incredibly well and we are very grateful to him. He was always prepared to do an extra bit for us. This was especially appreciated on Christmas day when he turned up with flowers for us all. He always drove safely and kept the car clean. We are very grateful to him for making that part of the trip so smooth. We would definitely recommend him to people.
Our guides were also great. We also appreciated the Compass representatives who met us at every stop.They were unfailingly courteous and helpful. We really appreciated their flexibility such as when one of the children was not well or we were very tired and needed to adjust our timetable.
Our trip down south was also great. Our driver there was fine (not quite as good as Vikram) but always courteous and helpful. The process was not quite as smooth when we did not have Compass agents but we were still extremely pleased.
We loved the majority of places we stayed at particularly Mandawa(Mandawa Haveli),Chennai(Marina Towers), Bikaner(Bhawar Niwas) Jaislamer(Jaisal Castle) Jodpur(Pal Haveli)and Kumarkom(Kovilum Lakeside).
Our only disappointments were Tourist Deluxe in Delhi. our concern here was the location made it difficult to walk very far and feel safe. Also we found this hotel a bit overwhelming as our first stop and would probably have appreciated something a bit easier to start with. Our other disappointment was Oriental Towers (Tanjore) which was quite dirty.
Occasionally our itinerary was a bit too busy in Rajasthan and it was difficult to do tours after a long days driving however these are only minor issues. Overall we were extremely happy and would recommend your company to anyone. If you wish us to be a referee for your company please let us know.
Thank you again and best wishes to all at Compass who made our trip so wonderful.
Maureen Paul Kate Sam and Maggie Rogers
it's taken us a few days to recover from our long journey home ( 48 hours) but now it is time to write and thank you for all the work you did to make our month in India run so smoothly. Jim and I had a wonderful time - and not for a moment were we unhappy with any of the decisions you had made for us.
We found our accommodations very good - some really excellent, and worthy of mention for that is Jas Vilas in Agra - a lovely place to stay. Everywhere else was as we had hoped, and we enjoyed the heritage places too.
It was great to be greeted by a Compass representative wherever we went, and to know that we could call on them if necessary . The guides were all very intelligent young men ( no women ? ) and increased our knowledge of each area, and it's history.
Our drivers were excellent. Mahesh, Lahar in Rajasthan, and Denisen in Kerala were all very courteous, punctual, and looked after us well. Best of all they were all safe drivers, and in all that chaotic traffic for all those miles of driving, I never saw one of them take an unnecessary risk and we felt safe with them. Please pass on our gratitude to each of them.
And many thanks to you and your team too. We have had an experience to remember for the rest of our lives, and you and Compass Tours made it as easy for us as it could possibly be. Thanks again Varsha, for your efforts on our behalf - it truly was a fascinating tour, and we will strongly recommend you to anyone coming your way.
Kind regards,
Susan and James Edge.
Hello again Schweta,
Here we are back home and surrounded by snow - Dieter is just clearing our drive.
I would like to thank you for arranging our holiday, which was a great success. The organisation, promptness, efficiency and friendliness of all concerned was impressive.Everything went as planned and there were no problems. We were really well taken care of.
The only things I found hard to take were the abject poverty we saw, especially the mothers and children. It was distressing to see people living the way they do. It was also very unusual for us to not be able to go anywhere alone - usually we book flights and hotels and go everywhere by ourselves. In India we had rightly realised this was hardly possible owing to the street and traffic conditions, but I did miss it.
We will remember the holiday as it was so diffferent from any other. I particularly enjoyed talking to the guides and drivers who gave me an insight to your fascinating customs and lifestyle, so different from ours.
It was so nice to meet you, thanks for arranging the meeting,
All the best and take care,
Kristine
Dear Sir,
Now we are nearly one week at home and I would like to say: Thank you very much for organising our tour through Rajasthan.
We liked the Heritage Hotels you have chosen for us. Sometimes they were just great, sometimes there was not the expected level (Pushkar and Mount Abu). Deogarh is for elder people exhausting, because to go to the restaurant we had to climb 153 steps!
Our driver Kuldeep and his help Balseet were excellent, very cautious and no minute we were afraid of his driving, even there was much traffic and two-way traffic.
Mr. Surinder Malik was a good guide and took care of us. In every situation, he helped us. whether we need in restaurants to chose menus or buying medicaments.
We will not forget our guides we had in Fathepur Sikri, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. They all know the history of their monuments and we learnt many things.
We can warmly recommend all persons, who “took care of us” and who gave us also the feeling being a welcomed guest.
Of course we will recommend you and so I’m sure that some friends of us will also organise their India tour with your Travel Agency.
Thank you Mr. Durjay Sen Gupta and thank you Mr. Pury.
With our best regards and good memories of Rajasthan
Yours
Franz, Rita, Severin and Teresa Mairinger
Hi Varsha,
We are back in Germany and I wanted to thank you for the great organisation!
Special thanks to Balbir, our excellent driver and to Vicram, who brought our mobile phone to the airport before we left! That was very nice.
Our tour guide in Agra was very nice and well informed, too. Unfortunately I forgot his name.
I hope you did not misunderstand my objection regarding the missing tour guide in delhi. For us this trip was not cheap and so we just wanted to
mention it, because we were a bit disappointed. Nonetheless it was a great trip and we will recommend your travel agency to all our friends (I think
Tom Petsch and Ati Leenen allready booked a flight with you in India) and we will certainly come back to your beautiful country.
I hope we have the chance to travel to india again soon as we both enjoyed it a lot.
Thanks again and best regards from munich.
Kaspar
Hi Anupama,
Hello there from Spain, been delighted of writing again with you!
The comment of my trip with you is positive, especially for the drivers' service (Maney and Pradep) and also for the assistance got for the representatives. The quality of the service of the hotels also has been good, with the exception of the hotel of Badami that was below the quality exigible. Also I am satisfied with the guides, especially with the Aurangabad guide that estubo very well. I do not like at all the Goa guide, they recomiento that they do not hire it. As for the design of the itinerary of the trip it was perfect, perhaps I exceed us one night in Badami that we could have done it of more in Goa.
As for the negative part of the trip I have to say to them that he should not remain satisfied with two trips in train in which I touch myself the arriva bed, my wife suffers dizziness and I happen two nights being sick, think that as the reservation was done by a lot of time they could have reserved the lower bed. Also the final price of the trip seemed very expensive to me, as soon as there were seen the prices of hotels, trains, gasoline, guides, etc I believe that the price of the trip had to be much minor.
Summing up, in general I have remained satisfied with you for the received assistance. For the next year do I have intention of traveling round Cambodia and Vientnam, his agency can organize my trip or has relation with other companies that could do it or only they devote themselves to organize trips for India?.
Thank you very much for writing and see you soon!
paco ballester hernandez
Fascinating Rajasthan Tour
Spain Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 2:59 PM
Hello Varhsa,
We are sorry for not write you before.
First of all, thanks for all the work than you and your team have done last summer to do our tour a magic experience. It was really wonderful. The organization was very good, the hotels were very nice (bundivillas a nice surpirse, thanks for you election; samode haveli ...uff, incredible rooms 114 and 115,...), the car modern and new, the drivers very professionlas and attentive (and the most important, very good persons), the guides very good too (thanks for give us spanish guides in most of the places), the tours operator in each city very professionals,... just one thing wasn't very good. The train from Udaipur to Delhi was in 3d clas. This was a wrong election (and in part was my foult for not to check it). We were 4 so the right election was 2n (or 1st) class, because in 2n class the compartments are for 4 people (not for 6 as in 3d class).
I send you a picture with our driver (I'm sorry but I'm not capable to spell/write his name, can you help me, please ?). Could you print it and give a copy to him, please ?. I send you some pictures of us in India.
I need your advice for one of my friends. They are planing top visit India in november/desember. They are planing his tour with an spanish company and I think is a bit expensive and not as good as our tour was, so I can ask you if you can prepare a tour for them (they are 4 people).I send you the programe that the agency has made (I've traslate to english some thinks). I don't like some of hotels (well, the most of them) but you know better and I'm sure you can preparer a better tour. They are comnig to Delhi from 2 different places (1 from Bangkok, and the other 3 from Barcelona) but planes arrive to Delhi at very similar time. I don't like the lasts days Agra-Delhi-Varanasi-Delhi because they are transport-complicated.
Can you choose the next hotels, please ?:
Agra: Trident
Varanasi: Radisson
Jaipur: Samode Haveli (rooms 114 and 115)
Udaipur: Shiv Niwas Palace (terrace suits)
We were in this hotels this summer and were all of them very, very good.
Oberoi Maidens in Delhi is too a good chance, but perhaps is not as good as the others.
Best regards
Jordi, David, Marta and Xurxo
Spain Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2006 4:23 PM
Subject: Greetings from Spain Dear Durjay, It´s been quite a long time since our trip to India finished, and we owe you some feedback. We´ve been prety busy until the moment since just before our trip started, we had moved to a new house. Now life is becoming normal. I hope you all are fine, and we expect no relatives or friends of yours have been affected by the bombs in Mumbai. We were shocked when we heard the news. Our mind was full of thoughts and feelings similar to the ones we had here in Spain with the 11M attacks at Atocha train station. Coming back to the trip. We must say we had a wonderful time in India, and you and your team made a great work. Everything run accordingly and we made the most of our stay. Something I considered highly important, was the driver, and I have only good words for Shingara. He was absolutely perfect, always in a good mood, willing to go wherever we planned different from the scheduled tour. He contributed a lot to having a great tour. With regards to the guides, I must say they were all good, but there was one whom we considered exceptional. The guy who guided us in Jodhpur. Absolutely fabulous!!! I guess he is one of those guides you can follow during a whole trip. Very nice person and very professional. When we have friends coming to India, or if we come back again, we will ask you for this guy, for sure. We were a little bit disappointed with the guy who toured us in Udaipur. He took us to a very expensive miniature shop and we decided not to buy anything. That same day later in the afternoon, he followed us to see where we were buying things, and the day after during the trip he asked us for an explanation. We didn´t expect that treatment. We did not pay much attention to that but I guess you´ll need to be careful, because it was an uncomfortable situation for us and I guess there was no need for it. From the point of view of the tour I must say he did a very good job, very interesting explanations and very good spoken Spanish. Our trip to Agra was a little bit stressful, I know this is in part my fault, because I try to concentrate as many things as possible in a trip. I guess it would have been better if we had gone to Agra by train instead of by car. It took us a very long time and left us with not much time to visit monuments. We had to decide which visits to skip, and that´s hard when you´ve come from so far away to visit a country. Maybe you can think of this for some other trips of people. There was a hotel we did not like at all. The one in Jaisalmer. It was abandoned and the people at the front desk were not very helpful or nice (the staff was very good, as everywhere in India). Just in case someone else asks you for it. I guess these are the only things I would highlight, for the rest, the trip was excellent and we keep on looking the pictures we took once and again. Absolutely wonderful, Durjay! Great work you and your people did. We loved everything we saw, we loved the people, the chaos, the traffic, everything. You have a wonderful and huge country and the best thing is that you are making it accessible to foreigners like us at all its best. It was great to see your people at the airports, at the hotels, never feeling alone or insecure. I know a colleague from Daniel has contacted you in order to organise his trip to Calcutta. We´ve been publicising your company all over because we had a great experience, and we would like our friends to share that too. Next time we visit India we would like to go to the South - Kerala and the backwaters. We have no dates but I´m sure I will contact you again! Feel free to provide our e-mail address to give feedback to other travellers from Spain. We will be glad to share our wonderful experience with other people so that they take Compass to plan their tour. Thanks for everything once again!
Our warmest regards
Virginia & Daniel
we are happy to provide feedback as follows:
Overall rating - excellent - we had a fantastic trip to India and Nepal.
Compass organisation - Outstanding!! - Everything happened exactly when and how it was promised.
Note: The "preferences we filled in beforehand were taken as requirements. This was not our intention - the form asked us to tick boxes - male or female guides, soft or firm mattresses, etc. By ticking a box I meant to indicate a (mild) preference, not a requirement which might then compromise other choices. This led to unfortunate incidents with wooden boards in beds (preference for firm mattress) in Delhi and Mumbai. Both of these were sorted out very quickly by hotel staff, so it was not a problem.
Hotels: All excellent except Delhi which was good, but not up to standards of others.
However we did get food poisoning in Radisson Kathmandu (our only consumption was in hotel, so it could not have come from anywhere else)
Meet and Greet service at airports: All excellent - only Goa slightly less (still very good).
Drivers: All excellent.
Guides: All excellent. Nidhi in Jaipur deserves special praise.
Excellent restaurant tip in Mumbai: Khyber.
Outstanding service in Kingfisher airlines business class.
Regards,
Rob & Erica Woodcraft
! Now, we're back from India. We've had a very nice trip and I thank you very much for all the amenities you've planed for us. Only two little things I have to tell you : - Your correspondent in Varanasi is not clear (but the driver is top !). For example, hi tells me to give to the porter in Varanasi train station, 100 INR; but the price is only 20 ! So, I ask me where the 80 are now ! - The driver in Kolkata does'nt speak english - not at all. He was just terrified to be alone with us and have to speak English. Luckily, your correspondent was really top! Don't worry for both. But it's better you know it ! And I thank you again.
Very Kindly, Alain Boutigny
I take a few minutes to give you our feedback on our trip to India.
Overall we are very satisfied with Compass's work. Our appreciation of hotel, drivers and guides choices is good (except for French speaking guide in Jaipur who was much less professional than the others and really made us feel like "tourists" + lack of friendliness of reception staff and pressure for tips from personnel at Clark's Agra and Khajuraho). The guides in Jodhpur and Agra were outstanding.
The follow-up by the diverse Compass agents was very good.
Our only disappointments with Compass were regarding:
- programming TAJ MAHAL on a Friday!
- underestimating the traffic in Delhi which had us miss our train on day 2 of the tour.
You can contact us by mail for further information if you wish.
Best regards,
Gaëlle
I promised to send you some feedback from our India trip.
As I have already said, we had a wonderful time, and the few things that did go wrong were taken very seriously by your organization, who did all in their powers to put things right. Everyone can make mistakes, but it is how they are handled which is important.
The things we would like to highlight as being particularly good are:
- Our guides in Varanasi and Ranthambhore, who were flexible, responsive and also very interesting people to talk to
- Varanasi, which was an amazing experience - totally different from anything else we have seen
- Meeting people: visiting the rural family in Ranthambhore, the school in Sarnath and the Rajput family in Jaipur
- Reggie's camel camp - I can thoroughly recommend it to your guests
- Our driver who took us long stretches both safely and with good humour
The things that didn't work or were less good are:
- The hotel mix-up at Khem Villas. There really was a big difference between the normal rooms and the cottages!
- Although all the guides were incredibly knowledgeable, a couple seemed intent on showing us all the temples/monuments on the standard agenda, even though we had requested an emphasis on meeting people
- The flight problems in Jodhpur, which resulted in Lars and William having an extremely long travel time to Mumbai
We will gladly recommend your organization to any friends planning to travel to India, and we hope to return again at some point in the future!
I will upload some pictures from the trip to FlickR and send you the link when I have done this.
Best regards
Beverley
Now I'm home in old cold Sweden again with nothing but sweet memories of India.
I really want to thank you for everything; you have done a terrific job with our trip! We are so great-ful and happy with the service that you and Compass India have given us. Everything has gone just smoothly and everyone has been so sweet to us. We just had a few thoughts as you might have seen in our feedback, but all in all we are SO VERY HAPPY with our trip.
We will definitely use your company next time we are going to India (we already want to go back) and furthermore recommend Compass India to everybody we know.
Once again: THANK YOU!
Love from
Susanna Esplund
How are you?
I would like to give my feedback about the trip to India.
First of all, I just realized that you are a lady …… sorry about this.
This happened when we had chat during our journey and one of them just mentioned that you just got married too, Congratulation.
Now about the trip: Started from Delhi’s airport until Bhairahawa’s airport in Nepal, the trip was really smooth and some parts were exciting too. How lucky I am to get such very good driver like Govind from Varanasi all the way to Nepal.
I would give him an excellent score from the way he drove the car, the way he talked to everybody and the way he served us for almost 9 days passed thousands kilometers on both good and bad road.
If one day I have chance to visit India for Buddhist pilgrimage again, I will choose him as my driver for sure.
Also special thanks to Misra (Guide at BodhGaya) for his knowledge about Buddhist history and important places.
I attached our picture with Govind at Nirvana hotel Lumbini before left for Kathmandu.
Last but not least, I would like to thank to you for everything and good luck.
Regards,
Senahadi
Dear Anupama,
Once again thank you very much for having organized such e beautiful tour for us. We really enjoyed the BnB in New Delhi; the staff was very kind and the indian food excellent.
In Ladakh it was a great idea to suggest us to book the camp in Saboo, which was very quiet and allowed us to rest very well from the noisy Leh. The staff was very friendly and the food very good.
The Organic Retreat in Nubra valley was our best experience as well as the camp in Uley Topko; the camp in Tsomoriri was very basic but as far as I know there is no other choice.
Our guide and driver in Ladakh were very professionnal and friendly, we had very good contact with them.
I will warmly recommand your agency for organizing tours in India, as i am airport employee i have a lot of colleagues travelling all over the world and we often give each others advices.
Once more thank you very much for everything, we really have good memories of the tour.
Bertrand Carroz
Dear Anupama,
I'm really sorry that I couldn't write earlier. Aglaya and I married in
September so we were very busy organising the party and honeymoon. We are back now and I would like to give you some feedback on our Rajasthan trip.
First of all I would like to thank you and your company for the wonderful trip to India. Overall we are very happy having chosen you as a travel agency. We liked the planning of the trip with you by e-mail very much. You Anupama are very professional and quick in answering on our requests.
Thank you for having all the patience with us as we had quite a lot of
questions in the beginning. The good start continued after we arrived
in Delhi and during the whole trip:
Itinerary:
Very good, it was astonishing how much we could see in only 16 days. Next time however we would skip Bikaner and Mandawa, that wasn't so interesting
Hotels:
Most of the time very good. The best was the Trident in Jaipur, absolutely fantastic. On the other end we didn't really like the heritage hotels, next time we would stay with the modern hotels. Especially Deogarh we cannot recommend, it was a bit scary to stay
there. After that experience you changed the hotel in Mandawa at short
notice which was excellent service.
Guides:
Very good. The best guide we had in Agra, he was just wonderful. The same is true for your representative in Jaipur (a tall, young Rajput who can even speak Russian).
Driver:
Rajesh was excellent and I cannot highlight enough how important a good
driver is. The traffic was heavy and sometimes very dangerous. With Rajesh we felt very save and comfortable. He was always on time, nice company and a good "guide" on the road. The car, a Toyota Innova was very good.
So once again thank you very much for your service, we recommend Compass tours to all our friends who are interested in India unconditionally.
Please give also my thanks to Ashish. If you have any more questions I
would be happy to answer them.
Kind regards from Switzerland
MarcoHow are you?? and your future husband? Sorry for the big delay, but time pass to quikly.... Here I join some pictures of our wonderful trip. If you want more tell me (we had about 1300 pictures....we are crazy :-)) Some friend are interested to visit you, but rather in 2007 like us...
We would like to visit the south (Kerala and Karnataka) in 2007! When is it the best time to visit this part of India (May is it to late because of the rain season)?? I hope you 'll be able to organize our trip!
Some of our postcard (posted to the reception desk of our hotel, Howard Park Plaza in Agra) are never arrived.... All the other posted in our hotel were arrived quikly. Did you already have that kind of problem with this hotel? Fortunately we sent the most part of our post cards before.... All of us wish you a nice end of year, and a new year 2006 full of beautiful moments.
Gilles
Esplund
PS: I'll send you some pictures soon. PS1: I'll speak about you on an important web French forum, I hope some people will contact you! PS2: Don't hesitate to contact us if you come in Europe. I give you again our adress and phone numbers.
Geneva (we live there) is in the center of Europe and we have low cost flight company or fast train to most of the European Cities (Paris, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona,...) and Switzerland is beautiful too..... Gilles-Antoine Philippin & Géraldine Dussex
Ch. des Vignes 18
CH - 1213 Petit-Lancy
Phone: +41 22 301 98 52
Mobile: +41 79 429 06 32
We just wanted to let you know what a wonderful time we had in India. It was very difficult to come back and start working again :) And we have already started spreading the news about Compass. People are starting to get in line and we can't wait to plan our next trip to India. We had a great driver and guides. Please give our best to everyone who worked so hard to make this a memorable trip for us. Now you have two more friends from Turkey and hopefully that number will keep increasing as years go by. See you soon.
Sincerely,
Burcu & Omer
Thanks for arranging the tour – everything went well and we had a most enjoyable time ! Could you please e-mail me an official receipt – I need this to complete my expenses.
Many Thanks indeed!
Best Regards,
Tim Lacey
Apologise for not emailing you earlier.
The accomodation,sightseeing and hospitality were excellent.
Every city we visited was unique and interesting. Our favourites were Jaipur, Udaipur, Bangalore, Mysore, Alleppey and Goa.
Your representatives in every city were helpful and extremely courteous especially : Joe Ferreira ( Garha tours - Mumbai), Vikram (Delhi), Bivil (Cochin).
We enjoyed sightseeing with all our tour guides especially: Mr Dharmalingam (Chennai), Mrs Varsha (Mumbai), Mr Polly (Mumbai), Mr Shalendra (Delhi).
They provided us with the knowledge and historical backgrounds to the numerous places we visited.
All your drivers were outstanding and a special mention to the following: Arun (Bangalore), Vincent (Chennai), and Rippin Kumar (Delhi, Agra and Jaipur).
If possible please convey our thanks to the above.
Varsha, A Big Thank You for arranging our beautiful holiday in India (Jan 2006). You patience and understanding in compiling and organising a tailormade tour is appreciated. Your dedication is highly commendable and we will not hesistate to travel with Compass again.
Thanks to you, we had a superb time and the memories will linger on forever.
Our Compliments and best wishes to you (Varsha) and the Compass team.
From
Mona, Ruben and Reshania NaidooDurban, Kwa Zulu Natal
I would like to thank you and the Compass team for the very enjoyable trip to India we had in Feb/07. Except for the "guide" in Delhi, everything else was organized very professionally and my husband and me enjoyed very much the experience. The car, the driver (very nice person), the hotels, the flights - everything went smoothly with the help of the agents. The local guides were good, not counting the Delhi one which was not a guide, so I guess it was a one time flop.
Regards,
Magda
Few words to give you a congratulation for your work and this of your team during booking and our tour in India.
We have apprecied - now and later - your cook book.
I hope we have the chance in the future to go back in your beautiful country and work again with you.
thanks again!
philippe duquaine / wavre
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Dear Durjay and Sue,
We had a GREAT experience in India and Nepal. Compass service is extraordinary.
Thank you for everything!
Namaste!