Howie & Paula Myers To: Shweta
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 - Pushkar Palace - no longer has a restaurant so we had to have our breakfast in our room and it appears a bit run down.   Some were spectacular like the Deogarh Mahal and the Samode Palace.

The details for the trip were well taken care of.  With only a few exceptions during the nearly five weeks of travel we were disappointed.  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.  For the first couple of hotels there was a discrepancy in quality between the two rooms (they should have been the same level of comfort) and we were always having to remind the hotels that we had reserved king-sized beds.  

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.

Minor problem.  The last nights dinner at the Laseez Faire restaurant on the way to the airport was fine.  We were shown a drink menu but there wasn’t any beer on the menu.  When we asked about beer they offered several possible choices of imported beer.  The meal was included as part of our trip but the two beers with service charge and VAT came to 1100 Rupees.  By far the most expensive beer I have ever purchased and we live in New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the world.  We questioned the charge with the waiters and then with the owner but he assured us that they always charge this much for imported beer.  Mind you, it isn’t the cost, we could afford it, it was that we felt we were being taken advantage of.  We paid for the beer.  The Compass Rep, Samesh, was terrific and quite understanding and reimbursed us for the beer.  I just thought you should be aware of the situation.  It left a bad taste, not of India nor of Compass tours, but for that restaurant and we wanted you to let the restaurant know that they should readjust the price of the beer or at least make the person aware of the cost of this most expensive beer before ordering it.  

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
10 Georgia Lane
Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520 USA
914-271-4395

Rajan Parrikar To: Durjay Sengupta
Dear Durjay,

I used the services of Compass for my journeys to Rajasthan and Varanasi in the months of March and April, respectively. I chose your agency based on the recommendation received from Craig and others on the forums at Fodors.com.
The services rendered were excellent.  Sanjay and Shweta were prompt and efficient, and they easily tailored my programme to suit my choices.  They were also flexible enough to accomodate last-minute changes to my itinerary.
All the liason people at different locations in Rajasthan and Varanasi were professional.
The driver is an important consideration on any trip, esepcially in India, since I have had problems in this department before. For Rajasthan, Joginder Singh was assigned to me.  On the whole he was very professional, always punctual, and he readily followed my instructions.  I had only one small problem with him: he tried to chart my schedule every day.  He might have been trying to be helpful, but it really isn't his job to do so.  I mention this not as criticism, but as an area of improvement.  In Varanasi, my driver was Bablu and he was outstanding.  Both Joginder and Bablu are assets to your organisation.
That's all for now.  I look forward to using your organisation again in the future.

Regards
Rajan P. Parrikar

Marjan,marjanschugar@hotmail.com
Hello Shweta,

how are you doing?
Excuse me for taking so long before replying to your e-mail. Life was hectic coming home and getting back to normal.

Ii am very pleased with how Compass India organized everything. Your company did exactly what it said it would do and things went very smooth. I would certainly recommend your company to others that are looking for a travel agent in India. We had a truly excellent driver, very skill full besides being a pleasant person to have in the car. So you have two very content customers. You gave me good advice and were easy to work with. I found India a fascinating place, very vibrant and full of life. I hope I will get another chance in my life time to visit your country. For me being a vegetarian, it is paradise. I have never been anywhere where I have so many and such excellent choices in food.
I wish you the best, take care

Marjan

Barb,bhigbee@comcast.net
Hi Durjay,

I wanted to thank you for another very nice trip.  We realize that MP is not as prepared for tourists as Rajasthan.  The lack of a steady flow of electricity is more of an irritation than a real problem.  I think my favorite place was in Mandu where the electricity was off more than it was on.  We liked the accomodations.  They were very basic but the atmosphere made for a very enjoyable stay.  They were able to provide sealed bottles of water for us even though we saw other bottles being refilled and placed side by side with the ones we purchased.  While we were in Gwalior the state fair was taking place and we were able to attend.  What a lot of fun that was.  In Ujjain we could have dealt with the bed with only one sheet and the bucket of hot water in the evening.  Unfortunately I went in the wrong door and ended up in the kitchen which was what prompted the call to you.  Thank you for making the change. The Fort Amla was quite an adventure.  While the owner assured us it was only a 45 minute trip it did take us about an hour and half each way.  The last maybe 9 kilometers was on a very poor road which was dug out in two places.  The driver and guide and us were  laughing so hard by the time we got there we couldn't stop.  The Fort was nice and clean and the owner talked with us until dinner was prepared.  The dinner was very tasty and good but I thought it was a bit over priced at 300 rupees for peas pulao, cauliflower and potatoes. There was also dessert which was good.  We did enjoy the stay. The monuments we saw were outstanding.  Hopefully more tourists will be able to enjoy them soon.  Gwalior Fort/Orchha/Shivpuri/ Sanchi/Bhimbetka and Ujjain were all well worth visiting.  It would have been nice to have a guide in Shivpuri as the gentleman who showed us around had minimal English skills.  The other guides seemed very knowledgeable and we enoyed each of them.  Oh also Deeg was really nice, I'm so glad we were able to see it. There were a few concerns.  The bird sanctuary was a disappointment.  We had particularly enjoyed the boat ride with the many water birds.  I wish we had been told that the monsoon did not come last year and therefore there were no water birds and no boat rides.  Had we known that we would have opted to see Mathura.  While we seemed to see the sights we were supposed to we were sent for 'rest periods' fairly often.  In Orchha our guide received a phone call that he had to take another group on a tour. We were taken to the hotel to 'rest' and finish our tour later in the afternoon.  In Bhopal our guide suggested we didn't need a guide at the Museum of Mankind and had the driver take us.  We saw what we could of the museum building.  There were few visitors and most of the lights were not turned on.  I suspect that there was an outdoor part of the museum that we may have missed.  Our guide opted for us to see the State Museum in Bhopal. It was one of the very nicest museums I have ever seen.  The quality and visibility of the displays exceeded either the British Museum or the Egyptian Museum.  I sent them an email to tell them how much we enjoyed it.  Neither Bhimbetka nor Sanchi took a whole day so we 'rested' in the afternoon.  It would have been nice to see the Arts Museum in Bhopal on one of the afternoons.  During the course of the trip I finished three books during our rest periods.  We did add stops in Dhar which were very enjoyable.  In Ujjain we made 3-4 stops.  We saw another State Museum in Indore that we could have missed.  Durjay let me emphasize that we did have a nice trip and these concerns did not overall spoil our experience. We did find the trip more strenuous than our other trips.  Another concern was that we understood that India has now been classified as a high cost tourist spot.  Please be honest with us.  Are the prices rising so much that India will be out of our price range for future trips?  There a other places we would still like to see but if the cost is too great we understand.  Please feel free to refer others who want recommendations on Compass services to us.  We most definately will always give a very positive recommendation.

Warm regards Barb

Vikranth Gaddam,vikky_dada@yahoo.com
Hi Shweta,

 How are you?
Hope you are busy "Making Dreams Come True" for others!!
As for us we are just back to U.S from our long-long trip to India. We just cannot imagine if it would have been this memorable with out your well planned and well organized trip!!
We enjoyed every bit of our trip and it exceeded our highest expectation in every way, right from the reception at Delhi to Hotel accommodations to Our driver/companion (Seshram Ji) to excellent city reps to the guides through out and upto the final departure assistance !!. Everything is A++ grade!!
All this would not have happened with out and your personal attention and for that me and my wife would like to give you a "Heartfelt Thanks!!!"  (The only way to read this is to "feel it")
 I would definitely recommend you to all my friends and would only work with you for my future travel plans in India!!
 Please convey my thanks to each and everyone who made this trip memorable for me!!
 I am more than willing to share my feelings if there is an online form please send it to me!!

Thanks,
Vikran

Ratna Palakodeti,palakodeti@hotmail.com
Dear Shweta,

 I want to congratulate you and your team for the excellent work you have done. The arrangements were very good and the quality of hotels was excellent. I am speaking on behalf of myself and the rest of the members in our party. I think the following feed back may be helpful.  Pre tour communications and information sharing: Excellent. The main reason why we went along with you was your promptness in responding to our request and the detailed information provided. I dealt with another international company before contacting you. Your promptness was what made you to clinch our business.

Suggestions: I know we did not give you much time to work with. If there were time, may be some background information on the hotels might put the tourist's mind at rest about the quality of the hotels.

 Reception at the train station: Excellent. The gentleman in charge came to the platform and received us. He was very nice and went through the itinerary and the change of plans and put us in the loop.

 I need to make a special mention about Shazahan, the driver of the coach. I want you to convey our special thanks and appreciation for the way he conducted himself. He was simply superb. He was very friendly yet professional, very punctual and very accommodating. Lot of the credit goes to him for making the trip very pleasant.

Transportation was very comfortable.

 Boat house: very good. Would not recommend triple occupancy on the boat house.

 Hotels: They were of very good quality.

 Guides: They are very helpful with all the material help. It is in this area that there is scope for improvement. Even though it is useful to have some local person, who knows the area arround, it would be useful if they give more information about the sight seeing places, their history and generally being more communicative. The guides we had just could telll the name of the place we are visiting but had no idea of any details about those places. They need to read up more about the places and be more communicative. Shazahan, the driver was much more knowledgeable than the guides. So the suggestion is that they need more training about the history of the local places and when the tourist asks them to be more communicative, they should do so. A little bit of humor and being entertaining would add spice to the tour.

 Tourist places: All the places to which Shazahan has taken us were excellent. A little bit disappointed by the wild life sanctuary at Thekkady. Saw more animals on the streets than at the sanctuary!!!!!!!!!!!

 I liked your staff making sure that the return flights are confirmed.

 Overall, our experience with your staff and you in particular was extremely positive. We all would definitely recommend your organization to our friends and relatives (I already did for few people).

 Shweta, thank you for every thing and I wish you all the best with your future endeavors.

 Sincerely,
 Ratna Palakodeti.

Silvia,Silvia.Sandrin@ashurst.com
Hello Varsha!

I am finally back to my office in Italy.  I would like to thank you because I had a very good time in North India and I found your tour very well organised.  If you need whatsoever feedback from me, I would be happy to provide it! Kind regards,

 Silvi

doc2ros,doc2ros@onebp.net
Dear Mr. Sengupta / Ms. Shweta,

 I have just noticed a Guest Feedback Form among my trip papers.

Your organization of our trip was impeccable.  We saw everything we planned to see and had a lot of fun doing it despite somewhat going over our budget.  This was my second visit to India, with the first one to the south part of the country in 1991.  Our trip to Rajasthan this year was so superior in avoiding travelers' wear-and-tear that I wouldn't even consider further India excursions without prior contacting Compass India Inc.  I have highly recommended your organization to all my friends and colleagues.
 
I will be happy to complete any feedback questionnaire.  Please place it in the body of your email as my computer refuses to open any attachments.

 Warm regards,
 Mark Ros

Jane Kizhner,Jane.Kizhner@gs.com
Varsha Hello:

I wanted to thank you for planning an amazing trip. The itinerary could not have been better (I really wish I had more days!).  Bhawani was WONDERFUL! He took his time to educate me and allowed me to get a glimpse into Indian culture, lifestyle and experience.  I never felt rushed or felt uncomfortable, it was great to have someone so courteous and knowledgeable alongside throughout the trip, he is a great guide. 

 I am also convinced that Rajesh is the safest driver of India.  It's beyond my comprehension how one can feel safe in a car in your country, but thanks to Rajesh, I certainly did!   I will highly recommend your company upon my arrival to NY.  Thank you for a wonderful trip! Jane.

 PS Feel free to use me as a reference.

Best Regards,
Jane Jane Kizhner

Simon Lowings,simonlowings@mac.com
Dear Durjay and Shweta,
 
First let me thank you both for a wonderful tour of South India.  Everything went perfectly. The hotels, guides and the sights themselves we first class. Even the weather was fine. If I can be a reference for your company please let me know.

Many thanks again.
Simon and Anne Lowings

Barbara,barbaraint@yahoo.com
Dear Varsha

Just wanted to say Thank You for a fantastic holiday. Mrs Brown and I enjoyed every moment ...all the hotels were superb and everything was very smooth...no glitches anywhere. You did a great job of planning and organising everything.
Also a big Thanks to our driver Vinod who is a delightful young man. His driving was careful and he is efficient and always on time. Really a pleasure to have with us.

I know Mrs Brown is thinking to return again in the spring and I have also recommended you to another friend of mine...Mrs Geraldine Boss, who is interested to make the same trip as we did. I am sure she will be in touch very soon. Once again, many many thanks and we will certainly continue to use our company next time we visit India.
 
Very Best Regards
Barbara

Cnjmoses@hotmail.com
Dear D.J,

We are writing to express our heartfelt gratitude for the superb and outstanding service you arranged for our first trip to India. How serendipitous to find you on the Internet on a sleepless night! I researched and scrutinized over a dozen tour companies including Sita, Cox & Kings, Abercrombie Kent, Himalayan and General Tours. Most offered similar itineraries and hotels but few would accommodate our specific needs. Only Compass could offer a private high-end tour at low-end group tour prices.

Compass has set a new standard in the travel industry. You have distinguished yourself from your competitors as being the leader in PERSONAL SERVICE. Referring to the clients as "your guests", it is apparent that you embrace the philosophy of Hospitality. In our view, Compass is an exceptional value; attractive packages that are palatable to the discerning travelers' tastes and financially digestible to the cost-conscious.
Warmest and best regards,
Christine & Jeffrey Moses

propa,propaghosh@yahoo.com
Dear Varsha,
 
I hope you are well! 

 Nik and I are still recovering from the Wedding Extravaganza, and of course, I have been running mad because I had to take care of some critical things about my future in surgery.

 Anyway, now that things are a tad bit less lunatic-- perhaps we can meet some time this week for coffee or something-- let's say-- thursday morning or something?

The trip was absolutely phenomenol.  I think the only slight complaints came from the first hotel we stayed at (the clarion) and the phone not being accessible for a long time, but other than that-- the trip went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time.  It was really a testament to all your hard work and meticulous planning.
 
Please let me know when you'll be free for a bit; my "husband" and I would love to finally meet you! 

Warm regards,
Propa

Patricia & Tom Whitley,tritom@epix.net
Hi Shweta!!!

My trip to India was absolutely WONDERFUL to say the least!!!  My requested iternary was followed through to the exact.  My hotels and meals were beyond expectations. I especially loved the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the Hindu temples in Madurai.  My drivers were absolutely the best and the guides were the greatest as they all wrote down everything for me because I had a problem understanding the English accents due to my hearing handicap.  Not one of them had a problem writing the info down.  As a matter of fact, several of them wrote the info down the night before and then I could read it before the tour.  They were SUPER!!!
 
I will highly recommend Compass Tours to anyone and you certainly may use my name as a reference.

Thank you so much, Shweta, for your time and patience on planning my wonderful, unforgettable trip to India.
Tricia Whitle

Joseph Gubbay,salzgub98@earthlink.net
Dear Varsha and Durjay,

 We had a wonderful trip, in so many ways because of your wonderful organization.  What follows in red is my post to the Fodor's web site about our trip and how helpful Compass was.  Thank you for everything.

 You will love India. We just returned from a 15 day trip with our children. New Delhi, Agra (Baby Taj is absolutely beautiful, a jewel box, and not packed with crowds) Fatekpur Sikri en route to Jaipur is amazing, and Kelodeo Bird Sanctuary is also wonderful but you will be exhausted when you pull into Jaipur. From Jaipur we drove back to Delhi and flew to Kolkatta (which was absolutely wonderful). We flew into Bagdogra and drove to Darjeeling which lies in the foothills of the Himalayas. You are truly at the ceiling of the world. Sunrise on Kantenjunga, the world's third highest peak, after K2 and Everest, is gorgeous. Our trip was very special in that we were searching for ancestral clues, graves, and homes belonging to my father and grandfather who's family had lived in Kolkatta (Calcutta) for generations. Months ago I read Craig's (by now) famous travelogue on this site of his trip to India with his wife. Compass Tours, based in New Delhi, made all the arrangements and he was very pleased with their work. I too utilized their services which I found to be excellent. All of the hotel bookings (very high end, and some mid-range) were in order as were the internal plane bookings. At every stop Compass was there to meet and greet. The guides and drivers they arranged were all personable (my family's age group is 13-50), knowledgeable, and kind. They're support team was equally thoughtful and helpful. I would not hesitate to work with them again. I was especially impressed with the team they utilized in Darjeeling, our guide Binod and driver Ranjit were fabulous. Have a wonderful trip.

Joseph Gubbay

Rob and Shannon,robnshannon@cox.net
Dear Shweta

Karen and I returned home on Monday and wanted to send you and your team a "thank you" for the fantastic trip! Your country is beautiful and offers an abundance of culture, spirituality, history and adventure.  From someone that has traveled to Europe, Asia and South America, it is by far the most fascinating country I have yet to visit. From the perspective of two westerners, it is so clear to us that we only started to scratch the surface of your country and have so much more to learn. 

Regarding the trip logistics, the accommodations, transportation and guides were exceptionally prepared and well thought out by Compass.  They exceeded our expectations. Everyone was incredibly friendly, helpful and mindful of our trip.  Karen and I have traveled extensively on our own in various countries and were not accustomed to the attention, care and safety provided by your team. We are very independent travelers that usually throw on a back pack and figure the trip logistics out on our own. Having a trip planned for us was a very different (and pleasant!) experience.  As a matter of fact, we are so used to taking care of ourselves that Karen and I felt badly that Naka had to escort us to the airport so late in the evening on our departure date (12:50 am flight).  That is normally something we would just take care of on our own. 
We will definitely recommend your company and services to our friends. Currently, I am trying to convince my husband to visit your country this year. I would love for him to experience the sites and culture as Karen and I did.
Please send a special thank you to Anand.  He navigated us through the whole trip safely from start to finish and did an outstanding job.  He made the trip a wonderful experience for Karen and I.  I especially appreciated the Hindi lessons and will be continuing with the language lessons here at home. Should my husband make the trip this year to India, we will be requesting Anand's services again.       Shweta, I am sorry we were not able to stop in on the last day to see you. There were some more sights in Delhi that Karen and I wanted to see and we kept Anand quite busy well into the evening getting us to them. I suspect we will be back soon and at that time we will come by to give you a hug and say "thank you" in person.

Sincerely,
Shannon

Dear Shweta,

Compass Tours made our trip to India the best that it could be.  Out of the six of us that were traveling, none of us had previously visited your country and Compass took care of us from the moment we arrived until we left.  It gave us a special look into the caring personality of the Indian people.

Before we even left on the trip, we felt great.  Shweta, you worked with us everyday until we narrowed down a perfect itinerary.  We loved being able to have a say on what type of accommodations we would be in as well as what  type of vehicle we'd be transported in.  It worked very well.

The guides that you contracted with in Bikaner, Jaisalmer, and Jodhpur were some of the best I've ever met.  Not only were they hospitable and knowledgeable about their areas, but they took it one step further and invited us to view some of the culture first hand.  In Bikaner, Bihwanas invited us to his house for dinner and we met his family.  In Jaisalmer, we were also invited to Jintendra's mother's house for tea, and in Jodhpur, the guide took us to a friend's wedding.  On top of that, each guide was so open about their lives, which are completely different than our American lives.  They talked to us about their religion, their caste, their marriages, and much, much more.

I recommend that anyone who visits India should use Compass to arrange their trip.  The best thing about it is, that I as the customer, made all the decisions, and Compass did all the hard work!

Thank you so much for such a rich and rewarding experience! I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to go to India again!

Corinne Vail

dawn Taylor,dawn@taylorcotton.plus.com
Dear Varsha

 Hope you had a happy Diwali.  It was a shame we missed you when we came into the office because we would have liked to say a big THANK YOU for all your help and for organising such a wonderful tour for us.

The service was excellent and we will certainly recommend your company to any friends planning to visit India.  We would particularly like to praise the services of our main driver and his helper, known to us as Captain and Surinder.  Their competent, safe driving gave us confidence and a comfortable journey always.  The Tempo Traveller was a great success and ensured the children coped with the long journeys very well as there was room to more about and be comfortable.  We really enjoyed our last minute visit to Agra over Diwali – the Taj Mahal is truly majestic.
 
We were very happy with most of the hotels.  The only exception was the Quality Inn HimDev which was noticeably below the standard of the other hotels and was disappointing. 

Thank you again for your help.

With our best wishes
Taylor Famil

Alice Clark,clarka4@earthlink.net

Dear Varsha, Ganesh and Martin,
Thank you for the excellent service you all provided to my tour participants on our recent South India tour.  It was greatly appreciated by all.  You went out of your way at times to make things work. We also appreciated the expert help in Madurai.  Luke was an exceptional guide to the temple and you can send him my compliments.  We got along fine in Bangalore as well.  I will certainly call upon you again for help with my tours and travel needs.

Sincerely yours,

Alice Clark