In general the Balkan tour (Sofia to Athens) was poor. I paid a handsome amount (in the thousands) only to be booked...
Dear Emile,
First of all, we are pleased to hear that you arrived home safely. However, we must admit that we were disappointed to read your review, particularly because we believe several important details have been misunderstood or overlooked.
We would like to clarify a few points to ensure that the situation is presented fairly and accurately.
1. Tour Price and Single Room Supplement
You mentioned spending “thousands of dollars” on this trip. However, the actual price of your 9-night tour was £1,373
The additional USD 800 you referred to was the single room supplement, which you paid because you stayed in a private room throughout the 9day tour. This was not an unexpected or additional charge imposed during your trip.
2. Hotel Accommodation
We encourage you to carefully compare the hotels listed in your itinerary at the time of booking with those actually provided during your trip.
In fact, we upgraded your accommodation in certain cities, including:
* Sofia: Astoria Hotel
* Skopje: Holiday Inn Hotel
Both were better accommodation options than those originally planned.
Furthermore, you did not book your pre-tour accommodation in Sofia through us. Nevertheless, as a gesture of goodwill and to help you start your journey comfortably, we arranged a complimentary transfer to our tour hotel.
3. Tirana Hotel Incident and City Tour
Regarding the incident in Tirana, the hotel’s elevator unfortunately broke down during our departure. This was an unexpected technical issue beyond our control.
To compensate for the inconvenience, we arranged a complimentary boat trip in Ohrid later that day. We also explained the situation transparently to the entire group, and the other guests responded with understanding.
As for the Tirana city tour, the guided visit was completed, and free time was provided afterwards. However, due to the rainy weather, the other guests expressed their preference to return to the hotel rather than remain outside. The group therefore returned to the hotel.
4. The €30 Payment to Our Tour Leader
We would also like to correct an important misunderstanding.
The €30 you gave to Mr. Mensur was not a tip.
It was a partial payment for the three additional dinners you requested in Tirana, Ohrid, and Meteora.
The actual cost of these three dinners was €60.
After withdrawing money from the ATM, you had already spent part of it during the journey and therefore had only €30 available to pay.
Rather than asking you to visit another ATM and causing you further inconvenience, we accepted the €30 payment as a gesture of goodwill.
Additionally, the €5 hotel tax in Greece, which was your responsibility according to the tour conditions, was paid on your behalf by Mr. Mensur.
These are small details individually, but together they demonstrate the flexibility and additional assistance we provided throughout your journey.
5. Your Overall Tour Rating
We fully respect every guest’s right to share their experience, whether positive or negative. Constructive feedback is important to us, and we always take it seriously.
However, we were particularly disappointed that your overall rating was reduced so significantly based on circumstances that, in our view, were either misunderstood, beyond our control, or already addressed through additional services and goodwill gestures.
We did not receive complaints from other guests regarding the vehicle, and several of the issues you raised appear to relate to misunderstandings of the itinerary, inclusions, and arrangements rather than failures in the services provided.
For future travels, we would respectfully recommend travelling with a companion who can assist you in reviewing and understanding the itinerary, inclusions, and practical arrangements. We believe this could help make your travel experience smoother and more enjoyable, regardless of the level of luxury you choose.
6. Our Final Thoughts
Despite our disappointment, we sincerely thank you for travelling with Ajdinis Travel, the local Destination Management Company (DMC) responsible for operating your tour.
Our team works extremely hard behind the scenes to coordinate hotels, transportation, guides, meals, and the many operational details involved in a multi-country journey.
We do not claim that unexpected situations never occur. However, what matters is how we respond to them, and we believe we made genuine efforts to assist you and provide additional services whenever possible.
We kindly ask you to reconsider your review and rating in light of the clarifications above. We are not asking you to ignore your personal experience, but simply to ensure that your assessment reflects the services actually provided and the efforts made by our team.
Thank you once again for choosing Ajdinis Travel.
Kind regards,
Operations Management
Ajdinis Travel
Destination Management Company – Balkans & Eastern Europe
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