Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromGloria I

  Date: 17/11/2022

  1 star

  Gloria I

  Date: 17/11/2022

  I was on the Fall Colours Superior rail,bus tour on September 23 to September 27, 2022. It was a trip to be forgotten and I have forgotten about it already. The tour starting with bus travel was comfortable, the two tour guides seemed friendly enough, but couldn’t give us arrival times for some reason. Each time we got to where we were overnighting, it was dark already. Our first night, one elevator to handle approx. 46 people. Really? It was a very old place, the buffet was horrible, pasta noodles rubbery yuck, I settled for a salad. Early rising, breakfast and back on board. Our lunches consisted of processed meat sandwiches, which I stay away from, sodium plus, chips, and whatever. Arrived in the dark again to our hotel very stinky elevator, wrong room was given to my friend and I, found blood stain on pillow case, great way to go to sleep. Unbelievable. We had no down time, the tour guide kept us isolated, no chance of going to ******* or whatever to break up the monotony of bus riding. Thunder Bay to Sault ste Marie, box sandwich, process meat, hickory sticks, cookies, ginger ale, great stuff to sit in our stomachs. We were left alone at the Parks Canada Canal. Guides left to get hotel keys? It got cold later on, some of us, huddle around an older man to keep him warm, ** ****** ** **** *** ******* Why leave us? My friend and I managed a decent meal at dinner time, late hour, to eat. Our bus driver managed to ground the bus on an incline, holding up traffic, we were told to disembark to lighten the load, didn’t work. Headed to Sudbury, two night stay. Seedy part of the city. Arrived in the dark again.. No five star hotels at all as promised. Via Rail Diesel tour at white river. 8 hours, sandwiches again. I managed to gain 5 pounds, eating lunches on board and not moving, circulation in legs yikes. There so many wrongs on this trip. I cleaned the bus twice, brought extra toilet tissue from our hotel room. **** **** * ***** ** **** ****** ***** ****** ****

  Rail Travel Tours

  Date: 23/11/2022

  While we appreciate our
  guests taking the time to provide feedback it should be noted these are very
  similar comments your travel companion shared that, in my opinion, featured incorrect comments.  As also mentioned to
  your travel companion’s similar posting, I am very surprised to read this review after so many
  positive comments from the other guests on the very same tour as the
  following comments;     

  
  

  Lots of
  Excellent information. The train scenery was like riding through paintings by
  one of the group of 7”
  
  “Thank
  you for showing us the gorgeous wilderness of Northern Ontario and giving us a
  trip to treasure forever”
  
  “It was
  an excellent trip. Our guides did a great job and I would certainly recommend
  this trip”
  
  As
  folks who have done a lot of travelling the tour was a real treat.  We recognize the amount of organization
  needed and we applaud it.”
  
  “We
  really liked the guides narration during the trip. It gave us a little info
  prior to each stop and during the bus ride of places along the way. Thank you
  to both guides for the patience with us seniors”
  
  “For
  the fantastic dinner you arranged for the 2nd night in Sault Ste
  Marie, I was not surprised the restaurant that provided it was featured on the
  TV program “You Gotta eat Here’ as the entire meal from salads to main
  courses was delicious and what portions!”  
  
  There are
  still many challenges the pandemic has created, and they are still negatively affecting
  travel experiences. All travellers must be aware about and patient with this as
  I mentioned at the start of the tour.   Other guests commented gratefully how many healthy
  and fresh meals, notably the lunches, were provided as many other package tours
  do not include as many meals as this tour did.
  
  The hotel
  in downtown Thunder Bay had most if not all our rooms feature great views of
  Lake Superior.  Yes, they had a Pasta
  Buffet (served in heated trays that you said you did not try so the comment
  about it being cold was also incorrect) along with salad and garlic bread,
  meatballs in sauce and noodles. I noticed most of the guests going back for
  more. I am sorry it was not to your liking as compared to the other members of
  the tour and will address this with the hotel if it can be improved for future
  groups guests.  I can only presume you
  did not notice that the restaurant was only accessible to just our guests so we
  limited interactions with other locals and visitors to the area to endeavor to
  keep our guests safe as we are still living in challenging times
  
  I make NO
  Excuses for not visiting a Walmart on tour as we are coming out of a pandemic
  and again endeavored to keep our guests in their own bubble, where possible, to
  keep them safe.  Also, in my opinion, we are not known for visiting chain stores and guests
  did and do not expect on a package tour to visit a Walmart but local
  attractions and scenery like the places we experienced on this tour. There was time
  in the evenings if you wanted to jump in a taxi/ride share service and visit a
  Walmart on your own time.   The guides also did multiple garbage pickups
  on the bus each day while on the tour and the guides also asked the driver to
  re stock the bathroom supplies as we did not have access to these items.   One
  couple also noted how detailed the itinerary was that featured numerous times
  when to be ready and told when we expect to be where and when, but we are happy to review the itinerary for future
  guests. 
  
  There was NO
  mention of “5 star hotels” in any of our descriptions of the tour and this was
  never “promised’ so this is another incorrect comment.  The comment about blood on a pillowcase was
  never mentioned to myself during the tour or on the tour feedback forms regarding
  the different hotels (each hotel was asked to be rated) we used on the tour. I
  was not informed by any of the hotels that a guest called asking for a new pillowcase due to stains on one in their bed. On a tour or travelling on your own, if
  you have an experience like this, to be proactive I would encourage anyone to
  call the front desk immediately so they can, from my experience, get a replacement
  pillowcase from the housekeeping storage area.  Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a situation on a tour once
  before where I joined a guest for a couple hours in the Jasper Hospital as she
  also thought there was dry blood stains on the pillowcase found in the morning.
  In this situation it was actually her that was bleeding from an open sore on
  her ear that needed to be addressed in the hospital. If the blood was found on
  the pillowcase in the morning that was clean the night before please see your
  doctor for your own health.  
  
  I don’t recall
  a “stinky” hotel elevator in any location nor was this mentioned in any of our
  feedback forms from the remainder of guests.  Also, I can confirm this was not at the hotel on the 2nd night as it did not have an elevator (most of our guests were on the main floor)
  so again another incorrect comment.  The
  comments about arriving in the dark every night was also incorrect as we
  arrived most of our hotels at dusk with yes the exception of 1 hotel that we
  unloaded in a well lit parking lot.  It
  should be noted that this tour was for the fall colours and it gets dark early
  the time of year we were travelling.  Lastly,
  we did request handicap rooms for those that noted they required rooms like this
  but these types of rooms are limited.  Especially as there is limited accommodation at some of the places we
  visited and we like to support family-owned local businesses and hotels with a
  railway connection.  All of which have
  been inspected before our visit.  
  
  Again
  False, guests were given an opportunity to visit the #1 attraction in Sault Ste
  Marie WITH a Rail Travel Tours guide was with the group the entire time during
  the visit here. We also requested Parks Canada to do a presentation, but they
  sadly were not on site and for that we are sorry.  Yes, the bus had challenges in the parking lot
  of the hotel we were arriving at (in daylight) and while this was out of our
  control I am very sorry for this situation and have been addressing it I can
  assure you. What was in our control at the time, as we knew guests had some
  free time in the schedule, we unloaded the bus when it was safe to do so only
  steps away from the main entrance. Guests claimed their bags that were already unloaded
  for their convenience adjacent to the front desk and in the lobby so the hotel
  employee watching over them could go on to other duties.      
  
  We were
  VERY clear in both the advertising and in the itinerary that we were travelling
  (as Ontario is so large) considerable distances to connect with the trains in
  the Superior Region.  The comment about not
  stopping to stretch our legs while travelling by bus is very false.  We sopped in Schreiber’s new Visitors
  Discovery Centre, a convenience store and adjacent Tim Horton’s in Blind River,
  Ignace Museum which is adjacent to a Heritage Park & Visitors Centre, Winnie
  the Pooh Park and Terry Fox Monument to name a few places where guests were allowed
  to walk around at each location.    On both trains, guests could get up at any
  time and explore the train to stretch their legs.   We also had 90 minutes to explore the Agawa Canyon
  Park and its stunning scenery which many guests also did during the extended
  stop here.
  
  The hotel
  in downtown Sudbury that we stayed at for only 1 night, when we arrived, had
  one person on the FAR side of the parking lot, near an adjacent park loudly
  moaning/rambling (presumably substance abuse issues) that Is very prevalent
  coming out of the pandemic. This person did not approach our guests or the
  hotel entrance and sadly was more harm to himself then any of our or the other
  hotel guests here.  Sadly, this is a fact
  that is being seen in all communities across Canada, and worldwide, as we come
  out of these terribly times and I fear will be prevalent for years to come. I am sorry it saddened you and hope it will help that you are aware we have supported the programs of the Sudbury homeless shelter to help these people as they are not able to travel and hopefully assist them to improve their situation. 

  
  

  This package
  tour was not an open bar resort or beach type holiday but was a comprehensive
  package tour with learning, experiences, local attractions, wilderness viewing,
  scenic views, and chance to meet locals.  I am sorry it was not the trip you and your
  travel companion were looking for and choose not to take any positives, like
  the majority of guests took away, as shown in some of the comments at the start
  of my response, from the same tour.  In fact,
  we have had numerous guests on this tour wishing to join us again next year confirming
  RAIL TRAVEL TOURS motto: Others may sell you a seat; we provide an experience.