Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromCarol R

  Date: 10/14/2023

  1 star

  Carol R

  Date: 10/14/2023

  I recently returned from a *** tour of *******. While the sites were breathtaking and our tour guide (who was not a *** employee but brought in at the last minutes) was amazing, the *** experience was terrible. The lack of communication with *** was appalling. We never knew exactly what we were doing even though our tour guide tried numerous times for clarification with ***. Things promised were not delivered (i.e. a boat tour looking for the northern lights, a bus with USB ports, luggage portage on the last day, an outdoor hot tub, northern lights wake up service, what meals were included etc.)To make matters worse, the hotel accommodations ranked more as lower end budget hotelsin particular *************** which we were stuck at for two nights was filthy. The bedding while clean (I hope) was stained which was disconcerting, the room safe was inoperable and not fixed. When we dropped something on the floor and had to retrieve it from under the bed, the filth beneath the bed was nasty. Ostensibly, this hotel was picked because it was out in the middle of nowhere to facilitate viewing the northern lights. And yet, there were not wake up calls available for that. In fact, there werent any phones in the room to even be able to notify guests.The ************* was supposed to have had an outdoor hot tub to watch the Northern Lights if they were visible, but there was no outdoor hot tub. Also given the location of the hotel, Im not sure the lights would have been visible there. For the price of this tour, the accommodations at Hotel Selfoss were, at best, mediocre.******* was on my bucket list, and I saved for a long, long time to be able to travel there. For the price (and compared to other tours I have taken) this was a very overpriced tour which under-delivered in every single capacity and at every single turn.The only saving ***** was the natural beauty of *******, but Im certain that if *** could have ruined that, they would have.

  CIE Tours

  Date: 10/24/2023

  Dear **************************,Thank you for your recent email regarding your group tour experience in ******* October 1st. We aim to consistently deliver the highest quality of service to our valued passengers and are dedicated to our client happiness during their travels. Allow me to address your concerns individually. Unfortunately *************** closed permanently, and the hotel was changed to *************** back in March of 2023, CIE Tours did notify your group leader at that time. I am unsure where you may have seen mention of an outdoor hot tub I have rechecked and our 2023 brochure does not mention an outdoor hot tub any hotel on this tour prior to the hotel change.The cleanliness of your room at the *************** was addressed by our Quality Control Team who contacted your group leader several times to assist with no response. A request to change rooms at the hotel may have been facilitated had the concierge been contacted by you or your group leader. In addition, CIE Tours provided a number on the travel documents in the event any travelling guest wanted to contact us directly.Unfortunately none of the ************** offer a wake up service for viewing the Northern Lights any longer, this service was removed during Covid and has not been reinstated. We have alerted our team and they will continue to bring this up with the hotels. Having checked we have identified that the coach was equipped with ports on every other row not every seat, most travelers felt this was sufficient.Lastly, portage at the end of your tourthis was addressed with the crew and noted that you were inconvenienced. Following my investigation, I am declining your request for a partial refund however I would like to offer you 15% off the land portion of a future guided CIE Tours vacation for you and a travelling companion along with our $150 per person past guest discount. Kind regards,Customer Service **********************