I’m planning a trip to Tokyo, Bali, Bangkok & Angkor Wat for Christmas/New Years and found a very helpful travel agent in Bangkok to help with travel arrangements and recommendations.
I was rather adamant about using a particular hotel in Siem Reap for our side trip to Cambodia and Angkor Wat – because the website looked spectacular, sounded great and the prices were reasonable by comparison with other hotels.
The agent told me he had received several similar requests – and I could indeed use that hotel if I insisted – but he requested an email with the specific request in writing… since he had recently visited the hotel and found that it was very attractive – but the service was horrible! Even worse, the restaurant was one of the most visually stunning eateries in Asia – serving food that reminded him of a second-rate bus-stop diner. Needless to say, I went with his original recommendation.
If I had not used an agent – I would have probably been very upset on arrival.
There is nothing worse than failure to meet expectations…..
The agent then went on to say that he now inspects all hotels – since he found a fabulous hotel on the internet in Saigon and wanted to use it for his programs…. However, when he arrived – he found that it was a ‘pet hotel’ catering to Koreans who traveled with their pets! But he didn’t even feel it was suitable for the animals – much less the owner!