Hi Stephen,
I do apologize. I had meant to send you an email before I fired off the
one below to &Beyond.
The trip was wonderful. I thank you so much for all your hard work.
Essentially everything occurred as you had outlined, and I was most
happy with all your arrangements.
I have about 4,000 photos to sortthrough, and I met some very nice people along the way.
A few comments:
...The Metcourt - modern and efficient (they were most happy to
store luggage which I did twice,and the breakfast was excellent)
...&Beyond - the only problem was as I outlined below. Overall,
the whole experience was very enjoyable and memorable.
...Matetsi Lodge - fabulous (location, housing, food,
hospitality, etc.)
...Victoria Falls Hotel - a lovely reminder of days past; they
were having some sort of "strike", and we were told that 45 employees
had been replaced (the service in the restaurant was VERY slow as a
result)
...Savanna Lodge - another fantastic venue (I would gladly
return - extremely polished employees, superb food, etc.)
...Protea Hotel Balalaika Sandton - a disaster from start to
finish.
I had talked with Natasha Jantjies during my second stay at the
Metcourt asking if I could just return there instead of the Protea;
apparently, she could not change the reservation. After I was picked up
at the airport, we retrived my large luggage from the Metcourt and
headed to the Protea. The drive to the hotel was one and a half hours
through horrible traffic. I was not feeling well and asked if I could
just stay in my room and not go to the restaurant. The driver was very
kind and helped me with my luggage.
Unfortunately, although the hotel had my reservation, they refused to give me a room until I either
produced a voucher (which I was never given) or a credit card to charge
the room. I also wanted to leave earlier the next morning than planned
because of the traffic, but the driver said it was too late to change;
thus, I had to arrange for my own transportation (at a steep 400 rand).
When I checked out the next morning, the "idiot" at the desk was unable
to tell me if they had contacted .... for a voucher or whether they
would charge my credit card (I will wait until I get my credit card bill
and let you know).
In addition, when I explained to the this gentleman
that there is NO HOT WATER in my room, he told me to fill out a form
evaluating the hotel and to include any problem including plumbing (I
think any Holiday Inn in the world would have been more responsive than
he was).............and, I left too early for breakfast. I would never
return there.
...The Cathedral Peak Hotel - a GREAT way to end my adventure.
The transportation, hotel (especially the meals) and personnel were
splendid, and I had no pre-arranged program so that I could wake-up and
go to bed at my time.......and hike the beautiful mountains
Again, thank you Stephen. I hope to push more folks your way in the
future.
I hope to talk to you as well.
Sam
Medicine Winston-Salem, NC 27157
