Hi all
Sorry for the delay in responding, but life back to reality in Scotland has been very hectic!
Please find our feedback below.
Why did you choose Say Hueque?/Where did you find us?
- I think Graham found you on internet. We chose you after my initial meeting on Skype with Lucia. We liked the fact that you were taking time to understand what type of travelers we were. And we were not disappointed!
What was the best of traveling with us?
- Great organization – everything very smooth and professional
- The fact that you were checking in half way through our trip to ensure that everything was ok
- Your flexibility in changing the plans to suit us
Which was your favorite hotel, why? - difficult to pin only one!
- Los Colorados in Purmamarca – friendly staff, amazing views, great terrace with again a view to die for, breakfast served in the room!
- Mitico – a wonderful hotel in Salta, a group of staff passionate about the history of the hotel, the themed rooms and salons decorated with elegance and taste.
- On the less favorite side:
- Cafayate hotel (can’t remember the name) was very average. Although it’s well situated, there was no views from the room (hidden by trees), and staff were not very welcoming. We left with a feeling that it was very blend, a sense of trying too hard to be ‘posh’ and failing, and staff not accommodating. Can’t remember having seen anybody smiling there.
- The first hotel in Salta was very nice, however there was building work next door until 10pm. There is nothing that the hotel manager can do about it, but you may be cautious in sending people there until the work is finished next door?
- The Hotel in Buenos Aires is nice. The garden is beautiful and staff very friendly and helpful. However, you can’t really use the pool as the water is extremely cold, and although our room on our first stay was great, the second was a bit run down (no complimentary water, sink slightly broken, air conditioning not working properly). The second room was also on the street and was very noisy. I couldn’t sleep until 4am.
Which was your favorite excursion?
- So many! The three highlights for us have been:
- La Chacra – Pepe is such a wonderful man and made the experience really great. He’s a wonderful story teller, speaks English and a bit of French and loves his plantation and workers. He showed us his property (mate and pine plantation, and his furniture making plant). The second day we went to spend the evening with his workers for a barbecue and watching a football game. It was a great experience.
- Iguacu day 2 (Argentinian side). Alejandro took us over there early in the morning and there were very few tourists, which made the experience even better. Its’ such a wonderful scenery.
- Route from Salta to Cafayate then from Cafayate to Purmamarca was the most incredible experience. The scenery is magic and I can’t find words to describe it. I was less taken by the salt flats, but it’s only a question of taste!
5. Is there any guide that you would like to mention?
- Alejandro in Iguacy – he’s such a nice man. He’s also extremely knowledgeable and has his entries where no other guides go. He made our experience so much more incredible. He’s really passionate and his knowledge of the wildlife is very high. Instead of a lunch pack, he took us to the Sheraton for lunch (he clearly knows staff over there very well…), offered us a few coconut water on our way back from Brazil, things that are not expected from a guide. I don’t know if you often work with him, but he’s definitely someone you should keep in mind!
- Martin in Salta – another wonderful guy. Again his knowledge and passion for his region has made the trip so delightful. We really built a relationship with him and his incredible knowledge of geology is fascinating. He knows the region so well that he took us through a few incredible shortcuts that made the trip even more interesting. He was so caring! He was also very flexible; Graham was keen to watch the rugby game between Scotland and Argentina and Martin managed to find a place and negotiate with the manager so Graham could watch it! Again not sure if you often work with him, but he definitely someone who has been a huge highlight for us.
- On the other side, the wetlands experience, although beautiful, was more challenging as the guides (at Socorro and on the boat trip on the laguna) only spoke Spanish. We had an English speaker in the evening however it was less of an issue. I know it’s our problem if we don’t speak Spanish, not theirs, but I feel we missed so much on the information given by the guides around the wildlife of the area. My Spanish was far too basic to understand anything. It may be useful to mention it to your customers if they don’t speak Spanish at all.
Is there anything that you would like to see improved?
- Nothing really. Keep doing what you do as you’re doing it expertly. We are likely to plan another trip to Argentina (Patagonia this time) in the coming years and will definitely contact you again. Thank you very much for your hard work.
And thanks again for your efforts in making this trip one of the best we ever had.
Warmest wishes.
21.11.16