Virtuoso Avis 20

I reached out to Diana from Virtuoso to help plan an important trip.
Unfortunately, the service I received fell short of my expectations:

• Response times were too long to obtain essential planning information
• I received incorrect or incomplete information on several occasions
• Communication was confusing, with no clear platform to use (WhatsApp, email, text messages, or the booking system), which affected the efficiency of our exchanges
• There was a lack of attentiveness and consideration for my specific needs, especially regarding cruise options
• I had to spend countless hours doing my own research to verify that the cruise ships suggested actually met my criteria

Given the situation, I contacted another travel agent who responded quickly, reassured me, and even offered additional perks. I gave Diana the opportunity to match this new offer, but unfortunately, she was unable to do so. The prices with Virtuoso were just not competitive at all. I ultimately booked my trip elsewhere.

In short, I do not recommend Virtuoso Travel Agency. My experience was frustrating and far from the level of service one would expect for such an important trip.

I've been trying to book a trip in Venice but it seems impossible to get even a email back. Vital info on there website is missing.

I used a virtuoso travel agency and vendor Eluxfrance to plan my 10th anniversary. Upon arrival I learned that most activities I had paid for are free. Not only that but all activities are non refundable. I had a catamaran tour of the lake planned and it is 60 and raining. Who wants to be on a lake in that weather?? Guess what nonrefundable. Travel agent also booked a non refundable vintage car and winery tour for me…only issue is I’m 10
Years sober. Again, non refundable. I asked to see a detailed invoice of the cost associated with my activities and the company line is we don’t share that information. Run away and find someone else for your needs. Don’t let them ruin your anniversary as they have ruined mine.

H Luxury Travel - Julie Ann

We didn’t receive the address of the two homes we were staying in. Even after asking for the first address a few days before departure we were sent the second address instead.

The first home was meant to be central Cannes so we can walk to the beach clubs. Nope. 3km away. Julie Ann blamed local agent and said for security reasons she doesn’t get the address until a week before. Errrm ok so not exact address but the basic thing to do would be to have a level of care for your clients and ensure the home you are sending clients paying approx $24k for one week to is central as asked for. Then after all this a rental car is delivered 2 days early so we didn’t have to uber everywhere but even that was sent to an address in Cannes because our luxury agent didn’t even bother to understand where we were staying. She sent it to Cannes but we were 3km away in Le Cannet! One sloppy mistake after another.

Many tours were either poor quality or wrong fit. Basically an instagram lead generator who didn’t care to share names of operators, important details such as park here, name of operator is, contact details are, things to bring such as water for a 3 hr bike ride. When you spend $70k+ on a vacation basic details are required. Would never use again, blamed others, after several mistakes didn’t even bother to learn where we were staying. Clown time.

Perhaps it was a bad time for a usually good agent? Basic accountability, hey I got you the wrong house sorry, as opposed to… I don’t know the exact address until a week before? Confirm is correct area.

We were sent a bottle of champagne by the local agent (not luxury travel), we were given a rental car for last 2 days before the next stage in st tropez but after 5 days of being 3km in a residential place not in Cannes ugh.

Massive expense, careless ill fitting planning and zero checking after one mad experience upon another. Looks good on instagram so great at projecting, perhaps hold a mirror up to real life care and consideration and the reflection is ugly.

Reflect not project… less filter and more giving a damn. I planned a trip in 1hr using AI and had far better recommendations.

We have a list of dozens of issues but yawn.

I’d give a 0 if I could. Debra Harris life’s journey was horrible and Big five tours and expeditions was even worse! Unethical. What they verbally say is not what they do. Run don’t walk from all.

They pay people to write fake reviews. We can't post links here but if you search for 'Virtuoso fake reviews' you'll find the article from a lady complaining that she was employed by virtuoso to write fake reviews for hotels when she then ended up getting scammed herself.

They are a scammer in the name of travel company offering jobs to people to be travel advisor and involved in fraud by extorting money in the name of recharging account. There is no details for company in Australia sot hat we can contact. This have been an absolute nightmare. Faking reviews on the platform and scamming money by routing money through various apps such as bybit, revolut, paybis and remitly

offering fake jobs and asking to recharge there accounst

Don’t trust the company, I was offered a job through them and the job required writing fake reviews and getting paid for it, but even then they still try & get you to invest money into it. Definitely do not trust the good views on the site. They are fake and being paid to write them.

TRAVELER BE VERY AWARE!
My family and I planned a very extensive trip to Italy. We were recommended to KKTW by a "friend". The trip was 10 days long with several excursions and tours being planned, as well as hotels, transfers etc. While the planning process was helpful unless you want to be ripped off beyond belief, I would not advise using them. At the start of planning, all excursions were presented to us with a price quote for us to approve. The company names or vendors were never disclosed. (Probably so you couldn't do your own research as to how much these tours were). While on the vacation, we inquired with many of the tour guides and vendors for the exact pricing of what we were doing (since it had seemed what we paid for very high for what we actually got). We came to find out that we were being charged THREE TO FOUR TIMES the amount of what the tour actually was. Not for one tour, for almost all of them. Highly disappointed and will never refer them to anyone we know!

Don't waste your money with this company. It's a money grab that will bait in aspiring artists, but it doesn't actually offer any valuable courses. Not only that. They will charge your bank card over $100, and not allow you a refund. Even if you cancel your subscription, they will charge you and ignore your attempts to have your money returned. Be careful not to get scammed like I did. It's a gamble not worth taking.

Virtuoso affiliated agent failed to notify of flight update. He was appropriately notified by Virtuoso of the update. I found Virtuoso Air very helpful in documentation of his failure. Awaiting a partial refund from Air Canada but not holding my breath.

I was severely underwhelmed. All the advisor seemed to want was her $500 fee. She was supposed to be an expert for this particular vacation but she gave me wrong information multiple times, not maliciously, more over confident and under-educated about the country. If I hadn't done my homework beforehand I would have been talked into an over-priced, underserved experience.

Travel Agents need to make it known that Virtuoso is an intermediary group used to book flights. This makes it impossible for clients to deal directly with the airlines, which is criminal. We are in a situation where we are waiting on a refund from British Airways for cancelled pandemic travel and are at the mercy of Virtuoso to get our money back. Months have passed with no resolution and I see no advocacy being done by this very un-Virtuous company. Our hands are tied.

David Melkonian did an outstanding job booking our Bora Bora trip

I contacted Virtuoso for help planning my upcoming honeymoon to Australia. Sounded like it would be a good fit; Cassandra Bookholder, was an Aussie native and I was super excited to plan this with her help and expertise. Except she ghosted me. Never heard another word. We didn’t have any personal conflicts or disagreements on anything so it came as a surprise to me. I concluded that she was just incredibly unprofessional and dare I say lazy?. Go somewhere that employs people that care to respond.

Having used a Virtuoso agent in 2001 for an Alaskan adventure, I was extremely pleased with the attention to detail, perks and overall guidance along the planning stages. Fast forward to 2020; I hired Suzy Xiu, a Virtuoso agent to plan my Italian honeymoon. Although she was excellent in providing vendors for excursions, and hotel/resort accommodations, when Covid hit she distanced herself and did nothing to assist in us getting our $50k in deposits back. Many vendors stated a 30% nonrefundable deposit. Luckily American Express got me every dime back. Then we regrouped and I booked a Regent cruise from Barcelona to Istanbul. I even turned over the cruise credit to Suzy as I understand travel has been hard and I wanted to help her out financially. Suzy recommended that at the end of our cruise we should fly to Bodrum Turkey and stay at the Bodrum Mandarin Oriental due to their stay two and get the third night free program. So we booked for a total of nine nights. Now remember that this is our honeymoon trip. I specifically stated that we wanted a sea view room. She elected to book us into a garden view room and assured us that since she was a Virtuoso agent, the Mandarin Oriental would certainly upgrade our room to a sea view. Three days before our departure, Suzy informs me that the resort is fully booked and we are stuck with a garden view room. So I ask Suzy, exactly what benefits have I received from you and Virtuoso for this trip that you have undoubtedly done very little other than charge me a $200 "fee" to have the "benefit" of working with you and Virtuoso. I received a $300 shipboard credit and I now find that other cruise passengers are receiving up to $5k in rebates from their travel agent. Suzy's response was that she is sorry that I don't see her value and therefore she will no longer be assisting us. I was shocked that an agent that is supposed to be working to ensure a honeymoon is perfect, is so inept at customer service. I contacted Regent to inquire about removing Suzy from getting credit for our cruise but alas, it was too late. I assume a $50k cruise has a nice commission. I sure wish she would have earned it. But the pen is mightier than the sword, and I have gone on every travel blog to spread the word of her poor attitude and unacceptable service. A shame she chose to act like such a petulant child. She could have represented us for our 3-week Dubai to Singapore cruise in November.

The Virtuoso Life Team's Dream Trips - maybe for you all as part time agents - but for the guy spending 100k it’s a full on lazy rip off - stay away from the Polynesia team - email me for names

Out of respect for all parties involved, I can’t go into details about my experience, but it was awful. I would never Booking.com with virtuoso again.

I found Virtuoso when I waited until the last minute to book a trip to London for some theater tickets we had bought to see Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet.

We were leaving in less than a month and had two weeks to spend with no plans at all. I searched for a travel agency and found Virtuoso which basically caters to clients looking for 5-star service, private tours, and fancy hotels.

So I was synced with an agent who specialized in London and Paris and she planned everything out for us to include trips to Bath, Stonehenge, Paris and private drivers and tours.

We had a great time.

I have since found an agent who I book ALL of my travel through now when I booked a later solo trip to Bali for two weeks. She has since booked trips to Japan, Hawaii, all over California, and a three-week European Christmas market vacation through Germany, Budapest, Prague, Amsterdam, and Vienna.

I'm a fan - this is a good company with agents who can really elevate your travel. It's more pricey - but absolutely worth it to have someone who will be there 24/7 if you have an issue to rebook your flights, find you another hotel, or change your plans around if something needs to change last minute.

These are experts on locations who make suggestions for things to see and do you may not know about. Usually the itinerary will include an app with suggestions and information about what to see, where to go, where to stay and what to eat while in each city.

I love it! I'm a fan for life. My agent is awesome and she is able to get me deals and perks I wouldn't get without her, like free breakfasts and spa credits at fancy hotels.