FEBRUARY 2005
Name: ROBERT BIRD
E-mail Address: anirishbird@hotmail.com

Orquidea Tours,
I would like to express my gratitude to your company for what turned out to be one of the most amazing trips of my life. My group visited Peru through your travel agency Feb 11-24. We had a great time, and our trip only got better as the days went on. I would like to make note of things that I found to be exceptional:
The Nazca Tour with Brady
The La Gruta Hostal
The Cusco City Tour and Sacred Valley Tour with Freddy The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu Tour with Diego.
Everything we experienced was outstanding, but I wanted to make special note of these events. One of the best things we encountered was having Ms. Milagros Vergaray (Milly) along with us for a while. She was very nice, knowledgeable, and very helpful to us all. She is a true asset to your company. You really outdid yourselves with our tour, and I will be sure to recommend you and your services to anyone.
Thank You For Everything!

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FEBRUARY  2005

Name: DAVID LEVY
E-mail Address: davidlevy@shaw.ca

We have just come back from our very packed, exciting and wonderful trip in South America. You did a marvellous organization job, the coordination was magnificent, everyone involved was at the right place at precisely the right moment, and we saw just about as much as anyone could in such a short time. Thank you for being so efficient and watchful of every detail. Needless to say, we enjoyed every minute of the trip in spite of some very minor health problems.
One comment : the Cumberland Hotel in La Paz is thumbs down. While walking around the city with the guide, we noticed the Gloria Hotel, also ***, which appeared superficially at least, much nicer. Thank you Milly and Gisella for your excellent work. Hasta la vista.
Rachel Levy (David Levy's mother).

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JANUARY 2005

Name: HERBERT FONTECILLA
E-mail Address: hfontecilla@comcast.net

We're finally back from our holiday in South America. Want to thank you
very much for your help during our visit to Peru in early
January. Everything worked out perfectly. Everyone who met us at the
hotels, airports, train station, the tour guides, the drivers, everyone was
friendly, pleasant, and on time. It all contributed to an excellent stay
in Peru. Great job.

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JANUARY 2005

Name: CLAUDE LEE BOOKOUT
E-mail Address: cbookout@austin.rr.com

 Sandra and I safely returned home last night. Thank you for all your assistance while we were in Peru. You helped make our experience there very lovely and memorable. The entire tour you arranged for us was perfect! Words alone can not describe how smoothly your arrangements were for us. I hope that we can visit Peru again; and when we do, we will certainly look forward to using your services again. We will certainly recommend your travel services to our friends who may be traveling to Peru.
Also, I hope that your leg is healing well. Get well soon!
Thank you for the Birthday wishes, also!
I will forward some photographs to you from our trip in the next few days.

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SEPTEMBER  2004

Name: Vivian Cruickshank
E-mail Address: vcruic1267@wmconnect.com

Some time has passed since I was there, September 30, but I want to comment on the good service your company provided.

I had requested transfers between my hotel in Lima and the airport. The service was exceptional. In Cusco, your service was superb, as well. I was met at at the airport and taken to the Orquidea Real. The staff at the hotel was great, even sending out for food for me one night when I was too tired to go myself.

The young woman, Raquel, who was our guide at Machu Picchu, was great. She was very knowledgeable and so pleasant.

My only disappointment is that I did not have enough time in Cusco, but maybe another time.

I have recommended your company to a friend, Pamela Cromer, who will be in Peru in April. I hope she will take my advice and book with you and I hope I will have the opportunity to use your services again in the future.

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AUGUST 2004

Name: Cesar B Vieira
Gaithersburg
MD - 20878
US
E-mail Address: helovieira@comcast.net

Heloisa and I enjoyed a lot our Cusco-Machu Picchu tour. Your staff is very friendly, fluent, well prepared and professional. We were particularly impressed by the effective coordination between all your staff involved in our tour in Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu. Thanks and congralations for your services, which deserve the highest rate in the questionnaire below. We are recommending Orquidea Tours to our friends interested in visiting Peru.

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JULY 2004

Name: Gene L Stimbert
Oxnard
CA
93035
US
E-mail Address: gstimbert@yahoo.com

The Reservation Service was prompt, safe and reliable.
Orquidea Hostal accommodations were both rustic and charming. The room was clean and safe. The view of the city and closeness to the Plaza de Armas was excellent. The Hostal has a security staff that ensured a safe stay. They carried our luggage for us and arranged for taxis. The included breakfast was excellent in quality and quantity and the view of the city from the dining room was very nice.
The staff was courteous and helpful. We highly recommend Orquidea's reservation service and accommodations to anyone seeking a safe, reliable and economical stay in Cusco.

Best Regards,
Gene Stimbert (USA)
 

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JULY 2004

Name: Edward M Miczek
Toronto
ON
M9A 4K2
CA
E-mail Address: emhm@sympatico.ca

We can really only say that we were extremely pleased with all aspects
of our tour. Your company and its employees were very courteous,
professional and efficient. Every detail of our trip went smoothly.
Representatives of Orquidea met us at the airports and hotels when they were
supposed to. They always provided us with accurate information as to pick-up
times and other details of the tour. Orquidea rearranged our return flight
from Juliaca to Lima on July 13 at the last minute due to problems with
AEROCONTINENTE and the national strike the next day. This showed that your
company genuinely cared about the welfare of its clients. Even while in
Peru, we were already bragging to other tourists about how happy we were to
be with Orquidea Tours.
We will highly recommend Orquidea Tours to our friends and associates
and will gladly use your company should we decide to visit Peru again.
Thank You all for a wonderful experience in your beautiful and
interesting country.
EDWARD MICZEK and CLIFF MELVILLE

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JULY 2004
 

Name: william banks
waynesville
NC
28786
US
E-mail Address: wbanks@webtv.net

Hi, We just returned to the USA today. We just wanted to let you know that the trip was incredible. I do a lot of traveling around the world and the trip you put together for us in Peru was one of the best. One of the more remarkable aspects was the coordination of your tour operators.
We were all over the country, dealing with multiple persons. Every single time, the contact person arrived exactly on time, explaining what to expect along the way. I am still amazed at the proficiency and professionalism of all those involved.
Thanks,
William and Wendy Banks

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JUNE 2004

Name: Jack H. Kroll
Tampa
FL
33602
US
E-mail Address: krollj@aol.com

Dear Orquidea Services:

Our recent trip to Peru was wonderful. We were very satisfied with all of our accommodations. The friendliness and efficiency of the staff both at the Orquidea Real Hostel and Paracas Hotel were outstanding. All the hotels were exceptionally clean and service was great, and the breakfasts were very good.
While we were in Puno, we found out late in the evening that our flight (I booked the flight not Orquida) from Julica to Lima had been canceled. The local representatives working with Maricarmen Salinas, were able to obtain another flight for us the same day as our original flight and in fact a couple of hours earlier than the original flight. We would have been stranded if it would not have been for the overtime efforts of your staff.
Our guides also helped make the trip a great experience. Sylvia in Cusco was very good as was Pascual in Machu Picchu. Especially helpful was Brady in Paracus.
I knew where we wanted to go on the trip and Orquida made it happen. I would first recommend Peru to my friends and second I would recommend Orquida tours to them so that they could experience the same high qualify service we enjoyed.

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MAY 2004

Anthony Lavorgna
Atlanta GA 30306
US
E-mail Address: tony_lavorgna@bartonsolutions.com


I am finally back from holiday. Thank you for all you help. My time in Peru was fantastic. As good the first part of my trip was my time in the North was just as good.
I am looking forward to visiting next year and will of course you your agency for all of the arrangements. I wish you the best.
 

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MAY 2004

Name: K. SANTOS
Horningsea Park
NSW
2171
AU
E-mail Address: k_santos@optushome.com.au ; katherine.santos@tnarobag.com

To all the staff at Orquidea Tours,
I would like to thank you for the very BEST service and friendly staff.
My Husband and I truly appreciate the professionalism of the staff with very prompt, efficient and helpful service.
The tour guides that you have organised for us in Cusco, the city tour, Sacred Valley and MachuPicchu was just so EXCELLENT!
To the tour guides that we had ...... THANK YOU and
You were very very very very GOOD!!!! very informative and knowledgeable.
I rate them 200/100!!!.. it was FANTASTIC!
Thank you so much for all your efforts and Keep up the good work that you provide!


Best Regards,
Katherine & Gianfranco Robino
 

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MAY 2004

Name: Alaire Lowry
Austin TX
US
E-mail Address: alaire@mac.com

We have been back from Peru for a week and are sorting our pictures and sharing the memories of our splendid trip. We want to thank you for arranging an itinerary that was just right for us. It was reasonably priced, yet we saw all the major sights, and we had the special Machu Picchu experience we wanted. Your staff was friendly, dependable and helpful. The Don Carlos was comfortable, and the service was excellent. We ended up eating most of our meals there in the dining room. (I recommended to them that they install a recirculating fountain in their atrium to make it more attractive.) They were wonderful about storing our bags, helping us send emails, exchanging money and recommending places to eat and shop. Our reception in Cusco could not have been easier or more pleasant, as Maria Elena was first in line as we came out of the airport, and we were taken quickly to a comfortable lounge in the Don Carlos, where we could relax and receive instructions on registering and joining the various tours. We loved getting the hot cup of mate de coca delivered immediately to our rooms.
The tour to Pisac, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero was very enjoyable.
The lunche on at the Alhambra Restaurant was totally unexpected for the beauty of the setting and the elegance and good taste of the buffet, complete with the best music we heard on the trip. Tom lost his big Trujillo straw hat to the wind, but it caught on a rock in the Patacancha (I think) River at Ollantaytambo, and a young boy scrambled down and retrieved it, to cheers of the onlookers (and a $10 tip from a grateful Tom, who loves this new hat; it is perfect for sunny, hot Texas). It was nice that Theo stopped the bus to look at stars up in the mountains. Unfortunately, we didn't know much about the southern constellations beyond Alpha Centauri and the Southern Cross. We enjoyed the city tour but would have liked less time in the cathedral and more time at Ouoricancha, Sacsayhuaman, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay. All three of our guides, Theo, Janette, and Ruben, tried hard to make sure all people joined the group, and that made us a bit late sometimes, but it wasn't bad. We wish their English had been better, as it was sometimes hard to understand them, especially when they turned away from us to another part of the group. Ruben even saved a woman from falling on her face on the rocks when she fainted in the Machu Picchu ruins. The trip to Machu Picchu went off without a hitch. We had excellent seats in the first coach of the train and so were able to get some great pictures along this extraordinarily beautiful route. We followed the instructions given to us about baggage and bus, and soon we were in our very nice room at the Sanctuary Lodge. As you know, this hotel is superb, and we are so glad that you were able to get rooms for us there on short notice, because the quiet evening and morning there at Machu Picchu were unforgettable. Our train trip back and the transfer to the airport went smoothly, and Judy even made some earrings for me from two pendants at the VERY last minute! (We had gone to see the carved pulpit in Iglesia San Blas, and we met Judy on Calle Loreto walking back to the Don Carlos. She converted the pendants and brought them to the hotel in less than 10 minutes.) So, thank you very much for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
We would actually like to come back to Peru, and we will certainly call upon Orchidea Tours again if we do.
Sincerely yours,

Alaire and Tom Lowry

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MAY 2004

Name: Lucas D. Parsch
Fayetteville AR
US
E-mail Address: lparsch@uark.edu

We had a wonderful trip to Peru (Peru Highlights with one night in Aguas Calientes). The people were friendly, the scenery was outstanding, the guides were enthusiastic and very well-informed, the hotels were comfortable, and the tours were well-organized and educational.
We were very impressed with the logistics of the entire trip. Making arrangements for the tour via email was very easy due to the experienced office staff at Orquidea Tours. (I was especially pleased with how easy it was to reschedule the trip when it became necessary for us to postpone the trip due to an illness in the family). And once we arrived in Peru, contact persons were always there to meet us for our transfers and all of the staff at each location was always ready to help us.
Thank you and Gateway Travel for helping us to arrange this wonderful vacation. We only wish we could have spent more than 12 days in Peru.
There is so much to see.

Luke and Janet Parsch

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APRIL 2004

Name: Ming Hai Lim
Redwood City
CA
94065
US
E-mail Address: mug_sie@yahoo.com

Orquidea Tours' staff has been very very professional and most helpful! I will totally recommend it to all of my friends to take the tours you organise!! Your promptness of service was remarkable!
Particularly, Maria Del Carmen, both via reservations and who helped us in Cusco at the Orquidea Hotel deserves commendation for her efforts and attention to our needs. 2ndly, Dhally and Giselle of your tours' reservations & finance depts were also most on the ball!
Kudos to Orquidea Tours for an exceedingly well run operation! May I take the opportunity to wish you every success in your business and its further development! Thank you again! It made our holiday to Peru my best holiday experience EVEN despite the physical difficulties I encountered because of the altitude sickness I endured! And I have traveled to more than 40 countries in all 6 continents of the world.


Sincerely!
Serene Tan

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APRIL 2004

Name: Matthew J. Walton
Knutsford
Cheshire WA16 8DS
GB
E-mail Address: matthew.walton@winningline.com

I would like to thank you and all your colleagues for making my holiday so enjoyable. Peru is a great country but it was made even better by your assistance.
Everything was well planned, there were no problems and everybody who I dealt with were very good.
It was a great holiday and a shame to come back to the UK!
Thank you very much, I hope to visit again in the future.
Regards,

Matthew Walton