Exactly similar problems with Denzong Leisure during recent Bhutan tour as raised above. How I wish I could have read the reviews before booking with them. I cant do much now as I have already lost my money, time and precious family holiday. Maybe someone else will be saved.
They seem to have a pattern:
1. At time of booking lot of promises about "everything will be perfect." The agent will listen to your requests and say yes to everything. But on the itinerary they will write "equivalent" in front of very point. On the ground you will get horrible service, ranging from car to hotel rooms.
I paid Rs, 10, 000 extra to upgrade from 7 seater Innova to Totyota Hiace. Got a large 8 seater van which was technically a Hiace but was of old Maruti Van quality. It had bench type narrow seats and suspension close to breaking point (as per the driver himself he was scared to drive above 20-30km/hr as the car could break!) with 2 of the folding seats broken (leaving us with 6 passenger seats for 7 people!) which was at least 10 yrs old. (technically a Hiace but not anywhere close to the internet photos or the other Hiace vehicles all around us in Bhutan which were really luxurious with reclining bucket seats).
We paid about Rs 12000, extra for 8 nights trip to upgrade from budget category to 3 star rooms. Our 1st day hotel at Thimphu was nowhere close to 3 star. At best a decent budget property with small rooms opening into a noisy dining room accessible through 2 flight of narrow stairs in a busy market building. Since the other 3 hotels booked by them were indeed 3 star like, one assumes Denzong knows the meaning of 3 star and intentionally chose to book a budget hotel at Thimphu for reasons best known to them.
They will defend saying they have provided as per itinerary utilizing the equivalent clause.
2. No knowledge of local conditions, geography etc- I was told Wangdue to Bhumtang is 6-8 hours, actually took 13 hours without any lunch break each way, which was hell as I was travelling with my elderly parents and 3 yr old nephew. Lots of poetic description about the sightseeing on the way, and different routes for going and coming back. In actuality the driver took the same route both ways and refused to cover any of the places mentioned as he said it was not feasible to see them if we wanted to reach by the same night. He actually laughed when I showed him the itinerary and the route devised by the agent!!
3. Poor support during tour- When I called up the agent after seeing the condition of the 1st day hotel at Thimphu and the car she promised to call back in 5 minutes. I am yet to hear her voice. Email was replied to by a gentleman we had never dealt with before, after 4 days, with generic responses like "we will look into it, we have never gotten complaints like this before etc.). Still waiting for any definite reply from them, 2 months after completion of the tour and repeated emails asking for an explanation.
4. Unethical practices- I took 1 month and repeated reminders and public shaming for them to send receipts, invoice etc. I doubt they pay taxes although they did charge us GST.
We were charged about Rs. 10, 000 extra on the flight tickets without informing beforehand about any commission. Was sent modified tickets by email with the price deleted. On getting copies from the airlines to check genuineness of the tickets we found out that the tickets had been tampered with to delete the price and actual price charged by the airlines per ticket was about Rs. 1500 lower. Agents excuse- "we are not approved agents for Bhutan airlines and have bought tickets via another agent" Why dont you inform this prior to taking our money? Let us choose whether to book through you second hand or deal directly with the approved agent.
Regards,
Guneet Kaur
They seem to have a pattern:
1. At time of booking lot of promises about "everything will be perfect." The agent will listen to your requests and say yes to everything. But on the itinerary they will write "equivalent" in front of very point. On the ground you will get horrible service, ranging from car to hotel rooms.
I paid Rs, 10, 000 extra to upgrade from 7 seater Innova to Totyota Hiace. Got a large 8 seater van which was technically a Hiace but was of old Maruti Van quality. It had bench type narrow seats and suspension close to breaking point (as per the driver himself he was scared to drive above 20-30km/hr as the car could break!) with 2 of the folding seats broken (leaving us with 6 passenger seats for 7 people!) which was at least 10 yrs old. (technically a Hiace but not anywhere close to the internet photos or the other Hiace vehicles all around us in Bhutan which were really luxurious with reclining bucket seats).
We paid about Rs 12000, extra for 8 nights trip to upgrade from budget category to 3 star rooms. Our 1st day hotel at Thimphu was nowhere close to 3 star. At best a decent budget property with small rooms opening into a noisy dining room accessible through 2 flight of narrow stairs in a busy market building. Since the other 3 hotels booked by them were indeed 3 star like, one assumes Denzong knows the meaning of 3 star and intentionally chose to book a budget hotel at Thimphu for reasons best known to them.
They will defend saying they have provided as per itinerary utilizing the equivalent clause.
2. No knowledge of local conditions, geography etc- I was told Wangdue to Bhumtang is 6-8 hours, actually took 13 hours without any lunch break each way, which was hell as I was travelling with my elderly parents and 3 yr old nephew. Lots of poetic description about the sightseeing on the way, and different routes for going and coming back. In actuality the driver took the same route both ways and refused to cover any of the places mentioned as he said it was not feasible to see them if we wanted to reach by the same night. He actually laughed when I showed him the itinerary and the route devised by the agent!!
3. Poor support during tour- When I called up the agent after seeing the condition of the 1st day hotel at Thimphu and the car she promised to call back in 5 minutes. I am yet to hear her voice. Email was replied to by a gentleman we had never dealt with before, after 4 days, with generic responses like "we will look into it, we have never gotten complaints like this before etc.). Still waiting for any definite reply from them, 2 months after completion of the tour and repeated emails asking for an explanation.
4. Unethical practices- I took 1 month and repeated reminders and public shaming for them to send receipts, invoice etc. I doubt they pay taxes although they did charge us GST.
We were charged about Rs. 10, 000 extra on the flight tickets without informing beforehand about any commission. Was sent modified tickets by email with the price deleted. On getting copies from the airlines to check genuineness of the tickets we found out that the tickets had been tampered with to delete the price and actual price charged by the airlines per ticket was about Rs. 1500 lower. Agents excuse- "we are not approved agents for Bhutan airlines and have bought tickets via another agent" Why dont you inform this prior to taking our money? Let us choose whether to book through you second hand or deal directly with the approved agent.
Regards,
Guneet Kaur
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