Testimonials and feedback about Dolphin Hellas Travel & Tourism: year 2002

Year 2002

Year 2001

Year 2000

Year 1999

Year 1998

Received: Mon, 30 Dec 2002

(here below follows a letter that a satisfied customer of Dolphin Hellas sent to a potential customer who asked us for references)

Dear Mr. xxx,
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! We recommend Christina Papagiannakou and Dolphin Hellas unconditionally. My sister-in-law, who researches everything, used them 3 or 4 years ago when she went on a medical conference and took my mother-in-law. They were very happy, so Bill and I used them when we planned our combination work/vacation trip to Greece in April. Actually, we were scheduled to go Sept. 15, 2001, but no planes were flying then, of course, and the conference on Santorini was rescheduled to April 2002. Dolphin Hellas was great with the tragedy/delay and so were the Greek Airlines and United. Everyone refunded our money 100%, and Dolphin Hellas gave us a discount because we rebooked with them within a year.
Christina is really sweet, e-mails right away, and made great recommendations for us. We enjoyed flying Aegean Airlines from Athens to Santorini. You must go to Santorini; it's beautiful and romantic, but don't ride the donkeys, at least not down to the harbor! Renting a car is inexpensive, and driving around the island is easy in the daylight, and there's lots to see. It's also easy to get a bus ride to other parts of the island. We stayed at the Heliotopos, a 15 minute walk or cheap cab ride from the center of Fira. They are wonderful, with private balconies and a fabulous breakfast, but the shower water only stays warm for 10 minutes, then it needs to reheat for 5. In Athens we stayed at a little place on the Plaka and loved it. I'll have to e-mail you back with the name, or ask Christina; again, my sister-in-law had stayed there. Definitely go to the Acropolis right when it opens in the morning, and it won't be crowded. Also, many museums are closed Mondays. We stayed at a fancy hotel where the conference (not Christina) put us up before flying home, and we hated it, except for the breakfast; it was the only place people were snooty, and it smelled like cigarettes. We took a one-day bus ride to Delphi, and we're glad we did, but it was a long day! Okay, any other questions, just e-mail us. Oh, there's a great restaurant a block off the Plaka; I'll try to remember the name.
You can't go wrong with Greece or with Dolphin Hellas.
Have fun! - Patty Gropp

Received: Mon, 9 Dec 2002

Christina-

Thank for the holiday greetings and we wish you the same. We had a wonderful trip to Greece in November and we hope to return. The tours were very well organized and informative. The hotel was comfortable and we enjoyed our walks from there.

Thank you again.
Larry & Jeanine

Received: Sat, 7 Dec 2002

Esther,
Thank you for the Christmas greeting which we all return and wish you all well for the season and the coming year.
We still recall with much affection the holiday we had in the Peloponnese region earlier this year and thank you all once again for sorting out the interesting accommodation.
We have passed your details on to a few friends who may be contacting you in the coming year.
At present we have not finalised our plans for 2003 and whether they include a trip to Greece remains to be decided. No doubt we will be in touch if we do.
Best wishes
David, Jackie, Claire, Ross & Emily.

Received: Fri, 6 Dec 2002

Hi Esther!!
That is very sweet and kind and many thanks for your wishes! The same are being returned to you in a Big WAY! I hope you have a joyous holiday season!
I wish I was back in your country!! Work here is insane and just never seems to stop which makes it all feel like it was forever ago that I had my holiday. I hope you do really know how much all of your pre-help assisted my traveling partner and myself to enjoy your country immensely. I would love to come back and live for a year......i have fallen in love with your country greatly . I would like to learn the language and to understand all of the mythology associated with your culture. A superb place!
If you ever decide to come to Canada for a visit, please don;t hesitate to contact me Esther. You would always have a place to stay in my home if you wanted to come to the far west coast and my Island for a visit. It too is amazing and you would probably enjoy it as much as I enjoyed your country.
When is the wedding day??
Many thanks again.........
Yours
June

Received: Fri, 6 Dec 2002

Esther
...we had a wonderful time in Greece at the end of September - Santorini and Athens were great -- I have been telling everyone about your agency and hopefully more people will contact you to take a trip of a lifetime.....
Thanks again for all of your help.
Warm regards and happy holidays,
Tad and Jennifer

Received: Thu, 5 Dec 2002

Esther,
...While we are just now starting to catch up on sleep, mail and ems, we have been wanting to send you a note of thanks for your assistance in making our trip to Greece so memorable. We found all arrangements and the flights and hotels to be excellent for us. Santorini, of course, had no parallel and was delightful [we might not have thought so during the main tourist season], but we also loved Crete (particularly Hania) and Meteora, where we stayed 2 days past our original plan so that we could visit each of the open monasteries. We even enjoyed the crowded train ride back from up north.
Athens has its own magic and we felt that we did it justice [wouldn't want to drive in your city, even if we could understand the street signs, but you have excellent metro and bus service].
The Greek people we met were most helpful, friendly and nice. Our only problems involved a few dishonest taxi drivers, which we had been warned about, but still encountered.
Thanks again for all your help -- we will recommend you to people going to Greece,
Clark & Susan

Received: Wed, 4 Dec 2002

Dear Christina,
Thanks for your holiday wishes. We had such a wonderful trip to Greece, thanks in large part to you and your agency's fantastic attention to details and to satisfying our needs. You may quote me! We mentioned our trip in our holiday letter to friends and family and included a wonderful picture of the three of us overlooking one of Santorini's main harbors. We will recommend you and your agency to anyone wishing to travel to Greece, and we hope that some year soon we get back to your beautiful country. There's much more we'd love to see, and Bill and I would love to go to Santorini again on a romantic holiday. We pray there is no war next year, and that tourism is good for you and for Greece. Take care. Also, please give our regards to George Konstantopoulos, the wonderful driver who took us to and from the airport several times. We pray that his father is healthier and that he finally got away on vacation! Have fun with the Olympics!

Sincerely, Patty Gropp

Received: Tue, 3 Dec 2002

Christina,
Thank you for the note and the Christmas greetings. Please accept our best wishes for the holidays.
Your message gives me the opportunity to let you know how much we enjoyed our trip to Greece in November.
Our stay at the Herodion Hotel was very pleasant. It is a place to which we would definitely return. And we will recommend it to friends
Also, we could not be happier with our tour of Epidauros, Olympia, Delphi, and Meteora. We had the wonderful good fortune to have a "private" tour, as only one other couple accompanied us. The guide (Marianna Tsigaridis) was knowledgeable and friendly. The only problem occurred when the Chat Tours bus arrived at our hotel at 7:15 am to pick us up. We went on that bus because our name was on the driver's list -- he did not want to see the voucher. When we arrived at the Chat Tour terminal, we showed them our Key Tours voucher and were told that we were in the wrong place. The Key Tours bus arrived about 15 minutes later and we learned that the driver had arrived at our hotel about 5 minutes after we left with Chat Tours. We were very happy to be with Key Tours given the small size of the group and the excellent guide and driver.
Thank you for helping us arrange our visit to Greece. This was our first trip to your beautiful, friendly, and intriguing country. We will definitely return someday. When we do, we will certainly take advantage of the capable services offered by Dolphin Hellas -- and will let our friends know of your agency.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
--Jerry and Andrea

Received: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 00:54:50 GMT

Uli -

I've been meaning to e-mail you & let you know we had a great trip and just loved Greece. Thanks for all your help and advice!
We hope to be back again and will certainly recommend you to our friends who plan to travel to Greece.

Thanks again
Pete Livermore

Received: Fri, 8 Nov 2002

Dear Christina
We have recently returned from our holiday in Athens and I would like to thank you on behalf of all the girls for arranging our stay in Athens, the hotel Pythagorion was of a very high standard and very clean and the staff especially Fanis were very helpful. However it was a little too noisy near Omonia so I would like to ask if you have special rates for the Astor Hotel in Syntagma as I will be coming to Athens again in January/February for a week again I will be looking for a single room.
Please let me know of the rates and I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Toni

Received: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 15:55:30 GMT

Eithela nas sas efharistiso yia tin eksepiretisi sas to perasmeno
kalokairi. To taxidi pigai para poli orea kai efharistithikamai tis
diakopes mas. Tha doso to onoma sas kai sai polous sinergates mou etho
stin ameriki. Ta leme to oipomeno kalokairi.

Thank You,
Spiro G. Vamvakas

Received: Sun, 3 Nov 2002

Dear Uli,

It has been three weeks now since we got back from the honeymoon and forgive me, but today is the first real chance I've had to actually sit down and get caught up with some personal items. I wanted to write this earlier, but there just was not time to do it justice.
You did a great job for us Uli! Everything was wonderful and Zeus must have listened when you asked for good weather too! Every element of our honeymoon was perfect.
Just a few highlights - Arriving in Athens, we were happily surprised to find that our room had a view of the Parthenon. The Porto Naxos which you recommended was very nice, and although it was the end of the season the staff was friendly and helpful. I would also recommend the Atlantis Villas to any of your future clients! The Rodos Palace was spectacular and so convenient to Rhodes. What a beautiful city! I would let people know that their pools are wonderful, but their beach is really for looks only, having lots of large rocks and little sand.
I don't have our pictures back yet otherwise I would include one here. We have literally hundreds of pictures from the two of us in front of the Parthenon, a potter inland on Naxos at his wheel, a sunset on the caldera at Santorini, and the two of us on donkeys at Lindos. But we are missing one picture that I wanted. I had hoped to stop in and see you on our last day in Athens and get our picture with you, but sadly I had the one meal which made me VERY sick the night before, and after the plane trip which wasn't bad but then followed by a 2 1/2 hour bus ride/metro ride/several block walk with our bags from the Athens airport to our hotel, I couldn't do more than lie down and hope to feel better. (Athens REALLY needs to get that metro finished to the airport! 30 euros for a taxi and 2+ hours no matter what way you go is hard on us tourists!)
I very much wanted to stop in that last day and say hello and thank you for your great work in person. I am sorry that I did not have the chance. Thank you Uli for all that you did to make our honeymoon something that we will never forget. Any recommendation I can give or anything else I can do for you just ask.

Sincerely,
John Murdoch

Received: Mon, 28 Oct 2002

Dear Uli:

Maria and I wanted to send a quick note of gratitude for all of your help in arranging our trip to Crete and Santorini. We had a wonderful time on each island (and in our day in Athens). We truly appreciate your help -- and would be more than willing to serve as a reference for you in the future if you need to refer someone in our direction.

Efkaristo!!
Michael Clayton

Received: Fri, 25 Oct 2002

Hi Uli,
We are now back to the real world and work. We had a great trip to Greece and you have a beautiful country. The weather was great and the only rain we saw was the morning we arrived back in Athens and by early afternoon it had cleared again. The next day it rained for about an hour but while we were in Crete the weather was hotter than usual they said. We saw so many things on all islands we visited and I took tons of photos.
I wish to thank you for your help. I was hoping to call you personally before leaving Greece but we arrived back in Athens on a Saturday and left at 8 a.m. on Monday so I guess the agency would have been closed for the weekend. You were a great help and thanks again.
We had to wait for our luggage when we got back home for a few days as the flight from Athens to London was late landing due to the high traffic that morning and we were flying around in circles for almost 30 minutes waiting for landing clearance so they didn't have time to transfer our luggage from British Airways to Air Canada.
....
Helen

Received: Wed, 23 Oct 2002

Dear Esther. We are back home in the snow and cold in Minnesota and missing Greece. Thank you for the arrangements. The hotels worked out very well.
The Orloff on Hydra was perfect, Joanna is a wonderful host and we would highly recommend it.
Thank you again,
Tad and Gail

Received: Mon, 21 Oct 2002

Uli,
Just a quick "Thank You" for your assistance with our holiday.
The hotels were quite nice, particularly the one in Crete which was quite funky (would have been truly great if it had a pool), and the one in Athens should really put a restaurant on the roof (as the picture seems to indicate!)- what a waste of a great roof huh?

Mark

Received: Mon, 21 Oct 2002

Dear Uli,

Thank you very much for arranging everything so perfectly. We had a very nice holiday thanks to that! The car was fine, the hotels were nice most of the time (the only hotel we did not like was the Museum hotel, but the receptionist there was, unlike everyone else, unfriendly and not interested). The hotel in Nafplio was very lovely, like the whole town; we liked it very much there. Also the Acropolis Select was very nice with very friendly receptionists and very well equipped, as was the hotel in Kalamata.
In Kalambaka it rained on sunday unfortunately, so we didn't have a view. On saturday afternoon it was very sunny, but because we had all day on sunday we relaxed and stayed in the town, so that was a pity. Is that why we had two nights over there? If so, you better mention that it can be bad whether over there, because then we would have visited Meteora on saturday afternoon. We made up for it by admiring the view on monday morning, before leaving for Athens.
Maybe a suggestion for your roundtrip: 1 night in Kalambaka and maybe the next day in Lake Ioaninna (I hope I spelled it right), before driving back to Athens; we arrived there in the afternoon, so that should be possible.
Anyway, we had a great time, everything was arranged perfectly, the cab from and to the hotel, your collegae that was waiting for us at the airport (only sorry that it wasn't you,it would have been nice to meet). We have already recommended your agency to several people, not only during our trip, but also here in Holland to some of our friends, so maybe in future you will get a booking from one of them.

Thanks again for your trouble.
With best regards,
Helga

Received: Mon, 21 Oct 2002

Hello, Sofia -

My husband and I wish to thank you for all the arrangements you made for us on our recent trip to Greece in September. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed your beautiful country. Most of our time was spent on Santorini and Greece, and we know now that there is a great deal to see and explore on the mainland as well as the other islands. Our tickets did arrive by the courier in time and we were very happy. Thank you, Kiki, for checking on those arrangements for us.

Regards,
Mary Beth and Brad

Received: Sat, 19 Oct 2002

Dear Ms. Pershchau,
My wife and I have been back in Seattle five days and we are missing Greece already. Our vacation was wonderful and we wanted to thank you for your excellent recommendations and prompt service. You live in a beautiful country that contains many friendly people. We will not hesitate to use you again when we next visit Greece.
With great appreciation,
Kelly
Seattle, Washington
USA

Received: Friday, 18 Oct 2002

Hello Uli,

We've arrived home from our wonderful vacation in Greece and Turkey and are finally getting back into our routine again.
The travel arrangements that you booked for us worked out wonderfully and we very much enjoyed the little cruise, the touring in both Greece and Turkey, the wonderful food and of course, the people. We met some very nice people on the cruise and while we were touring and have very fond memories of warm weather to get us through a cold winter in Canada!
We only had one little snag and that had nothing to do with your wonderful work.
One of the cruise ship tours did not work out. Because we had prepaid for the tour through Dolphin Hellas, Royal Olympic issued us a voucher for a credit refund. I can either mail it to you for processing or send it by fax, or both. Please let me know which is best for you.
And again, Uli, we very much appreciate all your hard work and many e-mails as we worked out the details of our trip!

Best regards,
Gail

Received: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 20:34:52 GMT

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to send a note to express my appreciation for the work that Esther (I do not know her last name, but she is in the Athens office) did in preparing our first visit to Athens, and two of the Cyclades Islands (Santorini and Naxos).

Our trip took place beginning August 30th, and I contacted Esther only six (6) weeks prior to that. Our trip was a 'spur of the moment' vacation, but I had to coordinate it with a larger family reunion that was taking place in Gythion. Not only did Esther attend to the smallest details perfectly, but she made excellent recommendations on hotels, travel sources, and island selection. Very professional and she overcame our concerns about a first-time visit.

As a result of her work, our accommodations and travel needs were met perfectly, the timetable was perfect, and we enjoyed a pleasurable and worry-free vacation, even on such short notice. I can assure you that we will be returning to Greece next year, and my hope is that Esther will be able to provide her excellent services to us once again.

Sincerely,
John Boutsikaris

Received: Thu, 17 Oct 2002

hi uli,
our flight back to ny was long and tiring but we're glad to be home after this long trip.
i wanted to thank you for all the planning that you did for our trip. it was wonderful. we had an unforgettable time in greece. unfortunately, we won't be able to visit greece in the coming few years because of 'family' obligations but we're thinking about visiting greece again on one of our wedding anniversaries down the road...and re-live the beautiful memories when we see the 2004 olympics on t.v.
...
i'm glad that aegean hotel didn't charge for the first night. that was very nice of them. you probably already know but i just wanted to let you know that the customer service at that hotel is extremely efficient and excellent! internal communication was outstanding making their follow up soooo smooth and effective. i used to work for marriott hotels and always strived to provide excellent service to our customers but it didn't always succeed with the number of staff at hand and lack of motivation of them. that hotel definitely rates number 1 in excellent service in my book.
rita at neoklassico was so friendly and warm that she made us feel comfortable and at home. she's a sweet heart.
...
uli, thanks again.

juili

Received: Tue, 15 Oct 2002

Esther:
I've been meaning to write you since my return from Greece. Francisco and I wanted to thank you for the exceptional job you did in putting our trip through the Islands together.
I had e-mailed you only a week before our departure and in that incredibly short time you managed to pull together our accommodations and our transportation. We are both very impressed by your hard work and professionalism.
The hotels that you had selected for us - the Porto Veniziano (Chania), Lato (Heraklion), Philippion (Santorini) and especially the Mykonos Bay - were comfortable, clean and well located. The reserved seats on the catamarans and high speed ferry were perfect, the schedules just right.
We also appreciated having a local contact in each location. The only one we called was Efi in Santorini and she did a great job of getting us a car and setting up a daylong tour of the Caldera. Her attitude was very positive.
Thank you again for ensuring that our trip went off without a hitch.
Jordan
Toronto, Canada

Received: Tue, 15 Oct 2002

Dear Uli,

I just wanted to thank you for all of your help with our recent trip to Greece. The Flying Dolphin ferry tickets and the hotels worked out just great. All of the information you provided helped to make the trip run smoothly.
Thanks for switching hotels for us in Kalambaka (Meteora). The Edelweiss, which we picked, was very depressing with a large construction project just starting next door. The room wasn't much either. We were very happy with the Xenia and the folks there were very nice. We should have followed your pre-trip advise and stayed in the little town next to the meteoras. My wife thought it was "cute" and we ended up spending most of our free time there for lunch and dinner.
We ended up taking the bus from Hermina to Nafplio. It worked out fine as we travel light.
We loved the Nasmedian in Nafplio and the Hotel Adrian in Athens. Both had outstanding locations. The other hotels were also very good.
When we are able to travel to Greece again, we will certainly contact you and recommend you to any of our friends who might happen to be heading to Greece.

Thanks again,
John & Judy

Received: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 17:06:35 GMT

Sophia -
THANKS so much !!!
We just returned home to New York State and had a great honeymoon in Greece.
Your help with arrangements was super.
The overnight ferry to Corfu was a good idea - we arrived well rested and ready to explore (altho Patra was a bit intimidating at night with all the restless young boys ready to cause trouble!). The hotel in Pelekos was very nice (keep in mind for the future that everything there is in German - printed materials, tv, tourist info..) and we really enjoyed the entire island... Paleokastrista seemed like the best place to be on the island for folks interested in staying outside Corfu Town. Santorini was as beautiful as everyone says ! The Cosmopolitan is excellent (the best accommodations we had in all of Greece) and we fully endorse it. Your recommendation was great and we'd tell everyone to stay there. Thank you very much. We weren't crazy about the Hotel Adrian once back in Athens but it was
okay. the location is convenient but I think they have bed bugs :-)!
Again, we are very appreciative of all your help making our last minute arrangements.
You were efficient, friendly and insightful. Thanks.

Jill Casey & Richard Alexander

Received: Wed, 09 Oct 2002

Dear Uli.
I am back home after a wounderful trip in greece and london.
We found A new hotel in london, opened only in june of this year, it was great and only $160.00 for a five star hotel!!! IT is near the London tower.
It was also very nice meeting you,and sorry that my visit was short. Thank you so much for all your help in organizing this trip, I hope to plan more trips with you in the future. I am attaching one picture from santorini.
best of all regards
mike

Received: Wed, 9 Oct 2002

Kalimera Uli,

We had a grand trip. Everything went very well. Accommodations were very good, transfers all on time, ferries very interesting. We tried to do too much, however, between Italy and Greece but we sure saw a lot. Sifnos was a big disappointment as almost everything was closed and nothing going on. We took an early ferry back to Athens, Thanks again. We will recommend you to our friends.

Sandie

Received: Tue, 8 Oct 2002

Uli,
I just wanted to send you a quick note and thank you for the organization of the trip. Everything went smoothly. The hotels were anticipating us, the tickets were valid for all transport, and we had no delays on any part of our trip.
Thanks again and we will be sure to use you for any future trip to Greece and to refer you to others.

Adam Beck

Received: Mon, 07 Oct 2002

Dear Uli:

I just got back from my trip last night. I just wanted to thank you for your help in arranging the last few days of my trip. Everything you took care of was exactly as promised. The Divani in Athens was a wonderful hotel. Please let me know your supervisor's e-mail as I would like to write to him or her and let them know what a fine job you did.
Thanks very much,

Jim

Received: Sun, 6 Oct 2002

Dear Esther,
We just returned home from our fantastic vacation. The hotels were all great with wonderful views from our balconies. Santorini was wonderful, the view of the Caldera exceptional. I wanted to thank you for all the arrangements you made for us. The packet with all our hotel and ferry information was waiting for us at our hotel in Athens and was wonderfully organized.
Thank you for all your efforts on our behalf. We had a great experience and will recommend you and your company to our friends.
Sincerely,
Pam

Received: Fri, 4 Oct 2002

Hi Uli!

We had a WONDERFUL time in Greece! Thank you for all your hard work in planning our trip and I appreciate your refunding the difference at the Hotel Pythagorion.

Many thanks again!

Sharon

Received: Wed, 2 Oct 2002

Dear Esther,
Just a quick note to let you know that we returned from our trip to Greece last week and everything went very smoothly. Thank you very much for all your help in making our hotel reservations and please extend my thanks and regards to all your colleagues. I regret that we did not have time to come and see you in person but hopefully next time...
Best regards
Irene

Received: Wed, 2 Oct 2002

Esther:
Just returned to the States today. Had a wonderful time in Athens and in Mykonos. Thank you so much for all your help and recommendations. They were right on target and wonderful! Hotel Hera was really nice and everyone was so friendly. I hope that the new Hotel Hera will live up to it's reputation. The car worked out perfectly as well.
Thanks so much for your help and it was so great to meet you. We miss Athens already!
Tammy

Received: Sun, 29 Sep 2002

Hello Christina,

I wanted to thank you for taking care of all our reservations for Greece. We had an absolute wonderful time! Having everything go so smoothly really helped make this trip such a success. Greece is everything we thought it would be!!
Thanks again, we will definitely use your travel services in the future.

Sincerely,
Sharlynn & Andrew

Received: Fri, 27 Sep 2002

Hi Esther:
I just want to say thank you for your help in making my last minute trip possible. I had a wonderful time in Santorini and also in Athens. Everybody (well, except for 1 taxi driver and 1 hotel staff at the Almira Hotel?) was friendly and helpful. The Cecil Hotel was small but the reception staff was always nice and we had what we needed. I'll definitely recommend you and Dolphin Hellas to all my friends and anybody I meet. I hope to visit your beautiful country again soon.
Thanks again and take care.
Adrienne

Received: Thu, 26 Sep 2002

Uli,
Thank you for all of your help. Our honeymoon was wonderful! We especially liked The Hotel Dorion and Neoklassico Koukouli. We had such a great time we can not wait to return to Greece someday.

Thank you again,
Linda

Received: 25 Sep 2002

Mrs. Hamosfakidou Aliki – Supervisor Dolphin-Hellas Travel 16 Singrou Athens, Greece Mrs Hamosfakidou, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate your organization for the level of professionalism of your employees. I just came back from two weeks fantastic holidays in Greece and most of the credit should be given to Mrs. Christina Papagiannakou of your office who helped me with her recommendations in my travel arrangements, plus she made all the booking for most of my hotel rooms and flights to Santorini, etc… Everything was absolutely perfect. Dolphin-Hellas Travel and Tourism has given me a level of services I was not hoping to get. Thank you and will be pleased to refer your group to any Quebec or Canadians planning a trip to Greece. Now I understand why It is important to deal with real professionals. Thank you and I hope to be able to go back to Greece in the coming years and without hesitation you’ll be the first one I will ask to help me planning another trip. Regards, from a pleased customer Denis Labrecque
Quebec, Canada

Received: Mon, 23 Sep 2002

Hello Uli,
Just a note to let you know that our vacation in Greece was EXCELLENT! The history, the archeology, the scenery of the islands, the food and drink, and, especially the friendliness of all the Greek people that we met made our trip a most memorable holiday.
And, a very large measure of the success of our trip was due to the excellent arrangements that you made for us. All the hotel and ferry arrangements went smoothly and perfectly ( I don't know if you look for feedback about the various hotels that you make arrangements for, but we could supply you with those kinds of comments, if you wanted them). I thank you for everything that you did for us.
We spent last Tuesday walking around Athens, and were surprised to notice that the Hotel Hera was so close to your offices. We wanted to stop in to your office to thank you in person, but, by the time we passed by your office, you were closed for the day. So, please accept this e-mail message as our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all that you did for us. We could not have had such a good holiday without your help. We certainly want to return to Greece again, and I look forward to working with you again.
Thanks again, and take care,
Robert

Received: Thu, 19 Sep 2002

Dear Uli-
We just returned from an incredible trip to Greece. You know where we went and it was all wonderful, much of it thanks to you. We want to thank you so much for all the planning, arranging and emailing me with details about stuff. You are a super agent and you helped make our trip go smoothly. WE will surely recommend friends (Don and Chris Storz,) to you and will contact you again when we want to return...and we do.
Thanks again.
Gail and Gene

Received: Wed, 18 Sep 2002

Esther,
My wife and I just got back from Greece last night, and I wanted to let you know that all of the reservations and ticketing worked perfectly. Here are some of our observations on our stay:
1) I would not stay in Canaves 1a (Santorini) again given the price of the rooms. Even thought they were clean and comfortable, the rooms are a bit old (15 years) and need a refresh. We visited Canaves 2 and Katikies, and they were much better for the same price. (They were sold out when we attempted to make our reservation.) However, the views from Oia and the apartment were absolutely spectacular, so all in all, we were satisfied. I would not recommend the Kokkino (red) Beach given the distance to get there; it was disappointing. In general, we enjoyed Santorini, but without the spectacular view of the crater, it isn't that impressive for beaches, and lots of traffic for September. I'm glad we went, but will not probably go back soon.
2) We really enjoyed Naxos, particularly Hora. Your recommendation of Porto Naxos hotel was outstanding and I would recommend the hotel as first class for accommodations, service, and location. Unfortunately, we did not have time to explore the island completely, so it is on my list to go back to. The Plaka and Ag. Prokopios beaches were outstanding. Great recommendation for beaches to anyone.
3) The High speed Catamarans were excellent (efficient and great price) to travel from island to island. They worked great for us. The only change I would recommend is to have a taxi set up in Piraeus before arriving; we had to wait 45 minutes to get a taxi that would take us to Plaka in Athens. They all wanted 20-30 euros for the trip, which is 3X the actual price I paid.
4) The Athenian Callirhoe was an excellent hotel choice. The rooms were first class and the service was excellent. You were also correct about the Amalia having seen better days; unfortunately I had made separate reservations there for my first two days in Athens before your recommendation and could not cancel them. After my wife arrived, we went to the Callirhoe based on your reservations and it worked out perfectly. We will use the Callirhoe again on our next trip to Greece in 2003.
5) I would recommend that you encourage your clients to have a taxi prearranged at the airport when they arrive. In my case, never having been to Athens before, my father and I paid 40 euro for the taxi to the hotel. A good lesson that I learned early, and saved me from getting cheated during the rest of the trip. I now know to ask the price before getting into the taxi in Greece. However, the Callirhoe arranged a taxi for us back to the airport and it worked out to 16-18 euro before a tip. A much better solution. (You might create a rough list of what a taxi should cost from the major points of interest - airport to Plaka, Piraeus to Plaka, etc. This would be very helpful to the first-time visitor in not getting cheated. Unfortunately, I overheard comments from an English couple and German couple at Amalia who also were cheated by taxis. Not good for Greece's tourist reputation!)
6) The car reservations worked out fine with EMKO, but I will probably arrange the cars from the US next year to avoid the high insurance costs that they add in Athens. (The Greek insurance is about 50% of the price of the car, but I had to pay it in order to rent the car while in Greece. If I do it from the US, they waive the insurance cost because my personal insurance covers it.) Basically, I would get a bigger car for the same price.
Lastly (and most importantly), I want to thank you for your excellent service, concerns, and attention. Thanks to you we avoided many of the tourist problems for first-time visitors, and the trip was a very positive experience. Hopefully, you will still be there next summer as we plan to return to Athens, Naxos, Samos and Mykonos (our initial thoughts, but I am open to your recommendations). I'll also start planning the trip in January, rather than last minute as we did this time.
Again, Esther, thanks for your excellent service. If you send me the name and email of your superior, I will be very happy to send a letter of appreciation to them for you.
I look forward to working with you again!
Best regards,
John

Received: Wed, 18 Sep 2002

Dear Uli,

We want to thank you for all your help in planning the perfect honeymoon in Greece! Everything went so smoothly and the accomodations were lovely. We couldn't have asked for a better trip and all of your suggestions came in handy. Santorini was our favorite island and we even took a boat ride to the volcano and swam in the hot springs while there. We will be happy to recommend your services to anyone we know who is traveling to Greece. We just had a wonderful trip and are already talking about returning in September of 2004 (after the Olympics). Thanks again!!

Alexandra & David

Received: 17 Sep 2002

Dear ULI

Just to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH for a WONDERFULL holiday in Greece!!!!
Everything was perfectly arranged and because of that it was surely a holiday we would NEVER forget!!!! We're going to start saving now for our next holiday to your country!
Thank you again, Uli - we appreciated it so much!

Mr and Mrs Lotter

Received: 16 Sep 2002

Hallo Uli,

just want to take a moment and thank you for the work you did for us.
We got back yesterday and enjoyed our trip tremendously, thanks to your suggestions and reservations, which work out just great, be had no problems at all.
I would also suggest to put the Espera Hotel on your recommendations - list for Santorini. The accommodations and stuff were superb.
Hope to do business again one day and we will recommend you to all our friends who want to travel greece,

Many Thanks,
Peter

Received: 16 Sep 2002

Uli --

I got back from my vacation last week and I just wanted to tell you that everything was wonderful and I had an extraordinary time, thanks to all of your help. Thank you again for all of your efforts.

Best regards,
Kirra

Received: Wed, 4 Sep 2002

Dear Esther,
I wanted to let you know what a wonderful time we had in Greece. We really enjoyed each place you chose for us -- you had a great sense of what we would like. Thank you so much for arranging such a wonderful itinerary for us -- it let us relax and enjoy the trip, since we didn't have to worry about finding accommodations and making transportation arrangements. We are all eager to return to Greece!
Joan

Received: Tue, 3 Sep 2002

Dear Esther,
We had a marvelous time in Greece...
...and mostly thanks to you.
We very much appreciate your help with those little details which can sometimes be scary or annoying when travelling.
The Hotel Adrian was simple and excellent and the Plaka definitely the place to be for one's first trip to Greece.
The taxi drivers were a bit dodgy on occasion but we learned how to play the game and had fun doing it. I might suggest giving out a couple of pointers to future travelers but these taxi pitfalls(trying to drive in the wrong direction, trying to overcharge, etc.) are universal. The drivers who we set up in advance, george and associates, were tremendous on all regards. I would feel quite comfortable with a referral to them if I were you.
Again, overall a fantastic time. Your food is scrumptious, you have an incredible history to be proud of, and we've never seen water so BLUE.
We will be returning. We will probably skip the Olympics because that sounds insane. Olympia and Meteora perhaps. And Crete and Santorini of course. We definitely will appreciate your help upon return. Please let me know if you would like a testimonial. Our only regret is that we did not have the opportunity to meet you in person.
Sincerely,
Dr. Russel Christian

Received: Tue, 27 Aug 2002

Dear Esther,
Thanks for arranging our hotels and ferries. We returned from our holidays last Friday and the week in Greece was great! The Hotel Attalos in Athens was close to all the areas we wanted to visit and the Galaxy Hotel in Naxos was very nice - we had a room next to the pool.
Thanks again for your help - I shall certainly recommend you to my friends who are planning a trip to Greece.
John

Received: Sun, 25 Aug 2002

Uli--sorry it has taken so long for me to be back in contact after our delightful trip to Greece way back in June. Once we left Greece, Joyce came on home to Florida, but I stayed in Europe where I accompanied 63 Florida college students during their 6 weeks study at Cambridge University in England.
So, just now back home and settling in, so I wanted to write to thank you for the preparation and arrangements that you helped us with for our trip to Greece in June. Our time in Athens and Hydra, plus all the day excursions (Mycenae, Epidaurus, Corinth, Delphi) were exactly as we had hoped it would be.
Perfect hotel location (Attalos) for our time in Athens. Hotel staff were friendly and helpful, and the central location was exactly right. The view of the Acropolis was spectacular.
All your plans (hotel transfers, excursions) were exactly as promised. I appreciate very much your patience throughout all the planning to answer all my unending questions.
We have fallen in love with Greece. We especially were enthralled by Hydra and Santorini. Now, when we go back, we want to do islands again, add Corfu and make our way to Meteora!
Thanks again for your help. Sorry for the delay in thanking you.
Everything was perfect.

Thanks, Ben and Joyce

Received: Sat, 24 Aug 2002

Esther, we returned home 10 days ago and had a wopnderful time, all your reservations worked out very well. We loved Santorini and Naxos- thanks for all your help, we'll recommend you to others!-
Dave

Received: Thu, 22 Aug 2002

Dear Esther,
It was great to get to meet you Wed. August 7th. It is nice to put a face to someone that played such an important part in our vacation. Thank you once more for everything that you did to make our vacation in Greece so well planned and effective. All the transportation and hotels that you arranged were fully in order and problem free.
The one thing that I have some criticism of however was the Royal Mykonian in Mykonos. The property itself was beautiful, with an incredible view and location. However this location is several miles from the town and transportation to and from the hotel presented major problems. Upon arrival at the high speed dock on Sun. Aug. 4th there was no transportation available for us to travel to the hotel. The few taxis that were there were swooped up immediately by the experienced travelers. A couple of lingering taxis refused to go to the Royal Mykonian. Someone suggested calling the Royal Mykonian but we did not have a telephone, nor could we find one. Finally someone lent us their cell phone. I called the Royal Mykonian but they said their shuttles were all busy and we would have to find our own way to the property. Unfortunately we had all our luggage with us from the cruise and it was too much to handle in this type of situation. We ended up dragging our luggage through the narrow streets of town to where the local bus service would take us to the bottom of the hill where the hotel was situated. The bus service was very crowded and noisy but got us to the bottom of the hill and transported our luggage in the luggage compartment below. At the bottom of the hill where the hotel was located we could see there was no way we could ever drag our luggage up such a steep embankment so had someone call from the restaurant at the bottom of the hill to the hotel for assistance with our luggage. A little shuttle appeared in about 10 minutes. The driver was very unfriendly, somewhat rude and lazy and didn't seem to appreciate this disruption. He made some comment about "did you make a mistake about where to get off the bus?". We didn't know what that was supposed to mean and ignored him. The lobby staff were generally rude as well with the exception of the early morning gentleman who checked us out. He was polite and efficient but all the other lobby staff were unfriendly and often rude. The restaurant staff however were always polite, helpful and efficient. We noticed a sign in the lobby saying that the front desk would arrange a taxi if you wanted to travel into town and the sign also gave the price. The following morning we asked one of the unfriendly people at the front desk about arranging a taxi and how much notice was needed. We were told to be there in the lobby and ready before requesting the taxi as it could be there in as few as 5 minutes. So we were there in the lobby ready to go and requested that a taxi be called shortly after 9:30 a.m. A female desk clerk called and said there were no taxis available and that she would try and call one later. The bus schedule does not begin until 11:30 a.m. at the bottom of the hill, so we had no alternative way to go into the town. We just sat in the lobby as close to the front desk as possible and waited. She called again after about 1/2 hour and again was told there was no taxi available. Finally after waiting almost an hour the male desk clerk told us that a taxi would be there in 10 minutes and we would have to share it with 2 others from another location. About 1/2 hour went by and now it was about 11:10 a.m. (just enough time to walk down the hill to catch the bus) and there was still no taxi. We told the desk clerk that we were leaving to catch the bus as we had now waited for 1 and 1/2 hours for a taxi. He became upset and got on the phone immediately and before we could leave the taxi pulled up. It was a small car and we did pick up 2 other gentlemen along the way but at least we did get into town about 20 minutes before the bus would have got us there. We made sure to arrange for the hotel shuttle to get us to the high speed port the following morning to catch the Cat to Santorini and that worked out fine, with no problems. We were at the port in plenty of time although I told them it departed at 9:00 a.m. when it really departed at 9:10 a.m. as I didn't want them to cut it too close.
I would highly recommend that transfers be arranged both to and from this property as part of any reservation if at all possible. I would also recommend that the limited transportation available while staying there be part of the information you provide on the description of the property. It may sound as though the Royal Mykonian was very inconvenient but that is only to and from town. We loved the beaches that were within walking distance from the property and would certainly consider staying there again because of this. It would just be helpful knowing what a person can be up against if you want to travel anywhere without renting a vehicle.
The Enigma Apartments and Heidi at Santorini were absolutely wonderful. There too it was a challenge to get to the property from the port, but certainly not the challenge that the Royal Mykonian presented.
The Ledra Marriott was a great choice for the first night we arrived in Athens. The location was good and the staff were exceptional. Between the pleasant staff, restaurants and service it was definitely an enjoyable stay.
The Royal Olympic was also a great choice. The location was perfect for what we wanted to do and the short time we had. We chose to have dinner in the dining room on our last night there and felt very disappointed in the main courses, however soup and appetizer were very good. Front desk staff and service were also very good there.
Hopefully some of this feedback will be helpful to you.
Thank you once again.
Ken

Received: 14 Aug 2002

Hi Uli:

Just a brief note of thanks to let you know that all went exceptionally well again this year with all the arrangements that you made for the 9 of us! We can't thank you enough for your efficiency and your genuine friendly concern.
In a country where schedules and other arrangements can often be an "adventure" it's truly comforting to know that we can always count on you.
As for next year we can only hope to make it back to Greece for the 5th year in a row. Time will tell.

With much appreciation,
Drew Howard and Family

Received: Tue, 13 Aug 2002

Aliki, a couple of weeks ago you arranged for us to stay at the Neoklassiko Koukouli in Santorini. I just wanted to write and tell you what a wonderful experience we had.
First, the Neoklassiko Koukouli was WONDERFUL. Rita, who runs the hotel, was so charming and delightful. She could not have been more accommodating. And, the location was perfect.
Thank you so much for recommending it for us.
And, we were met by a terrific young woman, Luisa, who works with Bellonias Travel in Santorini. She was also so very, very helpful. She went out of her way to help us schedule a couple of tours of the island and in transportation back and forth from the airport. The trip would certainly have been less enjoyable without her help.
All in all, the trip was virtually perfect thanks to you, Neoklassiko Koukouli and Luisa. I have already recommended all of you to several of my friends.

Drury Bagwell

Received: Tue, 13 Aug 2002

Dear Esther -
Well, we made it back from our trip to Greece and I wanted to take a minute to thank you for all your help. I am sorry we never got to meet, but, I am sending you a couple of pictures under separate email to share with you. I would like to make this trip an annual tradition, but, we will see if this is possible. In any case, we will contact you again if we are able to go back to Greece.
Were you able to process the credit from the Fenix? I expect to see new charges now from the Divani (wonderful property, wonderful staff). Villa Kalimera is a perfect place to stay. I recommend it highly. Lesvos Inn is very relaxing. The reception staff there is incredible (Irini and Litsa). They go above and beyond the call of duty. Please feel free to quote me and pass along my appreciation to all hotels.
If we are able to take this trip again, I will fly to all islands and pass on the ferries. They take too long and are very crowded. That would give us more 'island time'. I think I would also like to try visiting places like Delphi and Corfu. Anyway, I am dreaming too soon. For now, I will keep looking at the pictures we took.
Thank you again, Esther, and I look forward to your reply regarding the Fenix.
Chrsitine

Received: Mon, 12 Aug 2002

Dear Uli--

This past May, Jackie and I visited Greece and came home filled with excitement and memories of many splendid encounters with the people, places, and histories of Greece.
Major factors in making our travel experiences so pleasant were the itinerary you helped us compile and, in turn, the very efficient manner in which you booked our hotels and travel arrangements. As you may remember, we moved in and out of Athens several times and pieced together side trips to Delphi, Santorini, and Napflion. All of the voucher details regarding hotel arrivals and departures were in place--and we are pleased to give testimony on the quality of services and facilities provided by the hotels.
Thank you, Uli, for your cordial professionalism. We appreciate your part in making our Greece travels so memorable.

Best Regards,

Gene Melander

Received: Sun, 11 Aug 2002

Hi Esther,
We are home from our trip to your beautiful Greece. I wanted to thank you for helping to make our trip so wonderful.
The Aegean in Mykonos was beautiful and the staff ever so friendly. They made us feel right at home. We will recommend them to all our friends.
The Grotto Villas in Santorini was also breathtaking and very hospitable and friendly. Both hotels were helpful in giving us any advice we needed. Again, we will recommend them wholeheartedly.
Lastly, we would like to thank you again, your transportation bookings were great and your advice to us was so important.
Good luck for the future, all the best,
Ruby, Barry, Michael & Stephen

Received: Thu, 08 Aug 2002

Hi Uli!

I just wanted to thank you again for helping me have such a wonderful, beautiful trip to Greece this summer. I miss Naxos so very much. Have you ever traveled up in the mountains on that island? It's so unbelievably beautiful, quiet and peaceful there. I have photos of Naxos and the Acropolis hanging on the walls of my office and daydream about going back again. Martin and I are thinking maybe we'll return during the summer of 2004. I hope you're still around.
I love, love, love the Greek Islands! There is nothing like them in this world!

Talk with you later,
;)Linda

Received: Thu, 8 Aug 2002

uli

g'day from the crazy fowlers
we had a wonderful holiday thank you so much for all of your help sorry we had to make you go to the extra effort of the cancellations.
we would like to send you over a gift for all of your help, do you have pierced ears ?
we were thinking that something small but nice like earrings in an australian stone would be a gift that we could easily send via the post.
please let us know as we really would like to show our appreciation of your wonderful efforts.

regards
jeff

Received: Tue, 6 Aug 2002

Dear Uli,

I just wanted to write you a quick e-mail to thank you for all your help.
We had a wonderful vacation. The hotels you chose were perfect. We really enjoyed the people of the Sami Beach Hotel, we wished we could have had a longer stay with them. I am so glad that I made the choice to use your services.

Wishing You the Very Best,
Caron

Received: Mon, 5 Aug 2002

Hallo Uli,

Die tickets und vouchers habe ich empfangen und alles stimmt genauso wie wir alles vereinbart haben.
Vielen Vielen dank fuer den Perfekten Service.Ich wieder eure Agentur absolut weiter empfehelen.

Marc und Eveline Brand

Received: Wed, 31 Jul 2002

Hi Uli,

Just wanted to let you know our trip was flawless. All our hotels, tours, ferries were perfectly timed. We had a wonderful time, and we’ll be back.

Thanks,
Paula
Gay

Received: Tue, 30 Jul 2002

Esther,
I wanted to e-mail you to thank you for everything! The honeymoon was perfect, everything was great and went smoothly!
We enjoyed the tour (we were on Chat tours and stayed at the Amalia hotels which were beautiful, other people on the bus were with a different tour company and got put in awful hotels).
The Divani was fabuloous, the staff was first rate. All of our transfers and flights were seamless with little or no delays. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Mykonos, and the Cavo Tagoo was a superb recommendation.
Ia, Santorini was beautiful, and Esperas was the most perfect hotel I ever stayed in! It was gorgeous and the staff was superb.
Thank you so much for all of your recommendations and help, you made our honeymoon truly memorable!
Sincerely,
Jennifer and Royce

Received: Tue, 30 Jul 2002

Dear Esther,
Now that we are home, I wanted to send you a message to thank you for your help with our recent visit to Greece. Things could not have gone better. Hydra was as beautiful as we remembered it to be, and I would recommend Hotel Bratsera to anyone. We had a delightful trip up North to Meteora and over the mountains to Metsovo. We spent only one night in Portaria, and next time we visit Greece, we'd like to spend more time in Pelion -- the flowing water everywhere was unbelievable. The biggest challenge-adventure was trying to find our way back with the rental car to the drop off location near Syntagma sguare -- I've never seen so many motorbikes! Next time, I think we'll arrange to pick-up and drop off the car outside of Athens.
All of the connections , reservations and taxi transfers worked very smoothly, and we much appreciated all your arrangements and recommendations.
Thank you.
David W.
PS: You might want to add the Dionysos (spelling?) Restaurant, across from the Herod Atticus theater to your recommendations. What a spectacular view of the Parthenon we had for our last night in Athens!

Received: Mon, 29 Jul 2002

Dear Uli,

I just thought I'd write to say what a lovely time we had in your country - we didn't want to come home!
Thank you so much for all your help and information, everything went very well. When we reached Samos at 7.20 am, we found a taxi at the port taxi rank and were at our hotel by 7.40am and straight into our rooms. After breakfast we relaxed by the pool - luxury.
The staff were very friendly and there were clean sheets and towels every day - pity there was no air conditioning, but they gave us a fan when it reached 40 c.
We took the trip to Turkey and Ephesus with Rhenia travel - excellent! The coach trip to Ephesus was with Meander Travel with a very good tour guide.
Lesvos was a beautiful island and our hotel Akti in Molyvos (well, 2K away) was superb. Maria, who ran the hotel with her parents, spoke excellent English and was very helpful. I managed to converse in German with her father! It also had fantastic air conditioning in the rooms.
Molyvos had lots of superb restaurants, the ones on the harbour had a wide selection of fish and of course there were lots of shops to browse around.
Both ferry crossings were very comfortable - the NEL line Mytilene was huge.
So thanks again for making our holiday so successful and we look forward to dealing with you again in the future.

Best regards,
Jan.

Received: Thu, 25 Jul 2002

Dear Uli,
We are back home from our Greece vacation and wanted send our thanks to you for all of your assistance in making it a wonderful trip.
On a scale of 1 - 10, we have all rated it a 15!!
Everything worked out so smoothly - and Efi and Paula were so very nice and such help in Santorini and Mykonos.
It was wonderful having the transfers, airplane, high speed, etc. taken of and we would certainly recommend you, and your agency, to anyone planning to visit Greece.
I hope that we will be able to return, and we will certainly contact you to plan another memorable trip for us when the time comes.
We hope that you have a happy summer,and thank you once again for your assistance in planning our special vacation.
Sincerely,
Mary and Bob Sherwood

Received: Thu, 25 Jul 2002

Hi Christina,
Just a short note to thank you for your assistance with our recent trip to Athens and Corfu. We had a wonderful time!! Next summer, we are thinking of going to the island of Santorini. At your convenience, would you please email your recommendations for hotels. We like to be on the beach and have a sea view.

Thank you,
John

Received: Thu, 25 Jul 2002

Hi Uli

This is just to say a big thank-you for organising our holiday in Greece - everything went without a hitch. The whole family enjoyed the holiday and the accommodation was excellent. The view from the hotel in Santorini was spectacular.
I thought that you might also be interested to hear who recommended you. I read Matt Barrett's Greece Travel Guides on the web and found them extremely interested. He highly recommends your agency. When (and it's WHEN not IF) I return to Greece I will definitely contact you again.
The only hitch to the whole holiday was that Aegean Airlines lost my daughter's suitcase for 3 days. I have written a letter to them, but would like to fax it through to them. Do you have a fax number for them? If you do I would appreciate it if you could forward it to me.
Thank you once again for organising a great holiday.

regards
Frank

Received: Tue, 23 Jul 2002

Esther,
Just to let you know, everything went very well on my trip to Greece and you did a fabulous job getting everything booked and delivered to me.
The Myconian Ambassador was absolutely a great place to stay, and the Hotel Chroma was good as well (but not nearly as good as the Myconian). The Butterfly Villas, well, they do need to do some work to make that place more vacationer friendly. The view was great, but the service and the rooms and the breakfast were definitely sub-par, and I guess that is reflected in a lower rate.
Thanks!!
Derrrick

Received: Mon, 22 Jul 2002

Hi Esther!
Just wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful trip! Thanks for all your help--the Divani in Athens was great! When we come back to Greece, we'll contact you! Have a great summer!!!
The Kachoulas Family

Received: Thu, 18 Jul 2002

Uli,
We had the most wonderful time in Greece!!! Thank you for all your help! We couldn't have asked for better service from you and Dolphin Hellas.

Much love,
Dave and Lydia

Received: Fri, 12 Jul 2002

Esther, I wanted to send you an email at the end of our trip to thank you for arranging a wonderful vacation for us. We all had an incredible experience visiting Greece.
All of the accommodations were different in nature yet very acceptable for our needs. We especially enjoyed the Hotel Santa Marina on Crete, it was a very beautiful Hotel and we very much enjoyed our stay there.
Having a rental car on the islands was great, we travelled each day and tried to visit as many places as we could in the time we had. We did have to upgrade our car on Rhodes, to include air conditioning, as it was incredibly hot there compared to what we are used to in Canada, but that was no problem to do.
Trying to find a place at times to park was an experience but in a few days we figured out a plan and it seemed to work out. Sue and I both lived in Europe for a few years so once we remembered the differences between Europe and Canada we made out pretty good.
Once again thank you from all of us we had a great trip, if we have the chance to visit Greece again in the future we'll be sure to contact you.
Rodney

Received: Fri, 12 Jul 2002

Dear Uli,

Thanks for your note of yesterday. I am glad everything worked out.
We got back a week ago and I have not forgotten those travel agents and receptionists in Greece who were so helpful to us. The smartest thing I did was take Matt Barrett's advice and work with a travel agent while in Greece. You did a fabulous job of setting us up in excellent hotels, your ideas of transportation worked very well and you gave us contacts on the islands that were most helpful. Your ability to make the necessary changes when my purse was stolen made it possible for us to continue on our trip with a stronger sense of confidence that it could be done. And it was. It was a great trip and we are already thinking about another.
I could not find an internet address for Porto Del Colombo, but I wanted to include my thanks to Rula who responded immediately to our plight and was so very kind. The immediate use of her telephone which worked well (unlike the ones in Piraeus), the delicious breakfast she provided and her gentle soul were most soothing to us. She handed me a welcome letter from Hana at Sbokos Tours in Heraklion which was invaluable to us a few days later. We found Hana and how fortunate we were! She managed to change our tickets just as you said she could, but not without special effort on her part. She personally escorted us to another travel agency where they were changed free of charge. She allowed us to leave our luggage at her agency so that we could go to Knossos Palace unencumbered. We will not forget her kindness and certainly will recommend her to anyone who goes to Crete.
This part of the story you probably do not know, but it once again shows the kindness and helpfulness of some of your contact people. On the night of June 13 we arrived at Hera Hotel. When the receptionist asked Ron for his passport, he realized with horror that he did not have it! When he had returned the key at Mykonos Bay Hotel and received his moneybelt from the receptionist, the passport was inadvertently not returned! We NEEDED that passport as we were leaving for Italy the very next day and we needed it to get me a new passport at the US Embassy the next morning. The Embassy will not issue a passport to someone who knows where their other one is, and we knew exactly where it was. Seeing our panic, the receptionist immediately contacted the hotel on Mykonos and persisted until a way was found to get it to Athens. There were no more boats from Mykonos, but there was a plane the next morning and it was on it. The plane and we arrived at 7:30 a.m. and by 9:30 we signed for it and we were on our way to the US Embassy with it safely in our hands. For the next three weeks of travel there were no more scary incidents and Ron always waited at the desk to get his passport back!
So you see, we have much to be grateful to you and your contacts for. I will tell everyone the importance of having a travel agent in Greece and I certainly will advise people about all the excellent hotels and services which can be provided for them through you. If any of you ever come to Fort Collins, Colorado I hope that I could provide some of the same in return. I would certainly try!
Best wishes to Greece in preparing for the Olympics. We shall watch with great interest!

Sincerely,
Linda

Received: 8 Jul 2002

Hi Esther--
We are back from Greece. I just wanted to thank you -- we had a wonderful time. All of the hotels were great and all of our transportation was right on time. Everything was great. I will definitely recommend you to my friends who are thinking of travelling to Greece.
...
Thank you again for all of your help.
Michael

Received: Mon 8 Jul 2002

Esther;
Thank you again for all of your help with our honeymoon travel plans. We had a wonderful time on the islands and the hotel in Santorini was lovely.
We don't know what we would have done without your help! Now that we are back, we are trying to tie up loose ends (and pay bills)and are hoping you could summarize the charges of our trip for us, as there were several changes.
Thanks again for your assistance and I hope that your summer is becoming less hectic.
Warm regards,
Christina and Dave

Received: Sun, 7 Jul 2002

Hi Uli,

Just to let you know that we arrived back in Montreal and all is well. We had a terrific time in Greece and we wanted to thank you for all your help. You were instrumental in keeping our vacation on track and worry free.
Sorting out our dilemma resulting from the ferry strike was fantastic and certainly something that a Canadian travel agent could never have done under the circumstances we faced. It all worked out great.

Thank-you again.
Dana

Received: Sat, 6 Jul 2002

Uli,

Well we are back in the United States and would like to thank you for your assistance in planning a wonderful vacation. We had a great time and cannot wait to return. We would especially like to thank you for arranging alternate travel plans during the Olympic Air strike. We would also like to thank you for your recommended hotels. The Acropolis Select was excellent. A very good location and very nice rooms. We had a lovely view of the Acropolis. I would highly recommend it.
We also liked the Tzekos Villas. They have a fabulous location on Santorini but they need to do some updating. Our room had a number defects including plumbing that was repaired with tape, a ripped bedspread, a radio that did not work and the towels and bath matt were worn. There ad also states that there is a pool bar but that was not in operation. I would still recommend this place because of its isolated location yet it is only a few steps from the hussle and bussle of the city. Generally the quality was a bit disappointing for a class A hotel. It was not even in the league with Cavo Tagoo.
The Cavo Tagoo was magnificent. Excellent service and a great facility. I would highly recommend it! The staff was the friendliest we encountered anywhere in Greece and the breakfast was excellent.
Our tour of ancient Greece with Key Tours was nice but due to the fact that there were only six people we were bumped up from tourist class to first class hotels in Olympia and Delphi. These were very poor quality and not nearly as nice as the tourist class hotels we had booked. We went and looked at the hotels we had booked and they were much nicer. Our tour guide Effie even lied to us and said the hotel we were booked in was under rennovation but it was not. The hotel in Delphi was particularly terrible. The room was dirty and in need of repair. The hotels also included dinner but after the first night of poor food we decided to go into the city for dinner on our own. I was also disappointed with the pushiness of our tour guide when we were taken to shops to purchase souvenires. I must say our hotel in Kalambaka which was the one we booked (tourist class) was wonderful. Very clean. I am glad we took the tour but would much rather have been able to stay in the tourist class hotels we had booked which were much nicer and more centrally located.
In case you would like to pass along information to other tourists I would like to recommend a couple of restaurants that we were particularly fond of during our stay.
Athens-Symbosia _Excellent service and lovely outdoor dinning. Higher end cost wise but worth it
Plaka-Sholarhio Ouzeri Kouklis-Delightful mezedes and nice family service. Food was delicious and fun.
Delphi-Taverna Vakchos-Fabulous view and very good food
Santorini- Sphinx-a higher end price but great view and good continental cuisine
Argo-Great service and excellent food.
Mykonos-Venezia-The waiters are very funny and friendly they make sure you have a great dinning experience.
I would also like to mention that both our assistants on Santorini and Mykonos were very good but Paula on Mykonos was fantastic.
I also wanted to ask if you would happen to know of a travel agent in Italy. We are planning a trip and would like to work with a local travel agent. Would you know of any?
Once again thank you for all of your assistance. We had a marvelous time and we will definately recommend you to anyone traveling to Greece and will contact you when we return which will not be soon enough.

Thanks Again!

Richard Nimke

Received: Sat, 06 Jul 2002

Dear Kiki-- I have been back in San Francisco for a couple weeks now....my friend Christine and I went to Santorini for a few days after the group departed, and that was a great way to relax after all the travelling. I want to thank you again for your great work in helping us put the trip together..your organizational skills, patience, and kindness were invaluable! If you ever come to the Bay Area, please let me be of assistance. Please say "Hi" to Christos.
Best Regards, Kay

Received: Tue, 2 Jul 2002

Hello, Christina,

I wanted to thank you for the work you did for our trip to Greece. The tours and the hotel you planned were perfect, and we truly appreciated having everything done for us.
I am sorry we were out the day you tried to get hold of us at the hotel. We were with relatives all day and were not able to catch you during working hours.
Thank you again. Next time we come, we hope to use your talents when we come back.

Gina

Received: Mon, 1 Jul 2002

Thanks, Aliki. We could not have had a better trip. We are so grateful to you for all the arrangements, particularly for rescuing
what might have been a disaster during the strike. We can't wait to come back, so we'll hope to work with you again. Karen O'Neil

Received: Fri, 28 Jun 2002

Dear Ms. Perschau,

I wanted to thank you very much for your excellent service in connection with our trip to Greece. All the bookings were just as you stated they would be, and your advice as to hotels and methods of transport was excellent. I was taken by surprise with the Greek transport strike, but you alerted us to that at the hotel and made alternative bookings for us, so that our trip was hardly disrupted at all.
I am a partner in an international law firm, so I do a fair bit of travel, both domestic and international. I can safely say that in all my travels to date, I have never experienced such professional service from a travel agent. Thank you again for your assistance.

Best regards,

Marc

Received: Tue, 25 Jun 2002

Dear Aliki, I want to thank you for the superior service you have provided.
I and my daughter were very impressed with your hard work to make our trip worry free. We had a very wonderful and restful vacation that we will never forget. When we returned home my 19 year old daughter was telling her friends what a "cool" travel agent you were, and how you were so " on top of things" and that if anyone ever travels to Greece that should definitely use you for reservations and arrangements for their trip. I will definitely recommend you for anyone planning to travel to Greece and will contact you when we travel to Greece as a family. Thank you again. Yakira Leevan.

Received: Tue, 25 Jun 2002

To: Aliki Hamosfakidou (Mrs)
Kiki Zikou (Ms)

Dear Aliki and Kiki,

We have had a wonderful visit in your country. Thank you very much for all the arrangements you made for us. We enjoy our stay very much.
We all agree that Greece is a very good tourist destination for the Chinese because of its ancient culture, beautiful weather and nice people... Surely we'll see you soon!

Kind regards.

Yu Lie
Chen Huarong

Received: Wed, 19 Jun 2002

Aloha from Dolphinville!

Hi Aliki, I stooped by your office twice on Monday, June 10, but alas, no one was around. Looks like we'll have to wait until you come to Hawaii and the Big Island to meet. I just wanted to thank you for your help and arrangements. Everything went smoothly and we were given nice rooms the first time out with each hotel while the traveling arrangements were very good. I especially appreciated the notice of the earlier flight from Rhodes - even if it did mean getting up that much earlier to pack :-( The only challenge I faced was driving through Athens during rush hour on June 4th. It was a nightmare from the airport when the expressway stopped and I hadn't a clue where to go. Finally stopped at a Shell station and a kind person had me follow him to the new highway north of the city as it went by the new construction of the Olympic village for 2004. I pity all the Americans who may be facing Athens for the first time in rented cars. I doubt they'll be ready for the narrow streets and breakneck speeds of cars and motorbikes. Whew! I was happy to get through and out the other side while through some miracle I was able to find my way back to the Herodion and find a parking space directly across from the entrance on Sunday, June 9. The angels were surely looking out for us. In retrospect: Santorini was most romantic; Crete the most interesting; Rhodes the most fun; Delphi the most spiritual; Olympia the most enlightening and Athens the most bizarre and wonderful. The drives through the mountains and seeing herds of goats and sheep was so picturesque and charming. We were treated very well wherever we went and look forward to returning one day. Do let me know of your plans to come to Hawaii and if you are interested in my arranging a special boat trip to be with my fine flippered friends -- the Hawaiian Dolphins. Until then, Be Well and Swim Free, Douglas Webster ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enter the dolphin|MATRIX
I Am Dolphinus
THE CETACEAN NATION WEBSITE!

Received: Tue, 18 Jun 2002

Dear Uli,

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you for all the work you did on our trip. It was amazing. In the end, we were happy that the cruise was canceled as the plans you made for us were much more relaxing. We particularly loved the Anteliz in Santorini...it is one of the most beautiful spots I have ever seen. Marianna the proprietor was wonderful.
Rhodes too was very enjoyable and the location of the Phillipos perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better vacation. One very minor improvement (which I realize would have been difficult in such short notice- but may be helpful for future travelers) is to have transfers arranged from ferry to hotel in Mykonos and Santorini as it is very difficult to find cabs there. Rhodes and Athens were no problem.
I look forward to having you schedule my visits in the future and I will recommend people I know to use your services.
Thanks again. All your hard work is much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Julie

Received: Thu, 13 Jun 2002

Hi Uli:

Just returned from our vacation, Greece is fantastic (i cant wait to return...).
Thanks for all your help, everything went great. The Kouros Hotel in Mykonos was great, friendly and helpful staff.
We only ran into one problem, we took a Kamari Tour in Santorini and they put us on the wrong bus and would not reimburse us. No more Kamari Tours for us
Anyway, thanks again for all your help, we had a wonderful time.

Atman

Received: Wed, 12 Jun 2002

Uli
Thank you for everything you did to make our trip perfect. We appreciate you getting us the room at the Athens Plaza at the last minute. And the plane tickets. We will probably come back next year with two friends and we will contact you in January about that. If you can get connected to the White Rocks let us know. It is an awesome hotel and is perfectly run. The Armonia was our only nightmare. You are the best. Thanks again for everything. The car rental place in Kefalonia was GREAT! Meeting us at the airport with our name on a poster, giving us a map and having a cart right there for our luggage! Wow!
They upgraded our car as well.
Anneke and Ron

Received: Wed, 12 Jun 2002

Uli,

Thank you for doing such a great job planning our trip. I was one of the 8 people in the Judy Yip party. (16/05/02-26/05/02). You couldn't have done a better job. Everything went according to schedule. I was very impressed the taxi drivers waited as long as they did for us that first day at the Athens airport when we were trying to sort out a misplaced passport problem one of our friends was having at customs. I was even more impressed at the helpfulness of the taxi driver in helping us locate a place to get a passport picture developed for an emergency application before the embassy closes for the weekend. I know we called your office several times that day for assistance and to help us track down our friends. My apologies for any inconvenience we may have caused and my gratitude for the help you provided. The taxis were always there on time to meet us at the airport. And at our hotels to take us back to the airport for our departures to other Greek islands or back home. Missing our flight was never a concern.
You were able to offer this fantastic service and at a terrific price. Easily beating a quote we received from another travel agency.
I've already recommended you to friends who are planning to visit your beautiful country later this year.

Sincerely,
T. F.

Received: Wed, 12 Jun 2002

Dear Uli,

Thank you for the excellent places you found for us. Each is so unique and yet offers us just what we have needed. They are all lovely. I know that I will be advertising for you when I get back to the states. I cannot tell you how grateful I am.
In spite of the incident, we are really pleased with our itinerary. Most people wouldn't do an island in a day like we do, but we just had to see as much as we could. The islands are delightful, we have found internet cafes (and kids from our home state and familiar with friends of ours, how fun).
All the travel arrangements have worked out well. LOVED the flight from Crete to Rhodes. What quality! Tomorrow we have tickets on the CAT for Athens as planned and it seems the weather should cooperate so we can get to the US Embassy. Things are going to work. Overall, I think the adjustments we have made with you in the past couple of weeks have made our vacation even better than we could have planned with the cruise and Turkey. So all things have a way of working out nicely. Rula (?) receptionist at Porto Del Columbo was a gem, handing over the phone the way she did. The receptionists at all your hotels deserve our thanks and gratitude.

Thanks again.
Linda and Ron

Received: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 14:13:56 GMT

Dear Kostas,
What a wonderful trip we had! Thank you so very much for all of your help. I sorry I didn't get to meet you in person.
We stayed in Mykonos for four nights we loved it so much! We went to Delos for an unbelievable day and we had an English speaking very educated Greek Girl. She did a fantastic job to make the history interesting and easy to follow. We then went to Paros for two days one night and liked it very much. We rented scooters on both Mykonos, and Paros, so fun, "Crazy American Woman". We own one at home so I knew how to drive but the traffic is very different from in the USA Then we went to Naxos and found a lovely studio for 20 E. a night just off the beach and with a balcony and view, so we stayed two nights there and went into Naxos Town to the Castle and Museum. Layed on the beaches a lot and swam in your beautiful seas. Took the ferry back from Naxos to Pireaus, 6 hours, and when we arrived we could not secure a taxi to the Fenix Hotel, no one would take us, so we jumped on a city bus, and made our way to the Hotel.
It was all so wonderful, the Greek people are so kind and helpful and very interesting. I love the passion with which so many of the people we meet speak. The food was wonderful too and I bought a cook book and went to the market immediately when we returned home. I must return one day when I can afford it again.
Thanks again,
Marilyn Freeman

Received: Tue, 11 Jun 2002

Hello Uli!
I just wanted to Thank You again for all your help with our trip to Greece!
We had an incredible time, just wished we could of stayed longer, especially in Athens and Mykonos. But all in all it was a perfect vacation! Everyone was incredibly helpful and gracious! Again Thank You, so much! I hope to do business with you again soon!
Gratefully,
Elis and Christian

Received: Sun, 9 Jun 2002

Hi Esther:
I just wanted to send a quick note to tell you how much we enjoyed Greece and how your efforts made the trip so successful. There were no problems with any of the ferries and the hotels were just great. We had fabulous weather and were impressed with the efficiency of the Greek transport system. Thank you so much for your help and believe me if any of my friends want to travel to Greece I will recommend them to you for travel help.
Thank You
David

Received: 9 Jun 2002

Dear Esther:
We all enjoyed our visit to Greece very much and without your help it would not have been possible. All of the arrangements you made worked out wonderfully, and we thank you for all that you did to make out trip so enjoyable. From the airline pick-ups to the hotel suggestions, everything was just perfect. Thank you from everyone in our party of 5.
Donna

Received: Thu, 6 Jun 2002

Dear Aliki,
Thanks so much for all your help and for finding us such a wonderful driver (for the day to Delfi) as Giorgos Constantopoulos.
Please say hello to him for me and ask him if he liked the music CD of latin jazz I gave him to deliver for me.
Congratulations on your recent marriage, also.

Sincerely and with thanks,
Christine Lorenz

Received: Tue, 4 Jun 2002

Greetings, Uli:

Having returned from Greece now for a few days, we are still basking in the wonderful experiences we had in your country. All our expectations were met, thanks in large part to the very careful attention you gave to our requests. Everything we planned with you worked out well. The accomodations were all quite good and they were well located to the sites.
Although we would have liked to be able to secure guides at some of the sites (e.g., Delphi, Olympia), we were able to manage ok on our own with the help of some good guide books. Your making arrangements for the car the ferry and for the plane trips to the various islands worked out quite well.
You should take much satisfaction in helping us make this a memorable trip.

Efcharisto,

Ralph
P.S. We might be interested in touring Turkey someday, so if you have a recommendation of a tour company, we'd like to hear from you.

Received: Tue, 4 Jun 2002

Aliki,
I wanted you to know how much we appreciated the help a staff person provided to us on the afternoon of Tuesday April 30, 2002. Unfortunately I did not get her name. She displayed infinite patience and professional as we try to establish a realistic itinerary for the first part of our Grecian Holiday. She made the transportation bookings for us. We spent a most wonderful and memorable Easter on Naxos. We had an absolutely marvelous vacation in your beautiful country. Also you had been most responsive and helpful to an earlier email I had sent.
Thank you again and to the staff and if we are lucky enough to be able to make another trip to Greece I will most definitely call upon you and your expertise much earlier in our planning process.
I wish you all the best in all the travel activities related to the upcoming 2004 Olympics.
Gail Houston

Received: Wed, 29 May 2002

Dear Uli,

Many thanks again for your help with our trip arrangements.
We had a wonderful, wonderful time, and the people of your country could not have been more friendly and hospitable.
What a beautiful country! I'm ready to return in an instant!
Everything went well with the flights and accommodations, and we especially enjoyed our stay at the Nomikos Villas on Santorini, and the kindness of the proprietress, Julie.
...
Thank you again for you great assistance, and I look forward to contacting you again in the future when we return to Greece once again.

Sincerely,
Marguerite

Received: Tue, 28 May 2002

Hi Esther:
This is just a short thank you for all the work you did in planning our vacation.
We had a wonderful time, all the hotels we picked were excellent. We especially loved Kouros Hotel in Mykonos.
All of the people we met in Greece were very nice and extremely helpful
Once again, thank you for all of your help in planning our first, and hopefully not our last, vacation in Greece.
We will definitely recommend Dolphin - Hellas to all of our friends if they plan on traveling to Greece.
Please pass on this email to your supervisor so that they are aware of the wonderful work you do
Thank you again
Gary and Sheri

Received: Mon, 27 May 2002

Uli,
Our trip to Greece was wonderful! Thank you for everything you did for us in arranging accommodations, the five day tour, transportation, and transfers.
We enjoyed our stay at the Electra Hotel very much. The staff were very helpful in answering our questions, providing direction to us us in touring Athens, and making us feel welcome in Greece. The Atlantis Villas were beautiful and their staff equally as helpful. We enjoyed the 5 day bus tour and our guide, Cassandra. All the airline and ferry connections you arranged for us worked out. We had a great time and miss very much being in Greece and the warmth and hospitality of the Greek people. Thank you also for relaying the telephone message from my step father. I may have been too alarmed at receiving the message to have thanked you properly that evening. Everything was ok at home as it was a case of anxiety from elderly parents. Again, many thanks for arranging this trip for us. We could not be more pleased with the arrangements you made for us.
Susan & Tyrone

Received: Mon, 27 May 2002

Kiki,

Kalimera! We wanted to thank you for doing a wonderful job on our trip! I will definatly recommend you and use you the next time we go - whenever that may be!! Anyhow, we loved it!

Thanks again,
Jeannette

Received: Tue, 21 May 2002

Dear Uli,

We have returned safe and sound from a wonderful trip. All of our accommodations were excellent. Santorini was beautiful, as always, and Crete was quite a spectacular place! My legs still hurt from the hike down the Samaria Gorge-I'll never do that again! The food was excellent at our hotels but I would not want to go again on a half board basis. I think you miss the ambiance of the tavernas and mingling with the people of Greece. In fact, a couple of times, we didn't eat at the hotel because it's basically the same night after
night. The breakfast hours at the Astra were great. You could have breakfast until 11 AM. At the Vantaris, breakfast was until 9:30 but they turned the lights off at 9:30 sharp and it was obvious they didn't want you lingering over a cup of coffee.
As before, your recommendations were great and everything went very smoothly. My husband's suitcase went to Amsterdam instead of Athens on our return flight from Crete but it arrived at the hotel a few minutes before we were to take a taxi to the airport for our flight home ): Because he had no clothes he got to buy (courtesy of Olympic Airlines) a nice new shirt on the Plaka.
...
Once again, thanks for all your assistance. I have recommended you to others and will contact you when we return to Greece again. My husband loved it and is ready to go back right now.
Thanks.

Anne

Received: Tue, 21 May 2002

Uli -- thanks again for a great trip. Did you plan the weather too? It was perfect!
So was your choice of hotels and islands. It just kept getting better and better! Greek food is fantastic and the people are so friendly. Best vacation ever!
Thank you for answering all of my questions. The only question I forgot to ask was "how do you get from the boat to the hotel?". On Paros we walked the 800 meters (no problem). On Naxos we took a taxi to a travel office that manages the hotel, and on Santorini we found a bus that would take us up to the town. We didn't get lost!
Even our connecting flights went well. I got searched in security several times, but that was no problem either. The taxi company you use in Athens was first-rate. Very professional drivers.
I am going to tell everyone I know that they must visit Greece. And when they do, they must contact Dolphin-Hellas!

Dick

Received: Wed, 15 May 2002

We are killing time waiting to take a ferry boat to the next island. Using a computer in an Internet cafe.
We did Paros the last two days, then two days on Naxos, then Santorini (the best island, they say), then back to Athens on Sunday and home on Monday. Having a great time. Hotel bartender (last night) had spent 13 years in US; talked our heads off. We took a bus yesterday to another town on the same island; had lunch at an outdoor cafe. Everything here about half the cost of US. You can eat and drink pretty cheap. Discovered their dish, Souvlaki, is like shish-ke-bobs, and delicious. Had one made from swordfish yesterday.
Let us know if anything exciting happening back home. Michelle / Julie -- we may try to call you this afternoon. 11 PM our time is 4 PM your time. We were lucky -- adjusted to the time difference the first day, and been sleeping normal hours ever since.
This island was settled in 5,000 BC, if you can believe it! We are going to a museum next to check out the archaeological stuff. See ya!

P.S. -- Uli -- thanks for setting up everything for us. So far the trip has been perfect!

Received: Tue, 14 May 2002

Hello Uli,
I just wanted to take a moment to say Thank You!! We returned from Greece on Sunday and had an absolutely wonderful time. We had no trouble with any of our transfers, no lost luggage, pretty timely flights. All of the hotels were wonderful and we had fabulous service. My personal favorite was Tzekos Villas in Santorini. What a view we had from our room. We only wish that it had been a bit warmer but overall, it was great.
I just wanted to thank you for all of your help in planning this trip. We would have been lost without your help. Your recommendations were wonderful and we couldn't have had a better trip. If we have any friends that are headed your way, we will certainly recommend your services. You are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful place.
Best Regards,
Karen

Received: Mon, 13 May 2002

Dear Esther...........i just wanted to let you know that we had a really great vacation in greece and a great deal of it was because of all the work and arrangements you did for us!!!!!!!..........especially when you had to change our ferry tickets because they went on a one day strike!!!.....tell your boss (dennis??_) that i think you deserve a raise for all the work you do........!!
the hotels we stayed at were really great.......if it matters to anyone, i think the jason inn is much nicer than the attalos........high mill was fantastic, as was grotta villas in firastephani................we loved the porto columbo in chania, and loved crete in general!!!..........we had a wonderful time and everyone was so friendly and helpful to us......................if i know of anyone else who wants to come to greece, i'll be sure to recommend you!!!!!!!!!!.....it was especially nice that we got to meet you in person ..............thanks Esther!!!!...........judy and tim

Received: Sun, 12 May 2002

Dear Esther,
We returned from Greece a week ago and I wanted to thank you for all of your assistance in making it a trip of a lifetime. We arrived at the Attalos where our package and vouchers were waiting for us and had absolutely no difficulty with any of our hotel arrangements, (other than finding the Acronafplia - a kind citizen alerted the manager that we were wandering around the streets and he came and found us.) The Attolos was wonderful, exactly as it was described, the view was great and the help from the staff when we were making arrangements for the airport was excellent. Our stay on Poros was great. We enjoyed our strolls to the town and the hospitality of the people. We have to admit that our favorite stop was Nafplia. We loved the old buildings, the syntagma, the harbour - even the 800+ steps up to Palamidi Fortress. We recommended the city to several people on our trip.
We recommended your travel agency to several people while we were on our trip - most of whom said that they were interested in contacting you.
Thank you once again for helping to make our trip as stress free as it turned out to be. Dealing with you through the internet, having all of our information at the hotel ready for us, and being able to stay at places that you obviously have a positive relationship with, made this a wonderful experience.
Sincerely,
Marita and Russ
Fort McMurray, Alberta
Canada

Received: Wed, 08 May 2002

Hi Uli,

Many thanks for your timely reply to my query and also for all your help. Please show this email to your boss, too! As they say in Australia: "Your blood's worth bottling!'
We're looking forward to our trip and shall drop in to see you in Athens.

All the best from Oz,
Stuart.

Received: 29 Apr 2002

Dear Esther,
We had a marvelous holiday in Greece - thanks again for your help !!
The hotels were very good - people were very friendly and hospitality was great !!
The car was in perfect condition !!
We will most certainly come back to Greece: visiting the North and some of the Islands !!
I will not hesitate to contact you again !!
Once again thanks for your help !!
Best regards
François

Received: Mon, 29 Apr 2002

Esther,
Thank you for your prompt reply. We will check with our Visa provider to see if they can explain the difference. We had a very nice time in Greece. The weather wasn't always the best but that is something beyond our control. On the other hand there weren't many tourists which was very nice and the Greek people were very friendly. We found the hotel and staff (especially the manager) at Tzekos in Santorini to be most pleasant and helpful. Despina at Chateau Zevgoli was very patient with us and gave us good advice. Maria and her colleagues at Seashore Colors went out of their way to be helpful to us. Also our brief time in Athens worked out well and the Acropolis Select was a good choice.
Thanks again for all your help and patience, we appreciate it!
Regards,
Bob and Marge

Received: Wed, 24 Apr 2002

Dear Kiki,
I want to thank you for the excellent reservations you made at the NJV Athens Plaza earlier this month. They gave us a lovely, deluxe room and we had a fabulous time. When we set dates for our next trip, we'll call you again.
Best wishes, John

Received: Mon, 22 Apr 2002

Uli,

Ya Soo!

Just wanted to drop you a note and thank you for all the arrangements you made for us. We had a great time, and everything was wonderful. We ended up on the 9th floor of the Athens Plaza when we returned from the islands, and the rooms were great. All transfers were on time and very friendly. We love Greece! And our plans are to come back next year! The hotel Loucas was great. We even partied at Murphy's Bar with some of the hotel staff! The Leto is also a very nice hotel and very close to town, easy to "stumble
back" from the bars...lol

Thanks again!

Mary

Received: Thu, 18 Apr 2002

Hello Esther!!
We had a fantastic time in Greece. Your country has SO MUCH to offer tourists. The people are friendly and helpful. Some of the best customer service we enjoyed came from foreigners working in your country. So altogether Greece and the people there are great for Americans and others who want a wonderful holiday. (Too bad the weather in the first 2 weeks was so cool.)
...
Thank you so much for your help and service throughout. Your friendly messages and voice on the telephone was a welcome addition to my travels!
Geraldine

Received: Wed, 17 Apr 2002

Dear Christina,

Back in Thailand. Sorry we didn't drop in to see you at your main office as ran out of time during the last couple of days. Would like to thank you for all the arrangements as we thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip, the tour and all the hotels.
The only complaint is that the dinners at the hotels during the 5-day tour were almost inedible, sort of food you might get at an institution such as a prison; the quantity was fine, only the method of preparation poor. A cheese pie or spinach pie that was provided as part of the dinner was usually the only good thing. The guide sort of warned us about this at the beginning saying that the dinner would not be Greek food, rather "international food". I'm sure that Greek food would have been better. The breakfasts were fine.
I'm sure I'll contact you for the next trip (when?).

Best wishes,
Gary

Received: Mon, 15 Apr 2002

Uli,

Just wanted to write you a short note thanking you for your outstanding service provided to us for our family vacation. Everything was perfect.
The hotel Philipos was excellent and your package was waiting for us at the front desk. We particularly enjoyed the room on the 7th floor with a perfect view of the Parthenon. The location was great as well, and we spent our evenings in the Plaka dining and shopping. The tours arranged by you were outstanding as well. Key tours did a wonderful job. Very informative and fun. Our trip to Poros was priceless. The hotel and hydrofoil arrangements worked out great. We came by to see you at your office but unfortunately the office was closed.
Again, thanks so much. We all agree that this was one of our best family vacations ever. Your country of Greece is truely beautiful, and the people so warm. I can assure we will be back one day.

Best Wishes,
Brent

Received: Mon, 15 Apr 2002

Kiki, Thank you so much for your help in pulling our trip together. We got home last night at 8PM. Take a quick look at our tip. I have not yet added annotations but you can browse and see if you can guess each locations. We hired a taxi on Crete that took us all over the central part. It was great. I have attached a picture of Kostos' business card. He was great and I would recommend passing his name to your other clients. Thanks again, Mike and Diane

Received: 10 Apr 2002

Esther,
We have just returned to the UK after a wonderful couple of weeks in Greece and I send this note for two reasons:
1. To express our thanks for your service a couple of weeks ago, all the accommodation was great and varied, which was exactly as we required.
2. A bit of feedback for your information. The Olympia Palace was excellent, the rooms spotless and the breakfasts wonderful. Kapetanakos Tower was again a great experience, though a totally different class of accommodation and what a great part of Greece. The mezanine sleeping floor was a little dangerous for adults, let alone children and the breakfasts (at extra cost) were very strange but authentic. Finally the Acronafplia apartments were fabulous, my sister is already planning when to try them out. They were spotlessly clean and beautifully furnished and the location so near to the town centre was superb, maybe the only drawback was the lack of views from the balconies - all we could see were rooftops.
Finally the downside of your great service is that I will also tell my friends and relations, look out for some unusual requests.
Once again many thanks
David, Jackie, Claire, Ross & Emily

Received: Wed, 3 Apr 2002

Uli,

Thank you so much for all your assistance.. you were probably the best agent I've work with so far!!

Dennis

Received: Tue, 2 Apr 2002

Hi Esther,
This is just a quick email to let you know that we really enjoyed our holiday and to say THANK YOU for sorting out our cruise for us. I apologise once again for getting my dates confused.
We thought the Greek people were wonderful and the Greek food delicious!!
We had a great time and will be planning a return visit sometime in the future to see more of the islands and also get to Delphi and Corinth.
The Herodian Hotel was very good. The facilities were clean and comfortable, and the staff were very helpful.
I will definately be in contact when we decide where we can fit a return trip to Greece into our schedule.
kind regards
Dawn

Received: Thu, 28 Mar 2002

Uli: Just wanted to let you know that we absolutely loved our trip to Greece. We enjoyed all the sites, getting to talk to some of the people,and especially the sun!!
We had good experiences everywhere, except for one cab driver who tried to overcharge. I took down his license # and will send it to someone, if you will tell me who. He tried to charge over three times the price; we didn't pay it. But, that didn't change the fact that we loved the country and the people.
Thanks for all your help. We are thinking of returning in another year or so (not Olympics 2004) and trying to rent something at Nafplion for a month. Is this possible and can you help us do this?

Colon and Joyce

Received: 27 March 2002

Hallo Esther,
wir sind nun schon wieder zurück und wir wollten uns nochmal bedanken für den schönen Aufenthalt in Griechenland dank Ihrer korrekten Buchungen und problemlosen Organisation.
Das Hotel in Athen war genau das Richtige, Zimmer und Frückstück alles o.k. und das Beste war die 4 Tages Tour zu den archeologischen Sites. Es war alles so gut organisiert, es war sehr interessant im Kreise von nur USA und Canadiern, die Hotels Spitze und der Guide hat sich viel Mühe gegeben. Als er erfuhr , daß wir Deutsche waren, meinte er, er könne auch etwas Deutsch und so hat er ab und zu in seinen Erläuterungen ein deutsches Wort fallen lassen für uns Außenseiter! Wir waren nur 17 Leute und es war ein sehr angenehmes Klima. Wir sind ja viele Kilometer gefahren ,so gebiergig hatte ich mir Griechenland gar nicht vorgestellt!
Das Wetter hatte auch mitgepielt, die Plaka haben wir im Faschingsrausch erlebt (die Folge war, daß man meinem Mann die Geldbörse gestohlen hat, in der sehr wenig Geld war, aber die Fahrerlaubnis!, es hat aber hier in Deutschland zum Glück keine größeren Problem gegeben).
Den Flohmarkt, die Museen, den Berg, wo man über Athen schauen kann und Piräus haben wir besucht.
Die Sightseeingtour war nicht so das Beste, es ist kein Preis-Leistungsverhältnis nach meiner Meinung.
Wir sind dann auch gleich auf der Acroplois geblieben und haben uns noch 2 weitere Stunden dort getummelt!
Insgesamt war es aber eine sehr schöne Reise, jeden Tag war volles Programm.
Nochmals vielen Dank für Ihre gute Organisation!
Ich werde Ihre Reisbüro auf jeden Fall weiter empfehlen!
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Janine

Received: 26 Mar 2002

Hi Uli....
Thanks for doing such an outstanding job with us. We SO much appreciate it. Thanks too for the info about the cab. I thought the driver was excellent and worth the ride. He seemed a very nice individual. I guess we thought it might have appeared to be too much because the hotel told us "approx. 20 Euro"----they may have neglected to be aware of the add ons.
Regardless, it certainly doesn't taint our awesome visit to your country.
Guess what!!??....I have in my possession a photo of an extraordinary individual. I'm sending you a copy. I'll post it today. Meantime, you'll have to guess who it is.
Thanks SO much for your attention to our posters. I'm very excited to receive them----no hurry. Just knowing I'll be getting them and that you're taking care of it delights me. Sorry about the craziness in the weather---at least garbage bags aren't latching onto motorbike wheels as they float down the street!
Let's keep in touch Uli.
Would Dolphin Hellas ever consider sending you/and a mate(s) over to America specifically to begin bookings for the 2004 Olympics? I could look at contacting one of our agencies to collaborate efforts. Just a thought. I'll keep it in the back of my mind. I'm just trying to think of a way to get you to America....specifically Minnesota so you could come and stay w/us and we could return your hospitality.
Also, what is the name of your direct supervisor. I would like to send she/he a letter of reference of our satisfaction w/Dolphin Hellas.
Sorry this is so lengthy. Talk to you soon.
Julie

Received: 11 Mar 2002

Dear Uli,
Thank you very much for the bookings and your friendly and efficient service. You are upholding the reputation of your agency well.
Warm regards,
NIKLAS

Received: 10 Mar 2002

Dear Esther,
Our trip went wonderfully, and all the reservations and arrangements we made through you went smoothly. I wanted to thank you for your help, and say that when I return to Greece, I will probably use your agency again.
I also would like to ask one last small favor:
During the course of the trip, I left a pair of pants at either Hotel Adrian in Plaka (3/3-3/4), Hotel Angelika in Hydra (3/7), or Hotel Parnassos in Delphi (3/5) (rooms reserved under the name of xxx). They were a dark blue, very light fabric with yellow trim and cargo pockets, and were about a leg length of 34. They were rolled along the leg to make for easier packing, and were bound in the roll by the elastic yellow cuff cords, so they might not have immediately looked like a pair of pants (it would be a rather small roll--as I said, the fabric was fairly light.)
If you could just inquire at those hotels about the pants, I would be fully willing to pay any labor and shipping fees your efforts might incur, as I know of no way to replace these. Thanks once again for all your help.
Nicholas

Received: Fri, 08 Mar 2002

Dear Uli,

I have just returned from my wonderful vacation in Greece. The hotels and tours you recommended were just perfect for my needs.
The weather was even warmer than I expected and perfect for sightseeing.
Thank you so much for your assistance it was really appreciated.

Best regards,
Robyn.

Received: Fri, 8 Mar 2002

Hi Uli. I am getting that same feeling (i.e. that we don't need half the emails... but then it wouldn't be as much fun). It's been great communicating back and forth with you. :-) :-) :-) I have enjoyed our relationship and hopefully, I will be in touch in the future to plan more trips with you. Your responsiveness, knowledge and expertise and friendly approach has made the planning part of our vacation very enjoyable. I feel that I am in very good hands. Quite honestly, I was a little apprehensive at beginning of all this (i.e. planning and trusting my vacation over the internet) as I have never done this before. As a result of this excellent experience, I will definitely be telling my friends and associates about you and the fabulous service that you have provided. All the best Uli and hopefully we will meet, when we are in Greece. Have a great weekend.

With Best Regards,
Bruce

Received: Thu, 7 Mar 2002

Esther,
Frank and I arrived home yesterday evening. I wanted to write you a note this morning and say "Thank You" for helping us to have such a blissful vacation! If there is anything I can do to return the favor, please let me know.
All the Best,
Joy

Received: Mon, 07 Jan 2002

Uli,
Thank you so much for your excellent explanation! It has been such a pleasure working with you and your company. Not only are you pleasant to work with, you are highly professional and always follow through. I think you prove that there's a real difference between "email travel" and "email with a travel agent." The personalized service, indepth knowledge, and commitment to your customers has been deeply appreciated. I look forward to both using you again and recommending you to others.

My thanks.

Evie

Received: Mon, 7 Jan 2002

Dear Uli,

Everything went well, even better as we had expected (weather was nice, like early/mid Spring for us). So, we want to thank you for a the great setup.
We especially liked the pension in Napflio, it was very nice and the owner was kind to us.
Just a question: why did you get us to go from Napflio to Olympia with the south road through Megapolis? It was a bit long and difficult through the mountains and the North path (through Kapsas, Langadia) seemed shorter on the map.

Again, thank you very much,
and happy 2002 to you.

Laure.

Year 2002

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