Save your money
This review refers to the "Private Guided Tour with Beach Stay and Lunch" offered by this company in Barbados for a hefty €388.
Basically, almost nothing in the description was adhered to.
We had asked if we could start an hour earlier – the fact that everything would be closed at that time could have been communicated beforehand. The driver arrived 5 minutes late and simply seemed annoyed. Normally, the itinerary is explained, and any preferences are discussed, along with a glass of water – none of that happened here! According to the guide, the "top attractions of the island" seem to consist solely of hotels, shopping centers, and two obelisks; these were the only things mentioned. Generally, the tour simply drove past everything, never stopping, the day's itinerary was never explained, and there was absolutely no respect shown for the island or its guests.
According to the tour description, a museum visit was also supposed to take place – this, too, was not included.
We were speechless that it actually happened – Barbados had so much to offer, but not even the absolute must-sees like the Rihanna Memorial or the cricket field were included.
We were then driven to St. Nicholas Abbey without any prior notice – which is indeed quite nice, but we had to pay an additional $70 USD for the tour; otherwise, we wouldn't have seen anything at all.
The secluded beach with Simone's Bajan Kitchen was also canceled without warning. Since that was the only thing specifically advertised, my wife had booked it specifically for that reason. Nice people cooking on a quiet beach – what could be better? We had mentioned that we were vegetarians, and since Simone doesn't cook vegetarian food (which isn't true; there would have been rice, beans, and salad), we were driven 45 minutes further to the completely overcrowded Savyy Beach Club. Of course, we only found this out after we had already arrived. If you go directly there from the ship, you only pay $25 for sun loungers, a drink, and transfer – that's what we had originally planned, until my wife gave me this "VIP" trip for my birthday two weeks ago.
This gift was a complete disaster because we didn't even see the most basic sights on the island, and then we ended up on the worst stretch of beach (an unguarded swimming area, since all the water sports operators are there – it's better at the other beach clubs; only one rum punch was included, no other soft drinks).
Instead of being at a friendly, local cook's place on an almost empty beach, we were there at peak season and were fobbed off with one free drink, standard food from a food truck, and the phrase "you can choose your loungers" (there were only two left in the second-to-last row).
The highlight was the "VIP transport" from the beach club back to the ship: we were left to our own devices on our "VIP trip" and told to take the regular shuttle bus from the beach club back to the ship. Then a taxi driver tried to rip us off. That's what VIP treatment looks like at Island VIP Concierge.
Oh yeah – while every taxi driver in the Caribbean usually has a cooler with chilled drinks, our wonderful driver had to stop at a gas station for 10 minutes to get two bottles of water. That's not what I call VIP service! What we saw: the waterfront road, the overpriced distillery (which we paid for ourselves), a viewpoint (right next to the distillery), and a crowded stretch of beach where people from the watersports clubs were constantly smoking weed. Others from our ship paid $100 for the same route, including explanations and a nice taxi driver.
We specifically chose a company from Orlando because top-notch service is usually offered in the USA – we've been to the USA countless times (especially Orlando, Miami, Naples), and I wonder how they expect to stand out with service like this. After that experience, I took a closer look at this company, their website and all services are advertised exclusively with stock photos. So beware!
After the tour, we complained about the services provided. We received a brief reply from the owner saying he would get back to us, but now, 15 days later, there's still no further response.
