Horsley Hills Family Packages

After much research and discussion, we decided to do a Sikkim Darjeeling family trip in April. I decided to use travel triangle to find good quotes and finally went with an 8 day/7-night package from an agent called Dream Destinations/Sikkim Hills Travels. I specifically asked for a good comfortable SUV since we will be spending a lot of time on the road. I also requested that the hotels be 3 or 4 stars with deluxe rooms since there were kids and elderly. I also asked 100 times about travelling during elections. I was assured that everything will be taken care of and there was nothing to worry about. Here is our experience Hotels - The first hotel we stayed was Mandarva in Gangtok and it was good and just what we asked for. Clean, neat and good breakfast. We also had a lovely view of the city from our window. Unfortunately, it was in a residential area with no hotels or anything else nearby. It was too far from the shops/restaurants like MG Marg. In Sikkim, the sun sets by 5.30 pm and in the summer, it also rains heavily in the evening. So, taking a taxi and going out in the wet, dark hilly area is not really an easy option. So, we asked for a hotel that was close to MG Marg. They changed it to Pearl Retreat which was an older/ok ok hotel. However, they were kind and accommodative of my request to keep food ready on a day when we got stranded and returned pretty late. The worst hotel we stayed was a place called ‘Daksha’ in Pelling (Naming and Shaming here very intentionally). It was dirty, unhygienic and chaotic with clueless staff and run like a hostel forget deluxe standards here. Basic was also so terrible. We found out bed linen had hair, dirt marks and dust all over. They gave us a room without dusting, same old linen and a wet bathroom. Also, on the 3rd floor and no lift. I didn’t even want to stay there for 1 night! The other hotels were passable or okay. Cab and Driver – Spending a minimum of 4-5 hours in the car is unavoidable in Sikkim. As per our request we were given a nice SUV (a XUV 700 with sun roof) The car was comfortable most of the time and our driver was also a young local who drove really well and carefully in the mountain roads. However, on day 3, while returning to Gangtok from Lachung, the vehicle had some challenges with pickup/driving up the hill and we got delayed very badly. We had been awake from 6 am that morning visiting Zero point/Yamthang valley which were at high elevation and 3 of us had altitude sickness and had not eaten anything for hours. We found that the driver and the travel agents were more interested in sorting their vehicle rather than helping us figure out a way to get to Gangtok. I finally had to intervene ask for another vehicle to pick us up. Keep in mind, Sikkim is sparsely populated. The place we were stuck had no humans, lights and it was raining making the roads very muddy and dangerous. We got back late to the hotel after spending nearly 16 hours that day in the car with a very sick child. A nightmarish night ride where I was hoping and praying my child doesn’t get severe dehydration. Our driver for Darjeeling local sightseeing was another local driver and he refused to come to our hotel (Taksa Retreat) and wanted us to climb up the road. We explained to him that my mom and child were tired after climbing and walking so much every day. He was very reluctant, unhappy and had to be coerced by the travel agent to pick us up at the lobby. Our last leg of the journey was travel to Bagdogra from Darjeeling. Our flight was at 2.45 pm and we left Darjeeling at 10 am. It was the last day of election campaigning in WB and there were 2 massive political rallies at Darjeeling District and Siliguri. Neither us nor our driver had any clue about this. We got redirected by the police and paramilitary personnel multiple times and we had to take different diversions in the hills. Then as if the cup of woe has not run over, our SUV got a flat tire. By them time we repaired it and reached the airport, the staff refused to board us as they had closed the gates. But this is what disappointed me the most - I had requested our driver to wait for few mins after dropping us, in case I need help with getting dropped at a hotel. We were 3 women alone in an unfamiliar place and I was getting stressed about the possible options/safety in case we miss the flight. Our driver chose to leave, and he gave my number to a random driver in the taxi stand to help us. This guy was with us for a whole week, and we treated him well, but I guess he was in a hurry to go back to Gangtok rather than worry about people whose trip and tips are done. Luckily, the taxi driver turned out to be a nice person and dropped us at the hotel as requested. He mentioned that most taxis/drivers cancelled their trips to Darjeeling because of the political rallies. They also informed their clients who wanted to leave Darjeeling to leave early in the morning to avoid road closures and diversions. I really wish our Driver/Travel agent had done some check on this and updated us. Travel Agent – As soon as we landed, our travel agent mentioned that they had made some changes in our itinerary and that instead of Nathula Pass, we will be doing Yumthang Valley first. We were okay with that since we knew that traveling in Sikkim means being flexible and being okay with unpredictability. However, this seemed to be only applicable for tourists and not the travel agents. I requested that we post pone Nathula pass for a day after our nightmarish road travel back from Lachung and since everyone was sick. They expected us to do 2 consecutive days of heavy road trips to high altitudes. They made a huge fuss about cancelling and changing hotel plans and basically put all the extra charges on us. The manager Mr. Deepak was extremely rude and told me “You are already getting so much personalized services for the money you paid”. I really think that the package (which was hotels + ground Transport + personalised service) was not value for money especially the hotel accommodations. Not to mention the goof ups in getting permits to Northern Sikkim. My name was conveniently left out of the permit, and we could go only because of the military personnel being accommodative. (So much for personalized service!) However, Mr. Abhishek Thapa who was my SPOC and coordinated the whole trip for me was always polite, helpful and checked in on us morning and evening every day. I really appreciate that he was able to keep his composure and help us in the best way he can. May be in couple of months, all that has happened might become an interesting titbit/travel anecdote to share with others. But right now, I am quite bugged and feel very unhappy that we had to get so distressed during the holiday, especially at the end of it. Not to mention the extra money that we had to shell out again for tickets and accommodation. As for the travel agent/package we took – I am not so sure. I would have liked to give them the benefit of doubt, but in my interactions with them, I sensed that they were more interested in making their profit than worry about the customer’s well-being or experience.

overall good experience except for few glitches on part of travel triangle Booking agent Mr Devansh of Hill Dekho was very helpful throughout our trip, Driver Mr Hari ( assigned this trip after 2 changes) was courteous, experienced, helpful,knowledgeable. Bumla paas visit

It was overall very good trip. Well coordinated by the agent between three different set of drivers. Paid more due to unforeseen traffic diversions and road conditions. Zero point. Nathula pass, Darjeeling joy train ride, tiger hill View of Kanchenjunga

Overall trip experience was "above average" or "3.5/5 -star rating". Some good things - - The arrangement during the trip was good. Guides were mostly on time, pickups from airport were on time - Hotels were good, no real complaints on that front Things that could have been better - - While communicating needs of trip, I think some miscommunication happened and I believe fitting "dan ang and bana hills" in the trip could have been great (maybe even if it meant removing ho chi minh). Talking to other travellers there, I realised those were the more touristy place - I had mentioned that it's our honeymoon trip and first international trip as couple. Any small gesture with regards to that (like maybe decoration or dining) would have been great. Of course, I didn't push on arranging anything so I don't mind as such. Halong bay trip was mentioned as "romantic and intimate dinner" but it was just a simple dining hall setting with all travellers sitting together. - Some tour buses were a bit uncomfortable / crowded, I have left feedbacks for them accordingly - A bit more proactive communication from TripNexa's side regarding weather, currency exchange, popular dishes there etc, would have been good. Anyway, I had pinged Shruti or you in cases where I needed inputs.

SVietnam trips arrangements and support throughout the trip was so nicely organized and all things were smoothly planned and well organized. Thanking you all employees in svietnam trips for the eternal support and very good arrangement.. we really appreciate your support and help. Over all me and my family enjoyed this tour and place of Vietnam very well with keeping up the great memories with us . In this trip best moments are 1)cruise over night stay at long bay . 2)Dang trip particularly Bana Hills visit was really amazing and memorable.

This was good trip ...thanks to Yash Raghuvanshi of unexplored trip ..who arranged it pretty well .. There are many ... Specifically Nathula pass lf India China border ...the beautiful changu lake and ( ropeway) and Sunrise and Tiger hill was just mesmerizing...

I booked my family trip to manali with adventure mania using travel triangle app. Mukul was the agent who provided us package in a reasonable price. We enjoyed our stay and sightseeing. Hotel indrasan and hotel grand oasis were clean and had delicious menu in breakfast and dinner. Nitesh and other staff in Indrasan hotel were very supportive. The only problem we faced was the driver Kamal jeet. While travelling chandigarh airport to/from manali he refused to turn on the AC even if we only asked him to turn on AC in Punjab area only and not in manali as the temperature in Punjab area was very hot. He was very rude and always stopped the car very far from sightseeing point e.g. at vashisht temple he dropped us at lower parking even if car could have gone beyond that point and there was an upper parking as well which would have saved our efforts to climb the hill. The driver kamal jeet was always busy with phone while driving and never listened to us and eventually got us delayed to airport. We were about to miss our fligh because of him. I strongly recommend never ever go with Kamal Jeet driver if you are planning with adventure mania. Sissu, atal tunnel, manikaran, hadimba temple, vashishtha temple.

I was planned himachal pradesh trip with travel triangle ( travel Magazine). Cab driver and agency services are Satisfied. In hotel shimala (sunrisevilla), dalhousie(dalhousie hill resorts) both are value for money but in Manali ( manali lodge) as per room service and room quality are poor and amritsar (dewdrop) hotel room are very small.

Great way to get up to the Himalayan foot hills and see some beautiful mountain scenery. Total contrast to what one expects in India in terms of scenery and views. Travel agent Sandhya was a wonderful contact and kept in touch making the planning really easy for us. Service and serenity of Kamna Hill Hotel

We thoroughly enjoyed the trip. I have used Travel Triangle many times for package booking but my experience with Trip 2 Hills is not at all good. Below are the points: 1. After locking the quote, they refused to provide hotels and room category discussed. The reason shared was rates have increased. They should have checked before finalising the quote with the Guest 2. On site experience with the travel agent was not at all good - They were not transparent at all and provided wrong information in the voucher 3. In the voucher locations were marked based on different weather - For ex. Valley of Flowers is not really valley of flowers but a valley of snow at this time of the year (should have guided the guest to pick up some other location) 4. Usually, it is travel agent's responsibility to pick guest and make proper arrangements to make them reach to the destination. Due to land slide (which we had no clue) they asked for additional money (no where in the voucher it was stated) 5. Locations to visit usually are pre-paid and tickets are managed by the travel agent - that is what I have always used with Travel Triangle but this was totally opposite. Every location I was supposed to buy tickets 6. We cancelled the Lachung trip midway - Driver continuously harassed us that he will drop us in midway as Trip 2 Hill is not paying them entire amount due to mid way cancellation. They have not returned anything to us. 7. Due to mid trip cancellation I requested them to book a hotel for one additional night in Gangtok, they provided me a hotel which is very far off and had never served guests before (we were their first client to serve dinner, they had no proper arrangement for Breakfast even). Overall very bad experience working with Trip 2 Hill