Malcolm and Rosemary Siddons

Dear Arvind,

First of all can I say that we arrived home safely, on time and with all our luggage.

Secondly, may I repeat our thanks for organising such a wonderful tour for Rosemary and myself.

The hotels – were all excellent recommendations, with splendid rooms and service. If I had to rank them I would do so as follows:-

1) Amarvilas – Agra – the room here was beautiful with a fantastic view of the Taj Mahal. First rate service from all the staff. A truly magnificent place to stay.

2) Samode Palace – Samode – what a lovely building to stay in and the view from our room was stunning. It was also a very good place to enjoy dinner and watch a good show of local dancing and music. We were also fortunate to enjoy the fireworks as it was Diwali.

3) Imperial Hotel – Delhi – everything you would expect from a world class hotel in an international city.

4) Samode Haveli – Jaipur – we had a lovely suite in a building full of character. Lovely pool area and again all the staff were very friendly and helpful.

5) Ajit Bhawan – Jodhpur – last on the list, but by no means was there a big difference between here and the Samode Haveli. The only complaint was the very noisy air conditioning.

The mix of heritage and luxury hotels worked very well for us. Occasionally it was very nice to enjoy the sevice and surroundings of the big hotels, but it was also good to enjoy the smaller, more intimate character of the heritage hotels.

The driver. – Krishna – he looked after us very well. He was also punctual, as far as I could tell he was always ready at least 10 minutes before the appointed time. He was always in good humour, despite some quite long drives. He recommended many good restaurants for us, which we enjoyed much more than if we had eaten in the hotels all the time. He was also very informative. Highly recommended!

Mahadev Kashana – Jaipur – he was a lovely guide, making sure we enjoyed ourselves and giving us many pieces of advice.

Sajeet Dikchit – Agra – sorry if the spelling is wrong. He was a very knowledgable guide with a wonderful understanding of history. He too gave us many useful pieces of information which helped us a lot, and also helped with buying clothes until our luggage arrived.

The tours –

Taj Mahal – as expected it was wonderful.
Agra Fort – very good.
Fatehpur Sikri – well worth a visit.
Amber Fort – another excellent trip, including much fun with the elephant ride.
Village safari – very, very interesting visit to Bishnoi village and opium ceremony.

I would also like to thank Nutan for his assistance whilst with us in Delhi.

Finally, thank you once again, and I hope the above comments (constructive I hope) are of some use in your future planning. May Rosemary and I wish you every success in your business and please do not hesitate to use us as a reference for future clients.

Yours sincerely,
Malcolm and Rosemary Siddons.

USA