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We ask all our clients to complete a short survey when returning from their holiday, to help us ensure that we stay fully up-to-date and in touch with every detail of the destinations we specialise in and the holidays we create. We're really proud of the generally excellent feedback we receive, and on the few occasions that it's not as good as we'd hoped, we respond proactively, making sure that the problem doesn't happen a second time. more

Traveller
statistics

93
%
“
Excellent
”

Our service

93% of guests rated our service as ‘excellent’ or ‘exceeding expectations at all levels’.

starstarstarstarstar

(5/5)

Overall Experience

How 91% of guests rated their overall holiday experience.

73%

Consultant rating

85% of returning guests that scored their consultant with the highest marks.

Guide rating

The percentage of clients rating their guides as excellent.

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Steve & Anne 03 June 2013

Guide: Sisara was our guide for the first 9 days of our trip . He was excellent & we would recommend him to anyone travelling to Sri Lanka .

Poor Properties: The Galle hotel was very nice but the attitude of the manager disappointing . Everyone else in Sri Lanka went the extra mile to make us as wlcome as possible . He was the one exception .

Highlight: Too many to mention . It was all very enjoyable

Lowlight: Probably a bit too much time in the car the first week . Road travel in Sri Lanka is fairly slow .

Stephen & Sonja 30 May 2013

Guide: The guides that were chosen for us in both North and South Vietnam were spot on. They were both of a similar age to Sonja and I which I think is very important. Both knowledgable and down to earth

Exceptional Properties: Victoria Hoi An was great as was Emerelda and Movenpick. Not much in Ninh Bin so important to have nice accommodation so Emerelda worked well

Poor Properties: I was a little disappointed with Liberty Central. As a 4 star hotel i didn't think the standard of our room lived up to the billing. Perhaps that is what you pay for in the location - but we were a bit disappointed with this hotel

Lowlight: Probably Liberty Central but that could be a bit unfair. Wasn't really any least favourite aspect. I would also add the time between Halong Bay and flying out of Haiphong was a bit wasted,. Would have been nice to have been on the junk boat for a bit longer instead of having to kill time in Haiphong for a number of hours and then a number of hours waiting in the airport to fly to Danang

Steven & Natasha 30 May 2013

Website: I originally made a web query, but I had to phone as the query hadn't been picked up. The rest if the web site and information is excellent

Consultant: Natasha did an excellent job, very efficient and very helpful

Itinerary: Itinerary was well planned. Breaking up long journies with things to see and do made the journey more enjoyable as it broke up the travel time and you didn't feel like you had wasted days travelling

Exceptional Properties: La Boutique Hoi An .. The hotel is not good on privacy as all rooms have open views through ground floor balcony doors so everyone can see into your room . We requested a room change away from the pool area for this reason, and they were more than accommodating. I also left some items in the room when we moved onto Saigon, and they posted the items to our next hotel for me.. They were excellent.

Poor Properties: None that were not a suitable standard, however the Serenade had the terrace bar closed (didn't appear to exist) and the spa looked like it had been closed for a long time, and the dining room area didn't have the water feature working. Liberty Central - room was next to cleaning station and lift and from early hours of the morning so was very noisy A note for information - as we went out of season, many of the hotels were doing maintenance which was a little disruptive and noisy especially when it's before 8am and waked you up with a bang!

Highlight: All was very good - Halong Bay was amazing although the junk was very tiered and needed a coat of paint.. Rooms smelt damp and musty.

Lowlight: Nothing .. All was good, only frustration was maintenance work when asleep , overall great holiday

Nick & Heather 29 May 2013

Website: Had very positive comment from owner of Number One Mirissa about your website and how you represented his hotel.

Consultant: Very good that speaking to several different people in office all were able to deal with questions issues straight away.

Guide: We felt Aruna was highly personable and dealt with problems due to weather and changes of plan very well. Possibly a little over talkative at times in the car but overall a top chap who we give 9/10 to as guide 7/10 driving skills-car. Jayantha our driver towards end was much better in terms of a driver (although to be fair an easier drive) and he did not chat too much which we liked especially at end of trip this was welcome. 9/10 as driver.

Poor Properties: We felt Villa Rosa was tired decor and bathrooms.

Highlight: We enjoyed visit to Hatton, Tientsin Bungalow very much but Number One Mirissa was particularly relaxing and good.

Lowlight: Probably Kandy temple trip and Villa Rosa, but to be fair weather was awful. Guide made our trip around Botanic Gardens very enjoyable despite weather.

Sacha and Jo 26 May 2013

Administration: The travel folder is ideal and very handy for keeping documents and passports in.

Exceptional Properties: Victoria Hoi An- an all round excellent hotel.

Highlight: All of it was amazing. Impossible to pick one thing!

Jason & Victoria 23 May 2013

Website: It was a useful back-up resource to the phone contact and hard copy information we received. It was relatively easy to navigate during booking our holiday, and clearly explained what was on offer with each itinerary.

Consultant: Replied when he promised to. Made the booking process seem personalised (rather than being part of a treadmill of customers, as other travel agents have the habit of creating). Made excellent and knowledgeable suggestions on itinerary and hotel choice. Was always friendly and happy to answer queries.

Administration: Couldn't have been better.

Guide: We had a total of five guides in Vietnam. All but one spoke English to an excellent standard and were punctual and knowledgeable. There are two minor criticisms - 1. After a 20 hour journey, getting bombarded with a lot of information about Hanoi was a bit too much, but his enthusiasm should not be discouraged. We liked him a lot. 2. We felt that our requests to our guides to make minor alterations to our itinerary were not as willingly embraced as we would have liked. Day five we were knackered and a bit ill (climate and travelling) and wanted an afternoon in the hotel relaxing and being pampered in the spa. Felt a bit like we were letting our guide down by not doing the planned itinerary. NB - these are very minor criticisms. On the whole, all of the guides were good and were enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their country. We saw no evidence of "Come and see my brother's shop" or "My sister's restaurant is amazing" type behaviour. They were all highly professional and did their best to accommodate our specific needs.

Exceptional Properties: La Residence - just stunning. Just what we wanted after a long travelling day. Great staff and surroundings. Spa is top notch and breakfast was amazing! The Grand in Ho Chi Minh City was great in terms of accommodation and service. Breakfast was poor and there were ongoing maintenance works, which meant banging around the pool and on the floor below us. But location and accommodation completely made up for those.

Poor Properties: The Metropole is quite corporate and we felt a bit uncomfortable walking around in short, shirts and flip flops (needed, because Hanoi was so hot and humid!). It isn't below standard, but it had a strong corporate feel about it. Victoria Beach - amazing accommodation, but food and drinks during the day are pricey. Staff were great. Only ate there once in the evening, because food was uninspiring. So headed into Hoi An most nights by taxi.

Highlight: Many of them - Pho, La Residence, Hue's Citadel, Hoi An's old town, Ho Chi Minh City's Chinese Market, Cu Chi tunnels and Cao Lau.

Lowlight: Hanoi to Halong Bay to Hai Phong to Da Nang to Hue in 48 hours - a bit stressful and too much travelling. Should build a later start into the Hue tour.

Lauren & James 15 May 2013

Administration: The travel pack was fantastic, made everything so easy!

Guide: Our flights were changed and we arrived in Borneo approximately 3 hours early. The contacts in Borneo were very helpful and arranged for us to be picked up. The only criticism we would make was that in the Kinabatangan River section of the trip the guides were changed frequently, sometimes 3 in a day. This wasn't a problem but we think the guides would do better for tips if they didn't change over so frequently.

Itinerary: Our itinerary was fantastic. We had a great combination of activity and free time and each fell at the right time during the trip. We throughly enjoyed every part of itinerary, it was perfect for what we wanted

Exceptional Properties: Lankayan Island was absolutely amazing. The food and accommodation were fantastic. I would say this was closely followed by Danum Valley. This was amazing for such a remote location, there was no compromise in food or accommodation which we may have expected for the location. Lastly I would like to say that the staff at Gayana Eco Resort were wonderful. This resort also gave us several honeymoon perks (room upgrade, bottle of prosecco, spa treatment) which were lovely surprises and a wonderful way to end our trip

Highlight: This is such a tough question, every aspect was so different and therefore hard to compare. Lankayan Island was beautiful and we saw turtles hatching!! It was amazing. In Danum Valley we had a up close encounter with a herd of elephants as well as seeing an Orang Utan that obliged in a fantastic show for us!

Lowlight: We really don't have anything that we would like to point out as a least favourite aspect, we thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip

Carole & Michael 14 May 2013

Administration: Travel pack case would have been even better had it been slightly wider, so that I could have slotted my Ipad inside!

Guide: All three were excellent, but we think Thin from Hue was particularly outstanding. Loved the visit to the sweet 'factory'.

Itinerary: We got a bit Pagoda'd out, and would love to have had a chance to visit more workshops - Thin took us to a tiny backstreet sweet factory and also to a tailor's workshop - really interesting, but that could just be us.

Exceptional Properties: Paradise boat at Halong Bay. Excellent food, and good room.

Highlight: Bike tour in Hue, cooking course in Hoi An, food everywhere, recent history coming alive in Hanoi and Ho Chi Min City

Lowlight: Just a bit disappointed at the trips from the boat in Halong Bay - would like to have had the chance to visit say a school or floating village - as it was the trips to the 500 step peak and the cave, were a bit pedestrian.

Selective Asia response
Great idea about the ipad pocket - we'll look into this with the next run!
Rob and Sharon 13 May 2013

Consultant: Excellent advice once again. Kep was a very good recommendation that I would not have otherwise considered.

Itinerary: Vespa tour a real highlight.

Selective Asia response
Really pleased you loved the Vespa tour, we're really getting behind the team that operate this as its such a great evening!
Mark and Alison 12 May 2013

Consultant: A lot of good advice based on personal experience, tailor made our holiday perfectly

Administration: The little book was ideal

Guide: All very good, knowledgeable, friendly and helpful.

Itinerary: Perfect, maybe too many early mornings, but did work out well on every day.

Poor Properties: Chen Sea in Phu Coq was not quite up to standard, the location was ideal, but the facilities need a little money spending to upgrade to the standard expected. In 4 days we had a sun bed break under me, Jacuzzi broke down twice, the towels had holes in them and we had to sleep in a different room one night because the air conditioning broke and could not be repaired. The level of room servicing was not up to the standard of the other places we stayed.

Highlight: Too many to mention, all so different, but getting a boat to ourselves in Halong Bay was amazing.

Jo & Scott 11 May 2013

Website: always easy to use and navigate

Exceptional Properties: 23 love lane in george town penang....the staff made it feel like a very welcome place to visit - they were lovely and helped with anything we needed, especially the two from to house managers. It felt more like a home from home. Only one shame is it doesn't have a pool to cool off in. the Danna in langkawi was lovely if at first we felt it a little 'formal' for us but he staff again were all very nice and helpful and the pool is amazing. A special mention goes to Amirul the transport manager at the hotel who arranged our car hire his tips for getting around the island were great and finding secret beaches.

Poor Properties: as trip advisor says the Maya in KL is a little 'tired' and rooms need decorating BUT didn't at all make any difference to our stay the staff were nice and the view of the petronas towers from the room was amazing. ( note that there is about to be a giant block of apartments being built across the road which will soon block out the views!)

Highlight: not one in particular - food probably! we found lots of good places to eat with the locals, curries great!

Lowlight: 6 hours stop over in Abu Dabi airport on the way out! the ferry journey to Langkawi from Penang is pretty ropey....doesn't feel like a safe boat, allocated seats set in the half below decks, very cramped with no room to move, but understand its the easiest way to get there.

Katherine, John & Juliet 10 May 2013

Consultant: A good healthy discussion with Martin. Not just giving us what we wanted but equally not being dictatorial

Guide: Cooray was a real star. He is immensely knowledgeable and very proud of his country. A great ambassador for your business and Sri Lanka.

Exceptional Properties: Theva We also really enjoyed Ranna, so well done to Martin for being persistent on that one

Poor Properties: St Andrews is old and tired and what was the vegetable soup all about on arrival in the Tea Country !

Highlight: No one highlight - it is the breadth of experiences that made it special. The balance of doing and not doing.

Krystyna & Kelvin 10 May 2013

Administration: Although all paperwork ok,and told this would be all we needed.However, The Rasa Reia in KK asked for Hotel Accommodation Vouchers. They than took our whole itinerary book to copy. Also, they took quite a large deposit against our credit card. We were unhappy about this and not sure if they did this because we did not have a voucher.

Poor Properties: The chalet on Turtle Island was poor, especially the bathroom, with the sink and toilet appalling. Brown Rust stains covering nearly the whole basin, the toilet was the same. The shower (which my husband used) did not work and the water was coming out of the wall and not the shower head. I did mention this to the guide who told me this had just been refurbished.

Highlight: Seeing the orangatang and turtles, but the whole trip was a great experience. The people were very polite and friendly, the boat trips were great, the rain forest. Some small blips which could have been avoided, but on the whole, great trip.

Selective Asia response
Sorry to hear of the problems you had at the Rasa Ria, we have never had this occur before. We have spoken with the hotel who have advised us that it was a mistake made by a new reception staff. Apologies for the inconvenience and concern this caused you.
Tim & Diane 08 May 2013

Exceptional Properties: Victoria Hoi An and Paradise Peak

Poor Properties: Asia Hotel in Hue was a bit downmarket in comparison to the rest of the accomodation. The choice of this one was probably our fault as we did specify that location was more important than quality for the city hotels

Highlight: wandering round old Hanoi and also (predictably) Hoi An - food there was excellent

Lowlight: Saigon - too modern and westernised to be of much interest

Louise & family 08 May 2013

Website: When I was looking at the different hotels I couldn't flip between them but had to go back to the list again. Not so bad but would be easier to compare if you could flip between.

Administration: Really great, friendly and helpful and most of all knowledgable about the places we were visiting

Guide: We had 3 guides in total, whilst the Hanoi and Saigon guides were great we really fell in love with Ky in Hue. He was so fantastic and our kids just loved him. His english was brilliant and he gave us enough information each place we visited.

Exceptional Properties: We all loved the Ancient House in Hoi An, hopefully we will visit there again for a 7 night break it was just perfect, good locationl, lovely staff and we enjoyed the pool and shuttle bus

Poor Properties: No they were all good, obviously we have our favourites but the overall standard was great.

Highlight: Hmm, there were quite a few. We loved Halong bay and were really disappointed not to stay overnight on the boat but really glad we got to experience it - Definately one to revisit. We all loved spending time with the family they were so lovely and it was so great to find out more about their life and visit their ancestral home. The meal they prepared for us was so delicious. We all loved Ho An for different reasons, the kids for the surf, me for the shopping! and the restaurant recommendation Miss Ly was spot-on

Lowlight: No least favourite, loved it all!

Brian & Mandy 07 May 2013

Guide: All guides in the Vietnamese part of the trip displayed excellent knowledge, and they answered any of our questions (which were numerous). They also provided us with a lot of history about their families during the Vietnam war, which provided us with a lot of insight into that time. they gave us insight into the culture, and the cultural differences between North and South Vietnam. Special mention should go to Nam who was our guide in Hanoi, and Toni, who was our guide in Saigon. Toni was truly excellent!! He arranged additional cultural visits, that weren't on the itinerary. We had a bit of an issue with our guide Di in Hue, who cut short one of our days due to needing to pick someone else up, and rushing us through the day before to ensure we had 'done everything on the itinerary', i don't think this was personally his fault, but was due to the agency he worked for. however, he was a very good guide in all other respects. we did report this to the person who called us to see how the trip was going, and they did buy us a meal in Saigon to compensate. the Cambodian part of our trip was much more disjointed in terms of guides. the guide at Phnom penh was late meeting us at the dock (we traveled in by boat). This did cause some distress, as we had our bags taken from us by porters, without our consent, and then we were hassled to pay them well over the odds. It took us some time to be identified by our driver, who then phoned the guide to find out where she was. Unfortunately I can't remember her name. However, her knowledge was good, as was her punctuality following this. In Siem Rep our guide was off sick, so we lost part of a day of tours, as the replacement did not reach us till late in the afternoon. However after the first day everything went well, and our guide was excellent. The drivers were all excellent, we felt safe, even though the traffic and driving conditions are not what we are used to. We also had just a driver for one day, when we travelled from Phnom Penh to Siem Rep, who did not speak a great deal of English, he was very good, finding us good places to stop to eat and to see a local market, he also bought us some roadside food to try.

Exceptional Properties: Hokan, the boutique resort was excellent, the Bhaya classic junk Halong Bay was good, and the food was amazing, the Victoria at Chau Doc was excellent, and we liked the Pavilion at Phnom Penh, but the room was a little tired, but position and garden made up for this.

Poor Properties: We found the larger and probably more expensive type hotels tended to have poorer standards of breakfast than the smaller hotels. The breakfast at The Grand in Saigon was very poor.

Highlight: All of it! It was amazing, brilliant, unforgettable!

Joanne 07 May 2013

Guide: We thought our guides were fantastic! In particular, Trang (Hanoi) was very informative and knowledgeable, and her restaurant recommendations were super. Nothing was too much trouble for her, and we really appreciated her advice. Vinh (Hue) was so friendly and was keen to share stories and info about his city. He did an excellent tour.

Exceptional Properties: We were treated so well at every hotel we stayed at, and they all gave us little "extras" as it was our honeymoon. In particular, the Sofitel Metropole and La Residence where stunning hotels, however the service we received in all our hotels was excellent.

Highlight: It's hard to decide, we loved our trip to Cat Ba island at Halong Bay - it was definitely a good decision to stay 2 nights on the boat for that trip. We loved sampling all the traditional foods! Our favourite city was probably Hue, we wish we could have spent longer there! The drive between Hue and Hoi An was also spectacular.

Lowlight: There wasn't anything we wish we hadn't done, just wish we had had more time!

Alan & Wendy 06 May 2013

Consultant: We were always kept up to date by Karl with any changes or necessary information about our trip.

Itinerary: Glad to have the free time to relax during the trip.

Exceptional Properties: The Rasa Ria was superb. They thought of everything in the room and the shop was so well stocked with essentials.

Poor Properties: The room at Turtle Island was very basic but we understand the necessary for this due to the location. Wouldn't want to stay more than one night, although the island was AMAZING!

Highlight: Too many to split. But seeing the Orangutans, the turtles was so GOOD! Loved the city of Kuching and the hotel at Rasa Ria was beautiful.

Lowlight: Coping with 33 degrees heat!!!

Robert and Lindsey 03 May 2013

Guide: Most of the guides were excellent, particularly our guide in Bagan, who responded to our initial comments on preferred activities, adapting the programme to take us off the beaten track to experience local villages. We were warned that the quality of the guides around Kengtung would be less than average, and indeed our guide in Kengtung was less than satisfactory. David's english was ok but often we felt that he was just 'filling in time' with us and not really interested in giving out information. We had trouble at the border crossing into Thailand, having to wait over an hour on the Thai side for our Thai guide, but this we believe was due to the fact that David had not communicated with the Thai guide to advise of our movements. OUr guide in Mandalay was extremely knowledgeable but was so keen to impart this information that he did not consider our initial request to reduce the number of temple visits (we were feeling a little 'templed out' at this stage) Our guide in Luang Prabang was also excellent.

Exceptional Properties: The Red Canal in Mandalay was excellent. The Golden Star in Kengtung was not expected to be great but we were ravaged by mosquitoes in the room and there was nowhere nearby to eat in the evening.

Highlight: Too many to summarise ! The stay in the Elephant camp was a highlight for all of us. Shwedogan Pagoda (both day and night), and the stupas of Bagan.

Lowlight: Very few low points. The boat journey from Pakse to Champasak we felt was unnecessary with nothing special to see.

Linda & Graeme 02 May 2013

Consultant: Karl was excellent- very knowledgeable and helpful.

Administration: Amazing presentation. Very professional.

Guide: All guides/drivers were very good. A credit to Selective Asia

Exceptional Properties: All hotels were good. Casa del Mer was excellent - a good recommendation by Karl. All hotels were very good and we would go again.

Poor Properties: We had a problem with the smoking policy in E & O in Penang. Very disappointing in a 5 star hotel, they allowed smoking(including cigars) in the bar so as non-smokers we often had to go outside as it was so bad! Only one bar open after 10.0pm. We felt this really let the hotel down.

Highlight: Difficult to say as every location was very good in it's own right. But being on Floor 23 opposite the Petronas Towers in KL was unbelievable! - especially when there was a thunder storm :)!!

Emma 30 April 2013

Consultant: We dealt with a few members of the team, but primarily Natasha Page, who was really helpful and informative

Administration: Everything was very "polished"

Itinerary: Really good - I felt that the SA staff listened to what we wanted (mainly a relaxing and not too busy break, but with a chance to see something of Vietnam) and they set the itinerary according to that, rather than just railroading us into a standard one size fits all

Exceptional Properties: The corner suite room in the Nam Bo boutique was stunning. The Hanoi Metropole is obviously top dollar but was a brilliant experience and we are glad we shelled out on that, so the luxury could distract us from the holiday coming to an end!

Highlight: Vietnam!!!!

Lowlight: The outward journey due to a cancelled flight - beyond your control!

Gaynor & David 30 April 2013

Consultant: Was disappointed that we weren't informed of the potential problems in Sabah at time of booking.

Exceptional Properties: Borneo Rainforest Lodge and Lankayan Island

Highlight: Swimming with turtles on Lankayan Island

Lowlight: 2 night stay at Sepilok

Selective Asia response
My apologies for any lack of communication over the situation in Sabah at the time of your booking, however at this very early stage there was very little information coming through and certainly nothing to suggest any risk to visitors. The Foreign Office were not advising against travel to the region, nor had there been any outbreaks of violence. Having said that, I fully appreciate the need to convey as much information as can be digested to our clients and this is something that was addressed when we reviewed our handling of the matter recently. If you have any suggestions on this or other elements of our handling of the situation in Sabah, please do feel free to send them to me.
ike & Hazel 28 April 2013

Website: All the information necessary that you could possibly want. Excellent information.

Consultant: Extremely helpful with all our enquiries, being as this was our first tailor-made tour.

Administration: Very impressed with the travel zipped folder with all the details of itinerary, hotel addresses, Telephone numbers, flight details etc. very well laid out and compact, ideal for travel bag.

Guide: Special thanks especially to ''DIem Le''' (hue and hoi-an)' excellent English and knowledge, extremely helpful, couldn't,t have asked for better. Also 'Lan Phanlan' ( Hoi Chi MInh)' good English, very helpful, lovely to have her. Please pass on, if you can. Thank you.

Itinerary: Unfortunately, due to Vietnam airline being overbooked for flight from Haiphong to Denang(overbooked apparently), even though we had confirmed flights with seats, meant that We didn't,t arrive in Denang until 9.30pm, then 2hr car journey to Hue, arrived hotel 11.30pm.

Poor Properties: Anise Hotel Phnom Penn, excellent friendly service and food. Our room on arrival was very small and no bath. very obliging, upgraded to another room for 10 dollars per night extra. Slightly disappointed with City River,Siem Reap, mould along bottom of shower curtain.

Highlight: Halong Bay kayaking through caves etc. Chu Chi Tunnels, cycle ride in Hue. Also a mention, The service given by the prompt car transport throughout, which we both think helped the smooth running of the itinerary, very impressed with the service.

Lowlight: Nothing really, just to add that although we selected the Huong Hai Junk we were both disappointed with the overall 'look' of the boat - and in our bedroom, the en-suite needed upgrading, especially the toilet and seat - shame as I think we booked 'deluxe'?

Selective Asia response
Sorry to hear about the standard of the Huong Hai Junk. This is in fact a first class junk however this does excuse the poor facilities. We are speaking to the company with regards to this.
John & Sandra 28 April 2013

Guide: We had a total of seven different guides, and their ability to communicate varied somewhat, but in the end we were always able to understand them all and they made a supreme effort to answer any of our (very many) questions.

Itinerary: Actually if we'd been able to stay longer we would have followed your advice to have more free time and have a more leisurely time, but on the other hand we saw so much of what we wanted to and you can't have it both ways!

Exceptional Properties: Billed as first class, we found the Essence Hotel in Hanoi to be an absolute gem, and a haven of peace within the hustle and bustle of the old quarter in Hanoi, and we were amazed to have a laptop in the room.

Highlight: Since we opted to do so many things it would be difficult to pick out any one thing as a highlight. Overall the experience was extremely positive, and the people (guides, drivers, hotel staff, waiters and waitresses in local restaurants, were all so friendly and helpful.

Lowlight: Queuing for an hour and a half to hand over $90 for the visas at Ho Chi Minh airport!! (Obviously not your fault)

Colin & Janet 26 April 2013

Website: The departure lounge information detail could be improved

Guide: As we had several guides, the ratings are an average. Generally was fine, sometimes excellent.

Itinerary: Generally absolutely fine, on reflection I would have swapped the last two venues around so that we left from Gaya Island

Exceptional Properties: Pullman, Danum Lodge, Gaya Island

Poor Properties: Royal Mulu Resort

Highlight: Turtle Island, Kimabatang river safaris and Danum Valley

Lowlight: Meal quality at the Royal Mulu Resort

Selective Asia response
If you have any specific suggestions regarding the Departure Lounge, please do send them across to us.
Laura & Jonathon 25 April 2013

Website: Informative and good suggested travel itineries

Consultant: Great service from Martin, he took our ideas and refined them using his knowledge and experiences

Itinerary: Some extra free time was built in during the days to work around the heat, so the flexibility really worked or us.

Exceptional Properties: Boutique Hoi An and Angkor village

Poor Properties: No, we liked the mix of accommodation available which allowed us to mix 5 star with experiencing the backpacker areas in the big cities

Highlight: Angkor temples, Hoi An and Halong Bay

Lowlight: Some of the travelling by road took longer than expected and some very early starts. In hindsight it would have been better to do Hue first & then Hoi An as the airport in Hue was closed - the 3am start for the Danang flight wasn't great

Simon & Mariella 24 April 2013

Consultant: Lionel was very knowledgable about the country and made the booking extremely easy

Guide: The guides were excellent, especially Yan (Yangon) and Ye-Ye? (Mandalay). However we did miss a flight from Bagan to Mandalay due to the guide not using information available to him, after he had found out the flight details had changed the day before and then not explaining this information to us and subsequently leaving us sitting in the airport waiting for a non-existant flight. This situation was resolved through us speaking to other guides in the airport who then called Tour Mandalay on our behalf, we called the emergency number numerous times before it was answered to inform them of the fact we were left in the airport and they did not call us back despite stating they would. Once the situation was in the hands of the local management it was resolved promptly however did this lead us to missing over half a day of the trip.

Exceptional Properties: Pristine Lotus Inle Lake, Amara Mountain Resort Kalaw

Highlight: Travelling by boat across Inle Lake and sunset in Mandalay

Lowlight: Leaving Burma!

Bob & Anne 23 April 2013

Guide: We had 5 guides 4 of whom were excellent particularly Tam in Saigon and Trung in Hue Hoi An. The guide in Nha Trang Trong is the reason I have only marked good he did not pick us up at the station he said did not realise we had changed trains and overall was a little too brash for older travelers

Itinerary: We changed the itinerary locally when it did not suit and we appreciated the flexibiity of the guides

Highlight: The sampan cruise on the Mekong

Alan and Kay 22 April 2013

Consultant: Lionel listened to our needs and ideas and always responded quickly to emails and phone calls. Very helpful and knowledgeable

Administration: Very comprehensive - we appreciated the books, city maps and folder. The detail of the information provided was really helpful.

Guide: All guides were friendly, knowledgeable and flexible. We had some great conversations and they shared their personal family histories with us as well as communicating information about political and historical events.

Exceptional Properties: The standard of service at the Hanuman Alaya in Siem Reap was exceptional. The Essence Hotel in Hanoi was also very good. All hotels were just right for us and every one of them had great, comfortable beds - really important!

Highlight: The fact that we had so many wonderful and varied experiences throughout the holiday. The itinerary was just right for our needs and we met so many lovely people. Thank you!

Alan & Carol 22 April 2013

Itinerary: Could have done with an extra day in Hanoi and Hue, but that's our fault for not realising this when booking

Poor Properties: Due to bad weather we spent a night at the Halong Plaza Hotel instead of the junk. The room was excellent but we found the food poor (poor choice and barely lukewarm). However, top marks to our guide for making alternative arrangements due to bad weather at short notice. The Residence at Hue was excellent but we did have a problem with ants in the room invading hand luggage and handbag.

Lowlight: Long drive from Hanoi to Halong Bay, but appreciate that this is unavoidable.

Victoria & family 21 April 2013

Consultant: Could not have been more helpful!

Guide: Our guide in Hanoi, Long, was particularly good. We wanted to go to a water puppet theatre, this wasn't on our itinerary but he arranged it for us.

Exceptional Properties: A great mix of properties, we really enjoyed the contrasts and loved Mekong Lodge, especially the food. But would have liked to have seen a bigger floating market than the one near to the Lodge.

Highlight: The restaurants recommended by selective Asia were all excellent and we relied on the destination guides for every meal! However, one of the ones in HCMC has closed down, Phu Xuan. The variety of things we did was the highlight. A fantastically well organised trip! We loved cycling in the Mekong Delta.

Julia 21 April 2013

Itinerary: The only thing I would have changed is the early afternoon departure from the Borneo Rainforest lodge which meant that we didn't get to KL until very late. We would have preferred an early departure which would have meant getting into KL earlier.

Exceptional Properties: Gaya Island and the Borneo Rainforest Lodge were amazing.

Lowlight: Nothing negative at all, a fantastic holiday.

Matt & Fiona 21 April 2013

Consultant: Martyn was excellent and very knowledgable

Itinerary: There were some very long drives involved. While these weren't a problem it would have been useful to had more information about how long the drive journey were going to take included on the itinerary we received before our departure.

Exceptional Properties: Chaaya Wild, Number One Marissa and The Fort Printers were all excellent

Highlight: The sheer amount of things we were able to pack into the two weeks! The itinerary really was excellent

Stephen and Hanifah 17 April 2013

Consultant: Martin answered emails promptly and efficiently.

Guide: Kristan was a gentleman. He was always punctual, helpful and patience with us. Despite the roads being a bit chaotic in Sri Lanka we were confident with his driving skills.

Exceptional Properties: St Andrews was lovely as was the hotel at Tangalle.

Poor Properties: Eco Lodge at River Cottage was the worst of all the accomodation. Room had ants and wasn't as clean as the rest of the accomodation we stayed in.

Highlight: Seeing the animals on the Safari and the whitewater rafting.

Emma & Mark 17 April 2013

Guide: Dalling was incredibly knowledgeable and thought provoking. T in HCMC was such a character and made the trip very fun. Son in Hanoi had a good sense of humour.

Exceptional Properties: Sofitel in Hanoi was excellent as was La Residence in Siem Reap. It was good to have suit in Victoria overlooking sea.

Poor Properties: The location of the Grand in HCMC was excellent but the hotel was a bit lacking in personality compared to the others.

Highlight: Angkor Wat, Sampan ride on Mekong Delta, lake tour in Cambodia, tunnels in Vietnam

Lowlight: Both Hanoi and HCMC were very hectic cities - and Can Tho is also a large city - getting away from motorbikes and cars a bit more - perhaps a day less in one of the cities would have been better.

Kathryn, Chloe & Derek 16 April 2013

Website: Loved the Departure Lounge - lots of information on the places that we were visiting.

Consultant: Simon was great, always answered my questions and really tailor the made the holiday to what we wanted.

Administration: The folder was great, complete with tags, the itinerary was really well done, the only grumble is that I would have liked pick up times included and booking references for accomodation, as this was as smooth as it could have been.

Guide: Chilian in Malacca and KL was great very knowledgeable and recommended places for us to eat. Joseph the guide for our tour of the rainforest was fantastic, he knew so much and took us to a lovely place for lunch, where we shared our lunch with a terrapin!

Itinerary: Would have liked another day in Malacca as so much to see and the first day was lost due to tracel and tiredness.

Exceptional Properties: Hotel Puri - loved this hotel and in a great location. Frangipani - a little haven, really relaxed and friendly resort, also eco friendly which they really take pride in.

Poor Properties: E & O Penang - really looked forward to staying at this hotel and have to say was a little disappointed, service was slow and it lacked atmosphere. But it was a beautiful hotel.

Highlight: Malacca - Jonker street and city tour Penang - rainforest tour Langkawi - Frangipani Resort and Spa

Lowlight: The boat ride to the rainforest in Penang, really choppy and pouring down, actually didn't feel safe and think the boat should have not gone or turned back. Penang Ferry to Langkawi - thought we were going to capsize, a really rough crossing, 3 hours of the majority of passengers throwing up, sick bags rolling around, people crying because they were scared (including my daughter). No communication or safety advice given from crew, also we nearly got off at the wrong island as nobody told us where we were. I would fly next time.

Daniel and family 15 April 2013

Consultant: With little time to fix arrangements, Nick pulled together a excellent package for us. He was always quick to respond to queries and made the whole process hassle free. His approach inspired confidence.

Exceptional Properties: Could recommend all hotels we stayed at.

Highlight: Tonle Sap fishing village and Halong Bay floating village

Lowlight: Travelling home - would have loved more time to explore more of the region

Claire & Elizabeth 14 April 2013

Consultant: Very informative; efficient in replying to queries; excellent at keeping me updated

Guide: Terrye (I think that is the correct spelling) was absolutely amazing. His knowledge of wildlfe and ability to spot creatures was unbelievable

Itinerary: The final day at our riverside lodge left us with 6-7 hours of 'free time' which was hard to fill. I think in previous years there may have been a trip to Gomotang caves in the afternoon but I understand this was not recommended for safety issues

Exceptional Properties: Lankayan island resort

Highlight: There were 3 things: Lankayan island-paradise! Seeing wild orangutans and pygmy elephants Seeing the Rafflesia flower

Rodney & party 10 April 2013

Consultant: We very nearly didn't use Selective Asia as when we first contacted we didn't have a very good reception (not Natasha at the time) as we were honest and explained that we had also been in contact with another agency. Luckily we decided to try again a couple of months later and spoke to Natasha who was extremely helpful, was prepared to put the time and effort into our itinerary and came in at a competitive price.

Guide: We had 3 different guides who were all very good. We were particularly happy with our first guide Khang who gave us a lot of information about Vietnam and adjusted our itinerary to our needs and our second guide Van who worked us out very quickly and again adjusted our itinerary to suit us better.

Itinerary: When we first arrived in Hanoi we had a city tour planned for the first day and felt a little out of control of our holiday. The first place we were due to visit was HCM's mausoleum and there were enormous queues for this which could have resulted in us standing waiting for a couple of hours in the heat. We gave this a miss and this meant that we had a more leisurely day. We were staying in a beautiful hotel and so wanted to enjoy the hotel as well as Hanoi. After this our guide came to understand us better - when we reached Sapa after an overnight train journey we were due to have a 2 hour or more drive to see a market but our guide took us to a smaller, less touristy, nearer market which was brilliant and much more sensible as we really didn't want more travelling. Similarly Van our second guide talked through our itinerary with us and we made adjustments to enable us to enjoy time in our second beautiful hotel as well as time experiencing Hue. The bicycle tour was wonderful - so relaxed, so pretty but also giving us a gentle insight into local life. We had planned time off in Hoi An and Phu Quoc but I don't think we had anticipated how full the other days would feel.

Poor Properties: Chen Sea in Phu Quoc was also lovely as we were straight on the beach and the staff were lovely. We did have a bit of an issue with rubbish being washed up onto the beach which we understand they could not stop but they needed to put more effort and priority to clearing it. The position on the beach is their attraction and so they need to keep it clean. They did eventually deal with our complaint and 6 men cleared 10 bags of rubbish. We also noticed the next day they were clearing early in the morning. You may want to check that they are keeping the effort going as otherwise it was a lovely hotel. We were a little disappointed with the Intercontinental in Ho Chi Minh city - it had no character, you could smell food as you walked into the lobby, there was hardly anywhere to sit (other than in the very badly lit library which was a smoking area) and the pool area was very small and rather strange as it had glass sides and all the deck chairs were looking in to the pool so if you were self conscious wouldn't want to swim where everyone could see you. Also the wifi was charged at a half hourly rate, this was the only time we were charged for wifi for the whole of the holiday. We are not sure where we would have preferred to stay as we understand that the Majestic and the Rex are state owned, maybe the Caravelle or the Continental. The Hyatt looked wonderful but I expect it was very expensive.

Highlight: So many! 1) HUE, we loved our walk along the perfume river, the visit to a local market, the cycle ride through the paddy fields and then sand boat ride back along the river. We also loved our meal at the Tham Om Garden house - that was amazing. Also the Residence Hotel was wonderful. 2) SAPA - seeing the local market and the flower H'Mong people dressed in their local dress, and walking throught the hills. 3) HANOI - the Metropole 4) Sunset on the Mekong river (everyone had gone off on a trip and we had the boat to ourselves!! 5) Staying so close to the beach at Phu Quok

Lowlight: We had a brilliant holiday - 'least favourite' is a relative concept as we enjoyed it all. But the 2 comments I would have are: 1) We were a little disappointed by Halong Bay - it was so busy and touristy and we were very unlucky as it was very overcast so we didn't see it at its best. 2) HOI AN - we hadn't been able to book into the life heritage resort and so stayed at the Boutique Resort - which was nice enough but the beach was incredibly windy, there weren't enough deckchairs around the pool and the shuttle into town was very intermittent so we had to use taxis. We had thought being by the beach would be a good option but in retrospect I think we would have been better nearer the town so long as it was restful and pretty.

Terri & Ian 10 April 2013

Website: Easy to get round and extremely informative.

Consultant: Martin was very patient and went to great lengths to ensure our time in Vietnam was Tailor made to suit us and our interests perfectly.

Guide: They were all very professional and looked after our every need time also permitting gave us extra choice of places to visit. Their local knowledge of recommended places to eat in the evenings saved us a lot of time and everywhere we went was outstanding when eating street food with the locals or top restaurants.

Itinerary: Our guide changed our itinerary the last two days to fit in an extra trip we wanted to do but so we could still fit in original

Exceptional Properties: Although possibly a little tired in places The Riverside Hoi An was a lovely location and the free boat ride was a bonus.Very peaceful and romantic.Good shuttle to town or beach.Nice private beds bamboo parasols comp of Hotel

Highlight: There was a highlight most days Selective Asia made us feel like royalty we just relaxed and enjoyed the whole experience they even booked early morning calls checked us in hotels and flights,we loved getting to know the people and their culture.

Lowlight: The journey to Halong bay a bit long but had to be done! GOING HOME we also wished we had few more days to fit in Cambodia well just have to go back.

Frances and Terence 09 April 2013

Consultant: We found our consultant, Natasha, to be extremely helpful and patient. We had occasion to make a few alterations and they were not a problem.

Administration: The vouchers, tickets and details of places of interest arrived in a nicely bound book, secured in a folder. It was easy to read and very portable

Guide: In total we had three guides. They were all very different in their approach. All arrived early on each occasion but made us feel at ease. They made it clear that they were there for us when we were ready to go. Their understanding of, and ability to communicate we're of a high standard. They had a real sense of humour which we enjoyed. In fact we found them to be very good company.

Exceptional Properties: I would rate the hotels as excellent had we nit had an unpleasant experience in Hoi An. The hotels in Hanoi, Hue and Hoi chi Minh were of a very high standard. The food in the hotels was very tasty and the staff friendly and helpful.

Poor Properties: We were greater by a very friendly staff in the Heritage Hotel in Hoi An. When we were allocated our suite I immediately noticed ants around the towel rail in the bathroom. The hotel itself was not in the same category as the other hotels. We agreed to avoid using the area where ants were apparent. The second night of our stay in the hotel, we retired early and took our iPads to bed with the intention of updating our emails. Immediately our screens were covered in small insects. We pulled back the duvet to discover a colony of ants in the bed. I drew members of the housekeeping team to the situation but as I could no longer feel comfortable in that hotel, we immediately signed out and booked a much better hotel which added a considerable sum to the cost of our holiday. This I think was the most negative experience of our entire holiday.

Highlight: I thoroughly enjoyed all of the guided tours but in particular the visit to the tunnels. With one exception the hotels were great and I honestly think the people we met were amongst the nicest, friendliest people I have ever had the privilege to meet

Chris & Pam 08 April 2013

Website: Easy to follow and interesting enough to attract our attention and prompt a phone call direct to SA to discuss our holiday. Once we had booked the departure lounge section was interesting and helpful

Consultant: Swift and helpful responses to all our queries. Sent clear instructions re visas etc.

Administration: Bound booklet of tickets hotel info very good format and will be good to keep with photos etc. Also passed on to friends who expressed interest. The Vietnam with love book was a lovely surprise!

Guide: All very good and knowledgeable but special mention to Mr Bing in Hue who's lovely personality, humour and enthusiasm made our time with him a real pleasure. Drivers also very good and cars clean and comfortable.

Itinerary: Good mix and gave us good insite into Vietnams history, culture

Exceptional Properties: Hotels were all very good and lived up to our expectations. The Grand is Saigon was a little spoilt by noise from building works both outside and inside the hotel. On the cruise the food was excellent and the cabin perfectly acceptable but on the first night there was a group from a tour company "checking things out for future bookings" and who were therefore the main focus of attention.

Lowlight: Hanoi airport/immigration. Halong bay was busier - more boats - than we had expected and in retrospect we wold have only done the one night there

Brian & Margaret 08 April 2013

Administration: We found the layout and presentation very well done

Guide: We found Salihin in Sarawak an exceptional guide who made it feel more like a friend helping us through and enhancing our holiday experience

Poor Properties: Some of the accomodation didn't have , or not a working , safe for valuables

Highlight: There were many highlights during our stay however if we had to choose one it would be Lankayan island

Lowlight: Whilst visiting the orang utan sanctuary on a freetime afternoon Margaret was assailed by an orang utan and she received lots of bruising to her arm and armpit. There were no Rangers presant, thankfully another member of the public ran and got help for us and the situation was resolved . However nobody from the sanctuary even came to see how she was 'this was a little poor and should be pointed out to them please if you are in contact with them as an incedent report may of triggered a reveiw of there supervision procedures

Selective Asia response
Very sorry to hear about the trouble Margaret experienced at the sanctuary. We have passed this feedback onto the management.
Susan & Peter 08 April 2013

Consultant: It was great to have a personal consultant who was available to answer our queries. Lionel always responded promptly to emails/phone calls.

Administration: Brilliant! The booklet provided prior to departure was a really good way to keep all the information in one easily accessible location

Guide: The final guide, Sari, was not particularly easy to understand and wasn’t as keen to engage with us as the other two. He was perfectly polite, but didn’t go that ‘extra mile’ like the others i.e. he didn’t take us to check-in at Saigon airport, choosing to rush off to get a trolley which wasn’t needed and then jumping back into the car. Perhaps it was that we had been spoilt by Chuang and Nam previously, who were both great!

Itinerary: The itinerary gave us the opportunity to see as many of the places of interest as possible, making the best use of our time in this amazing country. We would never have been able to visit as much had we had to organise our own transport.

Exceptional Properties: All the hotels were of a good standard and ones we would have been happy to have chosen for ourselves, had we been travelling independently

Paula & Simon 08 April 2013

Guide: We only had a guide in Bangkok and Jack was excellent, knowledgeable and interesting.

Highlight: monkeys drinking out of our pool at Rayavadee and snorkelling.

Lowlight: Trip homme, my fault I should have realised how long the trip would be and broken it up

Clive & Jackie 06 April 2013

Consultant: On the ball and always responsive and positive to all enquiries. Pat on the back and promotion deserved.

Guide: All our guides and drivers were excellent - knowledgeable, courteous and Select Asia in Vietnam always contacted us in the hotel for our opinions on both guide and driver and the hotel. They all deserve to know that they are great representatives of Vietnam and of Select Asia.

Highlight: Impossible to isolate one or two areas. Vietnam is an adventure and the West has all to learn from them. A country is defined by its people - courteous, resilient and with a quiet strength and natural joy the Vietnamese have a great future.

Pat & Jacqueline 05 April 2013

Consultant: Simon was excellent - interested in the minor details of our trip, contacting us to discuss these. Made us feel that the trip was well planned from the outset.

Guide: Lan ( in Hanoi) and Son (in Hue)were excellent in all respects. The guides in Hoi An and Nha Trang were good. All of the drivers were excellent and we felt completely safe at all times.

Exceptional Properties: La residence Hue and Sunrise Nha Trang. Also the day boat during our Halong bay Trip - we had a 3 cabin luxury boat to ourselves with our own chef

Poor Properties: No. Even the short stay day hotels were of a very good standard

Highlight: Halong Bay Trip, our stay in Hoi An and the genuinely friendly, helpful Vietnamese people.

Lowlight: The treks in Sapa - 9 accompanying 'friends' for the 2 of us was a bit much!

June & Robert 05 April 2013

Consultant: Lionel was very helpful and patient whilst we sorted out our requirements with friends in Jakarta.

Guide: A special mention for Mrs Van in Hue who had excellent English and told us a lot about everday life in Vietnam as well as the sights we were visiting.

Itinerary: I was glad we had built in an additional day in Saigon to explore on our own before the early start to Nha Trang. Doing the tour of Hanoi the same day as arriving on the train was a bit tiring.

Exceptional Properties: The Essence in Hanoi was excellent. A new tower block hotel has been built in Hue which is not yet open but may be better in futute than the Asia Hotel as it blocks much of the view of the citadel from the Asia.

Highlight: Walking to Le Jardin de la Carambole via the outer walls of the citadel in Hue, watching people of all ages enjoying the cooler evening air.

Lowlight: Sharing a carriage on the overnight train from Hue to Hanoi with peole who wanted to sleep from mid afternoon with blinds down.

Neal & Maria 04 April 2013

Website: Easy to navigate and informative.

Consultant: Excellent, very helpful guy and very knowledgeable.

Guide: The "excellents" are for our guides in Hanoi and Hoi An. Son was our guide in Hanoi and Van in Hoi An. They were very helpful, friendly and really made us feel comfortable. The Guide in Ho Chi Minh was satifactory to poor. He was punctual and friendly but his communication was very poor. We had a hard time understanding him and when we asked him questions he did not understand and gave random answers unrelated to the questions.

Itinerary: We added one more day to our stay in Hoi An as the weather brightend up on the day we were supposed to leave. I had a hard time communicating with the office in Vietnam about making the changes but I emailed Nick and he helped.

Exceptional Properties: Boutique Hoi An was amazing as we were upgraded to a superior Dulux room. The Bhaya Legend and their crew were incredible!

Highlight: So Many! Halong Bay, Eating in Hoi An, although the guide I printed from your website was very slightly out of date. Yellow flower resturant isnt there anymore and the recommendation for the hand made shoes is not there either. Please put a resturant called Morning Glory in the guide. Its is simply amazing! Riding through Tra Que Farm was an amazing experiance. Chu Chi Tunnels and the shooting range was great.

Lowlight: N/A!

Selective Asia response
Congratulations to you both on your engagement on Halong Bay!
Alie 04 April 2013

Guide: GUIDE MAWEN VERY GOOD INDEED,VEry informative and answered all questions very patiently.

Itinerary: Didn't have a lot of free time until the last few days but in part that was due to adding in 2 extra activities suggested by our guide. We were very happy with this.

Exceptional Properties: Villa Rosa was a wonderfully different hotel which I would love to go back to and Galle Fort Hotel was superb in every respect and my favourite hotel which is saying something as all were of very good standard and really different. The mud house was an incredible experience. We were VERY impressed with the hotels overall.

Colin and Wendy 03 April 2013

Consultant: Unfailingly helpful and courteous even when we had to re-arrange things.

Administration: We particularly liked the travel book you sent us.

Guide: Both Tee and Len our Cambodian guides were excellent. Both very knowledgeable, excellent communicators and had a great sense of fun. They soon got used to the fact that we were all elderly and let us go at our pace, including refusing to go and watch the sunrise at 5 a.m. as it was too early! We were less enthusiastic about Sari in Vietnam as he seemed somewhat diffident he seemed less experienced than the others. He did show us all that we wanted to see and was knowledgeable, particularly about the war.

Itinerary: There were some occasions when the free time did not materialise and we missed out on some free afternoons. That may have been because we are somewhat slow!

Exceptional Properties: Kabiki and Chen Sea, but we would not fault any of them

Highlight: Too many different fascinating experiences so difficult to say, however Angkor Wat and Chen Sea were memorable.

Judith & Michael 03 April 2013

Guide: Best Guide Van in Hue - by miles!

Poor Properties: Boutiique Hoi AN AND Intercontinental Saigon- we didnt like this one!

Highlight: The whole package was excellent. Highlights everywhere - Trek inSapa everythng in Hue (which guide tailored to ur needs -so differrentfrom itinery

Lowlight: Halong and there long drive to and from. The acitivites fromthe boat - in particular a trip tothecaves was awful

Jacqui & Martin 02 April 2013

Exceptional Properties: Vil Uyana very good with fantastic restaurant. Aditya was ideally situated and were very attentive . Overall a luxurious experience.

Poor Properties: Tea factory was good in many ways but we had one sub standard meal and the fruit juice for breakfast was diluted.

Highlight: Safari at Yala and train journey to tea country

Lowlight: Crocodile appearing at side of pool at Vil Uyana !

Selective Asia response
Sorry to hear about your scare at Vil Uyana - quite a unique experience!
Joanna & Paul 02 April 2013

Consultant: Natasha was very helpful & friendly

Guide: Abang is a great guide, very knowledgeable about all aspects of Borneo, a lovely person with a great sense of humour, a good chef! and he is also a very sensible driver, an excellent all rounder really. Ayril is also a really good guide with a wealth of wildlife knowledge.

Exceptional Properties: Rannee Boutique in Kuching Hyatt in KK (where we were upgraded) Gaya Island (rooms exceptional)

Highlight: The stay at the Longhouse & spotting wildlife on the Kinabantagan river

Lowlight: Leaving!

Paul and Fiona 02 April 2013

Guide: Prya was a friendly and knowledgeable guide and gave us a true insight into Sri Lankan way of life

Itinerary: Perhaps we should have started with a free day to recoup after long haul flight, followed by 5 hour drive to first stopover.

Exceptional Properties: 98 Acres really let itself down - wonderful setting, but no friendly smiling faces. Did fill in survey but staff opened it whilst we were waitning to leave so doubt it reached the right person !

Highlight: All of it, and of course Villa Reef at the end

Lowlight: Car journey duration

Mark & family 31 March 2013

Website:

Administration: Really liked the small Selective Asia pouch with the custom itinerary and luggage tags, etc. A nice touch.

Guide: Both were a little difficult to understand with different pronounciations. Both, however, were extremely nice and good to work with.

Richard 30 March 2013

Website: I never liked your policy about remembering to pay the fee months later without any notice of reminder from you. Otherwise it was fine.

Consultant: Our situation in Sabah was difficult for us. I don't know how things could've been handled differently (I've never been in a comparable situation to know how other companies might handle it) but decision making was left purely up to us.

Highlight: The night drive and night walk at the final lodge.

Selective Asia response
Really sorry to read that you didn't agree with our policy of providing the full spectrum of information and giving clients freedom to decide what's best for themselves based on this - most clients have responded very well to this approach. However we take on board that in complicated situations like this (insurgency in Sabah, East Borneo) there is no 'one size fits all' solution and would be keen to understand what approach you feel would have worked better.
Clare and Bryan 29 March 2013

Consultant: Very knowledgeable and helpful.

Guide: All of our guides were excellent particularly An in Hanoi for her thoroughness, Tu in Hue for his enthusiasm and Trung in HCMC/Mekong for his ability to understand when we just need to relax and make amendments to the itinerary. Would recommend all of them. Thankyou

Itinerary: I wished we had extended our holiday a little more and had a bit more R & R in Hoi An.

Exceptional Properties: Thought all the hotels were very good. Church House in Hanoi was very central - we were on the top floor with a lovely view of the city, the room was excellent. The Paradise Junk at Halong was lovely and the food outstanding. Boutique Hoi An was beautiful, the best hotel we stayed in. We would definitely recommend it. Nam Bo in Can Tho had a lovely suite of rooms and exceptional breakfasts/beautiful rooftop views.

Poor Properties: We upgraded to the Grand in HCMC for the last night although it turned out to be 2 nights as the plane was cancelled. To some extent I wished we had gone with Martin's recommendation as we did for the others because whilst this was an imposing hotel it was very impersonal/ staff not overly helpful. Additionally we were put in the ancient wing and despite moving rooms the second night it was very noisy trying to sleep due to the lack of double glazing. Whilst the rooms were beautiful I would have preferred to get some sleep on our last night and stayed in the newer wing.

Val & Andrew 29 March 2013

Consultant: Natasha was very helpful and sorted any problems i had

Administration: loved the information pack and the book and lovely surprise to receive book in Siem Reap

Guide: Both guides were great but would like to mention Vutha in Siem Reap in particular. He was fantastic great personality- lovely guy

Poor Properties: Sokha beach a little disappointing although room was fine the beach had a lot of litter on it> It was a shame as the beach was lovely

Highlight: Angkor Wat was amazing and loved Siem Reap. Killing Fields very sad

Mike and Jan 29 March 2013

Website: Very informative and easy to use

Consultant: Exceptionally helpful in some very difficult circumstances (insurgency in Sabah)

Guide: Each guide was friendly, professional and interested in us and wanted to make our experience exceptional well done to all of them

Exceptional Properties: Borneo Rainforest Lodge - mind blowing Abai Jungle Lodge was exceptional - quite and remote and very friendly. Lankayan was a life changing experience!

Poor Properties: Sepilok Nature Resort was very good but quite basic once compared to the other places and Kinabatangan Lodge had some road noise which was a shock after Abai

Highlight: Orang-outangs in the wild - mother and baby at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge

Sebastian 28 March 2013

Website: The website is very good, but to really sort out the trip we needed to speak with a consultant, as our trip was quite specific

Consultant: Lionel Satur was very good and gave us some extremely insightful and helpful advice, that enabled us to tailor the trip and get the most from it. We had a fantastic time and are very grateful for his help.

Administration: Admin was excellent. Very helpful, clear and lots of useful hints and tips, from restuarants to books etc. One small point is perhaps the fold out maps you provide could be slightly more detailed and bigger?, as they only provide some of the street names. Great idea though.

Guide: Guides have been great (Ratha in Siem Riep and Pheng in Laos). They shared so much with us and gave us a real insight into the countries culture and history. Their english is good/very good but not excellent. Where they did not understand or misunderstood, they were patient and asked for clarity though.

Poor Properties: Boun Thai, but we were warned it was basic, which it was! Basic alone would have been ok but also it was not clean. The home stay was very good, but extremely basic and it would have been helpful to have a list of things to expect/take there before we arrived in Laos. Overnight I had lots (200+) insect/bed bug? bites, fully recovered though after a few days. From talking to different people there is a range of what "basic" can mean when applying to a homestay :-)

Highlight: 2 day of our boat trip down the river Ou.

David and Andrea 28 March 2013