2015-05-19 Chuck and Diane from USA

Tourist nationality: USA

Tour itinerary: Beijing, Dunhuang, Xian, Guilin, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou

Tour Reviews:

From the moment you responded to my inquiry to the moment that Shanghai Guide Stanley walked us to the security line, China Connections was responsive, creative, flexible and efficient. The. 21 day tour was definitely a value, as I have compared it to many others that friends have taken. 

We had requested 5 star hotels with pools in the city center and you did a perfect job with that. Some hotels were certainly better than others. Our feeling was that the Beijing Royal Crowne was a bit old with tired furnishings, but it was perfectly located for us. The Dunhuang hotel was, again, centrally located, but it was sub par; no one spoke English, the food was not very good,and the pool was closed, apparently for the season. In Dunhuang, in retrospect, we would have enjoyed the Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel, where we had dinner. The Westin in Xian may have been our favorite. The Fairmont was perfectly located and a luxury hotel (which I chose), but we might have preferred a more contemporary hotel.

We were glad to have visited all the cities we did with the possible exception of Suzhou and Hangzhou. Both involved long drives and ended up in big cities with the goal of visiting water, parks and temples; they were a bit anti-climactic. but they were late in the trip when we had absorbed a great deal altogether.We were glad to have visited Yangshuo and taken the Li River cruise, but could well have returned to Guilin that night; the thought that we had scheduled a full day among those incredible crowds (but canceled it) is frightening; A leisure day might have been enjoyed walking through parts of the Dragon Tooth Mountains.

Our guides were generally outstanding. Their English was good. They were concerned about us. They gave us context and significant information. they were flexible. Although his pronunciation was not as good as Angela, for instance, Stanley in Shanghai was the all-round best. He firmly believed that the customer was always right and went out of his way to do what we wanted. He provided colorful information about the sights, cities and about China and his family. He changed the itinerary several times - at our request - and did much on line research to meet or needs. Candy in Beijing was also outstanding, as we asked her to go to many places with which she was unfamiliar - and did research over night to meet our needs.

So, all in all, we had a wonderful time. You have been the best. You have designed the trip. You have made several changes along the way, as we traveled, without a complaint, and have done so very efficiently.

Thanks so much.

Chuck and Diane