Some issues that detracted from our Valley of Flowers trip
We decided to go with an expensive package offered by a tour operator called Blue Poppies so that we could be more comfortable, but unfortunately found that the tour operator was merely a booking agent, and we were extremely unsatisfied with our experience with them. I do not recommend this company to anyone. The rest of this page is about those issues.
They booked us a good taxi, and decent hotel stay at Kirtinagar, Auli and Joshimath, but all this was something we could have done ourselves without paying them a premium. We were not at all happy with the services rendered.
They booked us a good taxi, and decent hotel stay at Kirtinagar, Auli and Joshimath, but all this was something we could have done ourselves without paying them a premium. We were not at all happy with the services rendered.
- The meal provision in their schedule was tucked away in terms and conditions so we never realized that they were not providing us meals for 5 out of 9 days until we went and read the fine print!
- They rescheduled our program to suit their convenience, instead of doing Auli first, which would have given us a little trekking start, we were rescheduled to travel to Ghangaria instead. No explanation or apology. We could not protest because the terms and conditions said that they could do this. We had thought the clause was there to cover incidents of bad weather and other problems which would necessitate cancellation or change in activities.
- After changing the schedule over the phone they promised us “lovely warm breakfast with fresh vegetables” (honestly who talks like that over the phone?) and took us to a homestay at Govindghat where we were served puri and paratha with a watery curry with tiny slivers of potato at the unreasonable cost of Rs.120/- per person, and no choice to eat elsewhere. If we need to pay for our food we should at least have the option to decide where we should eat.
- We did not see any member of the operator’s company till we left for Govindghat, -on the third day.
- At Govindghat the guide dissuaded us from booking mules at Rs. 650/- at the entry and we had to book them at Rs. 750/- once inside. We do wonder if he made a little money off the transaction.
- We reached Ghangaria and were at the hotel Priya at around 2:00 pm, the guide came around in the evening distributed food coupons and hot water coupons (!) and promised a briefing at 7:30 pm and at 8:30 he finally showed up. He wanted us to start our trek at 9:30 am next day and said we would be back for lunch. We were shocked! Our schedule promised 6-8 hours of the valley on the first day and “deeper parts” on the second. We had prebooked a doli for me in the evening, as there are limited dolis in tiny Ghangaria. He was belligerent and questioned us ‘why we had booked a doli’. Fortunately for us we decided to ignore him and left in the early morning. It started raining by noon and those who left at 9:30 could not really enjoy the valley. We met them on our way down!
- At Ghangaria our “super deluxe package” landed us in an unsatisfactory hotel for four nights, there were no fresh towels available, and the room at Priya was draughty and cold with many badly fitted windows. Requests for cleaning the room resulted in an inch of water left in the bathroom, and a cursory mopping of the center of the room the first time, and the second request led to a drier but not cleaner room. Since payments are made upfront you then do not have the option of changing your accomodation etc. in such cases.
- After two days of eating at Priya, with a limited menu, smelling of kerosene, in the less than clean eating area we decided to visit another restaurant, and we saw that the guide was eating there. On questioning him we learnt that the food coupons were valid in various restaurants over Ghangaria. We found that many of them were cleaner and serving much better food, even including a small dessert and papad etc. Somehow the tour operator neglected to inform us of this option when handing them out?
- We had no support from the guides, or the tour operator. Waiting for the helicopter to leave Ghangaria we found that it was actually possible to put your name down in the waiting list for the ride on the previous day. This should have been done for us, as we had informed the owner Devkant Sangwan that we wanted to use the helicopter if available, at the time of booking the trip. The guide Sanjay on the previous day actually told us there was no advance listing, though another guide for Blue Poppies had actually listed some travelers.
- They have done a big branding effort, online and elsewhere, but everyone who we traveled with had a problem to report.
Other shortcomings
The tour operator never even once got the travelers together for an evening or arranged an activity, though there were some put up in the same hotel, it was left to us to find out who was traveling with the operator. They others too had many complaints, ranging from the changing of schedules, torn bedding in the rooms, unsatisfactory room sharing arrangements. The general consensus was that the Valley of Flowers trip was being mis-sold as an easy holiday trek and also that once the operator got the full amount in advance all the sweet talking on the phone was ended.
Mails from the past!
I got the first hint of mismanagement with the mail received after my final payment to them, which had the surprising subject line: "Your hotel booking at Haridwar for valley of flowers trek 2015." We did not have a hotel booking with them for Haridwar, we were staying at Kirtinagar, and we were certainly not traveling a year in the past. Probably the owners stopped taking real interest in their clients in 2015! The mail was supposed to contain a hotel voucher but had no such information. Our phone calls to confirm the availability of the taxi picking us up at the airport took more than two days to be returned. Neither we nor our taxi driver was informed about the hotel we were to be put up in at Kirtinagar! He actually stopped the car at Kirtinagar and made a few calls to find out where we were to stay.
I myself should have read their mails with more care, which I did after we returned. After nearly 2000 words of description which including information of where breakfast stops are to be made, I found tucked away in in "Terms and conditions", the line, "We will provide you meals only at Ghangaria." It should be in the day to day activity plans upfront!
I myself should have read their mails with more care, which I did after we returned. After nearly 2000 words of description which including information of where breakfast stops are to be made, I found tucked away in in "Terms and conditions", the line, "We will provide you meals only at Ghangaria." It should be in the day to day activity plans upfront!
Misinformation online?
I wondered how we got into this mistake, and after returning I looked closely at the reviews on TripAdvisor and elsewhere. I then found that some of the reviews seemed planted, For example a person writing only one review on TripAdvisor, the review is ostensibly for the Park but mainly praises the tour operator. I was also shocked to find that the tour operator has posed as "Owner" "Manager" and "Attraction Representative" for the Valley of Flowers National Park!!! Wonder what logic Trip Advisor uses that allows this.
The removal of my review, the absence of action from TripAdvisor after I reported to them that the National Park could not be owned by this person, and the realization of this online falsehood spurred me to add this page to this website. |
Branding and delivery ~ the gap
When there is less likelihood of a product or a service being reused by the consumer there is a greater scope for misinformation and hard selling to come into play, which I see in this case. Maybe there have been satisfied customers for this service, but I have still to meet one.This was not just a spoiler for our visit to the Valley, but the removal of my honest review and the fact that TripAdvisor continues to allow then to pose as owner of the National Park also soured my feelings about TripAdvisor. Coming back and learning that they are posing as OWNERS of the National Park was the last straw!!!
I did not want to discuss these issues, on the same page with the description of the wonderful Valley and its beautiful flowers, but the truth should be known! I would also like TripAdvisor to look at this issue closely if they really have zero tolerance for fraud and falsehoods.