My relatives were visiting over the weekend from India and wanted to see Denver and the Rocky Mountains. In the past I had used Gray Line tours in Denver and we weren't very happy with the experience, so we decided to give Colorado Sightseer a try this time.
The customer service was excellent. Jessica and her husband, Rick, were extremely friendly on the phone and got us quickly booked on the Summer Mountain summit tour despite the busy weekend.
On the day of the tour, we left early and met our tour guide, Curt, promptly at 7:55 am at the big blue bear near the Colorado Convention Center. The van was pretty comfortable overall, although legroom was a little tight. I liked how Curt was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the city and the mountains. While heading out, he pointed out interesting buildings and facts about Downtown Denver and explained our route to the mountains. Unlike many tour guides, Curt was knowledgeable and conversational. It was obvious that he liked Denver and the Rocky Mountains and he was eager to share his passion for the state with his "guests." We made several stops, including Echo lake, the town of Idaho springs, and all the way to the summit of Mount Evans. I liked that we made frequent stops for photos and to use the restroom. In addition, it was nice that the tour bus was well-stocked with a variety of snacks and Curt insisted on keeping everyone well hydrated with water bottles in order to avoid altitude sickness. In addition, it was nice that Curt took us through the unique Santa Fe St. art district before entering downtown.
The only things I didn't like about the tour were that the bus lacked legroom and my knees were pressed against the seat in front of me throughout the entire journey, even though I am only 5"7" and that we seemed to be stopping at every single gift shop possible on the way.
The good:
-Nice friendly guide, who was obviously passionate about Denver and the Rocky Mountains. Curt was always very friendly and readily answered people's questions and was keen to engage with tourists and local residents alike.
-Van's temperature was maintained well, even though temps varied from 80 degrees F in Denver down to 40 degrees F at the top of Mount evans.
-Plenty of snacks including Cheez-it crackers, quaker granola bars, chips, etc. provided and water bottles readily handed out.
-Lots of good photographic opportunities on the way. Colorado's mountains are extremely beautiful
-Excellent phone service, Jessica and Rick were extremely friendly and polite and willingly answered all of my questions without hesitation.
The bad:
-The van had no legroom, it was as tight as a plane in economy class. Need more legroom, the last thing people want when visiting a place is to be reminded of the plane.
-Why did we spend so long at every single gift shop possible along the route? We could have made frequent rest stops without spending 30 min at gift shops, just so the tour company could get a cut of sales.
Ответ от хоста
Aug 2018
Thank you so much for the detailed review Rohan! We are so happy you chose to tour with us this time and had such a wonderful time with great things to say about our guide Curt and the tour. We love it when locals take our tours as well with their guests.
I am sorry you felt cramped in the van, we do make many stops and have many walks on the tour route to try and avoid anyone feeling this way. We also keep 2 empty seats on every tour so our guests have room but we did oversell it by one for you when you decided to join your relatives on the tour;) I'm afraid there is a misunderstanding, we never get a cut of sales from any gift shops or restaurants or businesses on any of our tours. The reason we stop at the historic Echo Lake Lodge is because of the history, in the Denver Mountain Park System and for the use of restrooms with running water and flushing toilets, and of course many guests do want a souvenir of summiting a Colorado 14,000 foot mountain. We also stop at the Visitor Center in Idaho Springs because of the Water Bottle refill station and again clean restrooms but mainly because it is attached to a museum that is full of interesting Colorado History relative to the area and the tour and our guests are welcome to tour it for free. If you do choose to purchase anything all the proceeds from the gift shop go to the historical society of Idaho Springs. I am sorry you were left with a different impression. Again we are thrilled you toured with us and we would love to take you and your wonderful family out for another adventure in the mountains again.
All the best to you and thank you again for the wonderful review.