Central_NewJ_Steve
Jun 2024
We had John and Don as our guides. They are smart, attentive, wonderful men who we'd like to go to dinner with. Nothing but great things to say about both of them.
The bikes worked great. They were comfortable and easy to ride.
Two issues:
1. Road biking. We knew there would be some time on the road, but I guess we didn't think about what that might mean. We spent a mile or so on a road with no bike path. Cars passing us had to move all the way into the other lane to avoid us. It's California, so the drivers were very respectful. We didn't come close to a scary situation; nonetheless, it was unsettling.
2. Wine tasting. They took us to Bread and Butter. The wines were great; we bought 6 bottles (weirdly, they can't ship to NJ). But our wine educator was too busy, so the tasting took twice as long as any of the other 6 wineries we visited during the week (i.e tastings on other days). Also, our two guides had no where to sit by themselves, so they sat with us and watched us taste wine. They didn't participate. We loved the guides, but we didn't necessarily want to share this part of the experience with them (if that makes sense).
Overall, I hate to say anything negative because we really liked John and Don. But we feel like the experience can be improved.
Ответ от хоста
Jun 2024
Thank you for taking the time post a review. We love to hear that you had a great experience with Tour Guide John and Don, who was shadowing as a new guide hire. We are really fortunate to have cultivated a great team of tour guides.
We strive to be very transparent in setting expectations regarding the variety of roads and bicycling infrastructure included on our guided tour routes. Our routes include a combination of car-free bike paths (i.e. the Vine Trail), quieter country roads and some higher traffic roads where a Class II Bike Lane is present. We present this upfront on our website and it's detailed in our email confirmations along with an invitation to call us if anyone in your party has a concern or wants to the discuss the route in detail. We are so sorry that this messaging somehow failed to reach you.
The winery you mentioned is a newer property we just started visiting on tour. Our site visit and first few tours went great, but your Tour Guide did share the feedback that the service was very slow on the day of your visit. We have followed up with the winery and recent experiences have been improved. Unfortunately, it feels like it was an off-day at that winery.
Many wineries have policies where tour guides or drivers are prohibited from sitting with their guests during their tasting. There are valid reasons behind these policies; but ultimately, it's not a variable we have any control over.
Thank you for riding with us! We will be sure to share your appreciation with John and Don, who's already getting shout-outs before officially coming online as a Tour Guide!
Kellie M.