I was part of a group of over 20 guests who originally booked a 49-passenger bus, paying extra for…read morethe luxury, safety, and convenience that your company promised. Unfortunately, our experience, especially on the return trip, was far from what we expected.
Our trip started with a pickup at one of San Diego's airport parking lots, accommodating 26 guests. The driver communicated clearly about everything we needed to know when crossing from San Diego into Mexico. He was excellent--unfortunately, I didn't catch his name.
However, the return journey from Mexico was a completely different story. We were dropped off a full city block away from the border, and the driver informed us that we had to take all our belongings with us. Keep in mind, this included 10-15 adults, 10 children, car seats, bundles of water, snacks, luggage, and everything else needed for an entire family vacation. We paid for safety and convenience, but that was not what we received.
The driver's shift had ended, so he dropped us off and left. If the company knew this in advance, you should have had a backup bus ready at the drop-off point, arranged for a driver switch, or provided a driver with a full shift to complete the job. We had to abandon our paid-for water and somehow managed to haul the kids and luggage to the border, where we waited 3.5 hours in line to get through customs. On the bus, we had access to snacks and a restroom, but waiting in line with little to no food, hungry and tired children, and the need to pay for restrooms was an unacceptable situation, especially given the premium we paid for your service.
After finally getting through customs, we had to walk another 2.5 city blocks to reach the waiting bus. Our final stop was only 20-30 minutes away, but the inconvenience and lack of communication from Five Star Tours made the entire experience incredibly frustrating.
I cannot recommend your company for any tours or travel, and based on what I've seen on Google reviews, many other customers feel the same way.
To Five Star Tours: You need to do better. Instead of ignoring customer feedback, start reading, listening, and learning from these mistakes. Show future customers that you've improved and are committed to delivering the service you promise.
