Falcon Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- ZTA, ASATA, ZNTBS & MARS
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $1,735 to $10,407 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Chaotic
We booked accommodation at the Royal Livingstone Hotel through Falcon Safaris. We received confirmation from them and were asked for payment details. We then booked our flights to Livingstone. We were then told that the Royal Livingstone did not have any rooms available after all but it was too late to change our flights. We landed in Zambia and had to pay $100US for visas even though we were going straight over the border to the Victoria Falls hotel. This would not have been necessary if we knew we would be staying at the Victoria Falls Hotel as we would have flown straight into Zimbabwe. We also needed Yellow Fever injections which cost R575 each because we were going through Zambia. We were not told by the company about this and only found out by accident the day before we were due to leave. Luckily we found someone to do them at 6.30pm the day before our departure or else we would have not been allowed on the plane. When we were dropped at the hotel we were told the company would phone our room or leave a message of the time we were going to be picked up on the day of our departure. This never happened.
Reply from Falcon Safaris
Posted on May 8, 2014Dear Paula,
We extend our sincere apologies for the unhappy experience you had with us. Please note that the issue with room unavailability was a system issue with Royal Livingstone reservation system. They canceled the provisional bookings without any notice. It is their right to do so for any provisional bookings. This could be due to immediate paid bookings that were received or availability updates. I also understand that you paid for Victoria Falls Hotel after you were advised that Royal Livingstone was not available. We are sorry that you were not able to reschedule your flight to Victoria Falls. There was nothing we could do as we are not in control flights.
We understand that re-booking you at Victoria Falls Hotel was a last resort option and had its disadvantages because you had to pay for visa into Zimbabwe as well. Our apologies for the unplanned payments you paid. If we knew that your booking was unsuccessful in time we would have advised you in time as well to give you time to reschedule your flight to Victoria Falls. I also learnt that our consultant, Patrick came to meet you at the border on your transfer to Victoria Falls Hotel to offer apologies for the whole ordeal. Unfortunately he was not able to refund you VISA payments since they are gazetted by the government and are a requirement beyond our control.
Please note that a phone call was made to your hotel room while you were out. The message was left with guest services. The phone call was meant to advise you of any changes in regards to your transfer. Fortunately there were no changes and you were transferred to Kazungula border as scheduled.
We hope other travelers will understand that we were victims of the hotel system, flight schedules and stipulated visa requirements which was beyond our control.
Regards.
Benedict Nyathi
For and on Behalf of Falcon Safaris Team