Keely C.
Multiple issues
UPDATE TO RESPONSE: This was our 10-year anniversary and took us all of that time to save for. Their responses are based loosely on conversation within app provided by Espritu for use while in country NOT based on promises made within the Zicasso proposal/conversation which was: “I am back with the updated proposal. I have included everything you have in your original proposal from the other company, downgraded the hotel in Seville and the one in Tenerife... Also, you will see I added the same activities they offer within the trip, so you can now compare the proposals equally”. Imagine signing & paying for a non-refundable trip, only to have so many avoidable or sloppy changes & lack of communication. Regardless of timeframe the agency should not promise & get paid for something they did not do. Multiple issues, almost daily, ALL but one was avoidable; just felt like chaos not rest. 1st reservation was for a pre-fix meal of dishes we won't eat. The menu provided in advance included both regular & pre-fix but we were never told an agent selected pre-fix for us, or we would have requested otherwise. Restaurant staff were upset & we thought we might not be able to eat at all for 20 minutes (after 20hrs travel) while they figured out what to do so this wasn’t something to gloss over. They agreed Torcal omission was their error. The Hamman experience WITH massage was what was offered & accepted. The fact something was offered which was not available & the agent didn’t know the difference is sloppy. The "late" guide stated she had NOT changed the time. Since she was NOT the same person/number provided to us I’m guessing she did NOT have our information either (same for most guides during the trip, so we couldn't contact most directly). Tickets to the cathedral were NOT provided: we checked app, email, Zicasso materials, before we asked the guide who didn't have them either & their agent denied we had requested them. Web had tickets only 2 days in advance so "late booking" & "ticket availability" Espiritu kept blaming US for was not the issue, NOR Camera Obscura which WAS part of the plan prior to booking & it was offensive to direct us to other “tickets to monuments included” AS IF we had paid for them but those were actually free to the public. The guide was offended on our behalf not for herself. I have photos from our visit to the horse show, there are considerably better views & it is obvious more than half were empty. We were sitting near the "wall" of the “U” shape. #9 “wine excursion” & #10 were not 2 separate things. Again, I wonder if we were charged for something we didn’t get OR if response is sloppy. We reached out 3x stating we did not want snorkeling, we wanted kayaking as discussed prior to booking. Remember, "same activities" promised. I expressed specific concerns about ethics & safety of snorkeling activity when it was changed on us & when 3x requests to switch BACK to originally agreed upon activity were ignored, I cancelled. We never got any message about the winery portion being cancelled. #13 & 14 were not separate things; the observatory is at El Roque de Los Muchachos; we only made one trip up there. All activities, guides, etc. were reviewed in other places. This review is only for Espiritu’s “work”. NONE of the guides had heard of Espiritu when THEY asked US who we booked with; I mentioned previously getting direct messages from China regarding our transportation which was SCARY. I looked up all activities on sites like TripAdvisor; together would not have amounted to 10% of what we were charged by Espiritu, EMPHASISING they are paid for the effort & accuracy, not the cost of activities. I could have saved a fortune had I just done it myself & would encourage others to do so, but I was working 2 full-time jobs to afford the trip & have the time off. No updates to the travel “documents” were necessary, they were just descriptions of what SHOULD have occurred & were edited AFTER I contacted them for each mistake editing information to display this version instead of what was booked/paid for (when I realized, I started staying up all night taking screenshots of the daily plans & conversations, STRESS). Espiritu notes they haven’t heard from us, when they shut down the ability to contact them immediately after the trip (before we departed from Spain actually). I have NOT received a refund for snorkeling; I only received the refund for Torcal after posting this review (noted in their comments). I was supposedly refunded for a portion of the Hammam for the massage, but the responder didn’t even get that right. The refunds in total don’t amount to even 3% of the cost of the trip, WHICH reminds me they did NOT mention prior to accepting proposal a 3% transaction fee, which obviously put them at a higher rate than their competitor.
Response from Espíritu TravelMay 26, 2025
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. I read the all messages between you & Marta during planning, & that with our tvl support team while in-country. The trip was booked 19 days before arriving, not more than a month in advance as stated.I will address your comments on a day-by-day basis. 1. Dinner w/ views of Alhambra. After making the bkg, Marta asked you if you had any dietary restrictions, & you wrote “no walnuts/pecans (all other nuts welcome!)¨. The menu was avbl for viewing before your departure. Despite that, the restaurant allowed you to order what you wanted from the menu. 2.Guided visit to the Alhambra. Occurred as described. 3.Transfer to Seville,w/ stop Antequera & Dolmens.The omission of Torcal was our error. 4.Private boat cruise & lunch. The cxl of the boat & lunch was due to weather, we were notified of the cancellation the day before. Hammam experience was offered as an alternative. You wanted the option that included the massage, which was not available. However, both Hamman experiences with & without massage have a similar title, 'Escape', our traveler support team inadvertently put the one with the massage, which was not available instead the one without. 5.Guided visit of Seville. The guide changed the start time for the Saturday tour on Friday evening. The notification was sent after hours when nobody was in the office. Since the guide had your direct phone number, you should have been advised directly. She arrived at the rescheduled time, & you had the tour as described. Entrance tickets to the cathedral were provided so that you were able to visit it at your leisure. 6.Excursion to Doñana Park & El Rocio. Occurred as described. 7. Guided visit to Cádiz. Occurred as described. Camera Obscura was never part of the tour. It was not requested. 8.Day trip to Jerez with a horse show. Occurred as described. Lunch was not included in the description. the tour finishes at 11,30, followed by the horseshow. The guide told me that she was not offended in any way. The venue for the horse show is small, with seven rows of seats arranged U shaped. You were in row 4. Every seat offers an unobstructed view of the performance. 9.Transfers & flight to Tenerife & private winery excursion, occurred as described. 10.Island of Contrasts & Wines excursion. Occurred as described. 11. You canceled the snorkeling excursion. There was never kayaking on this day. There was no request for kayaking. 12.Transfers & flights to La Palma, occurred as described. 13. Excursion to the winery & Roque de Los Muchachos. Event occurred as described, except that the winery cancelled the wine tasting portion of it. 14.Private walk excursion to the Laurisilva forest, Occurred as described.15.Visit to the Observatory. Occurred as described. In your review, you have not mentioned anything regarding the experience of the activities & excursions themselves, nor of the hotels. I can only surmise that they were satisfactory to you. We are committed to ensuring that every trip runs smoothly, allowing travelers to enjoy a fantastic experience. I understand that some aspects did not go as smoothly as they should have, & we sincerely apologize. These oversights were unintentional, & we have reviewed the incidents to identify the causes of the mistakes so that they do not recur in the future. We are proud to maintain a 4.9-star rating, based on 35 reviews on Zicasso and 453 reviews on KimKim (a similar platform to Zicasso), respectively. Regarding the travel documents, we made only the necessary updates. Any errors made, remain visible in your travel documents, & we did not attempt to conceal them. We have not received any emails or messages from you after departing from Spain. The refunds you received were for three specific items: the snorkeling excursion that you canceled, the wine tasting that the provider canceled, & the visit to Tocal (I just processed this today). All other activities, excursions, and transfers were provided.