Reviews
Anna & Soo Hon
"Hi Ramon, our encounter with Unique Traveller, specifically with Ramon was a very pleasant one. We first contacted him through email and his response was always quick and often insightful especially when The entire trip from Madrid to Rioja and then finally Barcelona was tailor-made to what we wanted to do and well-balanced with recommendations from Ramon. He was cautious with our costs and always recommended value for money options when it came to hotels, transportation and tours. In Madrid and Barcelona, everything went smoothly and according to plan. The recommended group tours were very good and hotels were clean and centrally located in a safe area (which was important to us as first time travellers to Spain). The highlight of our trip is without a doubt, the private winery tour in the Rioja region where Ramon was our guide. The hotel, private tapas tour and selection of wineries were fantastic! One of the things we valued most was his local knowledge of the region and because of his relationships with the locals, we felt that we were accorded preferential service at wineries and restaurants. The experience is one that we will remember fondly for a very long time. In fact, we enjoyed ourselves so much that we have been thinking of making another trip to Spain ever since we got home. Thank you Ramon!"
Dave
"Ramon, I want to thank you for the amazing job you did for us, on two separate occasions, in planning trips to Spain. Our first trip was to the Rioja region in Spain for wine tasting. You listened carefully to our desires and preferences, and built an itinerary that was exactly what we had hoped for! The hotel you chose for us in LaGuardia, the restaurants you recommended, and the specific wineries you arranged for us to visit, were the perfect choices and made for a very memorable experience. You were a great host, and looked after every detail as if this trip was for your own family “ and indeed, you made us feel like family. In fact, we all had a drink in your honor, when I recently hosted a "Rioja reunion dinner" at my home in Colorado during which we had a chef prepare some of the same tapas you chose for us, and we drank some of the very same wines we tasted on the tours you had arranged. It was nice to relive the experience! The second trip was for my three children, to opening weekend in Ibiza. The kids consider this the best trip of their lives “ and they have all lived abroad and traveled extensively - so this is a very high accolade. Your recommendations for hotels and clubs (including Pacha, Ushuaia, Space, and DC10) made for exactly the kind of experience they hoped for, and I lived vicariously through them as they sent me photos each day of the arrangements you had made for them. I particularly appreciated the help you provided on the "little things" that made a very big difference to their enjoyment of the trip - such as ensuring that they had local transportation to get around Ibiza that was timely and cost “effective, in arranging for them to get early check-in upon arrival and to extend their stay at the penthouse suite at Pacha at the cost of a regular room, and in assisting my daughter when she lost her passport. I can honestly say that I felt much more comfortable as their Dad being 5,000 miles away, because I knew that you were looking after them and would be able to assist them if the need arose “ and it did! Ramon, we appreciated your high level of professionalism, the careful attention you paid to all of the details of our trips, and your ongoing efforts to ensure that our experience was exactly what we had hoped for. We look forward to working with you again."
Margaret and Mike McCarthy
"Hi Ramon, I wanted to tell you how much we all enjoyed our Gourmet Rioja trip. It truly was excellent. Your suggestion to visit the Asturias region gave us the opportunity to see another part of Spain which we would never have thought about. In particular the wonderful restaurant in Cudillero were we had the best fish we have ever tasted. Reluctantly, after such amazing accommodation in Oviedo, we travelled to San Sebastian for 2 days, which was quite remarkable and more fantastic fish and tapas. The highlight of course was Rioja, where you personally looked after us so well by introducing us to all those wonderful vineyards and making sure we experienced the gastronomic delights in the best of places. For instance, the Tapas trail in Logrono, where you took the time to make sure we experienced the very best. The Los Parajes restaurant in Laguardia, were we celebrated our wedding anniversary with a gastronomic experience in a private room with no expense spared was wonderful. We all enjoyed your company during this festival time and would like to thank you for making our holiday memorable. I would certainly recommend The Unique Traveller, in fact if you could put together a 7 night plan for the Santiago De Compostela/ Vigo area that would be wonderful. We shall look forward to hearing from you. With very best wishes."
Mark Comer
"Hi Ramon, the trip was most enjoyable thanks, the quality of the tours were excellent and they all felt very personal to our tour, meeting the owners who themselves were lovely people was also a great touch and my knowledge of Rioja wine and the region has improved no end. All the meals we had were very good. You done a great job of keeping us entertained from the start of the day through to the early hours. I am up for a night out in London, just need to organise some dates and I will let you know. Kind Regards."
Dr. Bernard Dias
"Dear Ramon, thank you very much for a great Madrid/Ribera tour. It was good to meet you and get to know you. Marisol and Luis in Madrid did a great job guiding and driving. Luis made the trip to the Prado very special. We liked Lavida and the selection of wineries in Ribera. Back home, I have regular wine events until we go to Turkey in the autumn. A summer trip to Galicia, Toro and Bierzo would be of interest."
Dave
"Ramon, thanks for checking back with me, and thanks again for looking after the kids. They had an absolutely incredible time in Ibiza. Colin summed up the craziness in this way: "Within 2 days of arriving, we lost one passport, two cellphones, and two voices!". Apparently, both Claire and Caroline lost their voices from too much partying or trying to talk over the music! because Kim and I leave for Greece late this afternoon, and the kids will be flying to meet us in the Athens airport tomorrow afternoon. Caroline was able to fly from Ibiza to Barcelona, and she obtain a replacement passport at the US Consulate in Barcelona. Once again, great job Ramon. I have on my list of things to do, to write you a very positive testimonial. We will see you again, and of course we will highly recommend you to any of our friends who travel to Spain."
Karla
"Dear Ramon, we can't thank you enough for such an incredible experience. Our 3-day private tour experience with you as our guide through Rioja was a vacation to remember! It was such a pleasure to see your smiling face when we arrived at the train station in Logrono, have our luggage loaded into the car and immediately head for the wineries. All the winery tastings & tours you arranged for us were perfect, all very high end just as we wanted, with wines and experiences that exceeded our expectations. The visit to Contino was amazing, we will forever remember the special bottle of wine (I still can't believe you arranged to present my sister with a 50-year old bottle of wine- amazing!), our charming host and delicious meal “ the lamb grilled over the grape vines was incredible. Our visit to Remelluri was equally as special “ the tour of the grounds, family house and having our tasting and meal at the kitchen table with the crackling fireplace and incredible view of the vineyards was simply perfect, that place was so charming as was our host. We also loved, loved, loved staying at the Marquis de Riscal hotel. What a memorable place and quickly jumped to one of my all-time favorite hotels. The architecture of that hotel was breathtaking! I really could go on and on about how fantastic all your recommendations were and how special we felt everywhere we went, but this would become a very long thank you. As we say in the US, you really hit a home-run with the based loaded! Thank you again for your efforts on making this such a wonderful trip for all of us, especially for my sister for whom we were celebrating a special birthday. When we said good-bye to you for our flight home, it felt like we were saying goodbye to a dear friend. Let me also add that we equally enjoyed the 2 one-day private tours you arranged for us while we spent time in Barcelona, Girona, Montserrat, Sitges, etc. Gloria was such a delight, so personable and knowledgeable on the areas we visited. We really enjoyed her restaurant suggestions and loved having her join us for lunch, it really was a special treat. It goes without saying, we highly recommend The Unique Traveler to anyone that wants a special, amazing, unique and memorable experience."
Roella Louie
"I wouldn't dream of visiting a place without the benefit of a GUIDE! WE LOVED SPAIN...you packaged our trip, the trains, the transfers, the getting to and from so that we were not frazzled or confused. We love Spain...truly...no doubt because you put together such a wonderful "Grand Tour". I still want to visit the Basque area and eat my way through that part of Spain. Until we meet again, muchisimos gracias!!!!"
Annie
"Hi Ramon! I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you. Things were a bit crazy trying to get caught up last week with work and home life. Alberto was so wonderful. We loved him and he was an excellent guide. There is nothing we would criticize - we had a wonderful time and the itinerary was very full and we felt like we saw so much!! We loved La Rioja and all the wine tours, the food and everything and would recommend your services to anyone who we know travelling to Spain. Thank you so much for putting everything together for us. We thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to come back again!! Take care and again, many thanks. If you speak to Alberto, please give him our best!!"
Anita
"Hola Ramon, once again you showed why you are the best! After talking about the wonderful time we had with you 16 months ago our friends were expecting a memorable day and you didn't disappoint them. We have some major decisions to make about our retirement schedule and exactly where in Espana we want to buy but after today's experience in Pamplona I can assure you that you will be part of our plans. The el encierro was something I can now check off of my bucket list."