Your consultant Ute, y'r eyes & ears on the ground
Roho Ya Chui
- Offices In:
-
Netherlands
Germany
Austria
United States
Australia - Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2007)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, APTA & SATSA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $500 to $900 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
US
Email Christopher S. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari was good; Roho Ya Chui was Disappointing
This was my second safari trip and third tour in Sub-Saharan Africa and my first journey with Roho Ya Chui. We traveled to Tanzania (Ruaha, Selous and Zanzibar)
The good: Ute was very responsive throughout the booking process. I selected the parks we visited and Ute recommended the lodges. The Zanzibar hotel she selected for us at the end of the trip was a particularly good choice.
The bad: I asked for a modification of the itinerary 10 days after booking and deposits because I had done some further reading and had gotten some negative signals about one the lodges she booked us in. Her response was an immediate no as it turns out she had bought an end to end package from a local operator in Tanzania who owned both the lodges and the air carrier responsible for our transfers. She was dismissive of my concerns about the lodge, but I asked if she could humor me and at least inquire about a modification before giving me an automatic no so I could make my own decision. She investigated and informed me the change would have meant the forfiture of my deposits so I stuck with her plan.
The really bad: Before our journey I reconfirmed our arrival information and asked specifically who would be meeting us, how they would be identified and with whom would they be affiliated as I hadn't been provided that information. She furnished me with the number of the local duty manager and received no additional details other than that they would have a sign with my name. She also said I could also contact her with any issues if they arose. We arrived as scheduled at 4 am to Dar Es Salaam and no one was there to meet us. I called the local duty manager - no answer. I called, texted and emailed Ute - no response. It was left to me how to figure out ground transportation in an unfamiliar African city. I managed, but it was not the best experience after 30 hours of travel. A couple hours later Ute responded and asked me why I hadn't called her. I said I had and she said she insisted she didn't get a call from me. I sent her a screen cap of my call - and she then admitted she had missed the call. I found it a bit strange that she would intimate that I had somehow mishandled the situation considering I was the client who was needing assistance - but as I said to her - I took care of it and no harm done. The local operator did refund me the money I paid to get to our hotel.
Our first camp/lodge was great. Our third and final stop was great. Our second (the one I had been concerned about) was less so. The property was under renovation and some services that were advertised were not available (pool out of commission; bar/main lodge being re-roofed, no hot water, and no view from our accommodation). These were minor issues as for me it is really all about the animals. More concerning was that the promised animal drives (the whole point of the exercise) were not available to us on two (out of four) occasions. When this happened the second time - I had to put my foot down. The manager admitted (what I already knew from observation) that they were fully booked and didn't have enough capacity to accommodate the drives for all guests. I found this very disappointing - doubly so as this was at the location I had told Ute I was concerned about. Ute was informed but, once again, it was up to me to get the issue resolved in real time. She said she was contacting the camp manager, but I never did hear from Ute if she spoke with the manager, what the excuse was or any particular apology. Ute did offer that no one had ever complained about that particular lodge in the past which was sort of besides the point. I don't know if she was suggesting that I am particularly difficult or if other people's good experiences were supposed to make up for my bad experience. In the end, a simple apology would have sufficed.
In sum, the booking process through payment was very smooth, but I cannot say she was helpful when problems arose and rather than being helpful or at least soothing when things went wrong was strangely defensive. Based on my experience, she gets the basic job done but if you run into any problems, you are on your own.
Reply from Roho Ya Chui
Posted on Jul 16, 2018It is not correct that the client selected the parks and we recommended the lodges. The client selected a packaged tour including a negotiated budget deal for a combination of Ruaha and Selous lodges/camps and a Zanzibar resort. It was not a tailored tour. After the booking was confirmed and the deposit paid to the lodge outfitter, the client wanted to change one of the lodges to a lodge from a different outfitter. It was explained to the client , that it is possible to make changes, but it would result in additional costs, as the other lodge was from a different lodge outfitter. He decided not to make changes.
It is correct that there was no driver waiting at the airport when the client arrived. We had verified several times with the ground handler that the driver would be at the airport, to make sure they do not get confused, because the client had decided to book the hotel in Dar himself online, but not to use the hotel transfers. Unfortunately it went wrong after all. It is also correct that I did not hear the phone call. It is not correct that I tried to lie or blame the client. I immediately contacted the ground handler and tried to find out what happened. By rushing to do that, I did not see that there was a missed call in the WhatsApp app. I apologised to the client and arranged a refund for the transfer the same day.
With regards to the game drives at the second lodge (the one the client wanted to change), the safari activities in Selous include game drives, boat excursions and bush walks. This had been specified in the inclusions on the booking confirmation and voucher. In Selous the camps are especially located along the river to allow a diverse activity program. All activities are standard shared activities with other guests, unless private activities at an extra cost are booked. The client had not booked private activities and was scheduled on shared game drives and boat excursions, as the other guests. They decided to do a bush walk on their last morning at the lodge, which counts as a safari activity. On the evening before departure the client requested to have also another game drive on the morning of departure after the bush walk. We were not informed at the time the request was made. Only later in the evening at 21:32 the client sent a WhatsApp message that he had to put up a fight with the manager to get his game drive the next morning, giving the impression that they would have had otherwise no activity that morning. It was instantly replied to his message and we also inquired with the lodge owner about the incident. The next morning, the departure morning, with another WhatsApp message at 08:08 the client informed about the "construction work and vegetation in front of the room". Also to this message was instantly replied and it was investigated with the lodge owner about the complaints. As we were only informed late at night before departure from the lodge and in the morning of departure from the lodge, the information from the lodge owner about the events from the evening before arrived when the client was out and on his way to Zanzibar. We decided not to bother the client during the beach stay on Zanzibar, but to contact him when he was back home. The client did not reply.
Based on the feedback from the lodge owner, it turned out that parts of the lodge were re-thatched, which causes no noise, is a cyclical process and is mainly done while guests are on safari activities and not in the camp. The vegetation cannot be cut down for better views, as park regulations prohibit that and a park ranger is staying on the property to make sure park rules are followed. There was hot water, it only takes some time to run through to the further away cottages. The pool had sprung a leak, which could not be mended, but had to be re-fibre glassed, which took a while to dry. On the evening before departure the client requested an additional game drive to the already arranged bush walk. According to the lodge manager the client used abusive language and threatened with trip advisor posting to get the extra game drive on the departure morning. The lodge decided to give the client the game drive at no extra charge.
We were only informed about the events afterwards and were not given the opportunity to assist at the time they occurred.