Client Review on Travel Atelier by Propertravel

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Terrific Turkey Trip!Having just returned from a 10 day private family trip organized by Travel Atelier we wanted to express our delight with our experience visiting this diverse country! We chose Travel Atelier as they are a local company based in Cappadocia and the itinerary suggested captured our interest as it allowed us to visit a great mix of locations to give us an appreciation of modern and historical Turkey. We started out in Istanbul experiencing this fascinating city straddling the continents of Europe and Asia followed by time in the geological wonderland that is Cappadocia and finishing in the Izmir regions where we visited historical sites such as Ephesus and Pergamon and Didyma. Throughout the planning process, Orsan, from Travel Atelier was helpful and accommodating seeking to understand our goals and requirements (such as dietary restrictions for one of our family members) for the trip and modifying the itinerary accordingly. Information was communicated thoroughly and promptly. On arrival in Turkey, the trip unfolded seamlessly with all the guides, drivers and the central office working as a team to provide the highest quality experience possible. Day 1 on arrival included a trip to a Hamman after a quick check in at the hotel. We can't think of a better way to have started our trip after a long flight than the luxurious soaking, scrubbing and massaging that was all part of the Hamman experience! The next day we met our guide who took us on a walking tour of Istanbul and spent the next 3 days with us in the city. Additional local guides in the Cappadocia and Izmir region met up with us at each of the stages of our trip. We can't say enough about our local guides who were all highly knowledgeable as well as personable and friendly. They all had a "can do" attitude and where completely open and helpful to adapting the itinerary "on the fly" to meet our needs. For example, a day trip to Troy was substituted for more time in Istanbul to allow us to experience more of the city and also seek out some emergency camera repairs for one of our group. The timing and sequencing of our excursions was adapted to address our interest in photography and take advantage of the best photographic conditions when they occurred. As far as meals and accommodations went we were delighted with the offerings arranged by Travel Atelier. We enjoyed eating in smaller, local restaurants to experience the unique cuisine of the country along with the local people in the regions we were visiting. For meals on our own, our guides had helpful suggestions for excellent restaurants. A cooking class in the home of a Turkish family was a unique experience to both experience the hospitality and warmth of the wonderful family hosting us as well as learn first hand about making typical Turkish dishes. In setting up the trip, we specified 4 star accomodations (vs. 5 star) and honestly, we felt so pampered we can't imagine what the 5 star option would be like! Especially fantastic were the accomodations in Istanbul (Ciragan Kempinsky Palace right on the Bosphorus) and the Argos in Cappadocia.During our trip, our guides and Orsan were readily available to clarify questions and provide up to date information about our itinerary and facilitate details like check-in for our internal flights. Even after our trip, Travel Atelier was very accommodating and allowed us to delay our airport transfer to a few days as we planned an additional four days on our own after we returned to Istanbul at the end of the organized trip.Overall, Turkey as a destination and Travel Atelier as a tour company exceeded our expectations. We absolutely felt we received terrific value for this tour and we had the opportunity to see an experience Turkey in a rich, interactive and personally rewarding fashion!