Reviews

Alexia was very helpful and knowledgeable. I liked the fact I was informed every step of my booking to the last minute when my ticket and itinerary arrived. Everything about this holiday was great, The scenery was breathtaking. The food was excellent. There was something different to visit and marvel. The Tour Guide was friendly and easy to get on with. I will definitely book with Wendy Tours again. I fell in love with South Korea and I can’t wait to return.

An awful lot of travelling but, sad to say, South Korea just doesn’t have enough to make it worthwhile. Vietnam, Cambodia and India offer so much more to the traveller. However, fair play to Wendy Wu for offering this holiday. Not many companies do.
Unimpressed with the administration. Had to chase for final documents 10 days before departure and was told it would be emailed that day with hard copy to follow. Email duly arrived but hard copy sent to the address of my next of kin. No one waiting for me on arrival in Seoul and had to wait twenty minutes for the driver to show up.
I followed a competitor’s tour which I had considered but chose Wendy Wu because of the inclusion of DMZ visit. Competitor routed passengers London to Frankfurt and then 12..5 hours to Seoul. Much better for sleeping than 8 hours to Dubai and then another 8 hours after stopover.
Local guide gave long winded information and was difficult to understand so I tended to lose the thread.
Food generally edible but unexciting. Best meals were in Chinese and Japanese restaurants. Local restaurants generally unprepossessing.

Really helpful - she was able to add on the extra day that I wanted at the start of the trip very easily, thank you.

Julia could not have been more patient or helpful. She listened carefully to all my queries and I never felt hurried or pushed into making a decision I had not had time to consider carefully. It was a real pleasure to be able to discuss our potential trip with her and not surprisingly next morning I clinched the booking.
The overall cost , including some extras was within budget.
Now I can’t wait to go!!

A couple of the hotels were a little disappointing, the Ecograd was dirty , poor beds and we were given room slippers that had been used before, the Kensington Stars was not a 5 star as it was a little tired, other than that I notified Wendy Wu about having an allergy to Chilli and also the tour guide when we arrived, but ended up hardly eating anything as she did'nt seem to be able to grasp my meaning , even though she found separate restaurants for someone who was vegetarian, good thing came of it though, I did'nt put any weight on! Other than that no complaints.
Lovely country, clean ,nice scenery and lovely people.

Interesting full on tour ofSouth Korea and Japan. Well organised with lots to see but some of the experiences were not so great.

I found the customer very helpful and supportive. What I really liked was how quickly the booking came through via email and that I was able to go straight into the customer portal to check everything and what my outstanding balance is. It appears that I can book my flight separtely with them once I know my personnal intinery

Our tour guide, Sky Kim, was very unprofessional, not very knowledgeable, had very poor time management and could not effectively manage a large group. As a result we learnt very little about South Korea.
- she was often the last to arrive in the morning.
- she told stories about her love life that were irrelevant and inappropriate e.g. wanting an ex boyfriend to donate his sperm to her.
- she used the 'f-word' a lot.
- she told a story about her period and a sanitary pad.

She couldn't manage a large group.
- she lost two people on day 1 so wasted a lot of time looking for them which meant we missed our dinner reservation and had to go somewhere else.
- she couldn't count correctly. She told the coach driver to leave when one person was missing. Another member of the group had to tell her three times to stop and that we were missing a person.
We were late for the changing of the guard in Seoul. At 9.55am we told Sky we needed to get there but she wanted to take a group photo. She said we wouldn't see anything anyway. We had to run to get there and missed the beginning.
Her communication skills were very poor. She constantly changed timings and did not tell the whole group.
She would start talking before everyone was off the coach so we often did not know what was happening.
She was not clear about meeting times and meeting places.
She did not give us time to look around after she finished talking so we could only listen or look - not both.
She rushed around interesting temples and museums and then gave us free time where there was not much to do.
Also, some of the meals were very poor quality e.g. The Welcome Dinner was just a bowl of dumpling soup.
One evening we didn't get dinner as she said she had spent the budget on another meal.

The tour was definitely not the standard we would expect based on our previous trips with Wendy Wu. It was not good value for money and the very poor service from the guide meant at times it was not enjoyable.
Many people in the group were struggling as it was so disorganised which in turn caused friction.
Based on this holiday, we will not be booking another holiday with Wendy Wu and many people on the tour made the same comment.

The tour itself was excellent but the hotels and the majority of the food was of the fast take away variety. For the price ,especially as food in S Korea is quite cheap, I expected , better quality meals.
I have recently returned from a Scenic New Zealand trip where both the food and accommodation was of a much higher standard
The Taiwan extension was good with an excellent hotel in SunMoon Lake
We used Wendy Wu for this holiday as there are few U.K. holiday companies who arrange tours to Korea/Taiwan . . Not sure if I'd travel with Wendy Wu if other tour operators such as Scenic covered the area
The guides in both Korea & Taiwan were excellent and relevant information and new when to keep quiet

I was dealt with by Beau who was very friendly and comforting to this first time solo traveller. She gave me the courage to go ahead and book. Thanks Beau

Great customer service from the start. Beau has been very helpful and clear with all our communication. Their website is also very easy to navigate.

We have travelled with Wendy Wu previously and from start to finish evryrthing was done very professionally., from start to finish.

It was not a holiday but a nightmare. The airport staff, airline, local guides no one was informed re my disability, dietary restrictions and I had so much difficulties. It was extremely disappointing. This is very unusual & unfortunate. I hope this honest feedback will help others. Thank you.

Feedback on the Jewels of Japan Tour starting 2nd April 2023

Temples, Shrines and Chicken

Introduction
In 2019 my wife and I took a Wendy Wu Tour to China. We were very impressed with the Wonders of China Tour and especially the quality of the meals included in the price. As a result of this positive experience, we decided to use Wendy Wu for a second time for a Tour of Japan.

Therefore, back in 2021 we booked the Jewels of Japan Tour departing 1st April 2022 plus a 4 day extension In Seoul South Korea.
However, due to the worldwide Covid pandemic, our Tour had to be cancelled.
Rather than cancel the trip to Japan altogether and reclaim our deposit we agreed to push our booking forward to 2023 and we were told to contact Wendy Wu in July 2022 to book new flights.

Flights
For our original trip scheduled for April 2022 we had arranged flights from Manchester to Tokyo (via Istanbul) with Turkish Airways.
However, when I attempted to contact Wendy Wu by telephone to book our flights for the re-scheduled tour, all I could get was a recorded message telling me that Wendy Wu was only booking flights for guests travelling in the current year (2022).
This happened several times and I was literally unable to speak to anyone about our flights by telephone. Eventually 3 months later in early October I emailed Wendy Wu.
I subsequently received an email reply stating that because the cost of flights had increased, they could only offer flights to Japan with Air France (via Paris).
Additionally, we were also asked if we could fly to Tokyo one day earlier but this was at an additional cost of £125 pp (i.e. £250) for the additional night at a Tokyo hotel.

To make matters worse, we were then informed that Wendy Wu could not arrange any flights to South Korea so they were now unable to offer the 4 day Seoul Extension we had originally booked.
I informed Wendy Wu that we did not want to return to the UK straight after the 11 day Jewels of Japan Tour and asked if we could instead stay in Osaka for an additional 3 days at our expense, instead of visiting South Korea.
This was initially agreed, but a few weeks later we were then asked to reduce the 3 day extension in Osaka to just 2 days as there was no other flights available.

Wendy Wu advertises a ‘100% No Surcharge Promise’ and whilst I appreciate that the cost of flights had risen since our original booking and that Wendy Wu absorbed those additional costs, it meant that we had no choice other than to accept flights to / from Japan via Paris.
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This was not ideal as our return flight from Osaka to Paris took 15 hours so I would therefore advise anyone planning to use Wendy Wu in the future to make sure that their flights are agreed at the time of booking.
I know that several Australians in our Group were also annoyed that they had been forced to fly to Japan via Singapore adding additional hours to their journey rather than flying directly to Tokyo.

Transfers
On our Wonders of China Tour all transfers were by taxi or minibus, direct to / from the airport.
However, the system now used by Wendy Wu in Japan involves guests being met at the airport by a national ******. The ****** who met us paid for a public airport shuttle bus to take us to Shinjuka Bus Terminal. From there we got into a taxi to take us to our hotel.
Similarly, for the return transfer, an ****** walked us to a nearby public bus terminal which then picked up elsewhere before travelling on to Osaka Kansai airport.

I simply don’t know whether these types of transfers are normal for Japan or whether they are a way of ‘cost cutting’ by Wendy Wu.
Some guests will expect private transfers to / from the airport so may well be disappointed.

The Group
There was a total of 26 guests in our Tour Group, a mix of 14 Aussies, 10 Brits and 2 Kiwis.
No introductory ‘get to know you meeting’ took place on the first evening yet despite that, the group eventually gelled very well and we made some good friendships.

Jewels of Japan Tour
Unlike in China, this Tour did not get off to a good start.
First there was no group meeting prior or after the introductory evening meal.
The meal itself was awful and I know that several guests on the Tour have complained directly to Wendy Wu. The hotel ran out of starters and replaced ours with a plate of lettuce and tomatoes, whilst the main course was served lukewarm.

The next morning, we met in the hotel lobby for an 8.30 am start only to find that our coach had not turned up. Our guide Yoshiro Tokano had therefore to telephone to find out where our bus was.
When it finally arrived an hour late, our guide advised that it was impossible to visit the Imperial Palace East Garden and the Tokyo National Museum scheduled for the first day of the tour because they were both closed.
Our guide decided to re-schedule the day but it meant much more travelling across Tokyo on days 1 & 2 of the Tour.
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Although my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the Jewels of Japan Tour, by the end, like most of our fellow group members, we had had our fill enough of both Temples and Shrines.
Whilst those we visited were all great historical sites, the consensus among the Group was that more variety was needed.

Japan is famous for far more than Temples and Shrines.
For example, there was no mention of the country’s manufacturing, electronics or robotics prowess.
For example, a visit to a robot restaurant would have been great fun and a break from the norm.

Hotels
The hotels were fairly average but as our days sight seeing did not end until 6pm and with dinner at 7pm there was no time to enjoy any hotel facilities.

Our first hotel was the Sunshine City Prince Hotel. The hotel itself is well located in the lively Ikebukuro district. We arrived at 9.00 am to find that check-in did not commence until after 2.00pm. Not what you wanted to hear after an overnight flight from Europe.
When we eventually checked-in we were allocated a room for the first night only and told to check-out the next morning and be allocated a Wendy Wu room for 3 further nights.
When I queried why this was necessary, I was simply told that the hotel was full.

It was absolutely full. So much so that it was extremely difficult to get an elevator to and from your room. One of our group members waited 20 minutes for an elevator and then telephoned reception as he could not get down for breakfast. Yes, it was ‘cherry blossom season’ but that is no excuse.
As mentioned above, we had an issue with the meal on the first night.

My favourite hotel was the recently refurbished Fujisan Mishima Tokyu whilst the RIHGA Royal Hotel in Kyoto actually had a bar where fellow guests could meet for a drink after dinner.

The Grand Prince in Hiroshima had large rooms but the décor was very dated whilst the Hotel Monterey Osaka was even worse. Our room overlooked the very busy Osaka Umeda railway station and we had to use earplugs because of noise from the trains.
This hotel was the venue for our farewell meal but unfortunately there was no separate bar in the hotel to allow us to enjoy a farewell drink with our fellow guests from the UK, Australia and New Zealand.



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Food
As mentioned above, the first evening meal was something of a disaster, but thankfully the standard did improve.
Breakfasts in most of the hotels were a mix of Japanese and western foods, whilst we had several decent Japanese style lunches during the tour.
The oronomi-yaki pancakes we had in Hiroshima were particularly tasty.

Unfortunately, most lunch and evening meals consisted of chicken and this became a running joke within the Group.
One day our guide advised us that for lunch we would be visiting a Wagyu Beef restaurant, but once again our lunch consisted of chicken.

Whilst we were staying in Kyoto, several group members decided to skip the tour meal one evening and go to find a Sushi restaurant it was that bad.
Matters came to a head the following night when we went for dinner in the Boston Steak and Seafood hotel restaurant and we were again served up a chicken dinner.

Our guide reported the repetitious nature of the meals to Wendy Wu in Japan and finally on the 9th day of the tour we were served fish.
To visit Japan and not have any fish, sushi or even Wagyu or Kobe beef is really quite strange and I can only assume that Wendy Wu have cut back on their food budget.

Administration
Unfortunately, we came across numerous errors and omissions by Wendy Wu.

In our Group there was a family of 5 people from the UK who received keys to 5 rooms at every hotel on the Tour (not 3 as per their booking).
Another UK family of 3 also received keys for 3 rooms (instead of 2) at every hotel.
Obviously, something had gone badly wrong with their hotel bookings.

There were 2 instances during the Tour when guests were told to pack an overnight bag and we were informed on our final itinerary that our main luggage would be transferred separately to arrive later the same day.
This was not the case because on both occasions we did not get access to our luggage until the evening of the next day, meaning guests really needed to pack a bag for 2 days, not overnight as per the Itinerary.

The most glaring administration error was that no pick-up time for our return flight was detailed on the final itinerary.
I know that other tour members from both Australia and the UK were also completely in the dark. Our guide told us that he had not been made aware of individual pick-up times.

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I therefore emailed Wendy Wu on the 9th April 2023 and on the 11th April 2023 I received a response advising me that Wendy Wu UK had contacted their ‘ground handlers’ in Japan and had asked them to advise us of the required information.

However, we heard absolutely nothing from the ‘ground handlers’ so we contacted our guide instead and told him to telephone them on our behalf.
Eventually our guide was able to provide us with our pick-up time.
I do not understand why the pick-up time was not listed on our final itinerary because Wendy Wu knew the departure time of our flight from Osaka Kansai airport.


Our Guide
I understand that this was the first time our guide Yashiro Tomako had worked for Wendy Wu. He was very knowledgeable guide and was able to deal with any problems that arose.
He was an excellent ambassador for Wendy Wu and we recommend that Wendy Wu use his services again in the future.

Culture / People
The Japanese people are extremely polite and courteous. We found them eager to offer assistance when needed.
Strangely, given that Japan is a world leader in technology and electronics, the country is still very much a ‘cash society’.
Most restaurants and bars we visited insisted on payment by cash rather than by card.
We therefore recommend that anyone intending to visit Japan take sufficient Japanese yen with them.

Summary
My wife and I enjoyed our Jewels of Japan Tour and would recommend the trip to anyone brave enough to endure the lengthy flights to visit Japan. It is an amazing country, spotlessly clean and a great example for our Western democracies to follow.

However, we were both very disappointed in Wendy Wu Tours this time around and will probably choose a different tour company for our next guided tour.

We felt that cost cutting has taken place in such areas as flight choice, airport transfers and most definitely in the quality of meals provided on the tour.
Administration wasn’t up to the required standard and even when we emailed the UK office it did not seem to affect things whilst we were in Japan.

As a result, I would award Wendy Wu just 3 out of 5 this time around.

5

Everything about this trip was good - the accommodation, the food, the national guide and, above all, the very full and varied programme. I came back from Korea with a clear picture of the country and its culture.