A La Carte France Tours Celebrates 10 Years of Luxury Travel Services
Every now and then, a gem appears on the dull and uniform horizon of tour operators' offers. A company that offers an old-fashioned, almost anachronic level of service, where the traveler is treated like monarchy, and the tour organized like a symphony. A La Carte France Tours is one these gems. They have been setting out luxurious private limousine tours for 10 years, and are celebrating their anniversary.
Bandol, France, January 09, 2008 --(PR.com)-- A La Carte France Tours was born of the love for travel and perfection, and is the child of Mark Wolk, a 49-year old Swiss and New Zealander. The company celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Wolk says: "What makes us different, is the personalized level of service we offer, and our all-inclusive private tour concept, which is absolutely unique in that segment of the market; no other limousine tour company in France offers fully inclusive extended tours. Also, our tours are all custom-made to suit the client's interests and needs. We never run two identical tours."
A tour with A La Carte France Tours looks a little like a carefully built piece of skilled craftsmanship. As the clients contact the company, they are given personal attention by email of telephone, usually by the owner himself. They set their preferences and desiderata, wait a few hours, and obtain a custom-written proposal, with a suggested day-by-day itinerary and a corresponding pricing in US dollars. They can then request the itinerary to be amended until they are 100% satisfied with it.
Wolk, the company owner, insists on personally leading several tours each year, in order to keep contact with the reality in the field, be constantly up-to date with quality control, and the clients' satisfaction level.
The tour usually begins at Paris airport, where the A La Carte France Tours' chauffeur awaits his clients. That chauffeur looks after the entire logistics of the tour, carries the luggage and keeps company to his clients as long as necessary, going as far as assisting them with menus in restaurants. Needless to say that the chauffeurs hired by the company are very well educated gentlemen, some of them former executives or historians. The preferred vehicle is nowadays a minivan, always the latest model with twin air conditioning. "No one wants the classic stretched limousine any longer," says Wolk. "Modern minivans are far superior, offer better comfort, more space for passengers and luggage, and a higher viewing point essential for quality sightseeing."
At the time of booking, clients are offered two categories of accommodation: "Boutique" or "Best luxury" hotels. Such a small party tour can afford to stay in small and comfy picturesque establishments - castles, manors or historic homes - otherwise inaccessible to larger groups. In all cases, meals are 'a la carte', meaning that clients simply chose whatever they want on the restaurant menu, and the restaurants are of gourmet standard, many of them award-winning.
As the tour progresses, clients are shown the attractions, museums or historic places that are in their itinerary. Specialist local guides are used to complement the chauffeur's knowledge, and to ensure that the travelers will leave France with a good understanding of its history and customs. The advantage of such a private tour is also that it will bypass the queues at most crowded locations.
A La Carte France Tours only offers tours of at least 10 days, so travelers get to know and appreciate France, and also their personal chauffeur quite well. When asked whether any clients had ever to bear with a chauffeur that was not to their liking, Wolk says: "It never happened. Firstly because I select my chauffeurs very carefully, and there is only a very limited number of them. We actually often have to turn down enquiries, as we are booked out and do not want to run a tour with a chauffeur who is not fully known to us. But also, the tours being all private, there are no quarrels between clients, and the general atmosphere is very relaxed. Our satisfaction ratio is 100%. I challenge anyone to find a single client who had been dissatisfied with our services."
So a tour with A La Carte France Tours looks like a perfect vacation, and everyone should run to get a booking with them? - Well, they don't precisely offer tours for everyone. Such an all-inclusive limousine tour starts at about US$1,100 per person and per calendar day, so a 10-day tour for a couple will cost at least US$22,000, not counting the airfare to and from France. Perfection has its price. As Sir Henry Royce used to say: "The quality remains long after the price has been forgotten." No doubt that those who are in a position to afford this high-end service will keep memories of their tour in France forever, and A La Carte France Tours will keep its successful formula as demand for high-end luxury tourism increases.
A La Carte France Tours' website http://a-la-carte-france-tours.com lists and prices several suggested itineraries. Their email is tours@a-la-carte-france-tours.com . They have a US telephone number for all enquiries: 1-206-202-4711.
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A tour with A La Carte France Tours looks a little like a carefully built piece of skilled craftsmanship. As the clients contact the company, they are given personal attention by email of telephone, usually by the owner himself. They set their preferences and desiderata, wait a few hours, and obtain a custom-written proposal, with a suggested day-by-day itinerary and a corresponding pricing in US dollars. They can then request the itinerary to be amended until they are 100% satisfied with it.
Wolk, the company owner, insists on personally leading several tours each year, in order to keep contact with the reality in the field, be constantly up-to date with quality control, and the clients' satisfaction level.
The tour usually begins at Paris airport, where the A La Carte France Tours' chauffeur awaits his clients. That chauffeur looks after the entire logistics of the tour, carries the luggage and keeps company to his clients as long as necessary, going as far as assisting them with menus in restaurants. Needless to say that the chauffeurs hired by the company are very well educated gentlemen, some of them former executives or historians. The preferred vehicle is nowadays a minivan, always the latest model with twin air conditioning. "No one wants the classic stretched limousine any longer," says Wolk. "Modern minivans are far superior, offer better comfort, more space for passengers and luggage, and a higher viewing point essential for quality sightseeing."
At the time of booking, clients are offered two categories of accommodation: "Boutique" or "Best luxury" hotels. Such a small party tour can afford to stay in small and comfy picturesque establishments - castles, manors or historic homes - otherwise inaccessible to larger groups. In all cases, meals are 'a la carte', meaning that clients simply chose whatever they want on the restaurant menu, and the restaurants are of gourmet standard, many of them award-winning.
As the tour progresses, clients are shown the attractions, museums or historic places that are in their itinerary. Specialist local guides are used to complement the chauffeur's knowledge, and to ensure that the travelers will leave France with a good understanding of its history and customs. The advantage of such a private tour is also that it will bypass the queues at most crowded locations.
A La Carte France Tours only offers tours of at least 10 days, so travelers get to know and appreciate France, and also their personal chauffeur quite well. When asked whether any clients had ever to bear with a chauffeur that was not to their liking, Wolk says: "It never happened. Firstly because I select my chauffeurs very carefully, and there is only a very limited number of them. We actually often have to turn down enquiries, as we are booked out and do not want to run a tour with a chauffeur who is not fully known to us. But also, the tours being all private, there are no quarrels between clients, and the general atmosphere is very relaxed. Our satisfaction ratio is 100%. I challenge anyone to find a single client who had been dissatisfied with our services."
So a tour with A La Carte France Tours looks like a perfect vacation, and everyone should run to get a booking with them? - Well, they don't precisely offer tours for everyone. Such an all-inclusive limousine tour starts at about US$1,100 per person and per calendar day, so a 10-day tour for a couple will cost at least US$22,000, not counting the airfare to and from France. Perfection has its price. As Sir Henry Royce used to say: "The quality remains long after the price has been forgotten." No doubt that those who are in a position to afford this high-end service will keep memories of their tour in France forever, and A La Carte France Tours will keep its successful formula as demand for high-end luxury tourism increases.
A La Carte France Tours' website http://a-la-carte-france-tours.com lists and prices several suggested itineraries. Their email is tours@a-la-carte-france-tours.com . They have a US telephone number for all enquiries: 1-206-202-4711.
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Contact
A La Carte France Tours
Mark Wolk
1-206-2024711
a-la-carte-france-tours.com
Mark Wolk
1-206-2024711
a-la-carte-france-tours.com
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