What clients say

Hi Doriana,

I was in New York until last night so finally I’m home to take time to write to you.
Thank you so much for your very thorough organization of this trip.  From the beginning I felt completely confident that you would be a good working partner.
Based on the last 3 trips I’ve done with Charlie we feel this one was the best.  From the arrival day to the very end.
Attilio was top notch!  Brilliant, eloquent, kind, funny, flexible and constantly thinking about how to make the trip better for us when the weather changed to rain. He was attentive to individual needs as well. If someone wanted to go to a museum or find a good dinner spot, he organized it for them.  We never felt rushed or pushed to get to the next destination.   He and Charlie made a great team with their interest in flowers and gardens.  Another first with a tour guide on Charlie’s trips. So thank you for making such a good choice for us.
Garden visits:  Every private garden was unique. We loved the stories from the owners and  gardeners. Rachel Lamb was the perfect introduction to a Sicilian garden.  I had no idea how lush and beautiful gardens could be in Sicily.  In fact when I mentioned to friends and colleagues I was going on a garden tour there, they were doubtful that we’d see any vegetation at this time of year.  I think I surprised them with my daily postings on Facebook.
I kept telling Charlie after each visit, well this one is my favorite garden so far and then we’d go to the next one and again we’d be so surprised at how wonderful it was. All the lunches served at the gardens were so delicious and beautifully presented.  Way beyond the group’s expectations!  The food kept coming.
And the Gli Aromi Herb Nursery with Enrico! He was funny and entertained the group by letting us smell and taste the herbs before he would tell us what it was. The cooking demonstration was more of a demo than participation but Enrico made it very personal and we could get close to take photos and watch how it was made.  The setting of his garden overlooking the sea was incredible too.  He has a jewel of a business with that view.
Il Biviere; we loved the story of  M. Borghese facing the wasteland when she arrived with her husband and 4 children. Step by step she created an oasis and ultimately was visited by the Queen Mom and Prince Charles!  We felt really honored she served us lunch and sat with us.
Mt. Etna Garden Club garden on the last day was a find!  Charlie was worried about that one but again we were so happy to be invited to this one with the fantastive view, gorgeous gardens, and the geologist there to explain the unusual lava formations.  The entire family came to meet us along with the president of the garden club.  We were served coffee, juices and cakes.  It was hard to say goodbye to them.
Pistachio Festival: This was probably the only disappointment for Charlie.  The festival didn’t officially kick off until 5:00pm on Friday so many of the tents were closed  We expected more of a celebration with music and festivities to have begun already.  However, we were warned by Attilio that it would not be so great.  The drive to Bronte was beautiful and we stopped to take photos of the landscape and pistachio trees and prickly pears.   Once we were in the town center there were more tents open with samples of gelato and all things pistachio!  Half the group decided to go back to Taormina instead of Bronte.  We did give them option to bow out of that excursion.   I felt it was worth seeing even if the Festival had not officially opened.
Hotels:  Great choices on both of them, except for the one complaint from our “princess” traveler. She was extremely happy to have the room in Taormina so I thank you profusely for getting her a good room there. Ortigia: I like the old fashioned feel of the place and the location was perfect.  Service was perfect at the front desk and bellman delivery too.  Breakfast was terrific on the roof top.  I did get a room under the breakfast room and heard a little scraping of the chairs but it didn’t bother me at all.
Taormina; Another fantastic location and nice new renovated hotel.  I would say that the designers do think more about shiny and interesting designs and not practical ones.  For example, the very heavy glass doors to the bathroom and then another to the WC room within the bathroom.  I had to keep both of them open so I didn’t have to push and pull them every time I entered the room.  One of my guests regaled us with her story of finding how all the light switches worked.  She had an entire system worked out of turning them on and off.  Another guest had the table next to the bed fall over when she set her coffee on it.   The tables were pretty and not practical.  My biggest complaint was at the end of the stay when the wait staff at the hotel restaurant didn’t present the bills to 6 ladies who had dinner there.
Bus drivers: they were all gentlemen and excellent drivers.  They were polite, well groomed and buses were clean and in good condition.  Michael, our first driver, made sure he could drop us off right at the hotel in Ortigia.  Our second driver was equally polite and excellent.  He drove so carefully during the rainy decent from Mt. Etna.  I was impressed !
Vincenzo:  He was very prompt and polite.  My only tiny suggestion for him is to work on his English and not step back so much in the background. I know he is your staff but my group was curious about his role.   He also called Atillio a lot when we were on the bus. I know he was carefully checking on us, especially with the rain but it was disruptive when Attilio was speaking to us on the bus.   Perhaps he could text him with the info. I don’t know how urgent the matters were but it seemed a little excessive with calling.   In any case,  I thought you’d want to know.

I hope this gives you enough information.  I’ll ask Charlie for his feedback too.  I know he and the group were extremely happy! Thank you again for everything!

Best,

Hi Doriana.
I do not have any formal “thank you letter” from Coop Norge but I know from my colleagues they were all really grateful: they had a gorgeous personal experience and a very important educational session. 
The goal we set at the beginning has been fully achieved: to let them experience our land as a fundamental precondition to understand the peculiarity of each product we growth and they sell.

Our themed cooking class team bulding was an important added value for everybody during the event as it allowed to play together as a unique team. 
And, this  has indeed strengthened our personal and business relationships.

Thank you very much for your professionalism, for designing for us such a great experience and for guiding all of us to this excellent result.

See you soon

Doriana and her team at Eventia offered extraordinary services and support both pre-tour and throughout the program to ensure our  Metropolitan Museum of New York and additional sponsors Sea Cloud II voyage around Sicily not only met, but exceeded, our clients’ expectations.
The guides, coaches, special visits, and general tour advice and support that Doriana provided played a large role in making this cruise the success that it was.  Feedback from guests have praised the touring arrangements and staff support, and we have Doriana’s tireless efforts to thank for these glowing trip reports.
Thank you, Doriana!!!

l want to say ‘thank you’ one more time, thanks a lot for your help with the lost luggage and for all the perfect service you gave us in Lipary, molte grazia!