Legends of the Alhambra Tour with Tickets Included

Do Not Book - No Show, No Response

Short story: Do not book with this tour group as they are a no call, no show. I booked this tour on September 19th, for the tour to be held on October 1st. I received an immediate email confirmation, and later another email confirmation, although they seemed automated. My payment went through, and I believed the instructions of meeting up were clear enough. They indicate on the day of, arriving at 8:15 AM and looking for their "sultan" but give an exact location by the ticketing entrance, a name of a guide (Carolina), and a number to call. My partner and I arrived at 8:10 AM and started looking for our group. We were on a Spanish-speaking tour, so we asked several groups of Spanish speakers if they were waiting, and heard nothing. We asked other guides with groups if they had heard of the company, and they said no. However, we eventually found a guide who knew Carolina, so he messaged her. We also called the company number, and it said the phone was off. We also messaged the company via email, Instagram, and through the third-party payment system. All this while, I stood in the exact meeting spot, as my partner did laps around the area looking for the guide. By around 8:45, we knew we probably wouldn't tour; by 9:15, we went home. While we booked last minute considering the Alhambra, we were disappointed. Luckily, we don't live too far in Spain so can come back. This is a warning to those that come from far, to not book this tour as it seems the company is closed. We got our money back, and the messages from the third-party provider gave us the feeling that this was not the first time. We still have heard nothing from Sultana-tours three days later. Here is the complete translation into Spanish: Summary: Do not book with this tour group, as they did not show up or call to notify us. I booked this tour on September 19 to take it on October 1. I received an email confirmation immediately and, later, another confirmation, although they seemed automated. My payment was processed and I thought the instructions regarding the meeting point were quite clear. They indicate that on the day of the visit you must arrive at 8:15 AM and look for their "sultan," but they give an exact location next to the ticket office entrance, the name of a guide (Carolina), and a contact phone number. My partner and I arrived at 8:10 AM and started looking for our group. Since our tour was in Spanish, we asked several groups of Spanish speakers if they were waiting, but no one knew anything. We asked other guides who had groups if they knew the company and they said no. However, eventually we found a guide who knew Carolina and sent her a message. We also called the company's phone number, but it was turned off. We sent them messages via email, Instagram, and through the third-party payment system. During all this time, I stayed at the exact meeting point while my partner walked around the area looking for the guide. Around 8:45 we knew that we probably wouldn't do the tour; at 9:15 we went home. Although we booked at the last minute considering what the Alhambra is, we felt disappointed. Luckily, we don't live too far away within Spain, so we can return. This is a warning for those coming from far away: do not book this tour, as it seems the company has closed. They refunded our money and the messages from the payment platform gave us the feeling that this was not the first time this had happened. Three days later, we still haven't heard anything from Sultana-tours.

Response from the operator: We are very sorry that you had this experience, but there is an important detail that needs to be clarified. This reservation was never accepted or confirmed by us. Our reservations are not automatically confirmed; each request must be manually reviewed and accepted by us. It appears that, in this case, the booking platform may have sent the guests the meeting information and booking voucher before the reservation had been accepted by us. This unfortunately created the impression that the tour was confirmed, when it was not. We completely understand how frustrating this must have been, especially when visiting the Alhambra. However, this was not a case of a confirmed tour being abandoned or a “no call, no show” on our part. We were not expecting the guests because the reservation had not been accepted. Regarding the phone call mentioned in the review, it was made at around 8:15 AM, before our telephone service hours. As the reservation had not been accepted, we were not expecting guests at that time. We are glad that the third-party provider refunded the payment, and we are sorry that you were put in this situation. We are also reviewing what happened with the booking platform to help prevent this from happening again. We would simply like to clarify that this was an unaccepted reservation, not a confirmed tour for which our guide failed to appear.

via Tripadvisor (translated)

Fraud

Warning! This tour operator is a scam. No one showed up at the agreed day and time so we cannot do the tour we paid for.

via Tripadvisor (translated)

Inconsistent Service

I do not recommend this Service at all, I had to wait 4 days for them not to even reply to my message but to reject my reservation. They put in dates they don't really have available. Very bad experience, I do not recommend and I hope that it will not happen to anyone else this same. Thanks to them I lost my knowledge of the Alhamabra.

Response from the operator: Siento mucho que su percepción sea esa, pero nosotros en ningún momento le aceptamos la solicitud del tour. Por lo que realmente no es nuestra culpa que usted perdiese el tour, sino más bien suya por no reservar con tiempo. Cuando disponemos de tickets aceptamos la solicitud, sino se le aceptó es porque no había, por lo que tampoco lo podría haber con seguido con otra empresa. La próxima vez planifique sus cosas con más antelación y esto no le volverá a suceder.

via Tripadvisor (translated)

Carolina has love for her job

Our experience has been excellent, we could not have better guide than Carolina you rating the vocation for her work ,when she tells the whole story about the Alhambra is impressive, loving attentive and very watchful that we asked any questions we had, if you go to visit the Alhambra do not hesitate to ask about it you will not regret it.It is a charm always with a smile, let's go ten out of ten.

via Tripadvisor (translated)

Out of ten

Very good guide, knows a lot about history, tells just what you need to know, without wandering, which makes it very affordable for everyone. I recommend it 100 percent

via Tripadvisor (translated)