Review about Don Bondarenko-10/07/17 by Don Bondarenko

Thank you Bobby for arranging our Tour and assisting us on getting the best Air fares, it is appreciated. The "Anastasia" Ferry from Helsinki was a unique experience and had clean rooms and the food was adequate, but the terrible debarkation and passport control process took about two hours which shortened our first day's tour. Although, we booked for 4 persons, another couple was added to our tour which made the van inadequate because the low windows prevented the middle row person from seeing anything other than sidewalk level. Secondly, the fact that the other couple stayed at a different hotel added a half hour to pick them up (an hour of lost sightseeing each day!). The driver was punctual and our guide Ludmilla was knowledgable about St. Petersburg's history and was good at avoiding the queues, however, she had only one agenda - hers! She practically ran from point to point and gave major attitude if someone was falling behind. At the Peterhof, she insisted on the group needlessly running through the entire park in the rain, just to see the fountains start. If it was that important, she should have just had us wait until they started and then, allowed a stroll through the park. It was the same at the Hermitage - she turned one of the best museums in the world in to a foot race, only to stop in one room to go into detail about 10 Field Marshals nobody but her, gave anything about. She then raced to another room where she needed to tell us about not only every tsar, but their wives, kids and 2nd cousins - too much information. We twice had to insist on seeing the interior of the Spilled Blood Church, which she finally relented. The final straw was her losing it and ranting to us how awful it was that everyone says America won the war, and that it wasn't true because Russia suffered more. Unprofessional, to say the least. Needless to say, St. Petersburg would have been much more pleasant without Ludmilla. On the other hand, the Hotel Indigo was wonderful. Incredible food, room and staff, and close to the Faberge Museum - both highly recommended.