I had a strange and ultimately uncomfortable experience attempting to book a solo private day tour in Hangzhou with this company.
The company’s consultants were initially very quick to respond to my enquiries via WhatsApp. However before making the requested upfront payment, I had concerns about the business licence details displayed on their own official website. The licence information shown appeared to be different to the company I was being asked to pay.
I directly asked the consultant to clarify this and provide proof of the current business licence they were operating under before I made payment. They were unable to provide me with documentation that satisfactorily answered my questions & I was left doubtful.
After I started asking these questions, I felt the tone of the conversation changed. Rather than simply providing the documentation I had requested, the responses became defensive and I felt increasingly pressured to proceed. I was repeatedly told that guides were scarce, encouraged to secure the booking quickly, and then I was told that my preferred date was no longer available but was still showing as available on the TripAdvisor platform. I was also told that I was unlikely to find a cheaper private tour in Hangzhou.
Some of the responses felt generic & quickly generated, and didn’t directly address the specific questions I was asking. This combined with the pressure to book and the inability to satisfactorily clarify the business licence information displayed on their own website, made me increasingly uncomfortable about sending payment to this company.
Their price was attractive and I had genuinely intended to book. Ultimately however due to the way my questions were handled, I decided not to proceed.
Based on my experience, I encourage other travellers to look carefully at the business information displayed on the company’s own website and ask for current documentation before making an upfront payment.
This review is based solely on my own experience communicating with the company while attempting to make a booking. I did not ultimately purchase or participate in the tour due to reasons listed above.
事業者からの返答
Dear Kahlia,
Thank you for your comments. However, we believe it is important to provide the full context for travellers reading this review.
First, as you have now clearly acknowledged in your own review, **you never made a booking with us, you never paid us a deposit or any other payment, and you never participated in any tour or travel service provided by Your Way Holiday.** Therefore, this review relates entirely to a pre-booking enquiry rather than an actual travel experience with our company.
During your enquiry, you asked a considerable number of questions and repeatedly requested company documents, internal business information and booking-related records. Our team spent significant time answering your questions and provided the information and documentation that we considered reasonable and appropriate at the pre-booking stage.
We fully respect every traveller's right to verify a company before making a reservation or payment. However, for privacy, security and commercial reasons, there are naturally limits to the internal company documents and customer booking records that can appropriately be provided to someone who has neither made a booking nor any payment.
As the communication continued, the nature and extent of your requests became increasingly unusual for a standard pre-booking enquiry.** This raised concerns on our side about the nature of the enquiry and whether there was sufficient mutual trust to establish a comfortable service relationship.
For this reason, **we ultimately decided that we were not comfortable proceeding with the reservation and informed you that we would not accept and confirm the booking.** No money was ever taken from you and no service was ever provided.
Regarding your comments about availability, our private guides and vehicles are allocated in real time, particularly during busy periods. Availability displayed on an online platform does not guarantee that a specific guide or vehicle will remain available until a reservation has actually been confirmed. Informing a potential customer that availability is limited is a normal part of arranging a private tour.
Similarly, explaining our pricing and the value of our private service was not intended to pressure you. You were always completely free to compare different providers and decide whether or not to proceed.
What happened afterwards has only reinforced the concerns we had during our original communication.**
A previous review concerning this same unsuccessful enquiry was removed by TripAdvisor. **A substantially similar negative review concerning the same enquiry has now appeared again under another account.**
We do not claim to know TripAdvisor's specific reason for removing the previous review. However, the fact remains that **you never booked with us, never paid us, and never participated in a tour with us, yet negative reviews concerning the same pre-booking enquiry have continued to appear under different accounts.**
This subsequent pattern has reinforced the concerns we had during the original enquiry and confirmed that our decision not to proceed with the reservation was the appropriate decision for our company.
We respect genuine criticism and every traveller's right to share their experience. At the same time, **we find it very difficult to understand the purpose of repeatedly posting negative reviews concerning the same unsuccessful pre-booking enquiry through different accounts**, particularly when no booking, payment or travel service ever took place.
Online review platforms are most helpful to travellers when reviews are fair, responsible and presented with their full context. We therefore believe readers deserve to understand that this was **not a customer who purchased and subsequently became dissatisfied with one of our tours**. This was an enquiry that never became a booking and that our company ultimately decided not to proceed with.
We have retained the complete communication history and relevant records and have submitted this matter to TripAdvisor again for review.
Best regards,
Your Way Holiday Team
S
S7974MGstephaniek
June 21, 2026 · via Tripadvisor
Magical Three Days in Hangzhou With Our A+++ Guide During the Dragon Boat Festival
Our family had a wonderful time touring Hangzhou with our amazing English-speaking guide Grace! We would highly recommend her to anyone visiting Hangzhou. She was attentive to all of our needs (making sure we had waters and knew where all the bathrooms were, all the while helping us get tickets, navigate crowds, order food, buy souvenirs and snacks). Grace truly went above and beyond for us, making sure we had a good time every step of the way. She was also extremely knowledgeable about the history and culture of Hangzhou. We learned so much! We saw so much in three days: The dragon boat festival and races in Xixi park, West Lake, the West Lake Impressions show (which we highly recommend), a boat tour, temple visits, tea house and bamboo forest, Hefang street and so much more! We enjoyed all of the local restaurants she chose for us and also appreciated her help telling what prices were good and which ones could be negotiated down (she handled the negotiations). Also we wanted to give a shoutout to our very savvy driver who brought us from stop to stop, and seemed to know shortcuts to avoid the traffic. Grace was also so generous and gave us several small cultural gifts along the way as souvenirs. We’ll definitely be back to Hangzhou!
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agnesdewiati
August 11, 2023 · via Tripadvisor
Excellent experience with amazing tour guide.
The views were amazing, the tea tasting was nice and fresh. The lunch was wonderful. And on top of it, Wenwen, the tour guide is excellent. She was friendly, helpful, engaging and knowledgeable.
事業者からの返答
We are thrilled to hear that you had such a wonderful experience on your tour. It's fantastic to know that you enjoyed the breathtaking views, the refreshing tea tasting, and the delicious lunch. We take pride in offering exceptional experiences to our clients, and it's heartwarming to hear that you had such a positive one.
We couldn't agree more about Wenwen, your tour guide. She truly is excellent! We're delighted that she made your journey even more enjoyable with her friendly demeanor, helpfulness, engaging personality, and extensive knowledge. We'll make sure to pass along your kind words to her.
Thank you for choosing our travel agency, and we look forward to assisting you with your future travel adventures.
Warm regards,
YourWayHoliday
B
biancarama
January 8, 2020 · via Tripadvisor
Day trip to Hangzhou from Shanghai
Private tour for the two of us with Tommy! We were picked up from Hangzhou East Station and taken to all the main sights of Hangzhou, hidden away from tourists which was appreciated. We especially enjoyed the history and the knowledge shared with us. Being tea enthusiasts, loved seeing how the green tea was made!!
Thanks Tommy for your help :)
S
Stay633068
December 3, 2019 · via Tripadvisor
Wuxi to Hangzhou to Shanghai
Visit to West Lake gave breath-taking views of surrounding mountain hills. Saw the artwork that is currently displayed on the 1Yuan bill. Also visited the Tea Plantation at Meljiawu and learned great things about the green tea.
Thank you to our tour leader Sen Xu (along with his colleagues David and Marco) who gave a very enlightening education of the Chinese culture and provided numerous excellent musical entertainment along our many and long bus rides.
R
Robert H
September 24, 2019 · via Tripadvisor
Hanzuou city is a must see
Scenic city.Very green.Guide Nancy took care of us very well.The tour was interesting,informing and could be changed to suit your personal needs.Only superlatives to describe the day.
1人が参考になったと回答
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Adventurer788807
October 22, 2018 · via Tripadvisor
Great day with Marin
Marin was a very good guide; knowledgeable, spoke good English, friendly and patient with the 4 of us. It was perfect to start the day on West Lake when hardly anyone was there; peaceful, quiet and interesting. The tasting and visit to the tea plantation was a highlight as well. All in all a great day with Marin. Thanks again.
N
NewShanghai2018
August 9, 2018 · via Tripadvisor
Guide Sharon was superb
It was a business trip and had a day off. We were picked up at my hotel lobby by my guide Sharon, she was very friendly, knowledgeable and experienced.Throughout the day, she used her way to show me the best part of the city.I really enjoyed the beauty of West Lake, which is the symbol of Hangzhou city. We also visited the biggest temple in Hangzhou, named Lingyin Temple. Sharon gave me a detailed explaination for the status and told me the story about Flying Peak. Thanks to China Private Tour and Sharon, I will definitly recommend this company to my friends!
1人が参考になったと回答
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Elena D
August 8, 2018 · via Tripadvisor
Great day in Hangzhou with Bonnie
Had a wonderful time in Hangzhou with Bonnie. She was very knowledgeable and friendly, and answered all my stupid questions :) it was a pleasure to be guided by her through the amazing city of Hangzhou. I was particularly impressed by the West Lake (it gave me such a peaceful sensation) and the Lingyin temple, an absolute gem! We had a great lunch at the farmers' house (I'd recommend trying the chicken cooked in green tea and the eggplants) and went for a walk in the bamboo forest. The trip was very well organized and everything went smoothly. I had such a great time that I won't forget.
Ask for Bonnie next time you take a trip to Hangzhou!
1人が参考になったと回答
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ucmkjmo
July 31, 2018 · via Tripadvisor
Unforgettable experience with tour guide Sharon
We booked a day tour to Hangzhou for our family and we really enjoyed it. The tour was well arranged. Our private tour guide Sharon was professional, knowledgeable, patience and gave us an insight into Hangzhou. The agency provided air-conditional vehicle for us, comfortable and the driver was very polite.
During the day, we visited the famous West Lake, Buddhist monastery-Lingyin Temple, Dragon Well Green Tea Plantation and the old street. Beyond that, we enjoyed the lunch at local tea farmer’ home that recommended by our guide, the food is simple home-cooking but good taste. We also had a short cooking class from local tea farmer. Finally, we walked along the old street, named Hefangjie in Chinese where you can buy some gifts for your friends. Hangzhou is such a beautiful city, please do not miss it.
事業者からの返答
Dear ucmkjmo,
Thanks for chosing us! Sharon has been working with us since from last year. She is warm hearted,patient and knowledgeable. Hope to see you again in China.
Nancy
Coordination Tourism Manager
China Merchants International Travel Company
24 Hours Hotline: +86 137 3541 1378
Wechat: samhangzhou
Skpye. chinaprivatetour
