First Time with Exodus Safari
Once fully paid and booking confirmed (inc single room supplement) I was told they didn’t have any single rooms left so I could either share with another guest, change tour date or get full refund. Rep said someone else booked the last single room! Rep looked into it after I highlighted other dates cost more, and asked who would pay the extra. Rep said Exodus would (as a good-will gesture) cover extra costs for me to have double rooms for the existing booking.
Requested FLIGHT DETAILS to select seats, was sent flight details of another customer, different tour. I took issue with the shift in tone - which focused on pressing me to delete breached data then let them know when I'd done so, with no regard to my original request for my own data - which I then had to request yet again.
Sent passport details then was asked for it again weeks later by another staff member, because the details could not be found!
Took weeks to get clarity on SUITCASE collection arrangements for after transferring items to a soft bag. Rep said they'd be returned at end of safari. I’d booked final extra night in a different hotel to Eka so wanted to know logistics around this. After copying another staff member into my email chase, they confirmed - we'd return to Eka to collect suitcases.
After the time/money spent selecting/purchasing a soft bag and manoeuvring items to fit - what a slap in the face to see my suitcases followed me to every lodge. No need for a soft bag. I asked my safari guide/driver about luggage protocol he confirmed suitcases are fine, and if space at the back is limited, the excess slot neatly down the aisle of the jeep, (contrary to the info on Exodus website) he apologised for the situation.
A member of EXODUS STAFF was part of our group, Grace, a managing director, said she'd feed the luggage saga back, and thought hotel staff maybe loaded my suitcases by mistake…On reflection, not likely. Exodus staff would have flagged up that no suitcases were permitted when jeeps were being loaded, plus guide already confirmed suitcases were permitted, as mentioned. Luggage was visible to all reps and passengers. Exodus rep who performed the intro and end briefing, paid no regard to luggage, or attempt to engage with all group members waiting for the briefing, floated around ignoring some of us and over-engaging with others. I found him RUDE and at one point AGGRESSIVE and CONFRONTATIONAL - male to female, he interrupted my conversation with another member of Exodus staff demanding I ‘listen to him’ invading my personal space to point where I needed to tell him to step back - he responded by rolling his eyes and stepping back.
Exodus staff member Grace, said she wasn’t on duty but at times assumed a leadership role within the group, knocking the equilibrium off balance somewhat - even if inadvertently. Grace took out sheets of A4 paper in the jeep with lists of questions to ask the driver, she also made a point of asking him about first aid facilities which presented as being for her own ‘Exodus’ intel-gathering, not a team spirited sharing of info. On another occasion she asked the driver to pause as she couldn’t find her work phone - if not on duty why announce a work phone?
OBSERVER EFFECT.
There were instances where our driver/guide was more focused on answering Grace’s questions, communicating directly to her, not the group; this shift in dynamic altered the balance for everyone else - separate tours for staff pls!
I received differing info on my FINAL TRANSFER - Grace informed me our safari driver would do it but the next day it transpired another member of Exodus staff would be doing it, with no clarity as to when/what time - comms on the order and arrangement of things for the group in general was frazzled and disjointed.
END OF THE TRIP - I would strongly recommend having some sort of plan for what to do with your time if you’re flying home on the last day of the tour. We were on the road from 8am and arrived back from Masai Mara to Eka Hotel around 2.30pm, a long drive. My group (11 people) were casually informed of having a final briefing (not mentioned in the itinerary) and were then offered ‘the board room’ designed for board meetings as a room to have for themselves until it was time to head to the airport at around 7pm for their night time flights home, hardly comfortable. Not sure if it was possible to book a day room in advance, none of this was highlighted or communicated from the outset or at the point of booking, or in any of the itinerary detail on the website - so if you think you’ll want a bit of quiet, rest time or privacy in the hours leading up to your flight, maybe factor that in or book an extra night somewhere before your flight. The Sheraton Four Points Hotel was an excellent choice, (thanks Rebecca for recommending it, instead of me going back Eka again).