I recently had the unfortunate experience of booking a trip to Greece through Exoticca Travel, and I can’t stress enough how disappointing and frustrating it was. Exoticca markets itself as a convenient travel agency, but in reality, they seem to function more like a middleman, selling your booking to local travel agencies and leaving you at their mercy. While the tours we participated in were indeed fantastic, allowing us to see historic sites in Greece, the accommodation arrangements were nothing short of disastrous. Imagine staying in hotel rooms straight out of a 1960s horror movie, with no viable way to rectify the situation unless you wanted to scramble for alternative accommodations and transportation on your own – precisely the problem you are trying to avoid by using a travel agency. The most egregious issue occurred in Mykonos. Our final destination was supposed to be a hotel right on the beach, a highlight of our trip. We were looking forward to this as the grand finale of our Greek adventure. However, upon arrival, we discovered that Exoticca had moved us to a hotel two miles inland, completely removing us from the beachside experience we had been promised. This not only ruined the whole point of our stay but also forced us to spend over $100 to get to the beach on our own. When we contacted Exoticca to address the issue, their response was disheartening. They informed us that it was within their contractual rights to move us to another hotel as long as it was considered a “like hotel.” Despite this being part of their policy, they failed to acknowledge that moving us inland fundamentally altered the experience we had been promised. Their offered compensation was a $100 rebooking credit for future travel with Exoticca, which is laughable considering the circumstances. To make matters worse, it became apparent that by moving us to the inland hotel, the travel agencies involved saved $2,800. This substantial savings was obviously at our expense, making it clear that this was not an oversight but a deliberate cost-cutting measure at the cost of our vacation experience. Despite our attempts to argue that Exoticca had broken their end of the bargain by not providing us with a comparable hotel, we were met with dismissive responses. It was clear that once they had your money, they had no real incentive to ensure your satisfaction. The whole purpose of visiting Mykonos is to enjoy its famous beaches, and Exoticca’s failure to deliver on this crucial aspect of our trip left us feeling completely let down. It was a disappointing end to what could have been a memorable vacation. In conclusion, if you value your travel experiences and want to ensure your trip goes as planned, I strongly advise you to avoid Exoticca Travel. Their business model might seem appealing at first, but their lack of accountability and disregard for customer satisfaction will leave you regretting your choice. Save yourself the trouble and book directly with reliable travel services or agencies.