Excellent tour guide (Suzy) who was the heart and soul of this tour. Not only was she organized and professional (and a great guide!) but she was authentic and genuine. I hope to make my way down the entire Smartours Catalogue and i wanted to believe that Smartours was top of its game at this price point. I do believe I should consider comparing future tours with Gate 1 only because I did research this trip and Gate 1's version has hotels which seem markedly of higher quality than we experienced on this tour at a comparable or slightly less cost overall. The three hotels in the middle of the tour were not of a quality that I expect on a group tour. The Topland was a disgrace-filthy, run down and frightening with an inedible breakfast. These hotels (and I know they are only for the evening but still...) were unacceptable. We do not require luxury but we do expect clean and of minimum standard. Please consider making the cooking class an optional activity. As a non-cook I must warn people like me that this is not a beginners class. You are expected to chop garlic, cook with a wok at high flame in a rapid fashion. Secondly please consider swapping out the elephant ride for an elephant sanctuary. I think many younger customers are not going to be comfortable with a show in which elephants perform tricks ( and we know how tricks are taught) and then are ridden by tourists. Wouldn't an elephant conservancy be a more moral and satisfying option? I hope I haven not offended with my review but I did wish to submit the most honest review possible. I was very pleased overall and would gladly do Smartours again. I do believe I have to consider Gate 1 alternatives, which I had hoped was unnecessary, because of the hotel issue