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_________________________________________________________________________________________________ Date: March 17, 2007 Dear Harold Thank you very much. happy to be a reference in the future. Our Reply: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ From: Harold - Orbit Costa Rica [mailto:mail@orbitcostarica.com] From: "Jeff Sharp" San Diego, California From: The Masons masonjs@nrtco.net I just wanted to thank you for all your help, we did stay at Hotel Playa Hermosa, right on the beach, that you suggested at the beginning, we loved it!!!! YOUR CAR RENTAL AGENTS were wonderful, got a yaris with 5500 km, with that extra liability insurance, just in case.....luckily we had no trouble, lots of scares though....if you want to send me info on how to leave a reference, let me know! Marilyn Mason CLIENT WHO RENTED FROM RIP OFF CAR RENTAL CO AND OUR ANSWER From: RUV0@aol.com To:mail@orbitcostarica.com I have been to Costa Rica 3 times. The very last time, I rented a vehicle, which overheated and we had to nurse to Liberia. Unfortunately we had to leave it there (but had notified the rental company and awaited their call for advise). Ex----- Car Rental Co. (now Tall--- FICA) posted the money we owed for the rental on the credit card (plus one day we didn't use) and very quickly posted the deposit of c330,000 colones ($1229.32) to the account as well, even though the car had been returned and accepted. To make a long story short, if our friends in CR had not been as tenacious as they were and if they had not been assisted by their attorney, we would have been another theft story. I can only imagine how many people have been taken advantage by Mr.Exo---Scum-bag. So there you go . . . Thank you again for a reference on a car rental company. My tendency would be to use an american name. What do you think? Our Reply: >Date: Sunday, March 14, 1999 11:19 AM Orbit handled over 2700 reservations last year. We only use the 3 rental car companies out of the 100 or so as I explained to you in last message. We give them so much business that they pay attention immediately to any complaints from us. The complaints have been few and far between but the ones I remember best in last 3 years were as follows. 1.Ants in car---I got an adjustment 2.The tercel had only 4 seat belts not five--could not overcome this one 3.One tourist thought he should only pay for a week although he kept the car 7 days and 8 hours-------given policies in other countries this was ridiculous 4.Several complain about the required insurance but gold cards and amex only reduce or eliminate the deductible here. They do not cover liability although they will pay you back in the states I understand. Unlike most countries the government of costa rica owns the only insurance company here and sets the rules 5.We have yet to have an obvious ripoff similar to yours from any of our rentals although the local english language newspaper lists that as number one complaint of tourists who complain of rip offs 6. ORBIT ONLY RESERVES NEW CARS SO WE HAVE NO BREAKDOWN PROBLEMS----IT IS NOT WORTH RUINING VACATION TO SAVE $5 OR $10 AND END UP WITH A 1996 The last question about renting from some company that has an american brand name is a little tricky. Many car rental companies here will use a brand name you are familar with and which may or may not have any connection to the same name american brand name car rental company. Almost without any exception however the rental company here is not a division or branch of any american brand name. One of the companies we use which is absolutely first rate pays for the use of an american brand name but i assure you the ownership is completely separate. From: William Mullins Dear Harold, Many thanks for your help. Yours sincerely, William Mullins P. Sue From: hugh pettit <hpettit@gateway.net Date: Thursday, March 02, 2000
Car rental went great.
Wonderfully! Seth had no trouble with either the car or the service. He was able to pick up the rental when he needed it. Everyone was courteous, well organized and helpful. From: Sandi Resnik dear harold, From: "Mike France" <jacomike1@hotmail.com> Harold
Hola,
Thank you for your help. Everything went fine while we were in Costa Rica.
Dear Orbit Sept. 24 Back to the real world. It was wonderful and Costa Rica is beautiful and the Tulemar was fantastic selection for our honeymoon. The white water rafting and the crocodile tours you selected for us were great with first class guides. We now completely understand what you meant by being careful about renting cars in Costa Rica and we suggest to anyone who rents a car to have a third party like Orbit there to stand up for the tourists if the rental car company tries to give you a poor quality car. Thanks for all your help. Cathy and Rusell Ahern Haverhill, Massachusetts P.S. Tulemar was great. Gilbert at the front desk was extremely helpful and pleasant and went out of his way to help us find things. Rooms were perfect and spotless. Tara had view of top of the world. Cathy. From: Carolyn Swartz cswartz@bpictures.com To: harold/orbitcostarica Date: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 Re: March 20th Sorry it's taken me so long. I still feel like we got back yesterday -- it's just been one very long week of playing catch up. First -- it was great meeting you and thanks very much for your help. We had a great time and no question, we'll be back. Now that I've been there, I realize how much hand-picking you've done -- and how narrowing the field to the really good places is really a valuable service. Each of the places we stayed was really nice. Parador was actually better than I expected. It's really a restful and relaxed atmosphere with the sprawling grounds, the large area by the pool (compared, say, to Mariposa.) If there was a casino or disco, I never saw or heard it. It's in the specs but either it's not in use or not there (which was good.) Needless to say, I was relieved that the place was as low key and disco-less as it was. Xandari is really, really cool and we want to go back. They've really thought of everything. (Apparently, Leona Helmsley is not the only one who believes in plenty of big fluffy towels and terry robes.) You're right -- all we needed was more time. Although Julian started having Nintendo withdrawal symptoms by the end. (I did plan too much road time the first three days -- to Arenal on Day Two, to Manuel Antonio Day Three.) But the drives were plenty gorgeous. Anyway -- we'll be in touch and hope to see you again next year same time. And if you ever need/want to use me as a reference, feel free. Carolyn
Everything went great. Got the car with no hassles and the car worked out
Hola David - yo... me llamo david, and i was checking out your ideas and getting ready for a trip to costa rica in april. you layed out a bunch of beaches to check out, and i am pumped. i am planning on flying into liberia, and driving south to flamingo beach and tamarindo. last time i was in costa rica, i got to rip A SOLID 6-8 FT. SWELL AT TAMARINDO, AND BOdY SURFED SOME MASSIVE CLOSEOUTS AT FLAMINGO. it was awesome. this time i want to check out those spots again, and then a few more. my friend and i just want to cruise the coastline, check out ! waves, and stay in many different places... maybe even a boat trip to witches rock and ollies. i want to camp out on the beach... is this allowed/safe? i also saw you recommend rentals with orbit... we want a four wheel, but nothing fancy. last year i bombed thru a few rivers in a little piece of shit car, and almost stalled the thing. don't want that again. does orbit rent in liberia? or can you help me out there? also, where do you recommend we go after flamingo beach and tamarindo. that is as far south as i know. thanks a lot... gracias amigos... David (from northern california where the water is muy frio)
Harold, You might remember me, last February-March I rented a 12-pax Toyota minivan from you guys but I was terribly paranoid about renting from you just because it was over the internet. Furthermore it was my first time to Costa Rica and I had serious concerns about renting a car because of all the horror stories I had heard. When we arrived at the airport everything was in order and when we returned the vehicle there were no surprises about what we owed. Also I am so glad we rented a new vehicle because those roads in Costa Rica do terrible things to vehicles in a short time. The only problem we had was a flat tire which we were able get patched for just three dollars. Now I am looking to travel to Costa Rica with my wife and I wouldn't feel comfortable renting from anyone else. Sincerely, Christopher J. Conant Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2001 6:39 AM
From: Cheri tico2000@swns.net Date: Thursday, June 22, 2000 7:12 PM Hello Harold!! Thank you for your interest about my experience renting a car with your agency and the Toyota renta Car. I was very happy with the service every one there was very helpful and the service couldn't be better. I will continue to use your services in the future and will recomend to others using your agency. Thank you and it was a pleasure to do business with you. Dear Orbit Many thanks for making our fist trip to Costa Rica a great vacation. The first night at the Rodeo was fine and the accommodations were great. However the real Costa Rica opened up when the Suzuki Sidekick you reserved for us took us to the Tulemar in Manuel Antonio. What a jungle and beach paradise. The ultimate however was back to San Jose in the mountains at the Xandari. The Xandari is not in this world but closer to heaven. Gary Bauer From: Clive Pinder <clive.pinder@scala.com A brief note to thank you for helping arrange what has been a wonderful From: michael mather, cpa <matherx@primenet.com Harold - Thank you for your timely reply. The Villa Teca Hotel was good fun. We were the only guests there the first night. The friendliness of the Hotel employees during our stay was excellent. would also reccomend this Hotel to future guests. The Manual Antonio area is a very special place. From: Cawp2 <cawp2@aol.com Just returned from Costa Rica this afternoon and wanted to let you know how Buena Vista - Lovely little place - charming gardens, my daughter loved the birds The auto Rental - perfect - everyone was very accommodating. All in all, you did a great job - and we appreciate your recommendations and Wishes for a very happy and healthy New Year From: Sheera55@aol.com <Sheera55@aol.com We just returned from a wonderful vacation and wanted to thank you immensely for all of the help you provided. The Buena Vista Hotel was perfect - Ed was there to pick us up at the airport. The Toyota Hi Lux was a perfect vehicle for us - and the price you got for us was well below all of the other places I had priced around for. We really appreciate all of your help, especially your promptness in answering our e-mails. We will definitely recommend you to others.
From: Kurt Zarwell" <kzarwell@hotmail.com> Hello Harold, Thanks for the making the auto reservation and for the advice on the Rav 4. I had a great trip and would recomend your services to anyone. I think its important to have a third party such as yourself to help negotiate if there are any problems. Thanks again and good luck. Kurt From: "Capital Excavation bass" <capitalexcavation@hotmail.com> Harold: Just wanted to thank you for your help. Everything with the RAV 4 rental was great and hassle free. From: "Michael Kelen" michael.kelen@fctcf.gc.ca> Dear harold, our trip was outstanding. we appreciated your advice about avoiding san jose,and staying in the middle our car was so new it did not even have its licence plates yet. finally villa blanca was so beautiful.good recommendation. with many thanks Michael From: Martin Pryor Thank you for facillitating our rental car. We got a diesel Landcruiser Prado 4x4. The entire rental procees went like clockwork, something that is not always the case when dealing over long distances with strangers, especially in Latin America (not to cast any aspersions on Costa Rica, which in all my past experiences, never seems to fit any negative stereotypes.) The truck performed perfectly in the fairly remote region south of Dominical, where reliability is so important. We were entirely satisfied and will contact you first next time we visit Costa Rica, which I hope will be soon!
THE HOLLOYWOOD REPORTER NEW YORK OFFICE 770 BROADWAY, NY 1003 |
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From: James Burkette Thank you so much! Land Cruiser is/was super! The ladies at the agency were great! I will always contact you exclusively when in C.R. Merry Christmas/Mele Kalekemaka; Aloha Jim. |
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HAROLD/ORBIT TRAVEL Hi Harold:
I just wanted to let you know how great things turned out on my recent trip When I arrived at the airport, the company you used to book my 4x4 rental, It was a 2004 Toyota Land Cruiser with only 11,000 kilometers on it. Before The vehicle was a manual 4x4 that was exceptionally clean. It was 4.0 liter The crew were helpful, polite and very professional. They explained the The return was even easier than the pick-up. I had decided to return the I would not hesitate to use your service again. In fact, I plan to return Thank you for the memorable experience. Sincerely, Reprinted from Tico Times, San Jose, Costa Rica, October 2, 1998 Business and Finance Section SABRE STARTS PILOT PROJECT HERE WITH ORBIT TRAVEL Sabre, the worlds largest computerized travel reservation system, is coming to Costa Rica in a brand new way. Sabre's Robert Cole, Director of Hospitality, in a recent trip to Costa Rica, his first, described the new system which will be operational by the end of the year. Sabre will use the services of a local Internet-based travel operator Orbit Travel. Orbit will handle the day to day dealings with the hotels themselves, to make sure the lodgings meet standards, follow through with guest reservations, and do any troubleshooting. Sabre is a publicly traded company althought 82% of its shares are held by American Airlines which developed the Sabre system.
From: "Michael Kelen" michael.kelen@fctcf.gc.ca> Dear harold, our trip was outstanding. we appreciated your advice about avoiding san jose,and staying in the middle our car was so new it did not even have its licence plates yet. finally villa blanca was so beautiful.good recommendation. with many thanks Michael From: "Mike France" <jacomike1@hotmail.com>
Orbit advice: we absolutely want you to get the discount on insurance for using any regular american express card or gold or platinum visa, mc but we know from long experience the credit card companies sometimes make life difficult and they will only cover collission not liability in Costa Rica mastercard depending on what bank issues the card will only cover 2 weeks maximum on the collision so if you rent for more than 2 weeks you have to get our agent who delivers car to call them and verify how long they will cover when you take delivery of car usually amex does not pull this type of problem like this client experienced one other thing driver slower in costa rica than you do in the states or europe : the slower you go the more wildlife you see on the road From: RVal16011@aol.com Just a note to thank you for informing us about the fishing boat and the accommodations in Golfito, Costa Rica. Our trip went extremely well as all reservations and accommodations were better than expected. We especially enjoyed the boat we fished on for three (3) days. The boat was called the Happy Hooker. It is probably one of the most beautiful, well equipped boats we have ever fished from. We were especially pleased with the Captain and his crew. They were all very friendly, accommodating, and knowledgeable. The fishing was great also. If you see the crew of the Happy Hooker any time soon, please give them our regards and tell them we look forward to fishing with them again in the near future. Thanks again, Sincerely, August 8, 1999
SEPT 7, 1999 From: Susanna Macomb macomb@tiac.net From: Susanna Macomb macomb@tiac.net From: Nick Fogler Harold,
Hi Harold,
From: Edward Gorman jr. <ed7578@peoplepc.com>
From: C. Maffia maffial@concentric.net Hi Harold, Just wanted to say that my clients loved your country and had wonderful things to say about nicola and the orbit bus pass program. I really appreciate all the time and PATIENCE you took with me in trying to GET TO KNOW YOU thousands of miles away and your willingness to share phone numbers so I could check references. I will spread the word about the Orbit bus program to my other 200 agent friends.
Thanks again for all your help.
Many thanks for your help in arranging a rental car and a place to stay on And especially, thanks for your indispensible advice conerning property Thanks again, James Miller ORBIT NOTE: WE ARE VERY PROUD OF DR. MILLER'S DISCOVERY OF A NEW KIND OF
From: Bob Frieden <rfrieden@energyguide.com> Harold:
Harold, We will recommend you to our friends and will certainly contact you for our next visit. Cheers, David and Gail Williams, Tucson<?smaller>
From: Martin, Mark E. mmartin@Sidley.com Harold -- Just returned from Costa Rica. Your people were very Dear Harold at Orbit: We have just arrived back from Costa Rica. WE LOVED IT! The country, the culture, the people, just about everything! We had a simply wonderful time. We would like to thank you for all your travel arrangments and advice. Everything went so smoothly. We will certainly recommend you to all our friends etc. It won't be long before we come back to Costa Rica. Meanwhile, thank you once again for helping us have a "perfect" vacation. The Orbit Costa Rica private bus transfers worked perfectly. The drivers were always on time, (never a minute late)! They were courteous and very helpful and extremely good drivers, which is difficult on Costa Rica roads. Although not many of the drivers spoke English, it did not matter as the voucher system worked marvellously. The vehicles were usually mini-buses and often than not, we were the only passengers. The only thing we could fault, was that the air-conditioning in the vehicles, did not function very well. It did not bother us, as there was plenty of ventilation from the open windows. When we arrived at our hotel the first night, the driver of the interbus gave us a booklet of vouchers for all the hotels, travel arrangements and tours (we obviously signed a credit card receipt). The vouchers stated the dates, destinations and pick-up times, so no money was exchanged for the entire trip (except for tips, which may I add was not expected from any of the drivers or guides). My husband and I travel all the time - all over the world, so we are used to delays, hiccups etc., and a lot of our trips have been "first class" travel too, (Jack is President of a Swedish Company, so his job necessitates a lot of traveling). We have never been on a trip that was so well organized, everything ran like clockwork! Please do not hesitate to use us as a reference, at any time. If we can be of further help, just let us know. PS - Yes, we are British and living in Danbury, CT. From: CHRISTISON,PAM (A-FtCollins,ex1) pam_christison@agilent.com From: Lynn Clark Harold, Thanks for everything. Lynn Clark
From: "Scott Brane" <scott@branepartners.com> Harold
From: AdelaideR@aol.com I wanted to let you know I had a great time in Costa Rica and appreciate all you did to help make the trip happen. I couldn't believe how smoothly everything went!! I also wanted to pass on my compliments to Mike at Rio Sierrpe Lodge. He organized wonderful tours for us, and the food and accommodations were great He was especially helpful in suggesting an alternative tour for me and Louis. Being three months pregnant, I didn't want to do an overly strenuous hike or attempt a dangerous boat landing. He was able to accommodate our needs perfectly. Instead of attempting to land at the rocky Corcovado Park entrance, we went to San Joselito and spent the day there snorkeling and hiking. We had a lot of fun and our tour guide and boat captain were both excellent. Caño Island was also beautiful. Thanks again for all your efforts. Adele
From: Minnig, Cliff Jr. Cliff_Minnig@CSX.com
Hello Harold, Thanks..... From: Ben Mull The hotel was great. They have color TV's now with some channels off of a satellite dish. We got to watch game 4 in the lounge. Andre, Victor, and Ivan are all real nice and several "little" things are included that make them look like they really try for that customer service. Free taxi to the airport (both ways), just about anything on the breakfast menu for free if you stay for a few days, and they even upgraded our room for no additional charge just because I asked!! GREAT PLACE. wish it were closer to the business appointments we need. Ben Hi there! Hey Harold I looked at your website & one of your customer letters was actually a business friend from California !! What a coincidence ! So, I guess this is a sign that I need to rent from you ! The folks I knew on the list were the Resniks from Santa Barbara. They own 2 Relax the Back Stores in that area & I own the Relax the Back Store in Memphis TN. We see each other each year at our national conference. Regards -- Chris ORBIT NOTE: Date: Thursday, March 02, 2000 From: EWEpp@aol.com EWEpp@aol.com Our visit to Costa Rica was fabulous! We hope to return very soon. The car rental company was very helpful and convenient, and provided no problems coming or going. Our only complaint was that we did not have enough time to do everything.
From: PeterTurnerWE@aol.com PeterTurnerWE@aol.com From: Ryan Herbst ryan@compxchange.com Date: October 15, 1998 To: Costa Rica Travel Network Dear Harold: I hope you are doing well. I am sure you will recall my last visit last year, when my Peruvian wife had problems with her passport and you graciously provided time and help. It was hard for me to believe North Americans like me can enter Costa Rica with just a drivers license and South Americans need a visa. We are again planning a trip to Costa Rica, this time with another couple and would love to have you assist us once again.
Hope all is well, Ryan Herbst Computer Exchange Voted "Best Computer Store" 1997 Houston Press Readers Poll From: hugh pettit hpettit@gateway.net From: French, Martin V LCDR frenchmv@eisenhower.navy.mil From: Jennifer Zbozny jzbozny@hotmail.com I think it was someone named Nicola at orbitcostarica who helped me to book a ticket back to San Jose for our friend Joe (who did make it into San Jose and came with us on our trip!). Please say thanks again to him too! (I did ask to speak with you, but again, I missed you!) From: Gail Schauer schaug@merck.utulsa.edu Date: July 29, 1998 Orbit: Thanks so much. All is well. Wonderful country. Loved the volcano and the cloud forest. All the people we met with were very helpful and firendly. You are quite knowledgeable of the country and you can use my recommendation. Gail University of Tulsa From: wiendert hensen tico2429@hotmail.com
From: JL tvprod@southshore.com To Orbit From Gordon Duncan 55 Water Street NYC By the way everything was as promised, Costa Rica is a beautiful country and I met many people who were quite charming. I will return gladly and will use Orbit again. Stewart Freeman Managing Director - Gotham Health Group American Society of Bariatric Physicians 267 Fifth Avenue New York, New York Dear Orbit Travel of Costa Rica Many thanks for helping me before and during my first visit to Costa Rica. Your system is great and your insight and instructions were a great time saver. It was impossible for me to understand before my arrival how important your information was in my vacation satisfaction. The tour you gave me was fantastic and I now have a real impression of what you mean when you state that Costa Rica is a mix of the third and first world and how easy it is to get lost without a professional guidance. I will be coming back soon and bringing a friend. Stewart Freeman Dear Orbit Sept. 24 Back to the real world. It was wonderful and Costa Rica is beautiful and the Tulemar was fantastic selection for our honeymoon. The white water rafting and the crocodile tours you selected for us were great with first class guides. We now completely understand what you meant by being careful about renting cars in Costa Rica and we suggest to anyone who rents a car to have a third party like Orbit there to stand up for the tourists if the rental car company tries to give you a poor quality car. Thanks for all your help. Cathy and Rusell Ahern Haverhill, Massachusetts P.S. Tulemar was great. Gilbert at the front desk was extremely helpful and pleasant and went out of his way to help us find things. Rooms were perfect and spotless. Tara had view of top of the world. Cathy. From: Carolyn Swartz cswartz@bpictures.com To: harold/orbitcostarica Date: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 Re: March 20th Sorry it's taken me so long. I still feel like we got back yesterday -- it's just been one very long week of playing catch up. First -- it was great meeting you and thanks very much for your help. We had a great time and no question, we'll be back. Now that I've been there, I realize how much hand-picking you've done -- and how narrowing the field to the really good places is really a valuable service. Each of the places we stayed was really nice. Parador was actually better than I expected. It's really a restful and relaxed atmosphere with the sprawling grounds, the large area by the pool (compared, say, to Mariposa.) If there was a casino or disco, I never saw or heard it. It's in the specs but either it's not in use or not there (which was good.) Needless to say, I was relieved that the place was as low key and disco-less as it was. Xandari is really, really cool and we want to go back. They've really thought of everything. (Apparently, Leona Helmsley is not the only one who believes in plenty of big fluffy towels and terry robes.) You're right -- all we needed was more time. Although Julian started having Nintendo withdrawal symptoms by the end. (I did plan too much road time the first three days -- to Arenal on Day Two, to Manuel Antonio Day Three.) But the drives were plenty gorgeous. Anyway -- we'll be in touch and hope to see you again next year same time. And if you ever need/want to use me as a reference, feel free. Carolyn From: Donald A. McFarlane
From: James H Morse
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