C.N.A. Western Fly Drive - Customer Comments
Read reviews from customers who have experienced one of our most popular drive programs for themselves. The CNA Western is unique - It provides visits to some of the most awe-inspiring natural wonders in the western USA whilst carefully planning the amount of driving you do. It also incorporates places to stay that strike that fine balance of standards and location - It’s no wonder 1000’s of people choose the CNA Western as their preferred drive program when visiting the western USA. Scroll down to read some of our customer experiences or click the link below to view this itinerary.
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33 Responses to “C.N.A. Western Fly Drive - Customer Comments”
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Dear Sarah
I just wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful time in America and everything went smoothly. We appreciated our hotel upgrades, the St. Francis in San Francisco ( very classy) and even more so Bally’s in Las Vegas instead of Circus Circus, which apart from looking rather dilapidated was also some way away from the rest of the other attractions. A couple of the hotels did not seem to realise that we were one party and put us far away from each other, but this could be down to them. The standard of the hotels was very good and we enjoyed the system of choosing your car at Alamo’s car rental at San Francisco airport. Our sat. nav. was sometimes at odds with your instructions, which apart from a couple of errors, were very useful and more accurate than the sat.nav. Thank you for all your help and advice before the trip and I would certainly consider travelling with you again, if the premium bonds come up! If I were to suggest any other information you could give it would perhaps be good places to eat in the cities. We were at a bit of a loss the first evening in San Francisco as there did not seem to be much near the hotel, or at least we couldn’t find anything suitable and of course we were very tired. This is the sort of information one can find in guide books, but it would be handy if you have any local tips from people that know the area. All in all however it was great and thanks again.
Yours sincerely
Christine Lowe ( on behalf of all four of us )
Hi Claire
Well, we made it there and we made it back. This is just a note to say that all your arrangements for us (flights, hotels and car) worked seamlessly - no hassles at any point.
Three observations for your consideration. We believe that:
1. without SATNAV, which we had, things would have been awkward (i.e. it would NOT have been hassle-free if our only means of navigation was your maps - perhaps that should be emphasised to customers
2. the Intercontinental was perhaps a bit OTT for weary travellers who, at the end of a fantastic but testing holiday, were just running out of money and clean clothes !!!
3. [and possibly most importantly] the holiday would have been even more fulfilling and ‘efficient’ had your magnificent tome of advice and suggestions arrived a month before we left rather than a week or so. There was far to much to get thro’ in so short a period which left us having to waste valuable holiday time doing ad hoc planning as we went along
However, it was a great experience and we thank you for the thoroughness of your attention to us throughout the process
Sincerely
Robin and Jean Atkinson
***CNA Comment***
We wholeheartedly concur with Robin & Jean’s comments regarding StaNav and will be making this a prominent tip on our re-designed website due out in January. In the meantime we have added it to our travel tips page. To view our tips click here
The Intercontinental is a fabulous hotel and gives us such a great deal currently that to put our clients in a lesser hotel and charge more money would make little sense. I’d reccomend dining out at the reccomendation of the excellent hotel concierge.
Point taken about the travel packs - Sometimes in the height of the season it can be tricky getting them out as early as we’d like as much of material is shipped over from America - We will address this point for 2010.
WE have just got back from our amazing US trip. Everything worked really well (couple of little blips detailed below-but nothing really significant) All your bookings were straight forward. Alamo were a little slow rescuing us when we had a problem-but that was their dispatcher at fault-no-one else.
We would definitley recommend using your services to anyone else, and would aim to use you again if we manage to follow up the contacts we have made.
WE had 2 hours at Chicago for changeover-the Manchester plane was 20 minutes late, and then we had to queue for 75minutes to go through immigration. They all said we wouldn’t catch the next plane, and that the luggage definitely wouldn’t. In fact we caught it, and the luggage arrived perfectly. Is it worth allowing a little more for their immigration procedures?
The other tiny blip was that we went on Labour Day weekend (unbenowst to us) and the queues in Circus Circus took 90 minutes to work our way to register. I don’t know that we would have done anything different, but we were a bit taken aback by the length of the queue. Would it be worth warning people??
Please don’t think I am moaning, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and loved the national parks we got to. Extraordinary that I booked the government camp sites on line, and we would turn up in some tiny obscure campsite in Seuoia to find our name on a pole on the correct day.
Circus Circus were quite calm about us leaving the car in their car park for the 4 days we were off in the Grand Canyon (at no cost) and only charged us $15 for the suitcase in the safe.
So thank you very much, we had a really good time. And the file continues to amaze us.
Hotel ADagio in San Francisco is lovely. Their restaurant has closed down because of the economic climate! Sign of the times I suppose.
Thanks
Jill Hubbard
***CNA Comment***
When booking flights we are required to allow an internationally recognised minimum connection time, which varies from flight to flight and should allow enough time for the connection. If we allow this and due to unforseen reasons connections are missed by passengers or bags don’t make it the airlines takes responsability to get both to their final destination asap. If of course our clients would like longer connecting times this can sometimes be provided depending on the airlines operating schedule and could of course involve quite some waiting around.
Jill makes a valid point about the queues in Las Vegas which are common place at most hotels. We will be starting a new section on the blog shortly called ‘Travel Tips’ which will include lots of useful information for travellers including the dates of major holidays in America.
The Hotel Adagio was recently inspected by our team. The bar is due to re-open anytime now and the restaurant will be open again for the 2010 summer season. However please ask a member of our team for reccomendations on restaurants, we can send you to some fabulous places and breakfast just round the corner at ‘Dotties’ is the way to go!
Many thanks to Jill and our other valued clients for their feedback which we are happy to share.
Hi Kerry (and team)
Thought we just had to write and say thank you all for arranging such a fantastic holiday. When your folder arrived just before the trip we were so impressed and were then confident that we were in for a holiday of a lifetime. It was just fabulous. Everything worked like clockwork - the car hire, the hotels the flights. Did not think B.A. gave a very good service - perhaps they should come and have some staff training with your company. It was so reassuring to arrive at hotels etc. knowing that you had got it all organised for us - and it was. There was never a problem. Thank you all very much. We have already recommended you to so many people.
Sure we will be doing business with you again in the near future.
Regards
Colin and Jenny Wood
Hi Roger, just a quick note to say how much we enjoyed our recent trip to California. You put together a wonderful itinerary and everything went like clockwork.
Three very satisfied customers.
Regards.
Sue Clague
Dear Sir, I thought I would just write to you to say thank you for the fantastic organisation and customer service my family and I experienced from your company. We booked our trip around the West Coast of America and as well as tailoring it to our requirements you also upgraded us in a number of areas FOC. Furthermore, the detail and papers sent prior to traveling were exemplary. We experienced no problems whatsoever on our travels (unlike some other travelers we saw) and also received unexpected additions (breakfast) in some of the hotels. All in all the holiday organisation undertaken by you added to the overall experience resulting in a stress free, fabulous holiday. We will definitely recommend your company to others and, if we travel to the US again, will use you again ourselves. Thankyou. Romelle Piercy and Family
David
Have been back from our trip to the western US for a few days now and had to reflect on what truly was a tremendous experience…our first holiday in the US. I would like to take this opportunity to provide some basic feedback. Obviously, with such a complex itinerary things did not always go exactly to plan, but they all worked out well in the end
1. All the hotels and the rooms were first rate. In particular, the cabin at Zion Lodge NP, the room at the View (Monument Valley) and the Amara Creekside Hotel, Sedona were exceptional.
2. Due to a forest fire in the Yosemite NP, the Yosemite View Lodge at El Portal was evacuated and the route subject to a 120 mile diversion. After stopping at a small visitor centre, alternative accommodation was arranged for us by your agent in the US in liaison with a ranger in a visitor centre and all went smoothly.
3. The Alamo car rental tried very hard to sell us a larger hire car but having resisted this, found the smaller car very comfortable and adequate for the journey, although it did struggle up some of the climbs to Yosemite and Death Valley.
Thanks again for a great holiday experience
Regards
Paul
Hi Kerry
Just to let you know everything went well for our trip and the Helicopter ride was a great success.
Had the holiday of a lifetime and had lots of wonderfull memories.
Thanks for all your help
Heather Brown
Many thanks for your impeccable organisation for our recent holiday, 28th May-12th June.
We were most impressed with the folder, which gave us all the information needed, and we were delighted with the itinerary, the hotels were good, and your driving directions were spot on, So we had no hassles at all.
The weather didn’t match the brochures, but that’s scarcely your fault. We drove over the Tioga Pass, leaving Yosemite, in a blizzard (yes truly….they closed the pass after us!), then into the desert heat of Death Valley, only for it to rain for a few minutes in an area which goes years between rainfall. What an experience.
Anyway, we are happy to recommend both your company and our particular tour to our friends.
Regards
Jenny and Chris
Just to say thank you for the experiance of a lifetime. We have just returned after our CNA Western trip it was awaome. Our thanks to the team for great hotels, breathtaking views, and the most sceanic drives. The whole trip went like clockwork thank you Complete North America. Will be sure to use and recomend you if ever planning another trip.
Allan
Further to our telephone conversation we are writing to say how much we enjoyed our recent holiday to California, Nevada and Arizona and to thank you for making the arrangements. The hotels varied but all were perfectly acceptable and appropriate for their location. The Adagio was particularly convenient. The itinerary covered the major areas of interest and allowed for a period of relaxation and winding down at the end of the holiday. Our contact with your office was always both pleasant and efficient and we would certainly use your company again.
Kind regards,
Sue and Peter
Hi Kerry
Just to thank you and the team as we had a great holiday. Your choice of hotels was excellent and the notes provided were very helpful.
Ian
Dear Claire,
Just a note to say thank you for your help in arranging our holiday in America all the arrangements went extremely
well apart from collecting the car in San Francisco were we endured a two and a half our queue.
The whole trip was magical especially Yosemeti Park and we also booked a trip to Alcatraz and a Helicopter trip to
the Grand Canyon which were both magnificent.
Once again many thanks for your patience and assistance in making this a special trip and one we will always
remeber.
Best Regards,
Ellis and Jackie
Dear David,
Just a brief line to let you know that we enjoyed a superb holiday.
and that your organisation and itinerary were excellent.
Everything you arranged happened, the information at the Hotel
Adagio on arrival was most useful, the orientation tour of San
Francisco a very good launch, and all the hotels were ideal, and
very well located.
We upgraded the car at Alamo to big SUV, and accomplished 2500
miles most comfortably, including the detour to Sedona, fitted in a
helicopter flight at Grand Canyon and a superb show in Las Vegas.
We are most appreciative of your advice and guidance during our
planning of the holiday, without that, we would not have accomplished
such a memorable “Golden Wedding” celebratory holiday.
We hope you are well, and enjoying a good year,
Yours gratefully,
Ursula and Jim
Just returned from ‘awesome’ CNA Western Fly Drive.
San Francisco was unexpectedly chilly but a lovely city - very friendly people and great shopping!
Got our car on day 3(a free upgrade)then off to Carmel. Bit of a let-down as it was so foggy we didn’t see much of the coastline. Also I got food poisoning that night so didn’t appreciate next day’s journey to Yosemite. Didn’t do drive to Big Sur as still foggy and feeling unwell.
Yosemite was amazing, fabulous views around every corner. Accomodation good and hot tub after a days hiking much appreciated.
Death Valley such a contrast but very beautiful in it’s own way. You could be on another planet.
Las Vegas - what can I say! OTT, trashy, lot’s of plastic people but not as bad as we were expecting. Enjoyed a day relaxing by the pool at the Bellagio, bliss.
Grand Canyon - out of this world! You really have to see it to appreciate the scale of it all. Helicopter flight over the canyon a must do - even if you hate flying (like me). Sunrise on my birthday ‘awesome’ then off to Lake Havasu City via Sedona. Beautiful views en-route and miles and miles of long straight roads and few cars. Accomodation once again excellent. Perfect stopover before Los Angeles. LA a vast sprawl of a place but found hotel easily. Window shopping on Rodeo Drive, visit to Hollywood and Venice Beach then off to LAX for flight home.
No hassle at all at Terminal 5 and luggage arrived with us!
Only hold up was on connecting flight to Aberdeen - delayed for an hour due to President Bush’s arrival in UK.
All in all a very memorable holiday. First class hotels and no problems with directions etc. Wish we could afford to go again next year.
Kathleen and Ronnie.
17/06/2008.
To Charlotte Barnes,
The holiday was absoutely fantastic, you did a brilliant job of organising everything. All the hotel bookings, car hire and airline bookings were spot on - all hotels clean, comfy and in ideal locations.
The wedding day went smoothly - the hairdressing appointements, the limo, church, flowers, dinner at Venetian & the show afterwards went all to plan, (would definitely recommend going to see the Legends show at The Imperial Hotel).
All in all it was the holiday of a lifetime, your companies attention to detail, such as the welcome pack, maps and printed out routes etc.for our journeys was so helpful and so organised,I could never have planned this myself!
So thanks once again, you made ours a wedding and holiday to remember for years to come!
Kind Regards,
Alanna Ramponi
To all concerned ……
A massive thank you for the fantastic CNA Western holiday we have just completed! It was the holiday of a lifetime and I coudn’t fault a single thing. Your attention to detail was first class and it took away all the hassle and worry of where to stay, what to do, how to get there, car hire …. etc.
The hotels were all superb and our upgrade to the Renaissance in LA was a lovely way to finish off our holiday.
I have looked at the flights and accommodation since coming home and no way could we begin to match the brilliant price you offered. I have recommended you to friends and we will definitely be travelling with you again in the hopefully not too distant future!
Once agan thank you for making our holiday such a fantastic and hassle free one!
Best wishes
Christine
I had to write & thank you very much for our fabulous holiday to the states, it truly was the best holiday we have ever taken. Everything from the car hire to the accommodation to the chosen places was superb, our favourite moment was the helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon, fabulous!
I had to write & thank you very much for our fabulous holiday to the states, it truly was the best holiday we have ever taken. Everything from the car hire to the accommodation to the chosen places was superb, our favourite moment was the helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon, fabulous!
Sara & Russell
hi, just a little email to say thank you to all of the help and assistance in relation to the planning of our honeymoon to America, we had an amazing time and all of the maps, hotels etc were great.
Thanks again, Gillian & Graham
Good Morning
Time has passed since our holiday but it has been on my mind to get in touch, finger and keyboard finally meet !
On behalf of Karen and I, I would like to thank you sincerely for the work you did setting up our holiday, with the exception of Hertz, who were initially a pain in the neck everything went really well indeed. The hotels were absolutely fine, most times we had a corner room which meant it was bigger or just out of the way a bit from the main corridor ‘run’.
The distances travelled were no worry and we did a few ‘excursions’ en route like Palm springs cable car, Joshua National Park, Carmel’s 17 mile drive, Point Lobos and a few others. I did buy an upgrade chip for my satnav which was a real bonus, obviously it helped with the navigation but the main reason was so we could judge travel times and go off the beaten track without arriving too late at the hotels. For your interest the last hotel was the only one that could be described as a bit shabby although we did note they are having a refit very soon.
In a nutshell thank you very much we will recommend you to our friends and ‘funds’ dependant we could well do something again with you next year. If you have any mailings associated with Canada or other areas of the USA over the coming months email or surface mail them to me.
Kindest regards
Bill & Karen
***CNA Comment***
Bill & Karen took a modified version of our advertised CNA Western fly drive itinerary, for more details please get in touch.
Roger
Just returned from an excellent trip. Everything worked smoothly apart from the chaos at LAX. I think the Argonaut at san francisco is a great hotel with the free wine at 5.00pm particularly relaxing. It is a superb location with the cable car about 100 yards away which we used to sit by with our early morning coffee. The house at lake tahoe was also great and surprisingly the Beverly hilton was also a success .The other hotels were also very good.
Hertz couldnt seem to find us our minivan so we had a upgrade to a GMC Yukon a 8 person 5.4L monster vehicle. This was much bigger than the ford Expedition you hired next last year . Hope to speak to you soon.
Thanks for all your hard work
Andy
Roger
Just returned from an excellent trip. Everything worked smoothly apart from the chaos at LAX. I think the Argonaut at san francisco is a great hotel with the free wine at 5.00pm particularly relaxing. It is a superb location with the cable car about 100 yards away which we used to sit by with our early morning coffee. The house at lake tahoe was also great and surprisingly the Beverly hilton was also a success .The other hotels were also very good.
Hertz couldnt seem to find us our minivan so we had a upgrade to a GMC Yukon a 8 person 5.4L monster vehicle. This was much bigger than the ford Expedition you hired next last year . Hope to speak to you soon.
Thanks for all your hard work
Just thought I would drop you a line to say thanks for a fantastic holiday. We’ve just returned from the CNA Western and have had the best holiday of our lives. The flights, hotels and hire car were great and everything ran smoothly. The itinerary and suggested detours were very well put together which helped us get the most out of the travelling days. We have already recommended you to several of our friends! Just a shame I’m now back at work. The revised hotel we had for Lake Havasu (Hampton Inn) was fantastic. The Luxor was OK although the check in queues were unbelievable. After the beauty of Yosemite and Death Valley, we decided Vegas wasn’t quite our thing!
My wife and I have just returned from a holiday to Las Vegas,Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam arranged by yourselves. Every part of the trip went as smooth as silk,from flights, hotel bookings and car hire.The occasion was our 40th wedding anniversary and you and your company helped make it a memorable one. I would not hesitate to use you again and would certainly recommend you.
Mr. & Mrs. S
My wife and I have just returned from our first visit to America. We toured from San Francisco to Los Angeles via Carmel, Yosemete, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Lake Havasu. We had a wonderful holiday with every thing going smoothly. A problem with our hire car at Grand Canyon was dealt with within hours by Hertz, who paid for taxis for us to continue our sightseeing without inconvenience. In short, a memorable holiday and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you to others
Robert and Pat
We have just returned from our California trip and would like to say a very big thank you. We had the most wonderful time and this was made possible by the careful attention to detail in your organisation of the itinerary and all your help and advice when planning it. As far as the BA flights were concerned, our outbound trip was a good experience and the extra cost of the World Traveller Plus seats was definitely worthwhile. We won’t hesitate to recommend you to anyone we know planning a USA trip.
Jo & Syd
We would like to thank your company for arranging our itinerary on our recent holiday to California. The holiday went like a dream and all the hotel bookings car hire and airline bookings went well. We made some bookings also for shows, helicopter ride and restaurants etc which added to the enjoyment of the holiday. On the second day of our arrival in San Francisco we arranged from the Hotel Adagio to be met by a greeter which enlightened our stay in S.F. We will certainly recommend your company to our friends and relatives and would have no hesitation using your company again Once again thank you.
Geoffrey & Joyce
Thank you for arranging such a memorable holiday for us. We would certainly recommend driving the 2000 miles of the fantastic CNA Western Flydrive Tour. We certainly left our hearts in San Francisco, and the National Parks of Yosemite, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, and Joshua Tree, to coin an American phrase, really are Awesome.
Due to the rock fall on Route 140, the detour along Route 41, gave us the most spectacular introduction to the Yosemite Valley. It was a sight that I shall never forget. In addition the contrast from the lush Yosemite at 9500 ft above sea level and a balmy 55F, to an arid Death Valley, 250ft below sea level and 120F in the shade on the same day was amazing We would also recommend using the Golden Gate Greeter programme, in San Francisco. This service is provided free and gives you a personalised 2 to 4 hour tour tailored to your specific interests; see the Adagio Hotel website for details. Although we were disappointed that our hired SUV was not available when we went to collect it, after negotiating we left San Francisco in high spirits a black Hummer with tinted windows! We will use CNA again.
David, Rachel, George and Agnes
We wanted to thank you for all your efforts in arranging our holiday this year - or, rather our five-holidays-in-one… we went from 121 degrees in Death Valley to the ski slopes of Mammoth Mountain (in the same day); contrasted hot, glitzy Las Vegas with cool (literally!) and laid-back San Francisco; and, of course, Yosemite is almost indescribably beautiful at this time of year. All the arrangements -flights, cars, hotels, excursions - went like clockwork and met our requirements perfectly. As the ‘govenator’ would say, “We’ll be back!”
Alan & Margaret
We have returned from our holiday on Tuesday and would like to thank you for a lovely holiday. The jet lag is now receding into the distance!
Everything went to plan and the organisation was second to none! We enjoyed San Francisco, had a ride on the famous trams etc. After 3 nights were ready to move on.
Carmel was lovely. Did not call at Monterey, but went straight to Carmel and found a lovely beach to chill out on. Decided to move there if I win the lottery!
Yosemite was brilliant. Such a beautiful place. The scenery was breathtaking! When we went out on to our balcony and saw the river, it was brilliant, except there had been a late snowfall in May, and the snow had started to thaw which meant the river was now rushing by as a noisy torrent, but we still thought it was lovely.
Our next stop at Death Valley was enjoyed by Jeff, but left me feeling a bit sun burnt to say the least. Wow, never felt heat like it.
Wendy and I really enjoyed Vegas. Jeff just does not do shopping, can’ think why!!
When we arrived at the Grand Canyon, and took our first glimpse of the canyon when we arrived at the hotel, the heat of Death Valley and Jeff’s shopping trauma was forgotten and the tranquil beauty was worth every penny!! The helicopter ride over the canyon was so exciting. So glad we did that! Spent all afternoon up until 9pm in the swimming pool at Lake Havasu! It was OK as a stopover, but when we set off to go Los Angeles, we saw some lovely sights at the quiet part of that area.
Loved Los Angeles! Went to Hollywood Boulevard in the morning and spent the rest of the day at Universal studios. Did not get back to the hotel until 10.00pm! The hotel was brilliant and we could see the ‘famous Hollywood sign’ out of our bedroom window!
We would like to go back to Carmel, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Los Angeles! I bought a map of America and will be looking at where else we can visit on our next trip!
Got lots of lovely photos. Once again, many thanks for all your help!
Betty, Jeff and Wendy
Just to let you know that our recent holiday was fantastic. Thanks for helping to put our plans into reality!!! The Hotels were all excellent and all the travel plans went smoothly. We would use your company again without hesitation. Argonaut Hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf is splendid. Very friendly, with excellent service, and wine tasting every evening!!!! Thanks again. Please sent us next year’s brochure!!!
Bill and Maralyn
Just writing to let you know that we had a great holiday. Everything went according to plan. Flights all on time and car journeys went according to plan. Tenaya Lodge and the Bellagio in particular were fantastic and we enjoyed all the places we visited. D. fell in love with Las Vegas! The thank you present received on our return was also appreciated. Thanks for handling everything so efficiently and your attention to detail. We will certainly recommend you to friends and relatives.
Kath