Testimonials
The challenge of doing business in today's world is finding ways to build relationships when most of the contacts are made through e-mails and websites. Getting to know someone in today's electronic world is especially challenging for travel services like Elegant Europe. Our goal is to provide personalized service and to create unique travel experiences. The most important part of planning and arranging a dream vacation is the ability to understand and accommodate the unique needs of each client — all without the luxury of casual in-person visits with our clients !
That is why it is so important for us to receive feedback from our clients. We are constantly looking for ways to provide better service, and we request suggestions and comments from our clients throughout our working relationship. It is especially gratifying when a client writes to let us know how much they enjoyed their trip when they return home after their vacation.
So, we want to share our clients comments with you. We thought that reading their comments might help you get to know us a little and give you a better idea of what Elegant Europe can do to help you plan your dream vacation.
Portugal 
SpainDear Marie
Thank you for your excellent expertise In planning our trip. We also appreciated your assistance during The trip while in Ronda. We would definitely recommend Your services to our friends.
ItalyDear Marie,
We had a wonderful time in Rome. Our tours were great. We especially loved Tosca!!! The restaurants you chose were incredible! Beautiful views. Thank you so much for making our first European vacation such a nice experience.
ItalyMy husband and I, both senior citizens, just returned from a three week trip to Italy. Thanks to a recommendation from travel writer Karen Brown, we were introduced to Marie Notot of Elegant Europe. Marie did a wonderful job of assisting us with our travel plans.
Marie took the stress out of our train travel by researching the train schedules, purchasinsg our tickets, and sending them to us before we left the US.
When we wanted to spend the night in a village with which Marie was not familiar, she did some research and came up with accomodations for us. Marie made suggesetions from her experiences based on what we had told her our interests were.
One of the highlights of our trip was having personal guides in Rome and Florence. Marie selected guides for us who she thought would enhance our experiences...............she was 100% on target! The guides, who became friends who we hope will visit us in Oregon, made history come alive. They not only gave us factual information, but also provided anecdotes and stories about the characters of the Age. When we decided we wanted to spend more days with the guides, all it took was an email to Marie.
If we were planning another trip to Europe, the first phone call we made would be to Marie. We highly recommend her to other travellers.
PortugalMarie,
Our trip to Portugal was perfect from start to finish, from north to south, from breakfast through dinner! Frankly it was even better than we imagined. The itinerary we planned together gave us just the right amount of time to stay in each region long enough to become steeped in its own unique culture and atmosphere. Each pousada, hotel and inn added to our trip in different ways from large to small, formal to informal, city to countryside. Thank you for your expertise. You saved us time, money and helped us make memories to last a lifetime. I would proudly and confidently recommend your services to anyone traveling to Europe.
SpainJill and I both wanted to thank you for guiding us so well and for helping arrange such a wonderful trip to Spain. Everything went very smoothly, and everywhere we stayed was wonderful. Our only regret is that we didn't have at least one more day in each place that we visited !
We hope that it isn't too long before we return to Spain and/or France, and when we do we'll be back in touch. We also won't hesitate to recommend you to any friends who are planning a trip to southwestern Europe …
Once again, thank you for everything !
FranceDear Marie
We had a wonderful time in France and really loved the Maison Bleu. It was perfect for our needs! Thank you for all of your help and we look forward to working again with you soon.
SpainOur trip to Spain was beyond our expectations. Spain is a treasure with mountains, villages and grand cities that you, Marie, made sure that we captured. Your planning and attention to detail helped us to see the snow- capped Pyrennees, the Prado, the Paradors. Every venture was exciting with just enough travel time between each venue. That was very important to us having made a trip to Portugal and one to Scandinavia where distance was not measured correctly and there was little time to enjoy the new city before jumping in the car again. Having our own car gave us the opportunity to take the back roads, stop by farms to buy cherries, lunch at off- beat bars and restaurants and see the abandoned castles along the way. We especially appreciated your prompt responses and thoughtful suggestions. You made our trip to Spain one that we will never forget. I will suggest to friends to contact you when visiting Europe and I know they will have a memorable vacation.
FranceI do greatly appreciate your help. Your services were terrific and reasonably priced. It's always a little nerve racking to make these kind of arrangements for a trip abroad, but I completely trusted you. And that is important for any traveler.
Thanks again for helping make the trip go so well !
FranceMy husband and I set out to plan and execute an adventurous trip to France. We lost our beloved "Papa" this past year and found his notes from his previous trips to France which he had taken with Nana several years earlier. We wanted to experience some of the many places they visited and loved so much. That is when Marie came into our lives. We had some friends who used her services about 10 years ago ... we contacted her and the fun began. We gave her a list of many places that we were interested in seeing during our vacation. She came up with a feasible driving itinerary, booked all of our hotels, car and some dinner reservations. She helped us focus on specific areas of interest and gave us good insight into driving around France. We loved all of our accommodations ... we stayed at some really unique hotels. It was nice to have someone in France who knows the country and who was available to help us while we were traveling. She was only an email away when we needed one last hotel reservation after finally deciding at the last minute and while in France which return route we would be taking. We really appreciate Marie's expertise in customizing our trip. She was a pleasure to work with and very responsive to our questions or concerns. Thank you for making our special "tribute to Papa" vacation in France a memorable one !
FranceWe are experienced travelers, but decided to tap into the experience and native familiarity Marie Notot offered for our fall 2010 trip to Normandy — our first visit to this marvelous region of France. We are very glad we did. We are long time fans of Karen Brown, which led us to Marie in the first place. But, when we explained our interests and preferences — cultural, historical, dining — Marie recommended unique, memorable, and practical plans we would not have necessarily planned on our own. With our busy work schedules, we especially appreciated having Marie book and confirm reservation for accommodations, transportation (we drove), and some dining. And, when we encountered an unusual problem at a highly-regarded Relais & Chateau establishment, Marie's intervention clearly carried weight. Last, but not least, it was a pleasure to work with Marie. We are only sorry that our itinerary was so packed that we did not have the opportunity to meet her in person.
FranceWe want to thank you for everything you did for us. We loved our trip ! We could not have planned a trip with our one-year daughter to the Cote d'Azur, Provence, Carcasonne, and the Lot valley without you. Your attention detail and your ability to understand exactly what we wanted was indispensable. We also appreciated your help securing a baby backpack rental. It was a pleasure to work with you and I have already recommended you to friends and family.
I hope we can plan a trip soon with your help
FranceMarie Notot, Elegant Europe, was the number one difference maker in creating a wonderful travel experience on our recent trip to France. My wife and I recently took a three week vacation to France and we could not be happier and more satisfied that we found Marie to help plan and coordinate our trip. Marie took the time and interest to get to know us so she could customize the trip schedule and itinerary specifically to our interests. The accommodations, of which there were many in three weeks, and the special tours that Marie arranged were ideal. We truly felt we experienced France with the trip plan Marie developed. Marie was a pleasure to work with as she was always responsive and provided good recommendations making this Our trip. Probably the most important, Marie stayed involved throughout our traveling and on more than one occasion she was a life-saver in resolving any unexpected problems or issues. We have worked with many different travel agencies and coordinated trips ourselves but by far Marie was the easiest to work with and created the best travel experience we have had in forty years.
FranceThank you for helping us to plan the most amazing trip to France ! From the beginning your extremely organized and efficient manner helped to take the stress out of the entire planning process. Our numerous accommodations in Cote d'Azur, Provence, Burgundy, Loire Valley and Paris were all wonderful.
Our tours of Monte Carlo, Cannes, and Nice in the South to our Burgundy wine tour and our Paris walking tour, all of our guides were lovely, relaxed and informed, and made learning more about France a complete pleasure. Spending time with these wonderful people who lived in each of these regions helped us to learn much more about the country than we had on any of our previous trips to France. Our dining reservations and our lovely Seine dinner cruise were delicious and very fun !
Seeing several regions of the country over several weeks could have been exhausting, especially for our nine year old daughter, but you helped us to plan just the right amount of time in each location and we loved every minute of our stay ! Thank you again for helping us to plan a trip that we will all remember forever. We wouldn't dream of planning another trip to France, Spain or Portugal in the future without your help !
With much gratitude.
A huge factor in our enjoyment of our travels in Europe was the advice and assistance received from Marie Notot. In the time before we left Marie was extremely constructive in her suggestions and in responding very, very quickly to our requests. We particularly benefited from her services on our visit to Corsica. This magnificent island was made more so by Marie's choice of locations and places to stay which were always a little off the beaten track, always delightful. The same attention to detail and tasteful choices applied to the itineraries we worked on with her for our time in the hills inland from Nice and through central and northern Spain. Marie is highly professional and a delightful person with whom to deal.