Jazakillah Khair for providing our family with a wonderful and memorable umrah experience. The staff in USA office and in Saudia Arabia were all very helpful and the service was excellent.
Hotel accomodations were very good, both hotels were close to haram and gave us a comfortable stay. Transportation and mazaraat were also good masha'Allah. Overall it was a wonderful experience however there were a few things that we wanted to suggest: Firstly, our package was for 3 days in Makkah and 3 days in Madinah but the traveling to get there took alot of that time. Our first days in both cities were wasted because we reached there late at night around 8-9 pm. It would have been better if the flight and transportation were arranged so that we could reach each city in the morning of the first day instead of the evening so that we could benefit from and take advantage of the first day as well.
Second suggestion was that although we received excellent service in both cities, particularly from Sister Naz and Qari Basit saab in Makkah, they were not able to accompany us to Madinah because their stay in Makkah was longer than ours. This was a little problematic for us because it was our first time going for umrah and since they were not able to accompany us to Madinah, when we reached there we were a little lost in terms of what to do. Ofcourse we had studied the rituals and what to perform, etc., however it is alot easier when there is a guide present who is familiar with the masjid and locality and knows where to go. They were both excellent guides in Makkah but we wished that we had been provided a male and female guide in Madinah as well who could guide us in Masjid e Nabawi. The staff who was present in Madinah were helpful too and answered any questions we had but they did not guide us through each step like the staff in Makkah had, and we were left on our own for the most part.
Third and last suggestion was that although the hotel in Madinah (Movenpick) was very good and comfortable, we had a bit of inconvenience with getting to the Roza Mubarak (prophet Muhammad SAW grave) because it was on the opposite side from our hotel. This is not too much of a concern, as it only required extra walking for us which would have been ok however being that my mother had been unwell before the trip, it was a bit challenging for her to walk that long distance. Also, in Makkah there had conveniently been numerous restaurants to eat from right under the Safwa hotel (there is a whole floor dedicated to restaurants with a variety of different foods) and also numerous shops to browse from as well, but in Movenpick Madinah there were not as many restaurants close by and we had to walk far to get to a good restaurant. Also alot of people advise swiss watches shopping in the Tayba shopping center in Madinah and this was located a bit far from our hotel. We did have alot of shops in and outside our Movenpick hotel but they were overpriced and not as good as what we found at the tayba shopping center. We found that this replica watch shopping center was also closer to the Roza Mubarak too, so I think it would be extremely convenient if people got accomodated at a hotel that is situated between or near those two locations so that they had easier access to both.
Alhamdulillah we had an unforgettable experience and we want to thank everyone at Dar el Salam who made that possible. Please do not take any offense at my suggestions, I did not mean to sound critical in any way, and if I did or if I offended, then I sincerely apologize. These were merely suggestions that we thought would make an almost perfect trip more perfect :) .
Again, jazakillah for everything, and we will definetly consider taking another trip with Dar el Salam in the future, Allah willing.