Testimonials

Marylou was absolutely amazing to work with. She was responsive to my questions and had many recommendations that made planning my honeymoon much easier. Not to mention, as a preferred partner the benefits we received as a result of booking with her were a welcome surprise. Would absolutely recommend to a friend.

Blair G | Agent:

We always love working with Mary Lou. She is efficient, organized and will help us at the drop of a hat if something goes wrong. Never before seen such an experienced and dedicated travel agent.

KB | Agent:

It is a pleasure to work with Marylou Calnin-Sek. She is professional, knowledgeable, prompt and responsive. She has been an asset in our travel planning. Thanks

Fan of Marylou | Agent:

I have worked with Marylou for years and would highly recommend her. She is very responsive and creative and very easy to work with. Many times she has even secured an upgrade for us without our even requesting it. She understands what I look for in a property or cruise and makes sure to find it for me.

Linda | Agent:

The best travel agent in the US...Marylou Sek. She is the very Best period!!!!! So love this woman!

Karen Turnet | Agent:

Mary is great to work with. She helped us plan a fantastic vacation. She knows her stuff which made it turnkey for us. Everything went flawlessly. We are so fortunate to have her!

Sue | Agent:

She was very knowledgable, professional, and courteous. She did not push us past our budget but suggested options just beyond that turned out to be very pleasant. All of our reservations were perfect

Becky Hamlin | Agent:

It is such a pleasure working with Mary Lou. She takes care of all the worrisome details, gets us the "best" deals and patiently answers all our questions [sometimes the same question more than once]. At our advanced age [88] it's comforting to know that she understands our situation and takes it into consideration in her planning. How great to be sure she is always there for us if we run into a problem!

The Red Head | Agent:

My husband and I love working with Mary Lou. She is professional, always accommodating and all around just the best travel agent we have ever had. She triple checks that our trip is always going well and will provide alternatives for us as we change our plans. She is spot on! Mary Lou has helped us figure out how to solve many a travel problem and if an emergency comes up she is the first to figure out how best to make it work for us and give us valued suggestions. She knows her way around the travel community. Since we have been using Mary Lou for our travel needs, our trips have been more organized and less stressful. That is why we would never travel a trip without her. She really is the best and my husband and I travel a lot.

KB | Agent:

Best ski trip ever! Marylou didn't outstanding job in planning this wonderful trip that we were on. Her years of experience definitely paid off in many aspects of this trip. She is great to work with and I recommend her highly to anybody as she is worth her weight in gold!

Darreld | Agent:

She was very helpful in arranging our private transfers and tours. It was a little difficult communicating due to her part time status but we got everything booked in time despite this.

jczajka | Agent:

Dyane is an incredible partner. Been my agent for years. Won't use anyone else. Attentive, detailed, flexible and knowledgeable

Tarie | Agent:

Linda is always great to work with as she is thorough and hard-working. Very pleasant personality and she is very knowledgeable. Highly recommend her.

Glenview Travelers | Agent:

I have never seen the combination of incredible attention to detail and amazing creativity. She's so professional. Everything was smooth as silk. Will definitely call her again. Virtuoso amenities are wonderful.

Jocko | Agent:

Denise was excellent to work with! The itinerary, hotels, tour guides, travel arrangements, everything was great. Thank you.

M | Agent:

Fantastic Fashion Week in NYC. Denise is always spot on in her recommendations. Every hotel she has ever booked me into around the globe has been excellent. Her care to detail from making sure my room preferences are met to texting and/or emailing me just prior to my trip to make sure I am on top of all the details. I have recommended her to many and without exception everyone has thanked me for that recommendation.

Alwaystime4travel | Agent:

The key word for Denise is THOROUGH. She leaves no stone unturned in planning a trip. She believes she is creating memories for her clients and has only the highest of standards. She also is budget conscious. Her followup is unparalleled. She is the only advisor we'll ever use.

Gung Ho | Agent:

Denise is a professional, knowledgeable and flexible travel advisor. She gets back to you in a timely fashion and offers you a variety of choices when you select a destination. She is very patient in answering questions and offers suggestions when you are trying to make decisions. I highly recommend her for all of your travel needs.

Bookworm | Agent:

The Viking cruise was very nice, but I prefer their river cruises. They did not seem quite ready for a trans-Atlantic cruise. But the ports were interesting and service etc. was very nice. Your associates that set up a pre-trip to Oslo-Bergen did an excellent job with hotel selections and locations, with good tips for airport transfers etc.

papi | Agent:

Monica did a terrific job helping plan our trip to Prague! Her local contacts there proved to be wonderful, extremely knowledgeable. With our changing days, times and numbers of participants, I know we tested her patience. But she was always attentive and responsive and we ended up seeing everything we wanted. I hope to be able to use her skills again for some future adventure!

Deb52 | Agent:

Our 14-day trip to Italy was meticulously arranged by Monica. And, Monica was very accommodating and responsive with the changes that we requested during the planning process. The flights, hotels, guides, drivers - everything was perfect. It was truly the trip of a lifetime! LF Travel and IC Bellagio exceeded our expectations. Grazie mille!!

JB | Agent:

Our recent European trip was outstanding from star to finish. The hotels in Amsterdam and Paris were elegant, well located with spacious rooms and the Virtuoso amenities were abundant and much appreciated. Our trains bookings were perfect, good schedule, good connection time and excellent value to cross through three different countries . Monica always plans the perfect trip!

MFG | Agent:

Monica is always gracious and helpful regardless of the length and complexity of the trip. She attends to every detail even for an overnight stay.

KJ | Agent:

Monica helped me set up my honeymoon to Croatia and the Amalfi coast. Private tours, car transfers, and 5 star hotel bookings were all handled by Monica with perfection. Not a single thing went wrong the entire trip. I didn't have to stress or worry at any point. Would highly recommend and will absolutely use Monica's services again.

Cbrady | Agent:

Monica understands and remembers what's important to us and always has good suggestions. Her follow-up with details and responses to questions is quick and thorough.

KJ | Agent:

For this trip, we had different specifications for our hotels from previous trips we booked with Lake Forest Travel. We thought it would be a challenge to find the right hotels, because we traveled to Switzerland, where everything is quite expensive. Monica found us terrific accommodations at good prices and in great locations. I couldn't have been more pleased with her suggestions and follow-up with details.

MJ | Agent:

Great trip. All the details were taken care of. Food, accommodations, and logistics were terrific. Would highly recommend this to anyone looking to do an African Safari.

Raydee | Agent:

Once again, Monica has exceeded our expectations for a terrific trip to Thailand and Hong Kong. During the planning process, she presents good options promptly and specifically addresses our needs and interests. She always has good suggestions and recommendations. Once the trip is booked, Monica puts together a package for us with all travel materials and confirmations. We know as we set off on our trip that everything will go very smoothly. She has checked and double-checked all the arrangements and details before we depart, so that when we're on our trip, we can focus on travelling, not logistics.

KJ and family | Agent:

This was a wonderful trip from beginning to end as we were celebrating our grandsons 10th year birthday. Charlie was greeted by name for the entire 3 days we were in the delightfully small and charming resort. Fishing was our goal and our guides were perfect for a young fisherman. BRAVO to all and to our travel agent, Helen Varri, at Lake Forest Travel.

Janet | Agent:

Helen takes care with every detail and has great judgement. Everything we plan works like clockwork. The only glitch in this trip was something she couldn't have predicted. The mattress in our room at the Widder Hotel in Zurich was not "inflated" the first night, so it wasn't comfortable to sleep on. After inflating, it was fine the 2nd night. With that exception, we liked the Widder very much. But our favorite hotel was the 4 Seasons in Milan...we loved everything about it...one of our favorites in all our years of travel. We enjoyed the Majestic in Bologna and the Villa d'Este, as well. Were very glad we were at Villa d'Este rather than Como or Bellagio.

Ann | Agent:

Lake Forest travel always goes above and beyond with whatever arrangements they make. We continue to engage with them because they plan and execute from start to finish. We have never had a disappointment in travelling when we have secured Lake Forest travel! We just returned from an amazing trip to London and LF Travel made all the arrangements. Once again job well done! Highly recommended!

LF Traveler | Agent:

Helen has been my "go to" travel consultant for the past 15 years. I am a frequent business traveler but when I have really complicated trips or vacations to consider, I hand them over to Helen. Not only is Helen knowledgeable, she gets to know her clients, our preferences and what might be terrific suggestions to make. Helen recently organized a trip we took to Maui--it was last minute but Helen handled everything efficiently and the arrangements were so special. When we checked into our hotel, there was a wonderful note from Helen with some goodies to munch on. And that was just one example of how Helen does very special planning for her clients!

chris | Agent:

Helen and her firm set us up to have a wonderful visit to the Taj Mahal. The guide they set us up with was very knowledgeable. He knew to get us there early, where exactly to have us take photos, great historical information, bug spray in hand, excellent English, wonderful knowledge of local vendors and accompanied us to shop, but didn't push and helped us by giving me his email address to follow up in case anything went wrong on our rug purchase. We also had a driver who was excellent and got us to and from the airport - a drive I would never consider doing on my own. Fabulous trip, very enjoyable, interesting and well organized. Couldn't have been better!

SusanIndia | Agent:

As always, Gwen gave great advice, booked a wonderful hotel where we were able to upgrade at check-in and helpful in every way. Wonderful time. Thank you!

Monica S | Agent:

Gwen is always fun and quick to arrange our travel. She presents alternatives and knows the properties. We love working with her. If she is not available, she makes sure that a trusted colleague is. Our travel is planned with great dispatch.

TravelGal | Agent:

Gwen was very helpful in putting together a spectacular cruise and trip to Alaska that was memorable an breathtaking. We appreciated all the help that she gave us and will definitely use her again in the future for our next trips. She explored different options for us and made the choices so easy. Thank you!

MonicaS | Agent:

Our trip was perfect!!. My Grandchildren and I had a Beautiful and happy trip to Great Britain, and it was definetly because of the help from all of you people!!

Mary 87 | Agent:

The Kimpton Monoco in Washington D.C. was an excellent suggestion by Gwen. It is full of history and is actually owned by the Smithsonian Institute but managed by the Kimpton Hotel Company. Perfect location directly next door to the International Spy Museum and 4 blocks from the National Mall. All Tourist sights are within walking distance. Thank you Gwen.

OrlandoPaul | Agent:

Gwen booked our tour of Normandy France and then the Champagne region and both were excellent! We had the same driver on all 3 days and he was outstanding. Everything went perfectly. Thank you.

Ger | Agent:

Marylou suggested the Raffles hotel and it was an excellent choice. It's a beautiful older hotel with outstanding service. It was within walking distance to major sites, an incredible shopping street and the exotic night market. Marylou also included a tour package and I am so happy she suggested it. There was no way we would have been able to enjoy all there was to do in Beijing without a guide and a car. Marylou has helped me many times in the past and I have always been happy with her choices.

Tim | Agent: