Ernest Hemingway's tour with a Local

False Advertising. At best, this is a qucik walking tour of Madrid with very little explanation about anything you see along the way. To call this Ernest Hemingway's tour would be laughable if it didn't cost $50 per person. If you want to learn about Hemingway in Spain I suggest you do your own research and plan it out yourself because this tour was a complete joke. The guide did not mention anything about Hemingway until we got nervous we were on the wrong tour and finally asked if she was going to talk about Hemingway. The common refrain throughout the tour was "this is where the readers and writers would come to read and write," with no further explanation, context, or details. Our guide could not navigate the short route without using google maps. She tried to translate inscriptions from Spanish to English, but couldn’t and would then say, "So yeah, you understand?" and move on. She said a Spanish writer who died in 1859 was friends with Hemingway (although he wasn’t born yet). Madrid has a famous statue with a bear and we asked her what this meant, but she couldn't explain it, except to say it is the principal symbol of Madrid. That is when we found out she isn't from Spain although the tour says it is led by a local. I'm not sure when she moved to Spain but it would be nice for the local guide to know something about the subject of the tour as well as basic history about the city. At the end of the tour we found out this was our guide's first tour. We asked for a refund later but were told we don’t get one because the tour happened and the guide took our picture. I will say our guide was very nice, but she clearly had no idea what she was doing. We booked this tour through Viator. I am shocked Viator and Trip Advisor support this tour. I thought perhaps this was a fluke and it was just because it was her first tour, but apparently this is the level of quality Local Bini, Viator and Trip Advisor are comfortable with. To be clear, this tour was booked through Viator, but I want to make sure everyone is fully aware of what they will get out of this tour. The “tour” did happen but I feel cheated and scammed. At best, this is false advertising and should be named something more appropriate such as “Quick Walking Tour of Madrid with Vague and Strange Explanations of the Sights.” At worst, this is a scam. Either way, save your money so you don’t feel cheated like I do

False Advertising. At best, this is a quick walking tour of Madrid with very little explanation about anything you see along the way. To call this Ernest Hemingway’s tour would be laughable if it didn’t cost $50 per person. If you want to learn about Hemingway in Spain I suggest you do your own research and plan it out yourself because This tour was a complete joke. The guide did not mention anything about Hemingway until we got nervous we were on the wrong tour and finally asked if she was going to talk about Hemingway. The common refrain throughout the tour was “this is where the readers and writers would come to read and write,” with no further explanation, context, or details. Our guide could not navigate the short route without using google maps. She tried to translate inscriptions from Spanish to English, but couldn’t and then said, “so yeah you understand?” And moved on. She said a Spanish writer who died in 1859 was friends with Hemingway (although he wasn’t born yet). Madrid has a famous statue with a bear and we asked her what this meant, but she couldn’t explain it, except to say it is the principal symbol of Madrid. That is when we found out she isn’t from Spain, although the tour says it is led by a local. I’m not sure when she moved to Spain but it would be nice for the local guide to know anything about the subject of the tour as well as a basic understanding of the city where she is giving the tour. The worst part was her pointing things out but then not being able to explain it. At the end we found out this was her first tour. We later asked for a refund but were told we don’t get one because the tour happened and the guide took our picture. The guide was nice but she clearly had no idea what she was doing. I am shocked Viator and Trip Advisor support this tour. I thought this low quality tour may have been a fluke, but after the response I received from Viator, I now know this is the kind of quality Trip Advisor, Viator and Local Bini support. The “tour” did happen but I feel cheated and scammed. At best, this is false advertising and should be named something more appropriate such as “Quick and Disappointing Walking Tour of Madrid.” At worst, this is a scam. Either way, save your money so you don’t feel cheated like I do.