This is the Ventura arm of Elegance Limousine in LA…read more
We had a unique situation in that we had to get a bunch of 13 yr old girls, the birthday girl and her guests, from Ventura to LA, and in a way that started the party, but dissuaded the safety concerns of their parents. And then back the next day.
I reviewed the heck out of Elegance beforehand. New, safe Mercedes Sprinter vans, not cobbled together limos where the brakes may or may not be able to handle the extra weight, etc.
And the staff had to be top notch. I spoke to Steve on the phone, who answered immediately the first time I called and every time after. In fact, communication was not a problem w both Steve and the driver calling us to let us know the driver was out front both times the girls were picked up.
From negotiating how we were going to pull this off and rates, I could tell Steve ran a tight ship w regards to punctuality, so we worked out extra time for the party bus to sit out front of our house while the girls were dropped off by their parents, including letting the tall dads go inside to see if they could stand up. (The 6'5" dad just had to bend his head a little, which he considered a revelation.)
As the girls arrived, their bags went into the party bus while they came in the house to eat lunch. NO EATING IN THE PARTY BUS. Drinks no problem, but no food due to the smell going into air ducts. We didn't balk because we were appreciative of how clean, fresh and new the vehicle was. It wasn't just clean, it was pristine, and if that was the policy that got it to us that way, fine, but we didn't know ahead of time, so we just switched gears and the girls ate inside the house instead of on the bus.
Regarding the drivers, I only saw the one who picked up from our house in Ventura, but I was informed the driver coming back was just as friendly and professional.
Both drivers arrived 15 min early as they always do, according to Steve. THEY DON'T COME TO THE DOOR. The 15 min gives time for the client to be in the vehicle ready to go at the exact time they are scheduled. Well, when the client is a gaggle of tween girls ... there was a bit of a scramble to get them out the door in time coming back from LA. A lesson that if they want to grow up and make enough money for a personal car & driver who will wait on you, go ahead but, in the meantime, mom and dad are paying for it and the car company has other clients, so you only have a window of their time.
As for the Ventura driver, Al, he was dressed in a sharp black suit, happy, friendly, he introduced himself to the girls and spoke their language as he explained the stuff in the back they could control like the light show and music system using music from their phones or something. It was Greek to me, but he didn't even have to finish the whole explanation, they knew exactly what he was talking about.
Because of the extra cost of the party bus, compared to a limo or sedan, we were going to send the girls down to LA in the party bus, but bring them back to Ventura the next day in a sedan.
Guess what? Steve had the girls picked up in LA for the ride home not in a sedan, but a Party Bus. We had already paid ahead of time, so it was a no charge extra, a gift, a great end to a great party bus experience.