OK, but who is Tony Hinds?

[AussieFan8]

Got my flights booked for later this year and I'm planning to book Tony for this trip. I hope all goes well! We've used two other car services and they haven't been great.

 

[macraven]

I’m sure you will be fine with Tony

Don’t wait until the last minute to book your car service

 

[sam_gordon]

I called Tony who at first didn't believe me but after speaking with his driver called back and apologized. He sent another company to bring us back to the airport. I will never use him again.

Sorry, I'm a little confused. Aside from him not believing you when you first called, it sounds like he "made it right".

It hasn't happened often to me, but I have been guilty of driving at night without headlights. I was just in a well lit (enough) area that I didn't notice. Yes, other cars flashed their lights at me, but I didn't know what they were trying to say (accident ahead? Police cars ahead?). Was it a mechanical issue (sounds like it if the driver had the hood up) or human error?

 

[Disneytam]

Sorry, I'm a little confused. Aside from him not believing you when you first called, it sounds like he "made it right".

It hasn't happened often to me, but I have been guilty of driving at night without headlights. I was just in a well lit (enough) area that I didn't notice. Yes, other cars flashed their lights at me, but I didn't know what they were trying to say (accident ahead? Police cars ahead?). Was it a mechanical issue (sounds like it if the driver had the hood up) or human error?

I'm not sure how you think "He made it right". We had booked Tony for a round trip pick up and return from the Orlando airport to a Disney hotel. We paid for the round trip so not sure how it was made right. It should have never happened in the first place and when the driver noticed he had a problem he should have had the common sense to pull over and call for another ride. We are trusting these people with our lives when we ride with them.

 

[sam_gordon]

I'm not sure how you think "He made it right". We had booked Tony for a round trip pick up and return from the Orlando airport to a Disney hotel. We paid for the round trip so not sure how it was made right. It should have never happened in the first place and when the driver noticed he had a problem he should have had the common sense to pull over and call for another ride. We are trusting these people with our lives when we ride with them.

I see it as him making it right by getting you another ride back to the airport.

As far as "never happened in the first place", yes, in an ideal world. That's why I brought up the same thing has happened to me. Was the problem intermittent? Did he think he had fixed it? Did he think "it's not far, I can make it?"

I'm not trying to change your mind, just saying the story as you presented it would not have me turn away from a company. I'd think it was bad luck. Obviously, you feel strongly about it, and that's fine.

 

[Bama Mom]

My husband and I used him in February because we were arriving at MCO a little before 9 pm on our trip and we didn't want to make a lot of stops between the airport and POFQ like we would have had to do on Mears. We actually had Neil, Tony's son as our driver both from MCO to POFQ and from POFQ to MCO. He was fantastic and we loved talking with him. We did make a curbside pick up at Publix on our way to our resort and it was fast and efficient. Neil was prompt and ready for us both when we arrived and when we departed. In fact as soon as we landed he texted me to give me instructions on what to do once we got our luggage. We will definitely use them again in the future.

 

[macraven]

Neil is fabulous!

 

[CarolynFH]

Neil is fabulous!

Neil was our driver too - who told us he was working on Tony's website, which became available after our visit. We enjoyed talking with him too!

 

[AussieFan8]

I went ahead and completed the form to book Tony yesterday, then realized it didn't say anywhere what the cost would be. I was just making an assumption of cost based on others' reports here. I received the confirmation email; does he send a follow-up email with the cost?

 

[macraven]

Send Tony a note and ask about his fees

 

[Angelboys3]

I was beginning to think I was the only person in the world that had a bad experience with Tony's service. We have used a couple of different car services over the years and after reading so many rave reviews we booked one of Tony's vans for a family trip a few years back. It turned out to be an absolute disaster and was life threatening. I'm pretty sure I posted it somewhere here on the boards before so I'll just do a brief explanation here.

Booking was fine but our Southwest flight was delayed several times and we arrived after dark. A friendly driver was there waiting for us and we asked to stop at a store on the way. I sat in the back seat but did notice that a few cars flashed their high beams at us, but thought nothing of it, maybe an accident ahead. My niece and I went into the store while my husband stayed out in the van. He told me later that the driver had the hood of the van up and was very nervous acting. He helped us back into the van and we headed to our Disney resort. The driver missed the entrance to the resort and slammed on the brakes and backed up to the drive. All very strange except when he pulled away my husband mentioned to me that he was driving without head lights!! It seems the entire way the head lights were flickering off and on and stayed off for long periods why he drove!!

The driver never offered to pull over or mentioned the issue to us at all and my husband wasn't sure until we missed the driveway and then when the driver pulled away with nothing more than his running lights. I called Tony who at first didn't believe me but after speaking with his driver called back and apologized. He sent another company to bring us back to the airport. I will never use him again.

Was it an older black van by chance? We were picked up in one and did not have a good experience. The vehicle had definite issues and while the driver was friendly, he was not a very safe driver.

 

[Disneytam]

Was it an older black van by chance? We were picked up in one and did not have a good experience. The vehicle had definite issues and while the driver was friendly, he was not a very safe driver.

It was an older white van.

 

[keishashadow]

Thanks all for the info! I just booked his services for a late June trip - round-trip from Sanford to WDW and back quoted at $230. Cheaper than I could rent a car, guaranteed, and with a grocery stop!

considering the prices of rental cars, that’s a fair rate IMO

We are trusting these people with our lives when we ride with them.

Absolutely, anytime you step into a vehicle with anyone!

The vehicle had definite issues and while the driver was friendly, he was not a very safe driver.

I’ve utilized my share of Uber from east to west coast locals. Have found the contractors in MCO to be inconsistent as to what I consider to be safe driving skills. Ergo, we usually do rent a car, which is quite challenging with the high rates.

When adult beverages are involved & we don’t have a designated driver, then we use ride share. Not to be confused with a taxi Or mears shuttles.

Have experienced several of the ride share drivers in MCO being somewhat aggressive. not of NYC city cab driver lol,, but definitely brusque in demeanor and of the passenger resorting to white knuckles sort.

Additionally, more than a few attempted to inflate theirfare, via sneaking in additional fees after the agreed upon estimate when they hit traffic (specifically, International Drive area)...which I’ve disputed successfully btw.

i get it‘s usually their side hustle and they are trying to make a buck, however, it has verged on what I considered predatory behavior on obvious tourists. As stated above, Uber did ‘make it right’ via ride credit(s).

Believe, even in FL; where they often tend to roll a bit differently than most of US…

Limo drivers have additional credentials, having earned a Class C, a relatively clean driving record (required for the company’s insurance criteria) and proven their identity to said company.

I highly recommend Tony’s services, his pricing has been fair for my family and he is very professional and courteous.

 

[emarie]

I was nervous before our trip after reading some negative reviews in this thread, so I'm back here to report our recent experience. I'm a pretty positive person, so I'd like to make this a glowing review, but I also want to be honest so that others have an appropriate expectation. In the end we made it where we needed to on-time and safely, but it was a mixed experience.

We had used Tony once before in December 2020 and had a great experience then- great communication and no issues at all. Tony himself drove us then. This time I contacted him via email in April and received a response the same day that Tony could accommodate our dates and a link to complete an online form. I completed the form and it said I would receive an invoice, but I did not receive one. A week later our flight details changed, so I contacted Tony again and also noted that I never received the expected invoice. He responded quickly again and sent me a link to the invoice, which I paid at that time ($160 for round trip from MCO to Caribbean Beach 6/7-6/15).

The day before our trip, I contacted Tony via text message to confirm our transportation. I didn't hear anything back, but received another invoice in my email that evening stating I owed $160 before the next day to confirm my transportation. I emailed him and texted him again noting that I had already paid and making sure we were all set. He responded via text at that time letting me know that the additional invoice was a mistake and we were all set. Our transportation went well the next day- Tony sent me a message at the time of our arrival that we'd be hearing from a driver soon and I received a text message from Juste almost immediately asking that I call him when we had our luggage. He picked us up within a few minutes of my call and was courteous and friendly. I mentioned that we hoped to stop at Publix for groceries and he didn't seem aware of this, but said it wasn't a problem. For some reason Curbside pickup didn't allow me to place an order earlier, so we went into the store for 15 minutes and that worked fine. I don't have exact times, but our flight landed at 12:30 and I'm quite certain we were to Caribbean Beach by 2:15.

I contacted Tony via text the night before our departure to find out what time we'd be picked up and he responded within 2 hrs with the time (7:30am for a 10am departure). We arranged to meet in the pickup area near our hotel room (Jamaica for those familiar with CBR). We were waiting at the pickup area at 7:20am and I sent Tony a text letting him know. By 7:30 I was feeling a little nervous that no one was there, but figured sometimes people are late for unexpected reasons, so would wait for 10 minutes before calling. At 7:38 I received a phone call from Juste stating that he was coming to pick us up and was very close. He arrived at 7:50...and I was feeling pretty nervous by this point having flown out of MCO previously and knowing that it is a busy airport with LONG security lines and that we may encounter traffic at 8am. Juste told me that he had been waiting to get us early, but showed me a text from Tony that gave him our name with the incorrect phone number- he called that number and those people said they didn't need pick up until Saturday (this was Weds), so he left! I'm not even sure how he figured out that it was the wrong number, but thankfully he found my number in his phone from the week prior and still came to get us.

We did run into some traffic...and unfortunately my DD9 who gets carsick was sitting in the back seat of the van and became sick during the drive...I don't get motion sick, but my husband who does said he noticed Juste was a bit erratic/lurching on both drives and was not surprised that our daughter became ill. Thankfully she managed to capture it all in a plastic bag, but not a great experience for our last moments in Orlando.

I honestly don't know what time we actually arrived to MCO since I was hurrying my daughter to the bathroom. The line to check our luggage at the American desk was HUGE, so we paid $9 extra for the curbside check-in as we were feeling a bit panicked that we might miss our flight. We made it. And of course it was delayed, so we needn't have worried .

This is much longer than I intended to write, but my feeling is that Tony may be too busy and struggling to stay organized with his new online system. The price was good for our family of 5 and the transportation was likely more efficient than Mears or the Sunshine Flyer, but I would be hesitant to book again as the entire process gave me far too much anxiety this trip. We've used Uber XL to get to cruise ships previously and that has worked fine, though in our experience Uber XL does not always seem to have enough room for 5 passengers despite being billed as such. Ugh...I don't know what the best option is these days!

Our Disney trip was amazing though .

 

[appleorchard]

Is his online service up and running? I'll admit I'm getting somewhat nervous. I've emailed him a few times since our plans keep changing, due to airline changes (and my granddaughter's marching band camp) and have heard back from him pretty quickly. Hoping he's just trying to work out some glitches. I wont be happy if an "older van" of ANY kind comes to pick us up!

I have to say, we once had an absolutely white-knuckling experience on the Magical Express!

 

[CarolynFH]

Is his online service up and running? I'll admit I'm getting somewhat nervous. I've emailed him a few times since our plans keep changing, due to airline changes (and my granddaughter's marching band camp) and have heard back from him pretty quickly. Hoping he's just trying to work out some glitches. I wont be happy if an "older van" of ANY kind comes to pick us up!

I have to say, we once had an absolutely white-knuckling experience on the Magical Express!

Yes, his website is up and running - here it is: https://thtransportservices.com/.

 

[scottishgirl1]

We have booked Tony for our late August trip, keeping fingers crossed it goes well! We are flying in from Ireland and arrive very late so hoping for a swift departure from the airport

It’s our first big family trip not hiring a car, some of us got the Magical Express at Christmas for the first time ever just before it ended

Car hire and hotel parking charges is just too much now!

 

[Melanie415]

Our Tony Hinds Car service experience was
*Unreliable
*vehicles were old and run down.
*poor communication
* regret prepaying. should have asked for a refund and went with another company.

We used Tony Hinds car service for a 3 leg trip in 2016. It was mostly OK except the van that picked us up from the airport (not Tony) was old and dirty. The back seat belt didn’t work, and it smelled like cigarettes. However, we were picked up on time, every time and the other vehicles were nice.

Unfortunately, I decided to use Tony Hinds car service again for our May/June trip 2022. It was for a 3 leg trip. We were required to pre pay. The man that picked us up from the airport was great, had a clean vehicle and had his own business but was contracted out by Tony. I wish we would of had him for the rest of our trips.

The second leg of our trip was from Boardwalk Villas to Hard Rock. I never got any messages confirming our pick up information. So, I emailed Tony the day before to remind him of the time and where to pick us up. The next day, we waited and waited, then called Tony. He gave us some excuse about the driver making a mistake and going to another resort but he was on his way now. When the driver finally picked us up, he said he just got the call and didn’t know anything about going to the wrong resort. It seemed like we were getting a lot of excuses. It was very inconvenient and made us late for our plans.

The last leg of our trip was for a super early morning flight, flying home to Hawaii. I was very stressed about not getting to the airport on time. I sent another reminder email restating the date, time, location and that we needed a large vehicle because we had a lot of luggage and I called and spoke to Tony personally about my concerns. I asked him to please, please promise me that our driver would be there on time. He laughed and promised that there would be no problems.

The next morning we got up and anxiously waited the arrival of our ride. Ya, no one showed up. The hotel was frantically trying to get a car for us but none were available. I called Tony and he acted like he didn’t know what was going on and laughed and told me not to worry! I decided to just order an Uber and once I did, the Tony Hinds driver finally showed up. I cancelled the Uber but had to pay a cancellation fee.

The driver said he just got the call that morning. Our bags barely fit in the vehicle and we headed to the airport stressed out with my husband mad and my kids crying because they thought we were gonna miss our flight. Really bad way to end an otherwise wonderful vacation.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

I can NOT recommend Tony Hinds. He was a no show for our return trip to airport.

I was told he would contact me with pick up time the day before pick up. I decided to contact him two days before, so I could make plans for my final day. He emailed me back and we agreed on a pick up time. On the return day, I was at the agreed pick up location 5 minutes early and one of the resort employees asked me if I needed help. I told him I had a car service coming and was checking to see if they were here. The employee told me no one from Tony Hinds was here yet. I texted Tony telling him we were ready, whenever the driver was. He didn’t respond. My family stood there waiting for 5 minutes past pick up time, I called Tony, got his voicemail and left a message. I also responded to our last email confirming time and told him the driver wasn’t at our resort and then I texted him again.
My family agreed to wait 10 more minutes before deciding we would have to split up and take Ubers. We never heard from Tony and when we got into the Ubers, no one from Tony Hinds was there for us. It was a very stressful end to our otherwise wonderful vacation.

I haven’t heard back from Tony.
I will never use him again.

Good luck to everyone else using his so called service.

 

[DaviVascaino]

thank you for the updates, I won't be using him for our trip. It seems he is taking on more that he can manage.