acquired tastes rafting

This is a review for Acquired Taste Rafting in CO, not VA (as shown above on the address)We visit CO from MN in July, 2014 and my brother, who lives in Telluride, suggested rafting in Browns Canyon - he said it's the best rafting in the state for people like us who haven't rafted before, but enjoy adventure. When we couldn't get on with AT rafting (because I didn't make reservations ahead of time), we called around to other companies. 2 other companies said they were full but "They could squeeze the 5 of us onto other boats, but we wouldn't be together". We decided to skip it and booked the trip for the following week with AT Rafting when we returned from Telluride. It was well worth the wait and was a great way to end our family vacation! It was one of the highlights of our whole trip! Customer service as fantastic - the girl I spoke with on the phone, prior to booking our trip, was knowledgeable and helpful, answering all my questions and even calling back later to see if I had more questions and whether or not I'd like to book the trip.We did the 1/2 day trip with lunch. Adam was our guide and Sam guided another boat with a family of 6. They were funny, professional, and awesome chef's (the salmon salad was a huge hit with everyone!). I was a bit nervous because we had our 'almost 9 year old' with us and I was fearful of losing her on the river, but Adam always told us exactly what to do, prior to each rapid, if we would fall out of the boat and none of us fell out of the boat! He kept our daughter in the back by him and told us if we were going to be going on a class III or class IV rapid so we knew what was coming up. The last two rapids had beautiful landscape in between that we would have missed if we'd gone with the other rafting companies who take out earlier on the river. The other rafting companies had boats that were jam packed with people and came down the river all crowded together. We had our own personal guide - plus Adam humored us by complimenting our rowing skills - not sure if we really did that well, but it made us feel good! :-)The only thing we'd do differently next time is to make it a full day trip!

Took the half-day Browns Canyon trip. They may not be the flashiest operation around but provide great personalized service. On our trip, one other raft with 4 people and two of us plus guide on our raft. Most other companies would have had us all squeezed on one raft. Also liked the extra two rapids that they are able to do. Experienced, professional and fun guides. I'd go with them again.

I must admit the name gave me a bit of pause but after doing a fair amount of research, it looked like they were worth taking a chance on. Because they have a private out, their half day trip is 2 miles longer than any other companies and really the equivalent of a 3/4 day trip with the bigger outfits at a cheaper rate than almost any companies half day prices. Unfortunately my daughter wiped out on the alpine slide in Breck the day before and injured her wrist. We had to cancel a few hours before our departure. Being a smaller outfit, I did not expect a refund since they only have a limited number of spots but not only did Chuck not charge us, he genuinely seemed more concerned about my daughter's well being than his pocket book. I'm not sure why they chose the name Acquired Taste but they are only an "acquired taste" if you don't like friendly people and exceptional customer service! Next time we are back, I would not consider booking with any company but Acquired Taste. Absolute class act!

Acquired Taste Rafting blew our socks off and gave us one of the best memories on our road trip out west! This small company is professional, personalized and made us feel like friends on our river expedition. We can't say enough about the kindness of Chuck, the owner, and our guide Taylor. If you want the most fun on the Arkansas for the best price possible go with Acquired Taste...you won't be disappointed!