Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
Another perfect trip
Doug Scrivener and his team deliver excellent service and have for the 20 years I have been coming to DialAFlight. Thank you
Excellent work
Whilst I did not need any assistance whilst travelling, I felt confident that should I need any, DialAFlight would have been there. Also the booking process was easy and straightforward.
Dealing with a human being gives you great peace of mind, and as my flight was cancelled it was great being able to speak to Graham about the problem. Computers don't care about you - DialAFlight do!
Ruby was very helpful and professional.
Finn Conlon as always did an excellent job for which I am very grateful.
Not aware that Palm Springs car rental at Alamo did not open until we had to check-in. Checked their website and found their advice about checking in early morning.
Always keeps us up to date on all of our travel arrangements.
Everything went to plan. Had a wonderful time with my family and seeing my grandson graduate from university.
For the many, many years I have dealt with DAF and Ewan and his team, they have never let us down, and our recent trip was perfect as well. Thanks DAF for being just a 100% perfect company to deal with.
Always very professional - look forward to the next one
Disappointed not to have adjacent seats from Sacramento to Dallas. Suffice it say we will never fly BA again. Got our lost baggage back last night.
Peter looked after my trip from beginning to end, thank you
Everything went like clockwork - very nice resort
Excellent contact and communication. Clear information on flights and good choice of hotel. Probably need to inform customers about hotel tax!
Very polite and efficient service
Have dealt with Christian for many a year and would not organise a trip through anyone else. Superb as always.
Everything was perfect thanks. Great seats on the plane. Great car. Excellent connections. Thanks.
Mason has always helped us with travel plans superbly and the app from DialAflight is really helpful.
I know someone is looking after me from booking to arriving back home. Makes my trips stress free
As always perfect in every way, great holiday, fantastic hotel recommendation, caring communication - pre hols and post hols checkin.
The car hire arrangement was just what I wanted - thank you
Gino gave great service and even booked us upgraded seats for the best price - a nice touch and much appreciated
A bit more clarification re US time zones would be good.
All good thank you
Thank you for the ongoing support, even whilst we were on holiday and needed to call! Des was great right from booking through to the travel date.
Philippa was great throughout the whole process - thank you for your help!
Would highly recommend. Thank you Steven Merralls and team.
Always a pleasure to book with DialAflight. Very professional and efficient. I look forward to the courtesy call 24 hours before I travel . Professionalalism at its best.
It’s raining and suddenly my terrace is flooded with sound - heavy droplets drum down, frogs chatter, birds hiss and cicadas chant in chorus. A high-pitched wail from some jungle creature pierces the sultry, twilight air and halts my swim. Peering over the edge of the infinity pool into the waterfall and jungle below, I feel like I'm living an episode of Planet Earth.
Ever bewitching, Indonesia has the power to simultaneously arrest every sense. I'm treated to this dusk performance while taking a dip in my private plunge pool, just one of the many fabulous features of the luxurious treehouse-style suites at Four Seasons Resort Bali At Sayan in Ubud.
From an unassuming entrance on a dusty street, guests travel along a road flanked by treetops oblivious to the Bond-style lair that lies beneath the canopy. The main building has been designed to resemble a huge rice bowl laden with unexpected surprises on each level – Jati bar, Ayung Terrace restaurant and a spa all overlook the lush greenery present at every turn.
In harmony with its locale, the hotel offers a day in the life of a Balinese farmer experience - learning how to plant and farm a rice paddy field, followed by a traditional lunch and then a revitalising Chakra ritual.
Our friendly guide Santika leads us to the outer edges of the hotel, which spill into Ayung Valley's green paddy terraces.
After a tour of the herb garden, packed with fragrant and healing plants, we learn about ‘taksu’ a spirit said to dwell within each of us. Then it’s time to don a traditional farmer’s hat and wellies as I vigorously turn over the turf, letting the water swell over my ‘rice patch’.
Following a lunch of rice, fruits and meat, I head to a small spa overlooking the water. Frangipani suffuses the air and after completing a heath survey, I have a Manipura Chakra ritual focusing on my digestive system. I’m given ginger and honey to drink before being scrubbed with Himalayan salt and sea oil and wrapped in mud. Eventually I take an alfresco herbal bath before I’m kneaded with a soothing massage into utter relaxation.
I also try anti-gravity yoga, which involves swinging and contorting myself in a hammock. It involves a lot of time upside down and soaring through the air.
I regain my balance with a Buddhist nun who arrives to meditate with my yoga group. Although she’s only in her thirties emanates an ancient wisdom. Melodiously, she encourages us to appreciate the present, to listen to distant water trickling, chickens clucking and her singing bowl lilting across the incense-infused air. Some of my group are so moved they weep.
It’s hard to deny the island has an intoxicating energy, drenched in timeless mysticism. It’s why there are so many yoga retreats here and travellers following the trail of the cult movie Eat,Pray, Love.
I’m holidaying at both hotels on the island that Julia Roberts stayed at during filming. My contrasting, yet equally luxurious, second address is a laidback beach haven, Four Seasons Resort at Jimbaran Bay, favoured by celebrities including Nicole Kidman, Nicolas Cage and Cameron Diaz.
The dreamy retreat overlooks the bay’s enticing white sands and cerulean waters with the jade outline of Mount Agung in the misty distance.
Guests are housed in villas with private gardens and the resort is built in the style of a Balinese village. Despite there being 147 villas and nine residences, while sprawled out on a sun-lounger I feel like I have this slice of paradise all to myself.
Energetic guests can try paddle-boarding, kayaking and surfing lessons. I opt for Hatha yoga, revitalised as I meditate to a soundtrack of waves crashing against rocks.
Uluwatu monkey temple is nearby. From the lofty pinnacle of the park, you’re rewarded with breath-taking ocean panoramas. Tirta Empul temple in Tampaksiring, bustling with pilgrims, is also worth a visit.
Closer to Jimbaran is Pedang Pedang - the hidden beach of fantasies. After a climb down a winding staircase you’re confronted with a paradise expanse that stole a scene in Eat, Pray, Love.
Blessed with a cinematic backdrop, intriguing spirituality and glamorous hotels, the magic of a spa break in Bali will linger with you long after you've left.
First published in the Mail Online - July 2017
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