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The lounge used by Air Mauritius at Gatwick was a vast improvement on the dreadful lounge used previously at Heathrow. We were informed by email of checking in procedures. Everything went very well.
First class service as usual from Elliot
This was an amazing trip! Everything was beyond our expectations. We would highly recommend DialAFlight and have done many times.The Oberoi won the travel awards for 2024 whilst we were there as the best hotel in Mauritius. In our opinion, well deserved!
Mason is amazing - knows exactly what we require from our holiday and delivers - backed up by great customer service
Just perfect!
Fabulous service for fabulous holiday
Excellent service, thank you
Thanks for your help sorting out the new schedule after the unexpected airline change
Amazing holiday beyond our expectations. Troy was so right recommending the resort - can’t wait to go back!
I had been recommended to you and you did not disappoint. Excellent service - will definitely use you again and recommend to colleagues and friends.
Our first holiday in the Maldives was wonderful and everything went smoothly from start to finish.
Happy with the service I get every time. Theo is the best.
Kylie put together an amazing trip for us that we will remember for the rest of our lives. It was seamless from start to finish and I'd reccommend the service to any of my friends or family. A great success!
Thank you George
Absolutely brilliant, we will always come to you for a quote.
Arthur never fails to deliver the best holiday with attention to detail and a very personalised.service
Keep on doing what you're doing. It's first class
I have travelled with DialAFlight many times. I often deal with Orlando Spragg and his team. They are always extremely helpful, friendly and knowledgeable.
Bobby Tuggey was excellent - he worked tirelessly to help us on our trip
Tammy is just amazing, everything was SO perfect and I’m very grateful for her diligent attention to detail. Every trip is just perfect and she is over and above what I could hope for in a travel planner.
Roy Copeland was lovely and helpful, he went above and beyond to help us
As always excellent customer service from Kennedy and everything ran smoothly
Five star service
As ever, the service provided was absolutely first class
Good holiday thanks. Well organised by Taylor
Everyone is always helpful, always clear, and we had great trip all round.
Wonderful trip as always. Thanks for organising everything
We were extremely pleased with the customer service we received from Annabelle and her colleagues. Many thanks to everyone
Just the best service
Thanks Fergus... you are a gem!
Having just re-read Victoria Hislop's novel The Island, my mind was full of images of olive groves and small fishing villages hugging rocky coastlines, with friendly locals offering food and drink to die for - and in Crete my literary-inspired imaginings came true.
If you take an early flight from the UK you can be eating Greek salad on the beach by lunchtime - and of course I'm used to being up well before the crack of dawn to host ITV's Good Morning Britain.
Enticed by the promise of exclusive elegance, we stayed at the Daios Cove Luxury Resort and Villas, less than an hour from Heraklion airport - from where we were whisked in an air-conditioned limo.
At Daios Cove, the first thing that hits you is the glorious view across the Aegean Sea. The resort is laid out beneath you - four different levels cut into the cliff-face, as well as an infinity pool and a private beach.
The resort was the vision of owner Dimitris Daios. His aim was to create 'luxury a different way', and certainly every detail has been thought through.
Each of the 39 villas has a private heated pool and they are set along one side of the cove, all with unspoilt views and privacy.
To get to our villa we were whizzed off in a golf buggy, which gave us the distinctive feel of being in James Bond's Moonraker. Our two-storey villa was so spacious we could have had a floor each. It had a pillow menu and even a choice of fragrance to have pumped into the air-conditioning system.
Delicious local food
Greek salads, grilled fish, seafood and souvlaki are my favourite holiday foods, and all were in abundance at Daios Cove.
The buffet restaurant, The Pangea, has a large selection of regional and international dishes, and several are cooked in front of you. There's also a formal Mediterranean restaurant, as well as Greek specialities at the Taverna Restaurant. However, my favourite meal was a private candlelit dinner served in the courtyard of our villa.
To help work off calories, there are plenty of watersports, including kayaking and paddle-boarding. You can also zip around the bay on an inflatable doughnut.
On land there's tennis, yoga and Pilates - but even that seemed too energetic as I was making the most of having a week of complete relaxation. The extent of my exertions was reading a book while floating on a lilo.
My excuse was that getting around the resort keeps you fit - being built over four levels means there are hundreds of steps, and we walked everywhere. If you don't fancy being so energetic, you can summon a golf buggy or use the funicular.
There's plenty to keep guests entertained in the evening. We went to a sparkling comedy show from the Feta Queen, Katerina Vrana, who poked fun at both the Greek and the British.
To help with the total relaxation process, there's a huge spa. I chose a bliss-fully relaxing massage as well as a facial.
Visiting the islands
We made it to Spinalonga, the former leper colony featured in The Island, on our final morning. The colony is a short hop across the sea from the village of Plaka. For anyone who has read the novel, it's a hugely evocative trip - you can imagine those who faced that journey for real as they were banished to the island and forced to leave their families behind.
Even for those who haven't read the book, you get a real sense of how those confined there for years had to create a community until a cure for leprosy was found in the 1950s. It feels even more eerie now that it's deserted, apart from tourists meandering around.
Back in Plaka there are quaint streets and buildings that haven't changed for years. Not to be missed is Giovanni's Taverna, where we received a delightfully warm welcome from the owner, Yanni.
The taverna is everything you would hope for, with a truly authentic feel. The marinated anchovies are delicious, and Yanni's tomato and olive oil dip made to his grandmother's recipe is exquisite.
I was delighted my experience of Crete lived up to expectations from reading The Island - and if you go, don't forget to pack it as a must-read holiday book.
First published in the Mail on Sunday - July 2019
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