Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
Very attentive staff especially Darryll Hansford
Extremely helpful staff.
As always great service from Troy and his team
Thank you Peter Smith for arranging another perfect holiday
Would it not be possible to have family areas for seating? Anyone with children one end of cabin childless the other? Both ways we had screaming, kicking children behind us making the trip very uncomfortable.
Parador double beds are always two single beds, pushed together, it would seem. The hotels were all special and were a delight! Flights, car hire, breakfasts at the hotels were all excellent. Thank you very much for arranging everything for us, Harry!
Tremendous help from your excellent team of travel managers, particularly George Burke and his team
Room was very small - don't recommend Ibis. Otherwise fantastic as always.
Riley is a star and always a credit to DialAFlight.
We had a wonderful holiday thanks to Simon Pitman who once again gave us valuable advice & assistance. We have already booked another holiday with Simon next month.
Annabelle on your team is always excellent - we would always use her
Leah was super helpful as always!
Another fantastic trip from Austin
We were very impressed with the eficiency of Vueling Airlines. They were very courteous, prompt, & despite being 20 minutes late in taking off from Malaga, got us back to Gatwick right on the dot of the expected time !
Disappointed with car hire from Centauro
You have a 5 star communication service. Unique globally. Thankyou
Flawless as always - thank you Michelle.
Great customer service throughout.
Once again, Tony and the team provided an excellent service.
Amanda & Harry delivered on all fronts
Professional, efficient and always at end of telephone if a query or problem to be resolved. Would not hesitate to recommend to others Zoe and team
Always good service.
We were charged extra by Easyjet for things that we didn't need, but that wasn't your fault. Your service was brilliant.
Amazing holiday, ticked all the right boxes. My mom hasn’t been abroad for a few years and she absolutely loved it. Sean you’ve done us proud again. Unforgettable memories. Beautiful resort with fabulous staff and food. Highly recommend it
Great personal service as always. Thank you.
Excellent service by Nicky Degun - everything went like clockwork. Especially appreciated Nicky organising special assistance at the airports.
So friendly and helpful.
As always I had excellent treatment from Oliver, always recommend his service
Excellent service
Five stars all day long
I have been ruined. After
visiting the North Island resort in the Seychelles, I never want to go anywhere
else. It was a holiday that changed me, my husband Paul and our 14-year-old
twin daughters for the better, and at the same time we contributed to making
the island just that little bit better for the locals.
We travelled there during our daughters' half-term. From
the capital Mahe, the easiest way to get to North Island in 15 minutes is by
helicopter. Of course it is!
A SPECIAL PLACE
And of course the island, which measures just five square
miles, has beautiful white sand and the bluest of seas. There are only 11 guest
villas here, all five-star plus luxury, but the wonderful thing is there's
nothing fancy or flashy - no unnecessary in-room gadgets, just simplicity that
enhances the natural beauty of the island.
The combination of barefoot luxury within an exquisite wilderness sanctuary, laden with experiences
and immersive learning about the environment, makes it unforgettable. On our
second night, we'd had dinner on the beach and were heading back to our
villa when, in the dim headlight glow from our buggy, we saw the outline of a
magnificent giant tortoise.
ADOPTING A TORTOISE
What a beautiful creature, almost prehistoric. And there it
was, just a couple of feet from us. There are between 80 and 100 giant Aldabra
tortoises on the island, a breed endemic to the Seychelles. The one we were now
crouching down to admire was about 3ft long and 90 years old.
The next day we were invited to discover more about these
beauties from the passionate environmentalists and scientists who live and work
on North Island.Not only did we learn so much but we also became adoptive
parents to a baby tortoise called Corona. Maybe one day my great-grandchildren
will visit the island and see Corona fully grown.
One night we slept with a telephone next to our beds so we
could be woken if baby turtles, protected within their eggs at several points
around the island, hatched and needed help heading down to the sea. Alas it
wasn't to be on our watch.
NORTH ISLAND HISTORY
In 1997, when The Wilderness Group
bought North Island, it was a wasteland where feral animals and alien plant
species were choking and destroying all indigenous fauna and flora.
The company set out to reverse this
situation, and it has since established a sanctuary where natural beauty, and
threatened flora and fauna, have been saved.
Children throughout the Seychelles
come to stay and experience the island, and there is a constant effort to help
locals improve the environment.
LOCAL ACTIVITIES
I could have spent my week doing very
little but because everything is made so easy we ended up doing things we would
never normally do. I learned to scuba-dive along with the girls, Phoebe and
Theodora - something Paul has been pleading with us to do for years.
One afternoon we went fishing,
trawling from a boat, while Paul and I enjoyed a beer. We caught so many fish
that I barely had time to finish my drink. The chef was waiting to take our
catch straight to the kitchen and an hour later we were eating sushi by
candlelight on the beach.
Each of the 11 villas stretches out on
to powdery white sand and the properties feature a plunge pool, indoor and
outdoor bathrooms, and a kitchen filled with goodies.
Visitors here have included the Duke
and Duchess of Cambridge (on their honeymoon), George and Amal Clooney and
David and Victoria Beckham.
Meals on North Island are what you
want when you want - and more or less, wherever you want to eat them.
On our last night, the team prepared a
surprise for us and led us up a hillside jutting out into the ocean. As we
rounded the hilltop, we found cushions scattered on the rocks, a fire pit, and
tray containing all of our favourite drinks over the past week.
It was a most beautiful occasion in
the most amazing spot, overlooking the sea as the heat faded from the
day.
First published in the Mail Online - September 2018
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