So good to be able to talk plans through with a real person! Would definitely recommend
Taylor did us proud again.
Fab service as always
Fantastic holiday - had an amazing time
Thanks to Malcom and team for your continued help and support.
I have used your services since 2004 and am always very pleased.
Perfect customer service
Fantastic price, excellent accommodation as recommended by Jerry. Thank you again. We had the most amazing holiday.
Dealt with Ray - couldn’t have been more helpful
Have used DialAFlight for many years and never had any problems. I’m not very technical and if I have a problem I just phone them and they sort it for me. I feel like part of the family when I phone up and can speak to the same person
DialAFlight did everything brilliantly. KLM assistance let me down
Our contact, Theo Naim, was pleasant, efficient and used his initiative to ensure we had a holiday to remember.
Both hotels brilliant! On leaving Singapore the arranged taxi did not turn up but the hotel were brilliant in arranging another one for us. In Bali the courier and driver were excellent but the car provided by Asia International did not have passenger seat belts which worked.
Justin and the team couldnt have been better thanks so much
Always happy with the service - recommended to others
All worked perfectly - planning, delivery and support excellent.
Tip top as always
Another great holiday planned through yourselves
Chloe Ward was SO helpful and went the extra mile sending reminders. So impressed with DialAFlight and the staff. Much easier to speak to a real person who listens and has the necessary knowledge. Never again will I waste hours online searching in vain. Recommend 100%
Excellent service from start to finish and the aftersales is second to none. I have used them for a number of years and can't find a better service and value for money provider
Good service all round.
Excellent all round!
Always excellent service and holiday as planned. Joe Orton comes recommended
Thank you Gary and Tammy!
Good service, great communication and planned the journey as we had desired. Thank you Lucy for all of your support.
Riley Ranson made what was a stressful situation a less painful experience. We'd bought tickets to Jakarta from another company only to find less than a week before flying that the company had gone bust and we had no tickets. Riley looked at various options and got us sorted within an hour or so of contacting DialAFlight. We should have come to you in the first instance! Will definitely in future.
Ben was incredible throughout! Will definitely be using you guys again
I have used DialAFlight for our holiday needs for several years and have always had excellent service and value for money. Kelly and Rupert are always available and deliver a lovely personal service
We love DialAFlight. Scott and all his team are fantastic
I would not book a 45 minute connection at Doha again. I missed my connection and was then detoured via Dhaka onto Bangkok, adding 10 hours to my journey. Heathrow was a nightmare - took 2.5 hours to check in luggage.
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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