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Right from the start Rebecca Wilkie gave us fantastic suggestions and helped us plan a complex and memorable trip to Bali and KL for 3 weeks. I also felt like the full team were always there to support us if we had any challenges while abroad. Great service
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Looked after really well by Lloyd Stevens and had an unforgettable holiday experience.
A special thanks to Ivor Savage. We gave him our requirements and he researched and provided us with a few options. He booked flights, transfers and the hotel and made our holiday easy. Great service.
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I have booked many flights with Des at DialAFlight as it takes the stress out of the booking process.
Having the bullet train tickets delivered to the hotel worked well. It was also easy to ship bags between hotels, as advised by DialAFlight. Many thanks Ashley and colleagues,
Fantastic holiday, huge thanks to Liam Rush. We will be booking again shortly
Alfie is wonderful. He and Oli are a great team and have looked after my family and my professional travel for decades. Thank you Alfie for doing such a sterling job organising my son's trip to Japan. I felt totally secure knowing that should something go wrong Alfie would sort it.
I had flights booked through Dubai. Days before travel, the situation in the Middle East worsened and a volcano blew up in Indonesia affecting air travel. I was reassured that everything was still on schedule. I also have absolute confidence that if the situation had worsened Philippa (and the team) would have everything in hand.
Reid is amazing - made some changes for us while we were away. Also like that we can speak to Vinnie if Reid isn’t there, he sorted out all our special assistance at airports.
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Lewis was fantastic - everything was plain sailing - so definitely book again through DialAFlight
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Flights were great (although no seat allocation wasn't ideal). Both hotels are fantastic (Park Royal is very family orientated - thank goodness for the adults pool). All in all, a great trip.
We have had assistance from Jonathan on a number of occasions and he has always delivered prompt, courteous and supportive service. The costs through DialAFlight are always competitive and everything is always explained fully. I always recommend this travel company
So happy with the booking process and our holiday. Will definitely be back! Freddie was great.
I have used DialAFlight for a few years now and they have always been very helpful.
Many a tropical paradise has snakes in the grass – figuratively, if not literally. Maybe there are jet-skis in the bay or biting insects.
You think you've found heaven – but there's a chance of disappointment.
However, The Datai is perfect. This five-star resort is set in lush rainforest on the north-west corner of the Malaysian island of Langkawi, an hour's flight from the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
An impressive place
There are a total of 121 rooms, suites and villas. The main building stands on a steep hill. Below lie the individual villas, hidden among trees that descend a quarter-mile to the beach.
The hotel has recently had an extensive renovation - but under the supervision of the same architect who worked on the original construction in 1993 to make sure the unique 'Datai DNA' was retained. So all the rooms and villas have been delightfully refreshed and there is a new nature centre to underpin the resort's focus on sustainability. And there's also a new health club right by the beach.
We are visiting this fine retreat for the second year running. Nothing is less than wonderful. At The Datai, every day seems better than the last.
What to expect
The weather, outside the rainy season, which starts in April, is hot but not humid; a breeze keeps the sun's effects in check. High season runs from Christmas to the end of March, then resumes in August.
The private beach is one of the most beautiful on Earth, and runs for a third of a mile below the loungers of the beach club, where we sip cocktails and savour seafood linguine for lunch.
There are four restaurants, in which 60 chefs produce a range of European, Malaysian and Thai food which is never less than delicious – and they also have a good children's menu. And there is the Lobby Lounge for light snacks.
Perhaps to celebrate a special occasion, or just if you feel like it, The Datai can also create a personalised candlelit dinner on the beach for you.
Penny, my wife, accuses me of committing genocide on the local prawn population – but my, they are superb, served with a range of spicy sauces that never get boring.
I pig out on scallops and octopus slices, served on a bed of celery puree with tamarind sauce, followed by lobster medallions and... well, I could go on endlessly.
Penny and I are the world's worst golfers, but play a couple of times a year. The Datai course must be one of the loveliest anywhere, with the sea almost lapping some of the greens. Others lie beneath a towering virgin mountain. I lose more balls than I can count by smiting them into the neighbouring rainforest – but recover plenty by wading into streams where other players have not bothered to retrieve them.
Blissful days
We swim a lot. We collect shells. One evening, we embark on a sunset cruise aboard the hotel's delightful replica Malay sailing vessel.
Penny's favourite active outing is our attempt to circle the bay while standing upright on a paddleboard.
Both of us decide this is pretty good going for a 70-plus-year-old. All around us, young things are falling off their boards. Not that I am any better. My giraffe-like frame cannot hold its balance for more than ten seconds.
Many of the guests are British, many of whom have been holidaying here for years. One-third of the hotel's business is repeat, which is always a good sign – and many of the 420 staff have worked at the resort for more than ten years.
Most visitors stay at least a week, and linger for as long as a month.
Penny strolls to the beach and has the thrill of seeing a big sea otter only a few yards distant, up a little creek. The butterflies are fabulous, too, and the hotel offers guided nature walks as part of its package.
A reason (or two) to return
Fantastic food, natural beauty, stylish simplicity and blissful comfort are the selling points of The Datai. The Malaysians are wonderfully friendly hosts and nothing is too much trouble.
I will not be popular with our fellow guests when we return next year – as we certainly will – for whispering The Datai secret. But we love the place, and it seems mean to keep it to ourselves.
I have stayed in few resorts where we have experienced such contentment, and that sensation is worth a king's ransom.
First published in the Mail Online - November 2018
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