Amazing service from Vinnie as always.
Connie has been so helpful. I’ve had additions, cancellations due to deaths, date changes etc and she’s handled it all so efficiently and swiftly. I’ve already recommended DialAFlight to friends and will not hesitate to recommend over and over again. Thank you for all your help. You’ve made everything so easy
Disappointed that only one leg of journey was with Qatar (not your fault!) Malaysian not my favourite airline but BA back to Heathrow very comfortable. I would always recommend DialAFlight and James is always helpful and friendly.
Been with DialAFlight for years and although all the agents I have dealt with have been great, my praises go to Kirsty Farmer. She is not only good at her job, she is friendly, helpful and a really good egg!
Not sure I’d travel with Turkish again as staff very abrupt to point of rudeness. The Datai was exceptional as I knew it would be and the MO in Singapore was the perfect location
Our only challenge is that the flight from Hathrow to Istanbul was due to land relatively shortly before the flight to KL. If we hadn't forced ourselves onto the earlier flight, and downgraded, we would have missed the KL flight. As ever, Stan was a star - he is so good
Abbie was our go to. Very helpfull and professional
Efficient personal service from Riley Ranson
Very helpful and thoughtful service. Particularly liked phone call near departure wishing me good journey. Excellent seat on this flight.
We were happy with everything.
Excellent service particularly the call a few days before departure just to check everything was OK
Excellent advice and support from DialAFlight
As on previous occasions Fergus Convery has provided a first class, friendly and efficient service. He and his team have been pleasant to deal with and prepared to go beyond the simple fact of achieving a sale. Thoroughly recommended.
Good support from Dale with good communications
Troy always delivers for us
Experience was smooth with no hassles. Meals and seats were allocated. Overall a very good experience and would certainly use and recommend in the future.
Everything went well. The hotel in KK caters for groups from Korea and unless you like a barbecue (quite expensive at 168 Ringgit) every night the room service menu is the only option although it can be eaten in the restaurant or bar.
As usual Christian very helpful
We were very happy with the service provided and will definitely use your services again.
After a long wait from our original holiday booked for 2020 we were finally able to go. What a fantastic holiday Troy booked for us in Malaysia. The hotels and locations were excellent. We have recommended DialAFlight to our friends and family.
As usual, all went without a hitch - courtesy of Tristan’s efforts.
Thank you Darryll for your continued excellent service
Great support throughout.
Everything went absolutely according to plan once again. Thank you Karl.
Thanks so much for all your help, and the manner in which it is given
Every seat booked, flight booking was exemplary. Thank you Colin and team at DialAFlight
A shout out to Donovan who was very helpful and got me the best flight deal. He understood the need for me to maximise my time with family during my short visit and got me the best flight schedule possible.
Manny was brilliant
Greg was amazing! The service we got from him and DialAFlight was top-notch. The call just before we went to check we were ready and if we had any questions was a really helpful and nice touch. Thanks to the DialAFlight team and we will definitely be using you for ALL our future travel arrangements.
You exceeded expectations and my flights were great value for money.
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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