Amazing service as always - my only go to for long distance flights.
Michelle did exactly as I asked
Always very helpful and informative
Adam was really helpful throughout. Excellent service, thank you. It is so helpful to know that one of the team will always answer the phone and be able to help!
I really like the quick response on the phone and the reminders to get visas and health papers sorted before departure
Fantastic service as always from Tristan. We would never consider booking our holidays with any other tour operator. Price and service can never be beaten from our experience.
Thank you so much Darren and colleagues for your help to make sure everything ran smoothly for our first holiday in 3 1/2 years. Vietnam was incredible. We absolutely will recommend you and will be contacting you in the next few weeks to organise our Thailand flights.
Vinnie has been excellent yet again in booking and organising everything for my trip
Craig consistently helpful and efficient
Many thanks to Nicholas Brew who was so helpful and achieved all that we asked for promptly and informatively
Excellent communication and advice from George Burke. Already planning next year's trip with the DialAFlight team
We had a nice break - hotel was great, flights were on time. Organised own transfer as per DialAFlight suggestion using Transfeero, who were efficient and arrived on time.
Damian very good and efficient as always
Always available for help if needed and kept up to date with flight amendments. So far the best I have dealt with.
Excellent service, many thanks. Will definitely use DialAFlight next January when I do the trip again
Jessie understood the brief perfectly, put us in the best locations, arranged all the transfers on time and in comfort and gave us the greatest price. The paperwork was perfect and had every detail we needed.
Many thanks to Tommy for organising an excellent holiday for us.
I have now flown several times through DialAFlight - absolutely brilliant! I have recommended to other family members who also commented on the brilliant service
Everything you did was well done Ian. The flight delay was unexpected but all went well
Samuel did a great job which helped make our holiday a great one.
Thanks for your service and help.
Eric was brilliant as always! Straightforward and stress free service. 10/10
Stan was brilliant as usual
Reasonably priced, overall happy with the service received and already recommending others who travel to Thailand
For many years we have always booked through DialAFlight, always ask for Elliot and he has always delivered! We will be in touch with our next booking request very soon.
Over the years have used you many times. Already recommending you. Fantastic service.
The whole experience was so thorough that I felt very confident the process would go smoothly.
Have been using Damian now for 25 years and have recommended him to many, many friends over the years as he is excellent
It was really reassuring to be able to talk to you lovely people - I hadn’t travelled in a while and my trip was a big adventure. Personal contact these days is a rare and valued thing
Competitively priced and always available to answer any questions.
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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