Great service
Once again another great service with my booking - would highly recommend
Yet another perfectly organised trip. Thank you
As smooth as ever
Amazing holiday and the transfers all worked perfectly
Amazing Thailand. Cathay Pacific are an excellent airline - one of the best. Thankyou DialAFlight!
Had a blast, logistics worked great.
Superb service again by Kirsty Farmer
Great communication. Love the app. Great choice of itinerary. Thanks.
Everything on our trip toThailand and Laos worked out just fine. Thank you Philippa for all your help and assistance
Great holiday experience.
Excellent communication from Glen
Great service and will use again. Becky was great
Absolutely first class as always - used for many years - would never go anywhere else. 110% do what they say on the label and trustworthy.
Other than Emirates I also flew with Star and they must be the worst airline flying. I never wish to use them again.
Great customer service.
Only bad point was the Emerald hotel didn't have an adult pool. It was geared up for young children which spoilt it a bit.
Great communications - would definitely use you again. 5 star service
Howard Crafter and his team were excellent in organising my trip. Extremely efficient team who kept me informed of any changes. Very pleased with the overall organisation
Everything was excellent from start to end. Great service from travel manager Ryan
The service I received from my initial booking to travelling was exceptional. The flight bookings and hotel recommendations were perfect. I would always book with you again and have advised friends and family to do the same.
Liam and Matilda and their colleagues were brilliant. Would have no hesitation in recommending them
Sadie was excellent in organising Eleanor’s many flights including changing them. Everything went smoothly. I will definitely recommend her to family and friends
We had to make a small change to one of our local flights during the trip and your 24 hour helpline were brilliant at supporting us in getting it arranged. Not sure what we would do without you!
Isaac was great
Always good service
Your arrangements were fine. However my trip was less than enjoyable due to no gluten free food available on either of the return flights.
Everything working like clockwork
Excellent customer care looks after you before and after travelling. Highly recommended - cannot thank Conrad enough. Thank you so much for your kindness
Everything as discussed and delivered
This year was the first time I've ever taken a long holiday. I was away for a total of three-and-a-half weeks. Everyone was surprised that I took such a long break - last year I managed just three days off.
I decided it was time to relax and get away from running my hotel, the Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire - life is too short to work all the time. I wanted to rediscover a part of the world that has long fascinated me - South East Asia. This region has the most beautiful food, an extraordinary climate, and the people are so warm and friendly.
The food at my hotel has a strong South East Asian influence, particularly the area around Chiang Mai in Thailand. And about 25 years ago I discovered the resort of Chiva-Som in Hua Hin, one of the best spas in the world.
It was the place that ignited my interest in nutrition - something I've developed at Le Manoir with my Raymond Blanc Cookery School.
All those years ago, staff at Chiva-Som were connecting food with health, and within the spa they had the best yogi, the best acupuncturist, the best medicine. For me, visiting here is a way to get back to good health.
Another key element is really learning how to breathe properly so that you 'reconnect' with your body. So each day at Chiva-Som involves detox, exercise, swimming, massage, acupuncture, and, of course, some wonderful spa treatments.
Good food is at the heart of maintaining good health - something the Government is beginning to accept with its plans to give every child a quality, nutritious meal every day.
By staying somewhere like Chiva-Som, you soon realise the benefits of eating good food. This place is a foodie heaven - meals made with herbs grown on site, spices and grain.
Nutritional food is complemented with a day of invigorating exercise
During my stay I ate an awful lot of quinoa, fresh, crunchy salads, and different types of rice. The chefs also cooked me lots of fresh fish and delicious vegetables.
The kitchen garden at Chiva-Som is magnificent, although perhaps not as amazing as ours at Le Manoir, because we are obsessive about our garden.
The garden at Le Manoir isn't just a showpiece; it actually has a huge impact on our gastronomy as well. We have eight people working in the garden during the winter and 12 during the summer.
One of the key things about the Chiva-Som experience is meditation. I find meditation very difficult because I always have about 50,000 things in my head at the same time, so to try take them out and meditate - oh my goodness, it's so hard!
Once I was enveloped in the heaven that is Chiva-Som, I was very happy - I had no desire to venture outside. In the resort you are asked not to use your mobile phone outside your room. And that's perfectly correct - after all, you're staying in a place that is calm and restorative, so mobile phones are inappropriate. I must say, however, that I felt the urge to tweet the whole world what a great time I was having!
Wandering through Chiva Som's gardens is an aromatic delight
After a few days of Chiva-Som you become completely Zen-like. At the end of my stay I kept asking myself why I had to leave this wonderful place.
The good news was that my holiday wasn't over. Next we headed to another fabulous get-away-from-it-all resort - the Belmond Napasai in Koh Samui.
Situated between verdant tropical gardens and the shimmering sea, this is a resort that deserves to be described as paradise. Standalone villas sit within 17 acres of tropical gardens, rich with cashew and coconut trees, hibiscus and bougainvillea.
Tempting aromas of fresh local cuisine drifted through the air, and staff greeted every request with a warm smile.
To finish the holiday, we had two wonderful days in Bangkok, staying at the Mandarin Oriental, another heavenly place.
I love Bangkok for its antique shops - you can't keep me away and I always buy something.
The managers at Le Manoir get worried about what I'll come back with: on a previous trip I managed to return with a huge bed (it came back in a container - there wasn't room to bring it with me on the plane!)
Over the years I've bought all sorts of lovely antiques - my house is full of them. This year, I bought only a delightful Buddha made from lapis stone, and a beautiful opium pipe which will join the collection of other pipes in our Opium Room at Le Manoir.
Already I can't wait to go back to Thailand. To me, that's the sign of a perfect holiday.
First published in the Mail on Sunday - September 2016
More articles below...
Not quite what you're looking for?
We can easily customise an offer to suit your exact requirements
Clients range from TV companies to Space agencies, investment banks to firms recruiting nurses, doctors and teachers around the world. One saves tigers, elephants and and orang-utans, another clears landmines around the world.
But they all have one thing in common. They love the unique DialAFlight approach. Read more here
Let us extend the personalised service of your booking into your holiday with great prices on business class flights ready to add a touch of class to your trip.
Take the stress out of travelling with a host of wonderful perks on offer from priority check-in and premium lounge access to chauffeur service and fine in-flight dining, plus the supreme comfort of a fully-reclining seat.
Call us to see how much you could save on Business Class flights.
Airport Lounges from £25
Once you’re through security leave the crowds, kids and chaos behind you with a visit to one of our comfortable airport lounges.
All offer complimentary food, drinks, wifi and newspapers with some also including Fastrack through security. Prices from £25.
Use our speedy private transfer service to avoid the stress of finding your way out of the airport terminal and looking for a taxi or bus on arrival.
With our meet and greet service, our driver will meet you in the arrivals hall. They will monitor flight arrival times giving you peace of mind that someone will be waiting for you with a name board even if your flight is late.
They will then assist you with your luggage and organise a private transfer directly to your hotel - there’s no waiting around for other passengers for shared transfers!
So no queues, no delays and less stress.
What could be better than giving someone the Gift of Travel?
Starting at just £50, with no maximum value, DialAFlght's 'Gift of Travel' vouchers make the perfect present for any occasion or celebration.
And it couldn't be simpler to organise, just contact one of our travel experts today and they will organise a personalised travel voucher to be sent out.
BACK TO TOP
