What 16565 of our customers thought of USA...

Fantastic service all the time from Neil Frost and his team

You are our go-to travel agents!

Very good service - kept us up to date and organised everything quickly. Would recommend. 5 stars

Quality of hotels very good and car hire problem free. Good service and very happy overall

Sorry but was not overall enthralled by the accommodation. Location was good but a very tired hotel unfortunately. I know we only sleep there but could have had better eating facilities, a coffee counter in the morning only and sweets all day.

A first class service which I will use again

All good, Bradley is so efficient and everything went very well. Thank you so much,

Fantastic reassuring, straightforward advice! Always there when needed and when we were put on standby on the first leg of our journey a panicked phone call from me was quietly reassuring: “ If I was a betting man, I would say you’ll get on.“ Thanks. Terrific.

Gary Patel has been excellent - providing us with a service that is 5 star

Your performance was, as always, excellent. The performance of American Airlines on my return flight from Raleigh Durham was not.

Billy, who I dealt with, was personable and efficient

Obviously the BA flight getting cancelled is not ideal but not your fault

Eric was amazing as always

Noah worked some miracles to get me to the States and back. Thank you!

Roy Copeland always delivers above and beyond

Darryll was incredibly helpful throughout our booking process. He found us a great deal and when our return flight was cancelled he responded very promptly to book us alternative travel with minimal time difference.

Erin was great. She found me a good priced flight exactly as needed. She responded quickly and efficiently to my queries.

Adam always goes above and beyond.

Thank you to Carina for helping us when our flight was cancelled

Thank you Kieran for getting all the arrangements spot on.

Excellent service as always

Despite a technical failure of an aircraft causing us to miss our connection DialAFlight managed to secure our previously booked Business Class seats on the final leg of the journey despite the airline telling us that there were none available!

Don’t like Virgin beds!

Apart from putting together a great flight/car hire package, when my flight with BA was cancelled the support in sorting out what I needed to do was first class. Will certainly use them again

I needed to change my return flight at short notice because my mother was ill and it was such a relief to have professional, responsive and understanding help from Kylie

Very pleased that we engaged with DialAFlight for our recent trip to North America. We were initially looking to book direct with the different companies but DialAFlight were recommended. We were able to secure cheaper rates compared to others in our party and the itinerary was in one place and handled by a single person. Will certainly look to use DialAFlight again

Excellent service as always. Thankyou Declan and Orlando

Icelandair very good … except no lounge at RDU. They need to fix this!

Very happy with the service from DialAFlight. Would use again

Brody was amazing, very helpful throughout the booking and he kept us updated. We will definitely be back.

Thailand rediscovered

Thailand's all grown up

Full Moon partygoers of yesteryear have rediscovered Thailand… and are bringing their kids along too, says Frank Barrett

I first visited Thailand at the end of the Seventies when I was invited to Pattaya Beach by Thai Airways to hear about plans to introduce Boeing 747 jets on the London to Bangkok route.

Around the hotel grounds were elephants decked out in Thai Airways livery: jumbos advertising jumbo jets. It was the first time I had seen elephants in their natural environment!

These days when people want to reach a tropical Thai beach they get on a plane for a short hop to Koh Samui or Phuket. In those days, it took a two-hour drive south from Bangkok to Pattaya (the drive was down a road so bad it made the B4326 look like the M1). This was my first experience of the Far East and probably as good an introduction as you could hope for.

By 1979, US servicemen on leave in the Far East were enjoying Pattaya Beach's extraordinary, edgy nightlife; the characteristic excesses of Thai entertainment were firmly established here. It was the place where The Beach's author, Alex Garland, would have been in seventh heaven.

I'm not clear why there was such a large US presence in Thailand at the end of the Seventies but the bar and club owners were clearly grateful.

Away from the strip, hotel developers were building resort hotels which at this time seemed to serve a market of affluent Parisians.

They have moved on but Pattaya remains a fun-loving place: the Costa del Sol of South East Asia. But there are interesting developments east of Pattaya, along the coast towards the border with Cambodia.

Cassia Phuket

Typical of the different style is Centara Q Resort Rayong, a boutique resort set on quiet Laem Mae Phim beach on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand.

there are 41 modern rooms in a resort designed to provide an intimate, beachfront getaway three hours' drive from Bangkok.

A number of other less well known Thai places are also beginning to be discovered by UK travellers, including Khanom, Koh Kood and Koh Phangan.

Koh Phangan is one of the many Thai resorts that has completed the journey from backpacker hang-out to upmarket resort.

Once known as the ultimate party destination thanks to its hedonistic scene and guest appearance in The Beach, the island has emerged as stylish and elegant.

The Anantara Rasananda on Koh Phangan is one of the Thai properties which makes the link between Koh Phangan's boisterous past and its more mellow present. Many guests have been here before, in their wilder days, but are now happily settled in their 30s, often with kids in tow.

Those hot, heady affairs still take place on Haad Rin beach, 30 minutes from the hotel, but now many people seek this more refined island option.

If you're looking for a more affordable Thai beach break, the Cassia Phuket lies on the unspoilt Bangtao Beach. Those looking to relax can choose to take a dip in the chic infinity pool or indulge in a massage and pampering session at the Chill Chill Spa.

At Market 23 Cafe, guests can socialise over a cup of coffee and takeaway snacks and meals including fresh fruit juices, daily smoothies, organic pro-biotic yogurt, light sandwiches, freshly prepared salads, and savoury and sweet pies.

Alternatively, guests can buy fresh ingredients to recreate their favourite dishes in their apartment. You can also order from local restaurants or take away directly from street vendors.

First published in the Mail on Sunday - June 2016

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