Excellent customer services 10-10
Excellent service and trip - can’t wait to make our next booking!
Always a great service
Brilliant holiday destination. Had the best time and would love to go back.
Another well managed booking, all ran smoothly. Holiday was fantastic. Galley Bay Antigua was luxurious.
It was very helpful to speak to a person when I had to make a change in travel plans.
Guy was incredible and ensured our whole holiday was perfect from start to finish. Thank you so much
Excellent service from Dylan as usual
Great. Always OK with service given.
BA plane two hours late taking off. One hour late returning. No apologies, not impressed with their customer care. Missed connection coming home.
Ashley was amazing. He was very patient whilst we were deciding on the perfect location for our family holiday! Once we had eventually nailed it down to a location he was able to come up with a selection of resorts within our price range which helped making a decision very easy!
Elliot is the best
Robbie was amazing. Very helpful
Wayne Bailey is excellent and always responsive
Firstly thank you to Emma for sorting out the filghts, she was very helpful and always happy to take my call. With all connections getting back home, it took us 19 hours to get back to Gatwick, now I understand why - Winair are short of staff, hence all the notifications from you that the flight times had been changed. I will not be useing Winair again, for now. Prefer to pay the extra money and use the French or Dutch Airlines to St Maarten.
Any problem always fixed quickly.
DialAFlight deliver what they promise. Abbie is always helpful and goes above and beyond to ensure all our travel needs are met.
Thank you very much Tommy for the organisation and support. Mum had a fabulous birthday.
Stuart always goes above and beyond, never lets us down and is always there if a problem arises
Tara was absolutely excellent in helping us find and book the honeymoon of our dreams. I can’t speak highly enough about how great her communication was, how friendly and polite she was, how knowledgeable she was on the best destination during this time of the year, and helping us find the best available trip for our budget.
James was extremely helpful and supportive
Very impressed with DialAFlight and keeping in touch up to a few days before travelling. Flights are also reasonable with options on payments.
Trevor and his team were very knowledgeable and kept us informed. Their customer focus had our best interests in mind at all times making us feel valued customers
Excellent service once again from Darryll and the team
Fantastic customer service from Calvin. He was patient and accommodating with our request which helped make our holiday a memorable one.
Great service and a pleasure to deal with
Jason is an excellent manager
Always great to work with such a great team.
Jamal was amazing - great service, helpful and our holiday was perfect.
As always you delivered a fantastic service. Efficient, reliable and helpful. Thank you DialAFlight and especially Amelia
They look like wind-up toys. Marching one after another, with clockwork regularity, a stream of baby turtles, miniature flippers whirring into life, emerge from their sandy nest.
Nothing draws the crowds quite like these hatchlings. Word spreads quickly among the dinner guests at Sandals Barbados resort, and soon a sizeable gathering is crouched on the beach.
Sadly, it doesn’t quite play out like Planet Earth. As more and more turtles try to escape into the moonless night many lose their bearings and veer towards the hotel lights. There is a lot of cooing among the frocks and the golf shoes, as we all trip over ourselves in the dark trying not to tread on them.
Sandals staff wisely usher the crowds from the beach as the survivors are packed into boxes, ready to be released when the sea is quieter. Ninety-two, someone counted. 'We always know when the babies have hatched,' I was told. 'It’s the only time the buffet is ever empty.'
Escaping to Barbados for a week or two is the stuff of dreams, so excitement levels are understandably high. The attentive all-inclusive service, fabulous food and comprehensive luxury is enough to keep many within the hotel grounds for their entire stay.
The soft sand of the adjoining Dover Beach is a wonderful place to relax and there are innumerable activities to burn off the calories, from yoga at sunrise to lessons with tennis pros.
COASTAL CRUISE
For those looking to explore the island's platinum west coast, a catamaran is a must.
The boat is crewed by larger-than-life characters such as Brian ‘deAction Man’ Talma, who serve up a sumptuous spread of jerk chicken, flying fish and exquisite rum cake, while doubling up as ocean guides. We stop for a spot of snorkelling with hawksbills and green leatherbacks – fully-grown relatives of the babies I saw hatching at the hotel, and dive down to submerged wrecks moored to the sea bed.
The shoreline is fanned by palms guarding the palatial villas of the rich and famous.
There is little rising beyond the tree line: the island is effectively a large slab of coral dangling from the south-eastern tip of the Antiles. The flat topography makes it ideal for agriculture, sugar production in particular, which was especially appealing to the British who colonised Barbados in 1627 and didn’t let it go until independence more than 300 years later.
Getting around is relatively straightforward – even strapped into the back of a jeep on one of the island’s eccentric safari tours. The mood is certainly buoyant – there’s something about bouncing around uncontrollably that makes people inexplicably happy.
The tour highlight is Bathsheba on the east coast. Atlantic-facing, the turbulent waters favoured by local surfers have churned up huge coral boulders, which sit shrouded in sea mist like guardians to an ancient kingdom. It is a world away from the raked sands of the west coast villas and offers the luxury of isolation and a landscape of breathtaking beauty.
FRIDAY FISH FRY
Friday night and nearby Oistin’s fish market is heaving. The resort runs a free shuttle bus to this island institution, where row upon row of food outlets serve everything from ‘dolphin’ (not the porpoise but a fish called mahi-mahi) to lobster, all grilled or fried in delicious spices.
Hundreds turn out to eat and dance to the carnivalesque soca music, performed live in the centre of the market.
Barbados is fertile ground for musicians: they crop up here like sugar cane, moving with effortless rhythm, emanating sounds as sweet as molasses. After a rum punch or two I’m soon swaying along awkwardly to the upbeat vocals of raw Rhianna hopefuls.
Next morning, with a sore head, I find myself in the capital Bridgetown, listening to a stout, elderly gentleman and gazing longingly at the shade afforded by his wide-brimmed fedora.
You are standing, says Maurice Greenidge – eminent local historian and my guide to the city – on sacred ground; 1652 is the year, and on this spot rum was born. Barbados loves rum.
I scan the colourful facades of the old harbour market. Carlisle bay sweeps away to the former British garrison. Bright colours blur with the sound of car horns; music is beating underneath it all, and the heat settling down from above.
It is easy to while away the time here at a luxury all-inclusive resort. But venture beyond and you will quickly realise that life in Barbados offers so much more, paradise included.
First published in the Mail Online - May 2017
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
