Thanks as always to Ralph Summers. I always recommend DialAFlight to family and friends and I will soon be booking a trip to the USA this summer.
I should have been informed of the single person’s supplement and the reason for the expense of the hotel room.
Toby was wonderful
We have used DialAFlight for over 20 years and would never consider going anywhere else.
Kylie Budinger is just brilliant - everything you could want in a travel consultant
Not sure why, but we never got the booked seats going out, and were split up although still in Premium Economy. Virgin gave us £40 each duty free items for the mistake. Flight back much better. DialAFlight info and follow up good by Vinnie.
DialAFlight never let me down.
Used Stuart for many years and recommend to many friends. Friendly, helpful and patient and always delivers the best hotels..
As always, Max was brilliant! He went that extra mile to ensure everything was beyond our expectations.
Blue Orchid and Coral Mist (where we stayed the first night) were gems, as long as you aren't too worried about the plumbing and breakfasts which one doesn't really need as each room has its own kitchen. Staff were very helpful and its situation on beach was beautiful. The quality of British Airways food was poor.
As always, many thanks Dylan Harris for all your help and support.
Roy Copeland is an absolute gem. He will take on the most complicated travel plans deliver an itinerary with a professionalism and ease that I have never come across with any travel agent anywhere.
We booked a last minute trip to Barbados all based on Danny Sharma’s recommendations. He gave us a great experience
Our holiday plans went without a hitch and we loved every minute. We have two more holidays booked with Mason but they will not be the last.
I'd have liked to choose from more than 2 suggested hotels, one of which was at the cruise ship terminal, but Island House was lovely, albeit on the flight path for Nassau airport, which would have been valuable information to know before we booked.
BA use really old planes on Barbados route. My flatbed needed crew assistance! Toilet door handle fell off! Screen didn’t show any films on outward trip -seat 13 A . Really need newer planes on this route.
Great service from start to finish.
Will be coming back to you for another trip.
As usual, professional helpful staff
Michelle as fab as ever!
Please let the airline know that they need to improve the diabetic meals. It is not only sweet things that need to be reduced but also the amount of carbs.
It was all very good, the room, the meals, and the facilities, including the beach and the service there. We had a good discount for the pool out of action, which did not affect us greatly. The pick up at the airport was rather casual with an old vehicle, but the return was fine.
Great work Gordon and team.
Gordon Hibbert, as ever excellent service
The only slight issue we had was when we arrived in Barbados there didn’t appear to be the private transfer there for us …no one was holding a DialAFlight board up. We eventually got it sorted
Exceptional service
I will definitely be using DialAFlight again. Everyone was very helpful and booking was very easy. All the details we needed were there in our app with no problems. Would definitely recommend to friends
We will be using you again.
Flights and hotel really good. Had to get a room upgrade at Sandpiper - but no extra charge.
Everything worked like clockwork. Your local rep was excellent
Walking around Sandals LaSource is a strange experience. It’s not just the staff who are incredibly friendly, but guests, too. If I were to knock on my neighbours’ door and ask them to fetch me a mojito, I know they’d happily oblige. A spare toothbrush? Coming right up.
Everyone at this newly-opened Grenadian extravaganza seems blissfully, deliriously happy - from the British couple who excitedly tell me this is the tenth Sandals resort they’ve visited, to the young, amorous Americans slurping neon cocktails, who want to know all about the village in Hampshire where I was born.
So my initial exploration of the 17-acre site becomes a lengthy process.
Sandals LaSource is a new addition to this lovely spot, a country which includes the main 120 square mile island and the smaller islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
It’s adults-only (no under-18s), and one of 15 Sandals resorts dotted around the Caribbean.
Grenada is a ten-hour flight from London and the resort is a five-minute drive from the airport, on the south-western tip of the island, specifically a beautiful stretch of sand known as Pink Gin beach. For this reason, I’ve packed my ear plugs, but not once do I hear an aircraft.
There are 225 rooms and suites. Some have pools on the balconies, and there are butler suites. Guests are given mobile phones with which they can contact their butlers.
I might not have a suite, but I’m hardly roughing it. My room, in the seafront Italian Village area, has a marble bathtub on the balcony.
Waterskiing, kayaking, snorkelling and scuba trips all come gratis, and, for a small charge, there are excursions outside the resort.
I opt for river tubing and spend the day floating lazily along a river lined by thick, jungle-like foliage, my progress impeded only by clusters of rocks. With a quick shove from our guides, we pop free like corks.
Halfway along, we enter a deep lagoon and jump off a ledge into the clear water.
On the way back to the resort, we stop by Grand Anse beach, near the capital of St George’s. Although one of the island’s most beautiful beaches, it’s surprisingly quiet, with just a few locals occupying the deckchairs.
We have a quick look around the knick-knack-filled stalls then head to St George’s itself, home to the cruise ship terminal and a souvenir-filled shopping centre clearly aimed at passengers on a mad dash ashore.
The spice market in St George’s Square is a fragrant alternative, and the piles of nutmeg, cloves and lemongrass remind us why Grenada is known as the spice island.
The next day I opt for an island tour. One of Grenada’s darker periods was the coup-within-a-coup which resulted in the killing of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop on October 19, 1983. We visit the fort where he died. Bishop was executed by the People’s Revolutionary Army of Grenada, led by General Hudson Austin.
On October 25, U.S. marines invaded on the orders of President Reagan. As we now know, he had to use all his charm to appease Mrs Thatcher, who, despite Grenada being part of the Commonwealth, was kept in the dark about the operation.
U.S. forces took control of the island within three days. Austin was arrested and an Interim Advisory Council reinstated the 1974 constitution. Elections were held in 1984 and Herbert A. Blaize became Grenada’s new PM.
Bullet holes pockmarking the walls of Fort George are the only chilling reminder of this era.
Sandals is brilliant for people-watching because of its diverse clientele. Some of the most interesting evenings are spent in the open-plan Living Room bar with its dance floor and themed music nights.
A guest tells me that Sandals resorts bring out the romantic side in everyone, whether they’re 18 or 80, but I can’t help thinking that the free alcohol also plays a part.
Sandals guests refer to staff members as if they were old friends. The more hardcore fans wear their Sandals T-shirts like badges of honour.
There are nine restaurants. I develop a penchant for eggs benedict at Le Jardinier, where I appear to be the only person not chasing down my breakfast with champagne.
Another favourite is Butch’s Chophouse, a steakhouse named after Sandals’ chairman, Jamaican-born Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart.
In the afternoons, I offset the threat of obesity by visiting the gym (Sandals guests party hard, but they work out hard too).
When I’m feeling less energetic, I sign up for a round of bocce ball (an Italian boules-type game) and play board games at the swim-up bar.
On my final day, I head to Le Jardinier - and toast Sandals LaSource with a pre-9am glass of champers.
First published in the Mail Online - February 2015
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