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
On the scenic road that wiggles along St Lucia's mountainous west coast, it looked like just another viewpoint. Sheer cliffs, vistas of sparkling blue ocean, a simple rum bar painted in gaudy colours.
Only one thing was odd - the country music blasting from the bar's mighty speakers: George Strait, proudly singing All My Ex's Live In Texas (sorry about the apostrophe, that's how the title's spelt).
What was going on? Aren't islands like this meant to be all about reggae, soca and steelpan? That's the cliché, but St Lucians clearly didn't get the message.
'We're setting up for a party,' explains the bar's owner, Paula, 'and we'll be playing country all night. Everyone here loves it.'
It's true. Turn on the car radio and there's Alan Jackson singing If Tears Could Talk. Drop into the Massy supermarket and shoppers are picking through the yams to anguished tunes by George Jones, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.
Where did this love for songs about broken hearts and pick-up trucks come from? 'In the early Forties the United States set up two military bases here,' explains Steve Anius, a DJ who hosts a weekly country music show on Radio 100 Helen FM.
'This was the sound they played, which we'd listen to on AM radio.' One base was in Rodney Bay, now the main tourist area, while the other is today's Hewanorra International Airport in the far south.
There was a time when this taste for country went underground because it was considered 'white folks' music'.
'I had a record shop and customers would sneak the albums out under their shirts,' says Steve. But now this passion is out in the open, with all ages attracted. One reason is that country is free from the yelling, swearing and violent lyrics that characterise some other popular music styles.
'People who go to country dances are polite and dress neat,' says Steve, 'and they do a waltz related to kwadril, our traditional folk dance.'
As we drive around listening to such tunes, I'm struck by the vivid beauty of an island with both French and British influences, reflected in place names such as Smuggler's Cove and Vieux Fort.
St Lucia's twin peaks, the Pitons, make it stand out from other Caribbean destinations. Hideaway five-star centres, such as adults-only Jade Mountain and Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort, offer terrific views of this World Heritage-listed attraction, inspiring celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Ellie Goulding to visit.
Surrounding us are green and forested hills ideal for growing cacao - Hotel Chocolat sources its beans here on the Rabot Estate. Its panoramic restaurant, Boucan, uses chocolate in innovative ways, such as a marinade for scallops and to make a rich gravy for beef fillet.
Many visitors, especially families, head for the Rodney Bay area in the far north-west - the popular choice if you like to be in the thick of the holiday whirl, with plenty of shops, restaurants, beaches and activities. This is where we track down our first taste of St Lucian country dancing at Twist, a rustic wooden bar in Grande Riviere, just inland from Choc Bay. Here they play traditional country every Sunday.
It's a friendly, open-air affair with a concrete dance floor and bar snacks that include jerk chicken and souse (pig trotters in broth). Johnny Cash booms out and a passing fishmonger summons customers by blowing on a conch shell.
Country is also part of the entertainment offered at major hotels, such as Sandals Grande St Lucian in Gros Islet. Here, super-smooth ex-policeman 'Cowboy' Shervon Sealy often performs in the lobby in Stetson and boots.
Down at Anse Chastanet resort in Soufriere, the L.M. Stone Family Band - dad, three sons and a daughter - plays every week. When we arrive they're belting out Rhinestone Cowboy.
L.M. tells me how he learnt to sing in church, then got into country because his stepfather cut sugar cane in Florida and brought the music home. He's toured Germany and Sweden and won a contest in Nashville.
'Country's as big in St Lucia as reggae is in Jamaica,' says the star, and, as we twirl around the floor to She Took Everything But The Kitchen Sink, I can only agree.
First published in the Daily Mail - March 2020
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