What 6854 DialAFlight clients thought of Europe

Excellent service. Phone answered within seconds - NO ansaphone saying high volume of calls etc. Problem with hire car company resolved within about 15 minutes while abroad, absolutely brilliant. Will definitely use again.

Thomas is fantastic and super efficient.

Very helpful nat all times - have always provided us with what we need for our trips

Always excellent especially Nadia

Could not have been better. Very happy with everything from initial phone call to the last minute check to see if I was still fine with everything.

A Big thank you to Jonathan, excellent seats and service.

Another trouble free, well organised trip by the lovely people at DialAFlight so thank you

Kylie always really good from start to finish

Libby and Raphael were great throughout the booking process and when we needed to change the destination they were very helpful and accommodating. When we arrived everything was smooth from transfers to checking in.

Gino and Amy were so helpful! We had to move flights and at one point thought we couldn’t go. The holiday was fab and I will continue to book through DialAFlight. Thanks guys!

Once again an excellent service from Bobby and the DialAFlight team, everything went as planned.

You are the best

Debbie especially has been so helpful and patient as we have moved flights twice after initial booking. Other team members have also been very helpful looking at car hire and answering questions. Would definitely recommend

We have always dealt with Tara, who is not only excellent but also so charming and helpful.

Once again Guy Foskin came up trumps - even arranging an upgrade. Excellent service. My go to holiday company.

Your staff are understanding, friendly, professional and gave me confidence.

Perfect trip, thanks very much for your very knowledgeable advice and guidance.

Brilliant service, thank you

Very well looked after by Stacey, Marshall and Niall. Eleven flights from 5 different airports across Europe, all delivered with absolute ease and clarity. Superb customer service. Will absolutely recommend and will be back. 10/10

Have now used Simon Pitman several times to book holidays and they have all been great. He is very knowledgeable about the places we are going to and the hotels are always superb for quality and service

Michael solved the problem with our flights and hotel quickly and efficiently and checked all was OK before we left

As always great service from DAF

Matt Power excellent as usual! DialAFlight never fails

Perfect as always

Excellent service as usual

Excellent service as always.

Daniel booked an amazing holiday and made it as special as possible. I would never book anywhere else. DialAFlight are the best

Absolutely brilliant selection of hotels selected by Trevor. Thank you.

VERY helpful and friendly. You made booking my holiday stress free. Will definitely be using you again.

Excellent customer service as normal - thank you Adam Sui

Star turn

Yes, you Cannes

You can live like a star here, even without a blockbuster budget - film producer Frank Mannion tells you how

The French Riviera was once described by Somerset Maugham as a sunny place for shady people. For its film festival, Cannes - with six five-star hotels and 24 four-star - becomes a melting pot of movie stars, wannabe exhibitionists and billionaires. Deals worth tens of millions are done during the 12-day event.

One-time Lord Chancellor Lord Brougham is seen as the founding father of Cannes. In 1834, he set out for Nice, but a cholera outbreak prevented him from travelling further and he found himself stuck in Cannes, then a small fishing village. It was love at first sight and he spent the next 30 winters there, acting as a remarkable one-man tourist board for the town. Soon aristocrats from all over Europe were flocking there.

Lord Brougham's statue overlooks the harbour, now teeming with Russian oligarchs' super-yachts. It's worth a stroll along the Jetee Albert Edouard to see the excesses on show.

The epicentre of the festival - this year's was the 68th - is Le Grand Palais, where the red-carpet premieres take place in the Grand Theatre Lumiere. The top films compete for the coveted Palme d'Or.

The festival revolves around three iconic Art Deco hotels - The Majestic on one side and The Martinez (its top suite costs £35,000 a night during the festival) and The Carlton at the other end of the promenade known as La Croisette. The Carlton featured in Hitchcock's To Catch A Thief. You do not need to be a guest to enjoy a sundowner there.

A few miles up the coast is the Hotel du Cap at Eden Roc. Stars including Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Clint Eastwood stay here. The Eden-Roc restaurant is perched right at the top of the Cap d'Antibes. You can dine and spot A-listers lounging by the pool without being a guest.

Enjoy star-spotting at Tetou but don't forget to take cash

Just outside Cannes is seafood restaurant Tetou, facing the beach at Golfe Juan. After a long day promoting Kung Fu Panda 2, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had dinner at Tetou - I hope they remembered to take cash, as it doesn't accept credit cards.

If eating at The Majestic or The Carlton is too pricey, try the restaurants around Rue du Bateguier behind the Grand Hotel (such as La Mere Besson), or relatively cheap and cheerful Italian restaurant, La Piazza, in the old harbour.

The best reasonably-priced seafood is served at Gaston et Gastounette (the second floor has tables facing the sea).

Most of the beaches on La Croisette are privately owned by hotels. But if you baulk at £24 for a sun-lounger, there's a free beach opposite The Majestic at Plage Mace and another behind the Palais, at Plage de Casino.

The winding Rue Sainte Antoine is brimming with restaurants where you don't need a reservation (the Auberge Provencale is a favourite). Walk off dinner by continuing up to the clock tower and the ruins of the floodlit Castre Castle, for the most breathtaking view of the Bay of Cannes.

Last year, Leonardo DiCaprio hosted a party in an enchanting villa in the surrounding hills. While models reclined by the pool and DiCaprio served pizza, I visited the beautiful Lerins islands, where the Man In The Iron Mask - played by DiCaprio in 1998 - was incarcerated for 11 years.

The Lerins islands where the Man in the Iron Mask was a reluctant visitor

The neighbouring island of St Honorat is home to a Cistercian monastery called Lerins Abbey. It has a wonderful open-air restaurant, La Tonnelle, overlooking the sea - the grilled lobster with rosemary and onions is alone worth the pilgrimage.

Each year hundreds of people descend on Cannes hoping to be discovered, but few have been as lucky as Grace Kelly. In 1965 she arrived for the premiere of The Country Girl (for which she later won an Oscar). She was set up on a date with Prince Rainier, and within a few months the couple were married, with Kelly becoming Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco.

I wonder if anyone met their Prince Charming this year...

First published in the Daily Mail - July 2015

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