Tyler is EXCELLENT. Embodiment of true customer service. I have recommended to my friends and I will keep coming back to you. Thank you for your exceptional service.
Thanks Damian and team
Nathan and Malcolm were fantastic. Hotel in great location and super efficient and helpful
Very helpful and supportive throughout the process
The only person I deal with is Aidan Pinder at DialAFlight. Aidan is professional, funny, and extremely knowledgeable. I always receive a call just before a flight to wish me a safe journey, which is a nice touch. Once I threw a hissy fit about a hotel I was staying at, so sent an email to Aidan to complain which he answered and offered advice even though he was on holiday himself….so simply the best!
It is always a pleasure to deal with DialAFlight. We have been a client for many years. Keep up the good work.
Hotel was excellent but too full of children...not your fault but it might help you inform other future clients.
Samuel was excellent and everything was as arranged
Great service
Such a great experience. I will definitely be booking with DialAFlight again.
Problem with recent EasyJet booking. Luggage not booked. Otherwise excellent service.
Well done Lloyd and Chloe, great service. Will use you again.
Many thanks Tristan, everything went well as always, will be in touch for my trip
Best thing about the company is the staff
Thanks again to Roy Copeland for arranging our holiday and my son’s return flights to New Zealand.
Kennedy spot on as usual!
Only one hiccup with the return transfer which Francis sorted out immediately.
It makes life so much easier just contacting DialAFlight and getting everything organised for you!
All went as planned although cannot blame your company for airport delays or lack of anything to eat on the plane. DialAFlight’s instant telephone response with human being is always most appreciated.
All arrangements went smoothly - thank you Jamal.
We were caught by the Saturday chaos at Heathrow which meant a 5 - 6 hour wait at Marseille before they sent a Jumbo out to take two loads home. Have just recommended you to a nephew!
Automatic car needs to be given as an option
Your performance was wonderful and as promised. However I have resolved to NEVER fly into Malaga again. Most inefficient in the Assistance department. The couple I was with were so delayed that their plane left without them. I only caught my plane because a friend who knew I should be on that plane made a big fuss and demanded to know where I was. (I was still waiting in assistance.) Hotel owner is now taking this up with the airport.
All too easy and cheerful
Theo was fabulous with helping us to book our Iceland trip
Calvin did good!
Sean you're a star. All my requirements for a perfect tailormade break. Transfers. Ideal Hotel. Everything I wanted you supplied.
Been using DialAFlight for over 15 years and recommend you to all. You always make it easy and have good prices when needed. Thank you Gino for all your help.
Usual professional and dedicated personal service.
An extremely caring and very professional service. The staff are always available within seconds to offer advice and assistance.
You've heard of parachuting and paragliding and quite probably parascending… but I have just discovered a new and very rewarding experience and it's called paradoring.
It involves driving around Spain and staying in luxurious accommodation in stunning, historic and elegant hotels.
There are 94 paradors in Spain, in extraordinary natural settings, full of history and culture, and including former palaces, ancient convents and medieval castles.
I was familiar with the south of Spain but had never explored the north and the central plains around Madrid, so this was my chance.
You can fly to any of the big cities, pick up a hire car, and plan a parador to parador route of your choice. I began in Santander, on the north coast, and managed to fit in eight on a round trip.
First stop was the parador at Fuente De, in a dramatic setting in the beautiful Picos de Europa mountain range with a backdrop of towering limestone peaks. A nearby cable-car will take you to the top where the views are awesome.
This is great walking country, but it's even better at the wheel of a car and the next day I headed south over the 6,000-ft San Glorio pass in search of parador number two, driving for several memorable hours on roller-coaster, winding, but perfectly maintained mountain roads, where you hardly see another car.
I hadn't planned to stop at Leon, but one look at the parador 'Hostal San Marcos' in the heart of the city and I quickly changed my mind. This former 16th century monastery has been converted into a living museum. If you can tear yourself away from these superb surroundings it's worth taking a tour around the impressive cathedral, which has some of world's best stained glass windows.
Still heading south, my next stop was at the beautiful old town of Salamanca, with its architecturally perfect square. It also has a fascinating Art Nouveau and Art Deco museum rolled into one. The parador here is comparatively new, has been refurbished throughout and is in a great spot on a hill across from the city.
Next was the charming walled town of Avila, where a former 16th century palace would be home for the night. Walking the sandstone ramparts and walls is memorable experience.
The parador at Toledo was also on a hill overlooking the old city, with views across the Tagus River. The huge cathedral is truly mind-blowing and the alcazar is something special.
I was close to Madrid now and took a train into the capital - 30 minutes later I was at the Prado museum.
Visits to several other art galleries dotted along the wide tree-lined avenues followed, before indulging in a boyhood fantasy with a tour of Real Madrid's famous Bernabeu Stadium, alongside hundreds of gelled hair Ronaldo and Bale clones.
I headed back to Toledo for the car and then on to Alcala de Henares and the next parador. This was a super luxury ultra-modern conversion of the magnificent 17th century St Thomas Convent.
After another superb dinner - all paradors are renowned for their imaginative local cuisine - and good night's sleep, I skirted Madrid and headed back north to Segovia and the penultimate parador. This was in another stunning location with great views of the city and its iconic aquaduct and alcazar, said to have inspired Walt Disney's trademark castles.
The drive up to my final stop at Argomaniz was across more picturesque countryside and along quiet roads. Argomaniz is a tiny village with the superb parador dominating the landscape - and I had a good reason for staying there. My teenage fantasies didn't only revolve around Real Madrid - I had always been fascinated by nearby Pamplona's bull-running festival and had promised myself to take part one day.
But as the years went by I had decided that, at my age, it was probably better to do the run without any bulls chasing me along the narrow cobbled streets.
So after a night at Argomaniz I drove the short distance to Pamplona and, with a dog-eared copy of Ernest Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon in my pocket, proceeded to run the course from corral to bullring without the risk of being skewered by a raging bull's horn.
After Pamplona I drove up to the pretty north coast, visiting elegant San Sebastian then stylish Bilbao for the must-see Guggenheim Museum experience, before hugging the scenic seaside roads back to Santander.
Taking a road trip and staying at these historic and beautiful paradors is a great way to experience the real Spain and one that will leave you wanting to go back time and again.
And bearing in mind the quality on offer, the great food and the fabulous locations, the Government-owned paradors also represent great value.
First published in the Mail Online - March 2016
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