Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
Great service, especially from Ray Taylor.
Zoe Lane is an excellent travel agent.
It's not until something goes wrong with your travel plans that you realise the benefits of booking with them. After sitting on the plane at Gatwick for a couple of hours our flight was cancelled due to a technical issue. At 11pm there aren't that many people in the airport to help. Fortunately a call to DialAFlight's emergency phone line had me talking to Korinna within seconds. She was able to see there were no flights from Gatwick the following morning but there were spaces on the Heathrow flight and she changed our booking to this flight. She also re-arranged our connecting flight for Dubai to Delhi. All this whilst my husband was trying to talk to the airline's customer call centre who were saying they couldn't do anything as the flight hadn't been officially cancelled! A big thanks to Korinna for her help.
Efficient and helpful
No hitches on the way despite the potential for this to happen. Radisson Blue Hotel in Connaught Place excellent service and very convenient for shopping and restaurants.
Always very helpful and a pleasure to book with.
Other than the changes with the flights everything else was great
Amazing customer care
Excellent service
None. Good service
Alfie was very helpful, as usual and ensured all went smoothly
You didn't have to rearrange a flight home for me after a last minute international flight cancellation on this holiday, as you did on the last, but it was so good to know that - far from home - you were there to help me should I find myself stranded. Thank you so much for being there.
Excellent service and they were there for me when I needed assistance. Will definitely use again.
Always had good customer service from Michelle
Flight suggestions worked really well
All perfect!
Everything was handled promptly, professionally and it delivered an experience in India that was everything we hoped for. Great to have a team that were readily available to support us in both the planning and execution! Particular call-out for Brody Letchfield who was our main contact and ensured that, through liaison with Tamarind Global on the ground in India, everything ran smoothly
Connecting flight from Heathrow was delayed because of fog in Delhi, causing us to miss the connection to Goa. Seven hour wait for the next flight.
Great service yet again
Brody once again has provided excellent service and planned our holiday to perfection
Edward Scudder is a star - above and beyond. Quality service
Absolutely seamless holiday to Goa with all the flights booked with Rosie at DialAFlight Thanks again
As always, excellent service especially by Gino. If only BA could learn a thing or two from you about customer service.
Raphael was very helpful throughout the entire process, from initial booking to just before departure
Aiden is great and always most helpful as are all your team!
Thank you for your attentive services
Service was excellent and what we expected
Keep up the good work
Very helpful and was kept in touch by email and message explaining what needed to be done.
Libby could not have been more helpful
The Portuguese have a specific word to describe a nostalgic longing for a place, 'saudade', and after visiting Lisbon it’s easy to see why.
It's conveniently close to the UK, it's in the same time zone - and is a hotbed of cutting edge culture and nightlife, exciting architecture, music events and super cuisine including a thriving pop-up restaurant scene.
Music festivals, headed by Nos Alive in July, rival Glastonbury and Reading.
At Nos Alive, one arena is dedicated to Fado, the melancholy music that originated in Lisbon in the 1820s and is making a big comeback. The festival shows how high Lisbon sits on the 'cool' scale, with a huge buzz in the city’s arts and design sectors.
Lisbon has helped fund many free music and arts events in troubled neighbourhoods to bring investment to the areas and the city is reaping the rewards.
A prime example of the success of this policy is an inner-city area called Mouraria, which used to be the old red light district but is now one of the city's trendiest locations and a magnet for visitors.
It has some of the most beautiful tiled buildings in Lisbon and is one of the top foodie hangouts.
WHERE TO GO
For global cuisine, head to the food market in Martim Moniz Square, or ask the advice of locals about many of the little-known restaurants - some in seemingly private kitchens.
There are also plenty of pop-up events run by Elisa Sartor and Valentina Toscano of Mani In Pasta, who also introduced us to the famous Portuguese custard tart.
The original tarts can be found at the Pastéis de Belém in the Belém area, but for an equally delicious treat in a more central location, try the Confeitaria Nacional shop at Praça da Figueira, which was built in 1829 and still contains its original interior. The pastries are a breakfast delicacy - copy the locals by sprinkling the tart with cinnamon or icing sugar.
From Praça da Figueira, a short Metro ride takes you to a jewel in the Lisbon crown - the indoor Time Out Food Market, which houses artisan food and drink stalls run by some of the biggest bars and restaurants in the city.
FOODIE HEAVEN
Visitors can choose from a number of culinary delights, including steak, sushi, dim sum, local cheese and charcuterie. I opted for a salmon, cuttlefish, tomato and seaweed burger in a cuttlefish ink bun that was absolutely delicious.
There are plenty of places for a more upmarket meal too, including the Bica Do Sapato restaurant, co-owned by Holly-wood A-Listers Catherine Deneuve and John Malkovich, and the hotel Tivoli, which features the Brasserie Flo, a grand 1920s-style dining room serving French food.
I indulged in some local oysters, followed by the most delectable prawn and asparagus risotto I have ever eaten and a salted cod with chorizo crumble.
Upstairs at the Terraço restaurant, diners get one of the best views of Lisbon. Later, we enjoyed a drink at the Sky Bar, a terrace with panoramic views.
Thanks to its hilly nature, Lisbon is famous for its terraces and visitors are spoilt for choice when it comes to verandas with a view that serve food.
People looking for a more modern and relaxed vibe should head to the Memmo Alfama though, a boutique hotel in the Alfama area that is built into the medieval walls of the city. Just a stone’s throw from the hotel is the Clube do Fado in Alfama, widely considered to be the best bar to hear Fado music.
NIGHT LIFE
The quaint streets of the historic Barrio Alto area come alive at night, with traditional and modern restaurants, Fado houses and lively bars staying open well into the night.
Lisbon is well-known for its extremely photogenic tiled facades. In some neighbourhoods almost every home is covered in the ceramics, splashing entire streets with rainbow colours.
Nowhere is this more evident than at Pestana Palace, a five-star hotel in a restored 19th century palace with views over the Tagus. The grand reception rooms boast fresco ceilings and decorative furniture.
On top of all this there are beaches less than an hour away from the centre and guaranteed good weather – the city with everything.
First published in the Mail on Sunday - May 2018
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