Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
First class service from start to finish
Emily Aird sorts our travel and once again, on this trip to Croatia, she did an amazing job. The hotel she found for us was perfect. I literally have nothing but good things to say about it. I needed this break and I am so grateful.
Brilliant agents
We have used DialAFlight on a few occasions. Gary found us an amazing holiday in Thailand, Tammy found us a lovely holiday in Rome & Milan. All hotels were really lovely and very central to everything. I would like to thank the team for all their help
Great personal service, happy to recommend as always. Next booking coming soon
Superb service as always
Always great to work with DialAFlight
My first time using DialAFlight and Jed took time to get to know what we wanted. On another note I asked if he could do us a trip to Egypt which was a bit complicated but he managed so we’ve booked another one. Jed has been very professional and helpful
The staff at DialAFlight are so helpful, particularly George Burke
One hiccup with the excusrions that was listed as a 9.20am pick up. It was actually a 12.45 pick up which meant we had to rearrange our evening which we were only made aware of the day prior.
Fabulous trip
Brilliant, and very reassuring to know I can contact you and get a quick response if I am worried about anything.
Excellent as usual
Really great service all round
Hotel food was very average .. although nice location. Hotel transfer was non existent. You guys excellent as ever
First class as always.
You did everything well. BA on the other hand was less than impressive. A shame for a national carrier but not unusual.
Tony, as always, did a good job
Cameron is a super star
Perfect hotel choices by Travis. Efficient, friendly and knowledgeable. Would definitely recommend
Kennedy is a star
Massive thank you to DialAFlight for making everything so easy and efficient. Can’t recommend enough
Always helpful and efficient
Great support from my adviser
Thankyou so much and we are looking forward to speaking with you to help us book more flights in the future.
Thank you Troy
Another excellent trip organised for us by DialAFlight.
As always, 1st class service, thank you Vinnie
You get the greatest service from these guys. Particular mention for Claire Doherty who I’ve dealt with on and off for many years and one of her team members Jenson. They are always at the end of a phone or an email if you need them - and I have needed them a few times. They never make you feel like your question is silly or that you’re a pest!
Excellent all round service, thank you Louie
Here's a game to play on the plane. You have one last holiday and it's for a month. It won't cost you a thing but you have to go somewhere you've been before. That honeymoon hotel in Sri Lanka might loom large, perhaps the beach resort in Jamaica would be perfect, or the heavenly spot in the Maldives could do the trick.
My wife and I play the game on the way home from Tuscany - and are hard-pressed to think beyond the place we've just left. We stayed at the Castello di Casole hotel, a ravishing hill-top converted castle within striking distance of Siena, San Gimignano and Florence. In other words, culture of the highest order on your doorstep, where going nowhere at all is also a tantalising option.
We're talking Tuscany Classico: lush undulating countryside, a patchwork of greens, ochres and violets broken up by thick hedges and narrow tracks lined with immaculate cypress trees.
Many of the tracks you can see from the castle's terrace - with its fabulous infinity swimming pool and huge terracotta pots laden with olive trees - lead to villas that are part of the hotel's 4,200-acre estate, now owned and run by Belmond.
An American firm acquired it in 2005 and set about a massive restoration.
There are 41 suites (plus a two-storey penthouse) in the main building and dotted about what amounts to a private hamlet, with its own church and crypt built by the Bargagli family in the 19th century. The spa is in the granary, with treatment rooms in the former cellars. At one time, the castle was owned by Italian director Luchino Visconti (Death In Venice). Perhaps he, like us, spent hours staring into the distance - front row seats in the Ritzy Naturale.
It's truly special at night, when the main courtyard becomes a village square, complete with fountain, stone benches and al fresco dining. Children play hide and seek while their parents pile plates with some of the best cooking in the region.
What you forget about Tuscany is that the Etruscans were here long before the Romans. Hence the exquisite hilltop towns that once were fortresses designed to repel outsiders and are now communities keen to welcome visitors armed with euros.
On our second night, we ask the concierge to book us dinner somewhere cheap and cheerful nearby. He chooses Osteria del Borgo in the tiny village of Mensano, which, as it happens, we could see from our room.
Slow-cooked wild boar is the speciality here, but it's the sort of restaurant where you let the waiter (in this case the brother of the chef) decide what you should eat. A triumph.
We visited the dramatic hilltop town of San Gimignano, with its skyline of medieval towers, including the stone Torre Grossa and the 12th century Duomo di San Gimignano with famous frescoes by Ghirlandaio. But be warned, the walled town is one of Tuscany's biggest draws and it can get extremely busy - it's well worth a visit but try to avoid peak times. The priority of those medieval town planners wasn't car parking spaces.
We enjoyed a venture to beautiful Arezzo, where on the first Sunday of the month, the town centre becomes one huge antiques market. We buy a heavy marble font that raises eyebrows as we check in for the flight home at Pisa airport.
We also make the pilgrimage to Siena, where, because it is a few weeks before the annual Palio (the bareback horse race around the plaza), medieval pageantry is brewing nicely, including a hostile-looking marching band that drums its way through the narrow streets carrying heavy flags.
Most of all, we love sleepy Casole d'Elsa, which you can also see from the hotel. It has a butcher and grocer - and manages a perfect balance between visitors and full-time residents.
What strikes us about Tuscany in peak season is how if you avoid the superstar towns, there's space for everyone and, with fierce planning laws governing development, it's remarkably unspoilt.
First published in the Daily Mail - March 2020
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