Excellent service.
Special thanks to Hayley Hawtin who did the bookings for me. It was the third trip I’ve booked with her and she is the reason why I’ll come back to DialAFlight next time.
Food on British Airways was markedly better than the last time I flew and the Customs official at SFO was friendly and helpful. If we have to fly long distance again, I am sure we will call upon you.
Excellent service
What a fab job Kelly Critchlow did, not only taking the business from Virgin, pulled an absolute winner of a holiday for us to California. Even keeping us updated on better offers and hotel changes along the way. I have already mentioned DialAFlight to several friends and done a referral for a trip to the Maldives. Super thanks from us all.
We had already done a lot of research but Jamal and his team pulled it together into a very well organised package and were extremely helpful and supportive. Debbie supported us excellently during the one moment of concern during our stay.
Francis was great. Only issue was the flight booked with BA but operated by American Airlines who I would not recommend as they have no customer service skills. Will definitely book with DialAFlight again
Grant did a great job, as always, in helping me arrange my trip and giving me various options to make it an even better experience!
Christian did another fantastic trip and everything went smoothly. Excellent service. Highly recommend.
Very friendly and helpful
As always, excellent service. Thanks to Ed and the team
I can't fault anything at all. Your staff were very helpful
Went over and beyond the call of duty - excellent service
Jim the travel consultant was excellent, sorted everything for me promptly
Thanks again to Les. Everything was 100%.
Roy as always did a great job
I wsh I had upgraded the return flight…but there were no problems.
It was difficult to access our flight information such as seats, baggage allowance and how to pay for extra bags. Ryan was really helpful, however we did feel like we were pestering him about things that could have been made more accessible for us.
Simply the best, never disappoint and well done guys for a good experience
Air France Business Class superb on all legs, long & short haul. Service superb, lounges excellent. It's how travel used to be. Hotel in Bora Bora generally good, let down by a handful of service related issues.
So glad I made the call. Working with Darren is a pleasure, he makes it so seamless.
My only concern was that I was not told about the Esta documentation which was required. Would have been useful to be told when booking.
Well planned trip and good communication both before and while we were away.
Very professional
Excellent, friendly service
I am always happy with the service and the holidays. Thank you we had a great time in Los Angeles
Wonderful service, professional and caring. Would highly recommend.
It was great to be able to book flights again with Kennedy Thrower managing everything. It is very reassuring to have her on the end of the phone and to receive her emails reminding us of things we should do before we go. I will certainly use you again.
Trip went extremely well and disabled assistance was perfect
Good but you never called me back when BA told me they couldn’t upgrade me using my Avios points as they couldn’t recognise the booking.
Laguna Beach in the late 1960s was overrun with hippies. It was home to Timothy Leary's Brotherhood of Eternal Love movement, on a mission to spread peace, love - and acid - to the world.
The focal point was a gallery and bookshop that supplied locals with its famous Orange Sunshine acid tabs. Surfboards were filled with them, and on one occasion Laguna Beach was showered with acid blotter dropped from a helicopter.
These hippies and surfers became major-league suppliers of LSD, and achieved superstar status among the psychedelic movement. Doug Oyen, our guide during a morning hike through the canyons above Laguna Beach, shows us some of the caves where hippies used to hang out.
We couldn't wish for a better guide. Doug is the first of many people we meet straight out of SoCal central casting: laidback, suntanned, wraparound shades and long blond mane.
The trek is painfully steep at times but worth it for panoramic views of the beaches and towns fringing the Pacific. A late afternoon walk in Laguna Beach confirms its counterculture days are over. Forget the 1960s ethos of 'Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out' - today's buzzwords are 'Tone Up, Tummy In, Work Out'. LSD has been replaced by the yoga mat.
They're everywhere: beside Gucci handbags in restaurants; in shopping baskets next to quinoa and kale; or clutched under the arms of shoppers looking at $200 ripped jeans in boutiques.
On a stroll through Heisler Park we see a timeless SoCal sight: rows of surfers in the ocean, waiting for the big wave that will make them the envy of their friends. A long line of brown pelicans in V-formation flies just above the water.
We dine at Driftwood Kitchen, a fabulous new beachfront restaurant serving classic surf and turf.
Enjoy waterfront views of the PAcifici whilst dining at Driftwood Kitchen
We stay the night at The Ranch at Laguna Beach. Transport is by a golf buggy, or else in a cool 15-seat Chevy Stageway. Next day we head up the Pacific Coast Highway to Huntington Beach, where we're greeted by two giant inflatable swans in the new Pasea Hotel's pool, facing the large sandy beach.
In the hotel's Tanner's bar, the centrepiece is a large, twisting tree trunk with a canopy of hanging lights. Hearing our English accents, our waitress reveals she's moving to London to take a drama course. Later, a surferdude taxi-driver blasts out Brahms from the stereo: SoCal folk can be so surprising.
After heading further north to Santa Barbara, we eat delicious ice cream at McConnell's and wander along Stearns Wharf, where children jump off into the sea.
We're treated to a helicopter ride over Santa Barbara, and fly above the huge Clark Estate, home to a former copper magnate and, later, his reclusive heiress. We also spot Michael Douglas's place and Oprah Winfrey's house.
We stay at luxurious El Encanto, in the Santa Barbara hills, where actress Hedy Lamarr once lived. The accommodation is luxurious Spanish-style villas among palms and lemon trees.
Sun trap: the pool at The Belmond
Next stop is a little bit of Denmark: Solvang, in the Santa Ynez Valley. In 1911, almost 100 Danish settlers arrived looking for farming land and built what now resembles a Danish village, with windmills, bakeries and their own version of Copenhagen's Little Mermaid statue. We pop into the Solvang Restaurant, famous for aebleskiver, a traditional, spherical Danish dessert served with raspberry jam and sugar.
This is the heart of southern California's wine region - the celebrated Sonoma and Napa valleys are much further north. Downtown Solvang has many bars and wine-tasting rooms, serving wines from local producers. In The Wandering Dog, we're soon swaying on our stools but this is due more to the all-American sounds of Boston, Kansas and Don Henley on the music system than to the chardonnay, syrah and, of course, pinot noir.
Later, we drive up winding roads of Ballard Canyon to a vineyard called Rusack to taste its wines. When veteran American comedian Shelley Berman visited, he launched into an impromptu rendition of Que Syrah Syrah, which was met with delight from surprised guests. The estate's Marti Martin told him: 'You see, you're still getting applause wherever you go.' Who needs LSD when you have a good bottle of syrah?
First published in the Mail on Sunday - July 2017
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