Harry Clark went above and beyond in emailing me while away to alert me to the lack of rail transport into central London on the day of my return. It meant I could book a car in advance and save a lot of problems on arrival.
Everything went smoothly, great holiday. You were very helpful and would definitely recommend you to friends and family
On my recent visit to Lousiana, my return flight was delayed by almost 4 hours. Immediately dialled the emergency number. One of the agents answered and solved problem within minutes. Upon arrival at the flight counter was provided with an alternative route even though it was only 2 hours more but I still got home within a favourable time frame. Thanks for the awesome service and experience.
Absolutely fabulous as always
Harvey and Tara are great!
Fantastic service
Excellent service as always from Jerry
As always excellent service and back up
Tristan Chatburn was amazing. His support and contact throughout the process was excellent. Would not hesitate to recommend and we will definitely use your company in the future
The issues we had coming home with BA weren’t DialAFlight's fault but maybe warn clients that if flying home from New Orleans that the airport and airport lounges all shut at 9pm and you can’t get food or drinks anywhere. So if you’re delayed make sure you eat before you go to the airport!
As always -amazing and unfaltering service from Nicky. I’ve used them for years and will continue to use DialAFlight for my travels
Thanks once again to Adam for exceptional service and for helping us organise our perfect holiday
Philippa Devlin was excellent throughout the whole process. We are considering a further holiday and will certainly come back to her and DialAFlight.
When we booked our trip it was for ddrect flights to New Orleans. Unfortunately BA stopped flying there direct on Fridays so we had to travel via Dallas which made the journey extra long
Another very successful adventure organised to perfection by Adam Siu
Another faultless experience. Thanks to Jessica and her team
Marshall's knowledge of the hotel and the area were bang on and placed us right in the heart of everything.
Always great service and support
Nicky kept in touch and her friendly personality made it a lot easier and instilled confidence in me as she understood my anxiety at travelling longhaul alone
An absolutely excellent trip to the USA organised by Billy and his team. Many thanks for going the extra mile.
Harriet Hall was patient, efficient and very helpful. Excellent service
Very helpful over several Covid cancellations and changes of mind. Riley exceptional.
A great all round experience
Had to wait 2 hours in New Orleans to collect hire car. Avis had one member of staff and so queue was ridiculous especially after such a long journey. But on a good note they gave us a bigger car probably by mistake so can live with it.
No complaints
Trip worked well. Am going to send more detailed report soon as I feel it helps with future bookings
Jamie literally saved our holiday after BA cancelled our flights. I was in such a panic, but he was brilliant and found us flights £460 cheaper than BA was charging us.
Michelle is amazing. She has been booking my travel now for over four years and having flown to New Orleans during the COVID situation only to have to return two days later Michelle cancelled all our hotels and found us flights to return home within minutes of making the phone call. Amazing.
Stephen worked as quickly as possible to change my and my daughter's flights and hotel bookings as the Corona virus situation on both sides of the Atlantic got worse. He was most helpful and understanding
Really great communication, super helpful staff - great trip!
Abigail Gullo, the New Yorker who runs the bar at the much-hyped new restaurant Compere Lapin, has a theory about her adoptive city - 'they say you have to be successful to live in New York, beautiful to live in LA, but in New Orleans you can just be yourself.'
A 6in fleur-de-lis tattoo on her arm, the official Louisiana symbol, tells of her Big Easy love affair. 'I cherish bartending in this city because it's all about community. When Hurricane Katrina hit, many of the bars stayed open and staff did what they could to help, offering locals shelter.'
I'm not surprised. Community spirit is different here. Drink in the streets in other U.S. states and you'll be pounced on by the police. In New Orleans, they will stop for some banter or shout 'have a good time!' at revellers clutching their trusty Go Cups – plastic beakers you can grab from every bar and have refilled anywhere.
New Orleans' disdain for the status quo goes back a long way – 90 years ago it was named Prohibition America's wettest city and in 1928, when the Atlanta mayor asked Louisiana Governor Huey Long what he was doing to enforce the Prohibition Act, he reportedly replied: 'Not a damn thing!'
Most places found ways around the ban. To enter Mr O'Brien's Club Tipperary there was a secret password, 'storm's a-brewing', while guests dining at Antoine's restaurant were given teacups for their tipples. Both venues thrive today (with legitimate licences).
Drinking is still a theatrical sport. Sipping a Ramos gin fizz – one of the many local concoctions – at the 21st Amendment bar, we watch the swing-dancing couples cavorting under a deco chandelier. Ladies wear flippy skirts and bobby pins, men sport pork pie hats and shiny shoes.
Maybe it's the alligator-head voodoo sticks on sale at the market (a gift from Haiti immigrants), the celebratory approach to death with giant headstones and festival-style funeral parades, or the feeling you've stepped on to a Spanish film set that makes it so surreal.
Before the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, when the U.S. bought the whole state, ownership of New Orleans was tossed between France and Spain.
Often, it seems more European than American, particularly in the French Quarter, where the grand porches of 18th-century townhouses are covered by cascading plants making their escape from iron balconies.
It's also the location of our hotel. Twinkling fairy-lights hanging in the courtyard of the Maison Dupuy catch the eye of people walking by. With its Toulouse-Lautrec mural in the bistro we could be in France but for the maids gossiping in their Louisiana drawls.
A short walk away is St Louis Square, the heart of the French Quarter, where street performers perform magic for the crowds and brass bands mimic the puffed-out cheeks of Louis Armstrong.
The city's multi-culturalism means it's managed to swerve the rest of America's bind to hamburgers and fries. Instead its staple is Creole cuisine, mixing French cooking and hearty southern comfort food.
Worth trying are the alligator sausage and crayfish cheesecake at Jaquamo's restaurant, blackened fish at Tujague's and the deliciously thick grits at Brennan's.
From the hum of adversity – hurricanes, heatwaves and poverty – has erupted an attitude that life's too short. There's always an excuse for a party, and there is a festival practically every week.
Like a permanent morning-after state of dress, trees in even the most hidden neighbourhoods are abloom with streams of coloured beads flung up over years of Mardi Gras.
People stick together. Strangers greet you with 'how y'all doing?' Smart and reliable like old-fashioned butlers, streetcars are the city's only method of public transport. They create a constant soundtrack as they rattle past the mansions of St Charles Avenue and vintage shops of the Magazine district.
The French theme continues in the trendy industrial area of Bywater, where you will find Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits shop.
Enjoy a bottle of plonk and a cheese platter in its beautiful garden, listening to the lunchtime band.
Like alcohol, music is ingrained in the city's rebellious spirit. In the Twenties, jazz was associated with the underworld, with the prostitutes and gangsters who conducted their business at seedy Storyville speakeasies.
Today, world-class bands play across scores of venues every night and tiny Preservation Hall is among the most renowned.
Somehow, the drummer in the five-piece band doesn't break a sweat as he hits the fast-as-lightning syncopated beats of his solo. The city has a big birthday soon, its 300th in 2018. But in the city where age is just a number, it'll forever stay a naughty teenager.
First published in the Daily Mail - February 2017
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