We know travel experiences can be 'luck of the drawer' but our experience with your company has been great.
Great trip.
Sally as always delivered our holiday plans perfectly. Can’t imagine doing what we did and booking with anyone else!
Very flexible in helping us make last minute changes - and always available to speak to.
I have used DialAFlight for many stateside visits. Stuart was fantastic at organising my bespoke itinerary
Will always use your service
Had a few issues with car hire firm which caused some inconvenience. We fed this back to car hire firm.
Once again Nathan Sparks and his team sorted out our flights and car hire to the USA. I’ve been using them for a number of years and they never let me down. They are very professional and nothing is a problem for them.
Excellent service as usual - as we have learned from the many years we have been booking with you.
Amy as always is a delight! Wouldn’t book our flights with anyone else.
Our original flight was cancelled after a 4 hour delay sitting on a hot plane. Calvin Ali was on the phone directly to me to make sure that alternative flights and hotel had been arranged for us. As usual, flawless service. And yes, I’ve made 2 further referrals to friends following our recent trip.
Requested a last minute flight change which was accommodated by your helpful colleagues. Many thanks to Mason and his team. 10 out of 10
Excellent advice and service - Tristan in particular was brilliant
Fantastic trip, excellent price. I’ve passed on your details to friends and family and would highly recommend
We have used DialAFlight for many years and have always had great service.
Fantastic service from Niall and his team, yet again. Would recommend them for flights. Best prices, no hidden fees and excellent customer service and attention to detail.
Have been using Sadie for 10 years - would never use anyone else.
The only major issue was the hotel in New York - The Manhattan at Time Square. The hotel was extremely poor and if we had been staying longer we would have asked you to change our hotel. Staff were extremely unhelpful and a promise of a refund of local taxes did not materialise.
Our holiday was lovely - we got married in West Virginia and honeymooned in Nashville. Just a small hiccup in the airport coming home but a good holiday, thank you
Very helpful when I contacted them and nothing a bother
Amazing holiday in great part due to the help and guidance given by your excellent Travel Manager, Gary Patel. We would not hesitate to use your services again - especially if Gary is there to help out! We will happily recommend you to friends and family.
We would strongly recommend using DialAFlight. Our itinerary to Canada and USA was complicated by our choice. But it was handled professionally and with attention to detail. Nothing we asked of Ethan and Conrad was too much trouble. Out of 5 stars l would give six
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.
Great communication and support during our holiday.
Trevor Henderson came up trumps. Sofitel New York was superb - great room, excellent food, helpful staff and so very conveniently located. Our flights went like clockwork. All through the booking process and right before we left Trevor was in contact to make sure we had what we needed. DialAFlight don't just sell you a holiday, they usher you through an experience.
Sebastian is very helpful, my flights and stops were great and I’ve recommended him to family who also found him very helpful.
Thanks again to Jordan and Claire for a problem free holiday.
Superb service. Definitely would and have used again - take a few minutes to ring them you won’t be disappointed
Lucy was amazing organising our holiday. I will certainly use DialAFlight again
Very helpful when I needed to check stuff
Want to see the best of New York? Then forget about the tourist traps and head to the places that native New Yorkers rate the highest: the bars, the burgers, the brunches and everything in between. We've pulled all the latest award-winners together to reveal a best-in-show New York that's full of surprises.
Testing out all the venues has taken me to parts of the city I didn't know existed - and it's given me a road map for the perfect city tour. Here's my verdict on each of the new local favourites.
BEST BURGER
Clinton Hall
No accolade is fought over more fiercely than the one for the city's best burger - and at the New York Wine and Food Festival, Clinton Hall's Double Smash romped home with the People's Choice award for its two beef patties with cheese, cheese sauce and crispy shallots, served on a mountain of fries.
How does it work, I ask, when I turn up to the Washington Street branch. 'You find a flat space and put your butt on it,' says the barman cheerfully. The place is noisy, with a bank of TVs, plus an outside area with pitch and putt and giant Jenga. It's as much a hangout as a hamburger destination.
VERDICT: Filling, but with two burgers, cheese and cheese sauce, it's a bit much. I prefer the simple Corner Bistro burger on W 4th Street.
BEST RESTAURANT
Frenchette
Just a year after opening, Frenchette in the Tribeca district has scooped a collection of awards, including Eater's Restaurant of the Year for its gutsy Gallic food. The decor belongs to a Truffaut film. Best of all, there's a bargain prix fixe menu – including two courses, a glass of wine and an espresso
VERDICT: I came expecting pretension but it's relaxed with a buzz.
BEST COFFEE
Coffee Project, East Village
Time Out magazine named this tiny coffee bar the best in the city, and owner Chi Sum Ngai's signature drink is a deconstructed latte. For the uninitiated, that's separate cups of espresso, steamed milk from a farm in Salem in upstate New York, and a latte, which you sip one at a time. They come accompanied by a glass of sparkling water to cleanse the palate, and a wafer. This may be a place of (expensive) coffee pilgrimage, but you can still pop in for a quick cappuccino if you prefer.
VERDICT: Wins on every level - a world away from Starbucks.
BEST STREET FOOD
Royal Grill Halal
From the pretzels in Central Park to artisanal cookie dough in Brooklyn's weekly Smorgasburg market, New Yorkers have a full-throated passion for street food, and the annual Vendy Awards reward the best of the best. This year, Royal Grill Halal won the People's Choice Cup. On 44th Street near Bryant Park, the tiny metal cart may look like all the others in the street, but the appreciative queue at its shiny counter makes it stand out.
VERDICT: One of the best curries I've ever eaten. Delicious. fresh and, at a bargain.
BEST ROOFTOP BAR
Ophelia
New York is all about the skyscrapers, and as it is the epitome of big-city cool to have a drink at the top of one, the race to be awarded the best rooftop bar is tough. The latest Grub Street magazine winner is Ophelia, and even though it's next door to the no-fun UN building, this 26th-floor eyrie has all the hipster bar essentials, including taxidermy, laid-back charm and well-constructed cocktails - favourites include classic martinis. The place also has a playful history - Frank Sinatra hung out here when it was called the Top Of The Tower restaurant.
VERDICT: It's a charmer of a bar with no attitude, despite the altitude.
BEST NEW PIZZA
Mama's Too
In December, this tiny pizzeria topped website Gothamist's best pizza list. Based on Broadway, high on the Upper West Side, it was a controversial choice because owner Frank Tuttolomondo uses a focaccia base instead of a more traditional one. But the queues speak for themselves, and so do the pizzas. Toppings are loaded with a generous hand and the resulting pizza is charred, cheap and delicious.
VERDICT: A bargain doorstep-size pizza, but the location is a bit out of the way.
BEST STORE-AS-A HANGOUT
Hesperios
The Big Apple has made such a feature over 'shops as social places' that New York magazine created an awards category for them - and this is the latest winner. Traffic roars past, but this all-white shop in SoHo is a haven of serenity. Inside, there's a selection of ceramics, fashion and books, a small cafe and even a garden in which to hang out.
My coffee comes with two sprigs of lavender. I'm not sure why, but I appreciate the gesture. It is expensive, but the serenity is priceless, even if everything else in the shop is way out of my league in terms of price.
VERDICT: It looks a bit intimidating but I love it.
BEST CHEF
Missy Robbins
The annual James Beard awards are America's food Oscars and in 2018 it voted Missy Robbins the best chef in New York. Her restaurant, Lilia, is a light and airy warehouse space in the ultra-hip Williamsburg area of Brooklyn. You want a table? Reservations open up once a month and disappear within minutes, but if you turn up with the other foodie faithful at 5.30pm, you can eat at the bar.
VERDICT: Sitting at the bar is great fun and lets you look into the kitchen. My pasta was delicious.
BEST BAR
Dante Cafe
Dante has been a landmark in Greenwich Village since 1915, and since it opened a bar in 2015 it hasn't stopped winning awards.
The current winner of best bar from Time Out, it has style in spades, with bow-tied barmen behind the counter. The negronis are spectacular, and the food is just as good as the cocktails (pastas and salads are best). Real fans sit at the bar - and get there early as happy hour runs from 3pm to 6pm.
VERDICT: This place doesn't rest on its award-winning laurels - it's welcoming, relaxed, and the cocktails and food are delicious.
BEST HOTEL
The Lowell
The stylish readers of Travel & Leisure magazine voted this hotel New York's finest. Tucked away on a leafy street near Central Park, an understated entrance leads to a series of hidden bars and restaurants - some available only for guests, others open to all - and some tiny terraces. Serving French food with Moroccan touches, flower-filled Majorelle has been called New York's prettiest restaurant.
Upstairs, the charm and stratospheric service levels continue, with 74 very spacious rooms and suites, all eau-de-nil peacefulness and old-school luxury.
VERDICT: Unshowy but very polished, The Lowell definitely lives up to its billing. It's low-key but lovely.
First published in the Mail on Sunday - June 2019
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