28 August 2023

Our first holiday abroad without the children in 13 years and it was amazing! I am lucky enough to of visited many Sandals resorts, and I love Sandals but this resort was by far my favorite. I loved Barbados, I love how we could walk out from the hotel and venture to other bars and restaurants and found everything about Barbados to be really lovely. Arriving in to Barbados is a little chaotic as several flights arrive around the same time, so getting luggage can take a while. There is no where that sells water on this part, so try and take a water from the plane with you, in case you are waiting long. Our transfer time was only 20 minutes. I love arriving at a Sandals resort to be welcomed with a cocktail and “Welcome home” from the staff. The room type we had was a Royal Seaside Crystal Lagoon Penthouse one bedroomed ocean view Butler suite with balcony tranquility soaking tub. The room was huge and in a superb location in the same block as the roof top infinity pool sky bar and the french restaurant. We loved this restaurant for breakfast, with the amazing views. We had a bottle of rum, vodka, gin and wines in the room, with mixers, soft drinks and beers. These are replenished daily. The moment we arrived I got all of our restaurants booked for the week. There are 21 restaurants, all included. 11 at Sandals Royal and 11 at Sandals Barbados. They both basically all go into one, although two separate hotels but it’s just a walk through and then into the next hotel. One of many things I love about sandals, is most definitely the food and the choices, all included, A la Carte is no extra and unless you are in a butler room, there's no need to Tip anyone either! Make sure you look at what entertainment is happening, we actually didn’t end up watching shows but you don’t want to miss out on the piano bar nights, these are awesome! Friday night Oistins fish fry is a must if you can. It is a short taxi ride away and well worth going. Barbados is famous for this weekly event. I would recommend if going to Kimonos, to do this early in the holiday, it’s a great way to meet others and such a fantastic night. The bowling alley ‘Lovers Lane’ needs a booking, so be sure to book this. It’s a great atmosphere and is sandals first bowling alley. This is also where they have a silent disco one night and where they also show any major sports live, day and night. We went on the Cool Running's Catamaran lunch party cruise and was so much fun! Swam with sea turtles and saw a lot of the island. This also included all drinks, food and snorkel equipment. I recommend hiring a personal driver to see what you would like to see while here. We were recommended someone, who was amazing. He was $40 per hour and took us to where we wanted to go and where he thought we would like. We visited Rihanna’s house, fed the green monkeys at Sandy lane golf course,went to a shopping mall with some of the well known makes and visited some lovely points of interest. I now recommend Roger and pass on his details to all of my customers, who in turn have used him and, like us, they loved him too. I could talk all day about why I love this resort and other sandals resorts to be honest. I have written blogs on others I have stayed at too, feel free to take a look. Any questions, please contact me and I will happily help arrange your holiday here or any other resort.

06 September 2022

When booking online, remember it’s a transaction and nothing more! Great if it all goes to plan and no help at all is needed! However, the moment you need any kind of help or guidance, is when you are left feeling alone! A personal travel agent does so much more than any online booking supplier…We care! We genuinely care! A computer can’t do that!! A computer doesn’t appreciate your hard earned money you spend with it! A personal travel agent does! When spending a large amount on something, it’s nice to feel it’s appreciated, nice to feel excited! I get excited about the bookings I arrange and my customers know that! I’m just going to leave this comparison table here to show what is included in booking with a personal agent to booking online! And that’s not all, I just couldn’t fit the rest on. If I’m being completely honest the only main supplier I’ll be more money than online is TUI, but that’s all agents not just me! People still choose to book Tui holidays with me as they want the peace of mind and instant help if needed. That’s just one supplier out of hundreds, So please don’t assume I’m a lot more money than anyone else, I’m not! And at the end of the day, if I am more, I’m worth it! I work incredibly hard to personally look after all my customers bookings and do the extras that others don’t, not to mention the worry I take on and stress that is involved and worry for my customers. A computer doesn’t stress or worry But a guarantee those booking it themselves do, if there’s something to worry about. So why would I be the same price as online! I value my worth! It’s taken years to get to this stage of thinking “You know what, I am good at what I do” If I think someone should book elsewhere that I think doesn’t value what I do then it’s a better option for them to book elsewhere, but no computer or booking direct will ever care like I do. We should all Value ourselves regardless whatever job we are doing!

01 October 2021

7 Nights staying at Iberostar Ciudad Blanca in Alcudia, All Inclusive I had been promising my daughter, Ashlea a mum and daughter holiday for the last several years. I had done this with Erin when she was younger, so I owed Ashlea a holiday, just the two of us. As I am fully vaccinated and Ashlea is under 12, we didn’t need PCR tests before travel, so it was all relatively easy. We just needed to fill in a passenger locator form for Spain 48 hours before we travelled. I was keen to get away during the pandemic to see for myself how it was going away and to see if it really was worth the faff. I was only ever going to be completely honest about it. I had been refusing to book any customers on late summer bookings, until I had done it myself. As it was just the two of us. I had planned it all very cautiously. Firstly, the hotel I chose was a Iberostar hotel. They had an assurance policy in place in case one of us tested positive while away, so this was great peace of mind, knowing what they would do for us if the worst should happen. It was also reassuring to know that none of their hotels had, had a case yet where guests had to isolate. No matter what, testing positive while away was always in the back of my mind, but it certainly didn’t overshadow the whole experience because quite frankly, the moment we got away, all my concerns went out of the window when I realised, I felt safer away then in the UK. Secondly, I chose a hotel that we could walk into that gradually got deeper, rather than relying on pool ladders that everyone else had touched to get in and out of…I told you I thoroughly thought of everything lol! I choose a beachfront hotel in a central location, so that we had everything we needed right there without having to get in taxis or shuttle buses. I arranged us a private car transfer, again to minimise the amount of people we were being close to for a certain amount of time. The transfer on the coach would have been 1.5 hours, In the car it was just 45 minutes with no hotel drop off’s..Bliss!

08 October 2021

I was lucky enough to enjoy a few nights on Board, Royal Caribbeans, Anthem of the Seas this summer. I had been on board the MSC Bellissima for its Launch and also P&O Britannia when this was first launched. So I did have experience being on a few stunning ships. Cruising had never appealed to my husband and there was no chance I would ever have persuaded him to book a cruise, however, When I was offered to go on an agent’s cruise to check it out for two nights before it started its first sailing to its paying guests, and I could take my partner. This was the perfect time to show him, how amazing a cruise can be. We stayed in Southampton the night before, which worked out perfectly as England were playing that night. We could board the ship from 1pm. This was all very straight forward and easy, from the parking to the documentation checked and to boarding. I will add, we both needed PCR tests no more than 72 hours before travel. We are both vaccinated but regardless, you must be fully vaccinated to cruise now. Royal Caribbean provided the tests but as we couldn’t get to the nearest testing facility, we were able to sort it ourselves (which was £99pp) and Royal Caribbean reimbursed us this in credit to use on board, which worked out perfectly. It felt amazing to be on a mini holiday again and I just couldn’t wait to show off this amazing ship. We had a lovely mid ship Balcony cabin; Gav was surprised at how spacious it was and was very impressed. We just sailed for the 2 nights but not to anywhere in particular, it was just to give us a taster of the feel of the ship, the dining options, attractions on offer and shows. We did as much as we could, enjoyed time around the indoor pool, sampled lots of drinks and food. We had lunch in the Sushi restaurant, Izumi, which was amazing! We had a superb steak meal in the Steak house restaurant, and we had a meal in the Buffet restaurant. So much choice, all staff so pleased to help. It had been a long time since they had people onboard and you could see how happy all the staff were to be back and couldn’t do enough for us. We watched the Rock of Ages show, a Comedian and the 80’s rewind band as well as live music in the pub on board. We also used the casino. It really was a superb two nights away. This experience completely changed my husband’s mind about cruising. He’s gone from being anti cruise to being eager to book us on a European cruise now for summer 2022 but to take the children with us.

17 December 2020

What does Brexit mean for travel to Europe? 17 December 2020 The UK is fast approaching the deadline for Brexit on 31 December 2020. As the date approaches, it's worth thinking about some of the points below to ensure you continue to enjoy seamless travel experiences to Europe. As the UK Government is still in ongoing negotiations when it comes to travel policies, it is important to note that the below information is subject to change as new legislation is announced. Please remember that I will always be on hand to offer further help and advice in the lead up to your travel dates, which is one of the huge benefits of booking with your own personal travel expert. Passports and visas: Check the date your passport expires. The UK Government has published a website tool to check the validity of your passport for travel to Europe. When travelling to the EU on or after 01 January 2021 the UK Government recommends that you have six months left on your passport on the date of your arrival to an EU country. Your passport will also need to be less than 10 years old, even if it has six months or more left. Please click here for more details. If you need to renew your passport you may wish to do it sooner rather than later to make sure you have it in time for your holiday or travel plans. Full details on renewing your passport can also be found here. If you are staying for less than 90 days in any 180-day period, you will not need a visa to visit most countries. Do check the entry guidance specific to the country you are visiting, as some may require a visa and/or other documents. Click here. Health care in Europe and travel insurance: You won't be able to rely on the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for health care in Europe. We always advise customers to hold appropriate travel insurance, and adequate insurance is a condition of your booking. If you want to discuss arranging travel insurance with our preferred insurance provider, please get in touch with your Travel Counsellor, or if you require some general guidance on travel insurance, try here. It’s always worth checking that your insurance covers your current circumstances, including any medical conditions. Driving abroad: UK travellers driving in the EU on or after 01 January 2021 will need to apply for an International Driving Permit (IDP). You can keep up to date with the latest government advice on driving abroad here. Please check carefully which permit is required for each country you intend to drive within, as you may need more than one permit to comply with the law. Also, because travellers will no longer benefit from the EU’s automatic third-party motor insurance cover, you will need a Green Card when travelling on or after 01 January 2021, which insurance firms currently issue free of charge. Mobile roaming charges: Check if your mobile phone operator will offer free roaming to avoid potential new charges when travelling to Europe. A new law means you will be notified when you reach a £45 spend, and you will need to opt-in to continue using mobile data. Disruption: Consider giving yourself extra travelling time in the event of any unforeseen disruption, for example, when travelling through passport control. Further useful Government information is available here. The European Commission has confirmed that flights to and from the UK will continue to operate as normal. For further information, check the latest FCO Travel Advice, and always ask your Travel Counsellor for all the help and support you need.

09 February 2020

We absolutely love Dubai, however we had never been in August before and I am not going to lie if I said I wasn’t concerned about it being too hot. We had been in June with the children when they were 4 and 6 and they never once complained about it being too hot, so I figured I would risk it. Plus I wanted to be away for my 40th Birthday and Dubai was the perfect choice to spend my special birthday. We flew with Emirates on the A380 from Heathrow on the morning flight out and arrived early evening. We had a private car transfer pick us up from the airport. We spent 5 nights at Jumeirah Mina A Salam in an Oceanfront room. We had a great view looking onto the Burj al Arab and the lake area of the souk. The rooms here are lovely and spacious with a huge bathroom. We had complimentary Half Board included in our package, which had a great dine around allowing dining in a choice of over 20 restaurants in the hotel and Jumeirah hotels nearby. A supplement can also be applied to dine at other restaurants. We love staying at the Jumeriah hotels, the service is very good and attention to detail. From complimentary bottled water around the pools and rooms, staff coming around the pool with complimentary ice lollies and fruit kebabs to help cool down. Not to mention having complimentary entrance to Wild Wadi Waterpark which is only a short golf buggy ride away into the back entrance of the park especially for those staying in a Jumeirah hotel. During our time here we spent the day at Dubai Parks which included entrance to Motiongate, Bollywood land and Lego Land. The park didn’t open until 2pm. We got a taxi which was approx. AED 85 each way and took about 40 minutes. It was extremely hot and due to this being the hottest season, it wasn’t busy. We could get on rides instantly and we were really impressed with the rides. They were on par with rides you would find in Universal studios Florida. This is well worth visiting while in Dubai if travelling with children. We spent time a Dubai mall. The shopping is amazing and the mall is just huge. We had visited the Burj Khalifa when we last visited with the children so we didn’t feel the need to go up here again but did plenty of shopping instead. After 5 nights, it was time to check out and carry on our holiday staying 4 nights at Atlantis The Palm. This was my second time staying here and I couldn’t wait to show my family how lovely this hotel is. I specifically booked a palm view room which was a club imperial lounge room. This meant we had access to the imperial lounge throughout the day. Afternoon tea was served from 2pm and alcohol included between 5pm and 7pm. This alone is worth the extra that a club imperial lounge room costs. We had half board included, which meant we could dine in a number of restaurants as part of the package and we had the option to pay a supplement to dine at more prestige restaurants. We did dine at Seafire which had a supplement and is a stunning steak restaurant. This was the by far the best steak we had ever had. It is well worth paying the supplement to dine here. We also dined at Ronda Locotelli which was superb. If you dine here, make sure you ask for waiter Arun to look after you. He is lovely. Better still, if I am arranging the holiday for you I will personally contact Arun and make sure he is aware of you reservation. I also have a superb contact at Seafire too. The water park is huge here and is easy to get lost when on the lazy river or some of the slides. Make sure you take beach shoes while here when travelling during the hottest months, otherwise you will not be able to walk on the floor, it is that hot. Oddly enough we never noticed how hot the floor was during our stay Jumeirah or Wild Wadi Water park but at Atlantis it was so hot. The facilities are superb at Atlantis. Once here you don’t need to venture out if you don’t want to. This is why we decided to split the holiday by staying in Jumeirah first then Atlantis. Jumeirah is a great place to venture out from (In a taxi), it is closer to the malls and other points of interest. I knew when we got to Atlantis, we just wanted to relax and not have to go out of the resort. Be aware how expensive it is drinking in Dubai, but also get familiar with the happy hours that a lot of the bars and pool bars will offer. We were concerned about the weather possibly being too hot, however we never actually found it unbearable like we assumed it would be. The children never needed to wear the swimming rash vests we bought and never burned either. The humidity in the evenings is what is the worst, more so than the heat in the day. I am really pleased we went in August, if you can handle it being hot then you can get a great family holiday at luxury hotels at a great price. My photos and videos are on my business Facebook page, just look at my posts in August 2019. If you would like me to arrange your holiday to Dubai, please contact me. I love arranging holidays to one of my favourite destinations and it would be a pleasure to help you.

30 January 2019

At the beginning of last year, I had the pleasure of helping bring to life Katy’s family holiday of a lifetime to New Zealand. Working on this dream holiday was amazing and I got so much pleasure helping to arrange this, knowing how much this meant to them. Katy had a clear vision of what she wanted to do whilst in New Zealand. She had thoroughly researched everything, and it was important to me that I made sure I could arrange it all to plan as much as possible. Katy could have written pages about how amazing their trip was and has kindly written this to help others who are thinking of arranging their holiday to New Zealand. A month in New Zealand really was our ‘family trip of a lifetime!’ My husband told me off every time I called it a holiday, as in all honesty it was unlike any ‘holiday’ we’d previously been on - which usually entailed us lazing by the pool and eating too much! Every day was an adventure! We were travelling with our 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son, so when we were in the planning stages I was very conscious that I wanted it to be exciting and memorable for the kids too, so we planned in lots of activities. If it was just my husband and I, we would have been happy just driving around enjoying the scenery. Every corner you turn there’s stunning views that take your breath away. The 3000+ photos we returned home with were living proof! I’m not going to lie, the plane journey there is a looooonnng one, but we managed it. Donna was fantastic at helping us find the right flights, advising us on airlines to go with in terms of comfort, suitable flight times and avoiding long waits at the stopovers and booking airport lounges for us (something I’d definitely recommend! The shower at Hong Kong really helped to perk us all up in preparation for the next 12-hour stint). The in-flight entertainment was fair, and the kids managed it a lot better than I’d braced myself for! Donna had made us all up little packages with sweets, chocolates, books and games to entertain us which was such a perfect and thoughtful touch. The kids were so excited when they saw them! Travelling around New Zealand is easy! The hardest bit was narrowing down where to visit! I’d have needed six months to see all the places initially on my list! We went for the car hire option, travelling from place to place in a mixture of hotels and apartments which was perfect for us as a family of four wanting a bit more space. The roads in New Zealand are easy to navigate. Driving on the same side of the road, they range between long and straight while not seeing another car in sight to winding and bendy and driving through the clouds. I think all the cars are automatic so it makes driving on these kinds of roads easy rather than constantly changing gear to contend with the hills and can free you up a bit to concentrate on the views! The roads are well sign-posted with viewing areas regularly to stop and take photos and green and yellow conservation signs showing sights of interest. There are regular passing bays too which you just pull over into if you don’t want to drive too fast and enjoy the view and to let others by. Lots of people do the camper van thing which is incredibly popular, but we felt we wanted a bit more space as we were spending a whole month there. One of my favourite places we visited must be Queenstown! It is a bit of a tourist trap but don’t let that put you off, it is a must visit location. Firstly, and if nothing else it’s stunning! The area around the lake is beautiful. Secondly, it’s buzzing with activity and has a great vibe! Plenty of bars, restaurants and activities! While we were there, we did the Skyline Gondola (a cable car that takes you to the top of Bob’s peak) the views from the top over Queenstown were spectacular! Once at the top we did the ‘Luge’ which is basically like being on your very own Mario Kart! After a quick lesson you whizz down the mountain on a racetrack under bridges and bends! This was definitely one of the kids’ highlights! We also did the Ecotours Zip trek which is at the top. A series of zip wires that take you through the trees on the mountain. Great fun! Getting to dangle upside down in a Spiderman pose was our son’s favourite! While in Queenstown we also did ‘Shotover Jet’, a jet boat that travels at around 90kmh through canyons, whizzing past rocks and thrilling 360 manoeuvres. A great one for the thrill seeker! There are also plenty of places here to bungee jump but that’s never been on my bucket list, so I manged to successfully swerve that despite my brother’s best efforts to convince me! Lake Tepako and the Mount Cook area was another one of our favourites just down to the sheer beauty of it! You can see why New Zealand is often used by the film makers as a back drop! The snow topped mountains, turquoise lakes and pinks and purples of the Lupins are mesmerising. The weather in New Zealand can be quite changeable due to its isolated location in the South Pacific. You need to pack a little of everything! Short sleeves, long sleeves, jumpers, rain jackets and comfortable shoes to walk in! Just because the day starts sunny doesn’t mean it will end that way! Half an hour down the road may be completely different as we found! Due to the changeable weather we were a little unfortunate and a couple of the activities we had booked ended up being cancelled for safety reasons. If you are desperate to do certain activities such as helicopter, plane or boat trips, my advice is to spend a couple of days in this location. You can’t control the weather! Again, Donna arranged our refunds for us with ease while we were still away, and the money was pretty much with us when we got home! New Zealand is a location that should definitely be on everyone’s destination list. It’s got something for everyone! It’s incredibly diverse, from the mountain ranges to the rainforests, golden sandy beaches and rugged shorelines. Now to start saving again for our next trip out there and to see the bits we didn’t quite reach! If you would like me to help arrange your trip of a life time to New Zealand. It would be a pleasure to help create your dream so please do contact me on 01502 558910 or donna.bidwell@travelcounsellors.com

29 December 2018

This was our second time to Florida. We first went when the children were 5 and 8 years old. My travel blog is also on here for that holiday and my experience of staying in a Disney hotel and going to Florida while the children were a bit younger. This is our second time going when it's Halloween and it's such a great time to go. Being in a villa we could walk around to look at the decorated houses. The weather this time of year was also superb! This time the children were 8 and 11 and we stayed in a villa. We also stayed at a Universal Hotel for a few nights during the holiday to take advantage of the Express passes. (Not all Universal hotels have this benefit of express passes, only a few selected hotels offer this.) We flew Premium Economy with British Airways on the 16th October. It was the first time we had upgraded the flights with the children and it was well worth it. We upgraded our car on arrival to a huge car, a Chevy Tahoe and just paid the extra, you will see from the photo of the car we had. Our villa was in Legacy Park in Davenport, 15 minutes’ drive from Disney area and 30 minutes’ drive from Universal. We were so impressed with the villa. It had 4 bedrooms, a great games room, we paid for pool and spa heating which I would recommend doing. We obviously booked Universal and Disney tickets but this time we also did some different things too which really made the holiday. This time around the children were getting a bit too big for Disney and although it is obviously amazing, they weren’t into Magic Kingdom as much as when they younger, so we could do this within a day. Hollywood studios can be done in half a day and I would say you need a day at Animal Kingdom. Or split the days and do half and half. Once you pay the parking at one Disney park, it covers you for all the Disney parks, so one day we did Animal Kingdom in the morning and then Magic Kingdom in the afternoon. We also did this with Hollywood studios, getting there just before it opened which was well worth doing to get the ride you want to do before the queues are too big and then in the afternoon, we did a Disney waterpark. Don’t feel you need to spend all day at each park, splitting the days up with a park in the morning then chilling out in the villa in the afternoon or going shopping or going to another park really worked well for us this time and the first time we did Florida. (My blog for our other holiday explains this too.) It was Sloth week at Wild Florida while we were there, so I had pre-booked us to meet at Sloth and go on an Airboat ride in the Everglades, this was so good! We were so impressed. It was over an hour’s drive out of Orlando, but it was lovely getting out of the main area and into the countryside of Orlando. We booked two nights at Universal Portofino Bay during the holiday, so we could take advantage of the Express passes and get on the rides much quicker. Also, me and my husband could go to Halloween Horror nights and use the children’s club to put the children in to have a night at the Horror nights. This all worked out so well. Although we couldn’t check into our room until 2pm, we could arrive from 7am to drop off the luggage and get our express passes. We did just that, we arrived early, got the hotels little boat over to City walk and were able to get into Universal studios earlier than others and get on some of the rides before the park opened. We spent most of the day at Universal/Island of adventure and then went back to the hotel at 2pm and chilled around the pool for a couple of hours before we had to drop the children at the kids club for when we went to the horror nights. The pool area was great, it had a slide, gradual pool and entertainment. My husband and I went to the horror nights at 6pm and had a couple of drinks in Hard Rock before going in. As we were staying in a Universal hotel, we also had a much smaller queue to get in. We also booked the fast passes for the houses, so we were queuing around 15 min max for houses which had well over an hour queue time for those without the fast passes. Definitely buy the fast passes if going to this. We picked the children up at 10.30pm, they had a great time playing with others in the kid’s club and we got to do what we wanted that night, so it worked out well. We had Discovery Cove dolphin swim booked for my daughters 11th birthday. We were really impressed with this. On arrival you get your wetsuits, snorkels and put things in your lockers. Swimming with giant sting rays, tropical fish and baby sharks was just lovely. They also have a wonderful aviary where they give you food to feed the birds, which are really tame and land on your arm and let you feed them. The dolphin swim was lovely too but as we expected, the photos are very expensive to buy. It is all-inclusive once in Discovery Cove. Breakfast is provided for you in the morning, lunch and snacks are available to pick up around the park, including soft drinks, teas, coffees, beers and wines are included too. This is an expensive day trip to book, but it is well worth it. You also get SeaWorld included with Discovery Cove, so we spent time at SeaWorld too. This park has the best adrenaline rollercoaster rides in Orlando. This is a great park to do, especially if you like good rollercoaster rides! This was a highlight too of the children’s holiday. They always love the sting ray pool where you can feel and feed the sting rays. We went to Old town one evening which I recommend walking around and look in the shops, great atmosphere. Don't forget that with your Disney Tickets you also get use to the Disney crazy golf courses, Summer and Winter crazy golf and also Fantasia Golf. These are great fun. If you are planning on staying in a villa with family or friends but want your own villa with others in your part close by, I can arrange this. I also walked up to two other villas on the same road as ours that I can book, so this was handy for me to know for when I have customers holidays to arrange who want their own space and villa but travelling with friends or family who want to stay on the same road in their own villa too. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions or need any further help. I have photos on my business Facebook page and videos, if you look at posts from October 2018 www.facebook.com/DonnaBidwellTC

06 October 2018

We stayed here for six nights on 26th August 2018. We usually take the children long haul, so we were really looking forward to a short flight and going closer to home. The transfer time was approx. 45 minutes and I had pre-arranged a private car transfer rather than a coach transfer which was much better. The hotel was very clean and tidy, and the staff were very attentive. The entertainment team were very good, and the children loved them. There was a lot going on for the children and adults to get involved with. Normally the children would go in kids’ clubs, but they chose not to on this holiday. The pool activities were brilliant and choice of pools too. The one big issue I found, which we were not used to on our other holidays, was getting sunbeds. If you didn't get up early to get the beds, then you wouldn't stand much chance getting them if left until after breakfast. I feel this is a shame. Luckily, I am an early person, so it didn't worry me as I was up to do this but those who are not this would soon become an unpleasant chore each morning. I didn't think much to the beach adjacent to the hotel, there tended to be a lot of locals on this and it wasn't a nice beach, however there were other beaches to choose from a short taxi ride away. The food at the hotel was all-inclusive and there were various options of dining restaurants serving the same dishes but just different areas of the hotel. The same things were there most days, but they did add different dishes to the normal dining each day. This did get repetitive but there were people that loved it and I think this was due to us being spoilt with the Beaches holidays we have been on in the Caribbean as they would have a lot of dining options and waiter service, not just buffet. We do get bored of buffet, so this is why we had found this repetitive but those who haven't had waiter service as part of an all-inclusive package would love this. The standard of food was very good. They did have a Mexican and Mediterranean restaurant to book too but these were an all-inclusive, but I did find the Mexican to be very good. We did eat out a couple of nights too in Cala D'or as this was only 10 minutes away in a taxi. There are many room choices here and I would recommend staying in the hotel grounds as opposed to just outside of it as the walk was quite far. The other complex across the road did have several pools though but I found it better being closer to everything. On some evenings they had an outside movie night at one of the pool areas which was lovely. The main evening entertainment started at 9pm till 10pm and this was always of very high standard ranging from movie themed nights and Disney nights to a rock band coming in which were brilliant. There was entertainment from 8pm for the little ones too. I loved the app they encourage you to download when you check in. All entertainment times and details were listed daily and any questions I had about anything, I sent the question via the app and within the hour it was answered and this saved having to walk to reception to ask something. Overall this was a lovely holiday and we had a great time. I loved the Iberostar as a chain and found them very good and would stay at other Iberostars. If you would like help or advice about a holiday here or anywhere else just get in touch with me so I can help. My photos of this holiday are on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/DonnaBidwellTC if you look at the posts dated around the 26th August 2018.

27 June 2018

I take great pride in what I am booking for my customers. I am not on a salary so all the time I spend on people’s enquiries is my own time. I work on commission from suppliers when customers book, so you are assured that I will want to find you the best holiday to suit your requirements. Chances are I am the same price as most operators and I often package the holiday myself to get the best deal. It just means I take care of it for you and you get the service I offer with it This is my own business and I pride myself on the service I offer my customers and always being here for them. I love arranging my customers holidays and helping those who truly value the service I offer and understand the time and care I put in to finding them the right holiday. I may sometimes be more than online, but this is not a like for like holiday, it's a transaction and nothing more and I think I am worth that little more for that peace of mind, my knowledge, my care, my time and my contacts. Sometimes we all need to bet on ourselves and not undervalue our worth. Every booking I make, that customer is supporting me, my family and my dream rather than supporting an online big supplier who will never show gratitude that your booking means something to them. If you would like me to help arrange your next holiday, please contact me 01502 558910.

23 March 2018

It was the 28th October 2016 that I got the wonderful message from Katie asking me to help her plan their wedding abroad. I remember I got the message on my phone while I was watching my daughter playing her first match for Norwich at the Norwich City training ground and she'd just scored before I started reading the message. I never stop working! I had arranged numerous holidays for Rory and Katie ever since I became a Travel Counsellor 7 years ago, so it really felt an honour to arrange their wedding too. They have always been such a lovely couple to arrange holidays for that I was just as eager to get started on coming up with ideas and options as they were. They had some ideas of places they liked but weren't sure about. I gave my advice and suggested options and worked on various quotes to give them. I arranged to go around to see them and between us, over coffee, we came up with the perfect combination of a wedding and honeymoon. The wedding to be in Mauritius and then to spend time in the Maldives for their honeymoon. I booked them 10 nights staying at the Heritage Awali Golf Resort & Spa which is where their wedding was booked followed by seven nights at Centara Fushi Resort & Spa in Maldives. Perfect! It was close to the departure date when I got the call to say that the Awali was going to have to close through no fault of their own due to beach erosion and the closure was enforced by the local government until the beach was sorted. This was a shock to the hotel just as much as it was to the guests due to stay there. However, my only concern was Katie and Rory and the wedding they had booked. Making that call to Katie to tell her the bad news was devastating but she was amazing with the way she took it. Any other bride and including myself would have panicked and reacted. However, the fact that Katie trusted that I had only their best interest at heart and my reassurance that it would be ok really helped. Having a personal agent dealing with something so important is a godsend, especially if something happens because the care and personal devotion from a personal agent 24/7 is nothing like booking elsewhere. I changed their Mauritius hotel to Beachcomber Paradis and we didn't have to change the wedding date which was lucky. The hotel is stunning, so they were pleased with this choice. While they were away I was in touch with them seeing if they were ok and if they needed anything. My husband and I also attended their wedding reception when they came back too. It was so lovely to have been invited. This is Katie's thoughts on arranging their wedding with me: "Thank you for choosing one of our pictures for this post Donna, it bought back amazing memories of our special day that you helped create. From the moment we were engaged we were certain of two things, one being we were definitely getting married abroad and the second being you were going to help us plan it all. It is the best decision we made, literally zero stress. You did all the research before coming to our home to discuss all our options over coffee. After answering about a million of our questions you set off and shortly came up with several wedding and honeymoon packages fitting our criteria for us to choose from. We finally chose our wedding destination as Mauritius followed by a honeymoon in the Maldives. Four weeks before we were due to fly out, you called with the terrible news our hotel was shutting down for a few months due to erosion on the beach. To say we were devastated would be an understatement, all our planning with the hotel wedding coordinator had all been for nothing and I'd have to start again with another hotel or, so I thought after that first phone call. But you had everything under control and by that evening we were put in another hotel that we could only have dreamed of staying in, never mind getting married there. So I just want to thank you again for all you help in making our wedding as special as it was and stress free so we really could really enjoy every second of it" If you are thinking of planning your wedding abroad or honeymoon, I would love to hear from you so please do contact me on 01502 558910 or email me donna.bidwell@travelcounsellors.com Be sure to also follow me on facebook www.facebook.co.uk/DonnaBidwellTC

17 March 2018

I wanted to give a couple of my own personal tips on getting married abroad when it comes to the planning stages. There are many general tips online about getting married abroad, however the difference with my tips are that these are based on things I see often or have arranged so these are personal to me. Tip 1: Think of yourself I often see couples getting too caught up with what their family and friends want and choosing their wedding location just because they feel it would suit the budgets of their guests over what the couple actually want to do. My advice - do what you want to do! Get married at your dream location (providing your budget allows it). Those who can go will go. I have had numerous couples in my years as a travel agent choose a wedding location because it was affordable for their guests, only for those guests to later cancel and the couple then felt they could have gone where they originally wanted to when they first started making plans to marry abroad. If you do have a lot of guests attending to think about then find the right balance and importantly do what is right for you. Do not let family and friends dictate where you have your special day. I find this is one of the main things I see my couples stress about when they have a group of friends and family attending their wedding abroad. Tip 2: If you can visit your wedding destination prior to your wedding, do so Depending on your chosen wedding destination and how visible it is to go there before your wedding. It would be ideal to visit before your big day to look around the area. I would arrange for you to meet the wedding planner and you can have a look at wedding options in the resort. If you are staying elsewhere rather than the hotel you plan to get married at, I would arrange a day pass with the wedding planner, so you can have a look around and have a feel for wedding ceremony locations. If you are opting for a long-haul wedding this may not always be an option but if you are thinking of a wedding which is 3-5 hours flight away, it may be an idea to visit for a short trip prior to your wedding. Tip 3: Make sure you can legally marry in your chosen destination Don’t assume you can have your wedding anywhere abroad. There are restrictions on where British citizens can legally get married. Before you start having your heart set on a destination, make sure you can legally get married there. Also, it is important to check the period of time you have to be present in the country before you can get married. Many destinations need you to be in the country three full days before your wedding, but some countries require longer and some shorter. I have first-hand experience. I got married abroad at Sandals Grande Antigua, just me and my husband on the Free Beautiful Beginnings wedding. At the time our daughter Erin was 18 months old, so we choose a simple no fuss wedding and had a reception when we got home. I was up against being an only child and breaking the news about this to my parents and making sure I had their support before we committed, and we missed our daughter of course, but this was perfect for us going away in paradise for a week and our wedding being just about us. I have to date arranged 26 weddings in the last seven years as a Travel Counsellor. Although I have been a travel agent for over 20 years, I have found that people want the personal service of a personal agent to always be the person they speak to. I know how exciting it is to get married abroad and I also know how worrying it can be when it comes to having the correct documents sorted. Having a personal agent by your side all the way is a godsend and I always feel honoured that couples choose me to arrange their weddings. I have a couple of blogs on my webpage from couples I have arranged their wedding for with their story of me being their personal Travel Counsellor. Do take a look. If you would like to discuss your plans give me a call 01502 558910. Once in the planning stages we can get together if local and talk through your options over coffee. I have arranged weddings for lots of couples all over the UK and Scotland so please don’t feel you need to be local for me to help, I can help everyone. I just don’t get to meet those couples who are further away unless I am privileged enough to be invited to their reception which I often am, and I always try to attend where possible. It would be a great honour to help arrange your wedding and I hope to hear from you soon.

05 January 2018

My trip to California was truly amazing! I was lucky enough to go with 12 other agents, we all won a cover stars competition for Travel Weekly which is a travel Industry magazine. My whole trip literally felt like I was living a dream. I got to fly in Business class with American Airlines to LA, fly home in Business class with BA, experienced and saw some amazing things and stayed in lovely hotels. I crossed a lot off my bucket list with this trip. We arrived in LAX, had a private car take us to the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, which is such a modern, quirky hotel. The rooms were huge and unique. I did love this hotel and the location of it. We dined in the hotel restaurant ‘Ivory at sunset’ which was a lovely meal, the sky bar which some of us went to for cocktails was also lovely and popular amongst celebs too. While in West Hollywood we did a bike tour of Beverley Hills, Greystone Manor and Rodeo Drive which was truly the best way to see the area and the celebrity houses, this was a big highlight for me. We had lunch in V Wine with some wine tasting too. We went up to the Griffiths Observatory to see the Hollywood sign and did the walk of fame and saw so much of the area. I used to think staying in Hollywood wasn’t worth doing, now I think differently and would advise staying in West Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard area which is where we were. It was lovely and in a great location to see everything. After Hollywood we drove onto Pismo Beach which was like a little American style fishing town, so quaint and something you would see from the films. We stayed in the newly opened Inn at the Pier. This was my favourite hotel of all the ones we stayed in. While in Pismo we went Sand Dune Buggying and visited a vineyard and went wine tasting. We then moved onto San Luis Obispo but en route we went to a brewery for a beer tasting and lunch and then onto one of my favourite things of the trip - horse riding at a ranch. This was truly amazing and something I will never forget. I will recommend it to my customers to try when visiting America, visiting an American ranch was brilliant. We then moved on for a night at San Luis Obispo where we visited the local weekly food market which was busy and had a great vibe about it. It was lovely to walk around and look in the local shops too. We then moved onto Santa Cruz. This I was looking forward to as I am a great Lost Boys fan and it was mainly filmed here. Walking along the Boardwalk listening to the Lost Boys soundtrack was pretty good. While here we boarded the Chardonnay boat for a wine and pizza private sailing. I generally don’t like going on boats, but this was yet another highlight for me, it was just stunning. The next day en route to Oaklands Airport we went zip lining amongst the Redwood trees before catching our flight. What an amazing trip this was and I truly loved everything about it! My photos are on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/DonnaBidwellTC if you would like some inspiration for your trip to California, I would happily help you.

03 November 2017

DID YOU KNOW? When you book your holiday with me, you get the following: - Peace of mind, I always have my customer's back! So important especially these days! It counts for a lot that my customers will always speak to me, I know their booking so they don't need to explain who they are. - I am available 24/7. Can you call/text/email your travel agent late at night and get a prompt reply? - I pass passport information where possible onto the airlines, allocate your seats for you where possible and check you in coming home where possible (Coming home saves you from having to go online to sort it yourself). Does your travel agent do this for you? - I personally contact hotels to let them know if it is a special occasion rather than just putting a note in the booking, upgrades and special extras are never guaranteed but I always try, it is then down to the hotel, but I have a lot of customers who have had upgrades and special extras in the room due to me trying for them. Does your agent personally contact the hotel you are staying in? - I am not owned by a Tour Operator so I have the flexibility to shop around for you for the best deal/best option to meet requirements. - When I search for holidays for my customers I take time to research the hotels I am looking at and check out reviews so that when my customers receive the details from me they can be assured that I have looked into if it would meet their requirements. - I am happy to meet to discuss your holiday requirements over coffee - my treat! - If something was to change with the holiday ie airline cancelling a flight, changing it, hotel issues etc... I am the one to personally help you and sort it out, not you waiting on the phone trying to sort it yourself. Again I will always have my customers' best interests at heart. - All customers have access to their own 'MyTC' app which enables them to see all their holiday details on their phone on the app and allows payments to be made this way too. - Customers can pay a deposit, and pay the holiday off as and when as long as it is all paid by the balance due date. - Everything you book with me is finacially protected no if's no but's! Your holiday is also ATOL bonded. - I generally care about every booking and it means a lot that my customers choose to continually book with me and refer me to others. I haven't needed to pay to advertise because my customers are doing this for me and I am so thankful to now have customers all over the UK and world and it's a big thanks to everyone supporting me. Does your travel agent appreciate your business as much as I value my customers' business? It would be a pleasure to help arrange your next holiday.

05 January 2018

I enjoyed a lovely holiday to St Lucia with my children and my mum. I was a little concerned about the weather due to Hurricane Irma hitting the Caribbean the weeks before and causing a lot of damage to many islands. However, I had nothing to be concerned about, the weather was perfect. It was hurricane season and I always knew this when booking for this time of year, but we were very lucky with the weather. We had one day of full rain, the rest of the week was sunshine. We flew with British Airways. We didn't pay to pre-book our seats and opted to book seats at check in 24 hours before flying when it was free. The children and I were sat together but my mum was sat elsewhere on the plane, which wasn't a problem, but if seating together is important then I would always recommend paying in advance to pre-book seats which I arrange on behalf of my customers. We had a VIP meet and greet the moment we stepped off the plane that took us swiftly through customers so that we didn't have to queue, and our luggage was ready for collection too. It was all very quick and within 10 minutes of getting off the plane we were in our private transfer taking us to our hotel. We were at the other end of the island so the transfer was two hours. We stayed six nights at the Bay Gardens Beach Resort on an all-inclusive basis. This was right on the beach and was a great beach too. We had a two-bedroom pool view suite which was just huge and perfect! It had two massive bedrooms each with its own large bathrooms, each room had a balcony. In between the rooms we had a large living room with a great size kitchen, another bathroom and a balcony. I was very impressed with the room. We were all-inclusive at this hotel which was very different to how I have ever experienced an all-inclusive resort. The breakfast had a small choice but was ample and it did have a separate menu to order from if we wanted. The lunch and dinner were all from a menu rather than a buffet but this was actually lovely as buffets can get boring, so I did like this. The all-inclusive programme also included restaurants in the town to be able to dine at which was brilliant as it got us out dining in the town rather than at the hotel each night. More hotels should offer this, it’s so important to the local economy. While staying here I did spend some time at Sandals Grande St Lucian, Sandals Halcyon Beach and The Royalton and looked at the various rooms at each and spend the day at each. I book a lot of people to the Sandals properties, so it was important for me to see these. We had our last night spent at Coconut Bay Resort which is only five minutes away from the airport. It made a lot of sense spending the last night here so that it meant not leaving so early when leaving for the airport. We got picked up at 10am so we were in the hotel by 12pm, in time for lunch and checking into the hotel. The lunch was buffet style and there were loads to choose from. The evening meal was a choice of the buffet restaurant, but also other restaurant options were available. This hotel had a couple of slides and a lazy river which the children loved. The pool was huge and had a couple of pools to choose from. It also had an adults-only section called Harmony section and they can use all sections of the hotel. I wasn't too impressed with the beach at this hotel like I was at the hotel I had just stayed in, but a lovely beach is never important to us when we live close to the beach, so a good pool or pools is more important to the children. We got picked up from our hotel at 5pm which was perfect because if we had been at the other hotel, our transfer would have been at 2pm so we gained a few hours being closer and was able to keep our room too. I loved St Lucia and it would be an island I would go back to. I have been to many of the Caribbean Islands now and this was one which was very pretty. It was lovely to take my mum with me and have a girl’s holiday with the children too. My photos are on my business Facebook page www.facebook.com/DonnaBidwellTC if you wanted to take a look. I also have lots of offers on my page as well as my personal holidays and important travel information, so it is worth following me. If you would like help with your holiday planning, please don't hesitate to contact me.

27 July 2017

Going to Beaches Turks had been on my bucket list for a while so I was very excited about booking this holiday. We flew with British Airways, the flight went via Antigua to drop off passengers then flew onto Turks after being on the ground for 1 hour. In total, the flying time was 11hrs 35mins, it sounds long and it is but my children aged 7 and 9 were perfect, never got bored and were fully entertained. We had a 2 bedroomed, butler villa suite booked, so I was very excited about having our own butler, only because I book butler rooms often for customers going on Sandals and Beaches holidays that I wanted to try this out for myself. On arrival, we were met by a Beaches Representive holding up a board with my name on. We were then shown to a lovely Beaches SUV car and inside they had beers, cokes, cakes and cookies for us all. The transfer for the airport was 15mins, already from the moment we landed it was apparent the island was beautiful. The driver was very informative about the Island and showed us where the late singer Prince’s house is and telling us which other famous people owed houses here. Driving into the grounds of Beaches was exciting being welcomed by ‘Welcome Home’ which is the Sandals and Beaches greeting at all resorts because they want you to think of your holiday as your home for the time you are with them. We had a separate area to check in, where our butler greeted us. We had two butlers for the week Ellen and Souke, a male and female, both were lovely they were never intrusive or made us feel anything other than very special and they were great with the kids. Ellen walked us to our suite which was No. 402, this villa suite was so lovely, it had 3 bedrooms each with a shower and bath a large living area/dining area and kitchen which was fully stocked with beers, soft drinks, bottle of gin, vodka, black label johnnie walker whiskey, rum, and snacks for the children. A video clip of the room we had is on my Facebook page. This resort has over 20 restaurants to choose from and I really wondered how we would get though them all in a week, but we did pretty much all for breakfast, lunch and dinner, we hardly went for buffets because while we had the wonderful restaurants and option of waiter service for breakfast, lunches and dinners then going for buffets seemed a waste. All restaurants were lovely, I couldn't’t find fault with any of them. The types of food, service and quality would have been expensive if in the UK, all the food was of high standard. The perk of having a butler was they make dinner reservations for you, escort you to dinner, get you the best table and serve your first drinks. If spending time at the pool or beach they allocate you the best areas, have towels ready arranged on the sunbeds and a cool box next to you with your favourite drinks. To start with I thought why would I need a cool box of drinks when there are bars right there in the pool area, but I soon became very lazy, just leaning over to get a beer or water rather than going to the pool to get a drink! The butler would also reserve us cabanas which are normally quite expensive to hire and if you wanted lunch served they would bring you whatever you wanted. If you have a concierge room here rather than butler, you get the perks of the drinks in the room, bath robes, Concierge making dinner reservations for you plus more. However you do not need to have a Concierge or Butler room to enjoy this holiday, they add to the wow factor but it is not essential at all. The Italian Village pool is where we spent most of our time, they had entertainment and music throughout the day, although the Iguana pool and Arizona pool were closest to our villa, the French village pool was lovely too. Both our children loved the kid’s clubs so much so that they wanted to dine with their new friends. The great thing too was they take the children to different restaurants for lunches and dinners each day and the kids club programme was extensive with so much for them to do. They loved the club when we went to Beaches Ochi Rios in Jamaica so I knew they were going to love this just as much. My daughter loved the Xbox room which was a huge area full of xbox consoles to play on. We also had an Xbox console pre loaded with games in the room but they never got a chance to play it, we were so busy, they never got the chance while we were at the room. The water park was lovely for the children too, not too big which was good and the surf simulator was great fun. Each night there were live shows, 6.30pm was a Sesame Street show then at 8.30pm a different show suited to all. Kids clubs also took them here too until 10pm so the children really were entertained all day and night if they wanted to and ours were having so much fun going to the water park or snorkelling with their new friends that they didn’t want to spend too much time with us, at the end of the day this was their holiday too so we let them do what they wanted to do. It also meant 3 nights we got to dine just us and could dine in the adult only restaurants. I have been to some amazing Caribbean Islands before but Beaches Turks really did impress us, it was stunning! The big thing we loved about Beaches holidays is the no tipping policy, the staff even wore badges saying, ‘no tipping’. It's etiquette to tip butlers at the end of the holiday, but that’s only on butler rooms, others don’t need to tip. I love the dining choices and standard of food, the top brand drinks and cocktails and the watersports all being included as part of the package. I could talk to people for ages about how amazing this holiday was, its one I have always recommended and everyone I have booked have said exactly what I now do, and that is that it was the best holiday ever and is certainly a hard holiday to beat. Within a week of being back I booked 3 holidays here for people who had been following me on my business facebook page and loved the photos and updates I was putting on my page while I was away..I have since booked more holidays for people here too. Feel free to take a look at my facebook page at my photos and updates, just scroll down to my posts for mid June. www.facebook.com/DonnaBidwellTC

11 October 2016

I was lucky enough to go on a Travel Counsellors FAM trip to Dubai. This was my fourth time visiting Dubai and yet again Dubai never failed to be anything other than amazing. I also spent several nights in Ras Al Khaimah which I was really excited about because this is an up and coming place which is only an hour from Dubai airport and the prices are much more affordable. Again I was not let down by this resort. I flew on the night flight with Emirates from Heathrow, I do like this flight because although it arrives early you do then have a while day before your first night starts. You can pre book the hotel room to be ready for your arrival and it was in my case but normally you wouldn’t be able to check in until 2pm, so always have a pre packed beach bag with day essentials ready to take out of your case so you are set for the day while the hotel look after your bag until you can check in. We had two nights at the Ritz Carlton Jumeirah. This was a lovely hotel with one adults only pool, a pool for everyone and a children’s pool with slide. It had a good choice of restaurants and was walking distance of local restaurants and shops along the beach. A good area to get about to see all the sights too. We went on a Dubai city tour and checked out the old city and Gold Souks. This was really beneficial because although I had been to Dubai before I learnt more on this trip than I ever knew about Dubai so it was a great thing to do. We then stayed one night at The Atlantis the Palm and were each given an Imperial Club room which was lovely. These are room types I sell often so it was good to see the benefits. We spent some time in the waterpark - I even did the ‘Leap of Faith’ water slide! In the evening we had a lovely Italian meal at Ronda Locatelli followed by wonderful cocktails in Nobu. I loved the feel of Atlantis. We also got to check out the underwater suites too. If you want something exceptional and special then these suites would be amazing! We then went to Ras Al Khaimah to stay at the Waldorf Astoria for two nights, we all had lovely rooms here and even the lead in rooms for this hotel are stunning. The hotel has a main pool and an adult’s pool and is right on the beach. This really is a very luxurious hotel with plenty of dining options. We did the desert BBQ dinners on our last night, where we rode camels and watched dancers. This was a lovely experience. While away we also visited the JA Ocean View Hotel in Jumeriah and had lunch here as well as seeing the various room types, this was in a great position and a lovely place to be able to walk along the promenade. We had a dinner at the Jumeriah Zabeel Saray which was a stunning hotel. While in Ras Al Khaimah we visited The Hilton Al Hamra and had a really lovely lunch here and were totally spoilt with cocktail making after the amazing lunch. We also visited Doubletree by Hilton which is nothing like your typical Doubletree hotel, I really liked the feel of this hotel and the facilities. It’s a great family hotel with slides for the kids. I have made some amazing contacts while away. Please feel free to contact me for advice on hotels and areas and for a quote. It will be a pleasure to help you.

28 August 2016

I stayed for four nights at The Encore at the Wynn on a work trip. We flew with Virgin Atlantic on the 9th May 2016. I had a Strip View Suite which was really lovely and spacious. I had always been under the impression that The Wynn and Encore were too far out but this really wasn't the case, it was in a great location opposite a very good shopping mall and a nice walk out from the strip. The buffet breakfast here was really good. Our first night of arrival we went to the High Roller which was the Las Vegas eye (same as the London eye). The next day we were picked up by Limo early to go on our Champagne Grand Canyon picnic lunch. I cannot describe how amazing this was, it was an emotional experience and something I am so pleased that I did. We were taken down into the canyon and our pilot then brought out picnic baskets and we had champagne breakfast in the canyon. We had a lot of hotel inspections and looked around the rooms and facilities of many hotels on the strip, so I really feel I know each hotel well now and can advise my customers on which I think is the most suitable for them. The shows I watched on this trip were Cirque De Soleil Reve which is at The Wynn and Cirque De Soleil Love which is the Beatles show at The Mirage. Both were really very good. We had a superb meal at LAVO at the Venetian and we had an amazing meal at Andreas at The Wynn. This is a Forbes Travel 4* award winning restaurant and was extremely good. We had a really good Spanish Tapas meal at Jaleo which is in the Cosmopolitan and we had a buffet lunch at Caesars Palace which is known to be the best buffet and it really was. We were very lucky to be treated to a VIP table at Surrender night club at The Wynn. This was such a great night and I will be recommending my stag and hen do customers to do this. Between a group this wouldn't work out too expensive and well worth it to avoid the long queues. Our last day we went to Exotic Racing and got to drive whichever car we wanted to. I drove a Ferrari and had such a great time. I would definitely recommend groups of lads doing this. Although I had been to Vegas the year before this, I experienced another side to it as I did different things to the first time I went. Going twice within 14 months, I now know Las Vegas well and I love arranging my customers trips here.

28 August 2016

This is mainly my tips and views on our holiday rather than going through what we did each day as everyone does their Florida holiday in different ways. We flew with Virgin Atlantic. I had pre booked our seats early to make sure we got upstairs in the aircraft which is much nicer (known as 'The Bubble'). You get served quicker, it's quieter and you can easily go up and get drinks throughout the flight without walking far. I also like the fact that if you are by the window you get a big ledge which opens up to store things which is great for snacks and iPads. You also are one of the first off the aircraft after Premium and upper. Be prepared for long immigration queues when you arrive in Orlando Airport, another reason why we booked upstairs on the aircraft so that we were off quicker than the majority of the plane. I will always try to book my customers seats where possible as close to the front as I can. I would quickly walk to the immigration queue the moment you are off the plane, save toilet stops to while you’re in the queue or before the plane lands, not en route to immigration or your letting so many other people then go ahead of you. Another point to note while at Orlando Airport - after you have got through immigration and picked your bags up, while making your way through you will then be asked to either take your luggage with you on the monorail and upstairs or have your luggage meet you the other end. We made the mistake of them taking the luggage as did many others, it seemed the obvious thing to do rather than carting luggage upstairs. We saw others taking their luggage and at the time thought why on earth are they doing that when it can go through on a luggage belt. After waiting 45 minutes for our luggage (after already picking it up once) we knew why others choose to not part with their cases again. Those reading this who have been to Florida will know exactly what I am talking about. We stayed at Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge for 14 nights in a safari view room. This was lovely, having giraffes and zebras wonder past your room. We really liked this hotel. The pool entertainment in the day and night was great for the kids and each night they would have a film on a big screen by the pool at 10pm. We got the complimentary dining plan which consisted of a refillable mug for when we were at the hotel, snacks per day, a quick service meal and waiter serve meal each per day. It saved us a lot of money and is well worth having. There were a lot of choices of restaurants in the parks and in Disney Springs. The downside was you ideally needed to book a table so before we went I had to create an itinerary of what we were doing each day (something I was not looking forward to doing as I didn't like the idea of having a holiday and having times of when we needed to be where each day) however it was a must and worked out really well. We stuck to schedule pretty much the whole two weeks. You have to pay a $10 each deposit for dinner reservations so it worked out in our favour to make sure we stuck to the plan. You have 24 hours to cancel the reservation and not be charged. I did this through 'My Disney Experience' App which will become your best friend while away and the ultimate tool to use, so make sure you get to grips with this way before you go. The benefit of staying at a Disney hotel is you get to book your time slot on the rides at the Disney Parks 60 days before rather than the normal 30 days before. I actually only started booking our slots not too far from the 30 days before so I didn't use the 60 pre book benefit. This was only because the thought of having to plan what we were doing each day kept putting me off doing it, and to be honest we didn't miss out on booking for rides we wanted. We found the way to fit as much in as possible was to do half days rather than full days and the great benefit of staying in a Disney hotel was the free parking (otherwise this is approximately $25 per car). If you’re not driving then you have the free transport too, but this can get very busy so we saw a lot of people getting taxis rather than waiting for the next shuttle bus. Although we had our Disney dining included we did still dine out at some other restaurants when we were driving about as we wanted to sample this too. I can highly recommend Longthorne Steak house and Ale House for really good meals. Disney Springs (which used to be called Downtown Disney) was a lovely place to go to wander around in the evenings, with a huge choice of restaurants and shops. The Disney dining plan also includes pretty much all the restaurants here too so we were here a lot because of the dining plan and ate at a lot of restaurants here. We were here during the Halloween celebrations so we did pre book the Disney Not So Scary trick or treat at Magic Kingdom which was expensive to do but felt we should. Everyone dresses up in fancy dress and really makes an effort. There were treat stations around the park and they were generous too, my girls left with a massive bag each filled with candy. Due to how busy it was we couldn't get near the parade or to see the show which takes place just under Cinderella's castle but this didn't really bother us. It was much quicker to get on rides so that was a bonus. Make sure you have your 'My Disney' app on your phones while in the parks. It’s free Wi-Fi anyway but you can look instantly at the queue times and while waiting for one ride you can be planning the next and see where hasn't got many queues. If you have any questions about a holiday to Florida that you are planning then do contact me and I will happily assist with your enquiry. We had such a lovely holiday and can't wait to return.

09 December 2015

On 1st September 2015 I flew from Heathrow to Bahamas on a Sandals educational trip. These trips are familiarisation trips to get to see a hotel and destination. There were 11 of us travel agents and we were very lucky to all be upgraded to Club Class on the British Airways flight. We stayed at Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort and off shore Island on Cable Beach, Nassau. The room type was a Windsor Honeymoon Club Level Oversized Junior Suite which was close to the main pool and beach. The room was very spacious with a four poster bed, huge walk in shower and big bathroom with bathrobe. This was a club level room so I also had a mini bar stocked with soft drinks, wines and beers as well as a full bottle of vodka, gin, whisky and rum. (Photos of my room are on here). This was a stunning resort like all Sandals resorts are. We dined at several of the 10 restaurants here and the choice was lovely and the food was amazing. We had a tour of the hotel grounds and various room categories, the wedding venues and the offshore island which was stunning and a great perk of this resort. I have notes of rooms I visited if you needed help with choosing your room type. The piano bar tends to be a great place to go after dinner, with lots of singing around the piano. This was popular and busy every night and a great laugh. There are some great excursions available to do in Nassau and a must do is Blue Lagoon Island to swim with the dolphins. I have done this on a previous holiday here and it was amazing. You also have the option to upgrade your transfer here to a Rolls Royce which is new to the Sandals group (photo is on here). After our stay here we flew onto the Exuma Islands to stay at Sandals Emerald Bay. I have a separate blog on this. I book a lot of Sandals holidays for my customers ranging from special holidays, honeymoons and weddings or for that luxury holiday. I have also been to various other Sandals resorts at other destinations and got married myself at Sandals Grande Antigua so I know the sandals product very well. If you need further help please do contact me so I can help you.

09 December 2015

On the 4th September 2015 while on a familiarisation trip to Nassau Bahamas, after staying three nights at Sandals Royal Bahamian we flew onto Exuma Islands for a three night stay at Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma. A twin centre between the two resorts was brilliant and having now done this, it is something I would thoroughly recommend for those that wouldn’t mind catching a 45 minute flight to Exuma and having to pack and unpack again. The room type I had was a Beach House Honeymoon Overview Club Level Junior Suite on the third floor. This was a very spacious room with a big bathroom, with bath and also a large walk-in shower. All room types at this resort are club level so all will have the daily stocked bar (my room photo is on here). This was a truly stunning resort with an amazing beach, amazing food and a lovely atmosphere. This is home to the Greg Norman designed 18 hole championship golf course which was lovely. We all had a golf buggy to go around the course to check it out. If you are a golfer then this is a perfect holiday choice while partners are soaking up the sun around the pool or having a pamper session in the red line spa. One thing I have always wanted to do was swim with the pigs. From this island I could! We caught a boat and after a 30 minute ride, we reached them and what a complete bizarre thing to see, pigs of all sizes swimming up to the boat. We all got in the sea and waded over to the island with the pigs swimming amongst us trying to eat the food we were giving and then they were on the island with us. It was such a wonderful thing to do. We then went onto an iguana island with lots of iguanas roaming the island. This too was bizarre but great to do and the scenery of the beach and the sea was just stunning. After this we went on to another area and we snorkelled with some amazing colourful fish and Barracudas. You cannot stay in Exuma and not do this swimming with pigs trip, it was well worth doing and is not done anywhere else in the world. If you have always wanted to learn to dive or are a keen diver then this is the place to do it. We had a tour of the hotel and various rooms so if you are needing help choosing which room type to stay in then do contact me. We witnessed several weddings while here and the locations were lovely, this would be a perfect resort to get married in or go on honeymoon. If you are thinking of getting married whilst away then I would recommend maybe getting married at either Sandals Royal Bahamian or Sandals Emerald Bay then flying over to the alternative island and having the next week or few nights as your honeymoon. The one major thing for the time of year we went were the tiny sand flies which were everywhere. We noticed them the moment we arrived at the airport (the airport luggage system and how you depart the airport was an experience in itself). Due to it being hurricane season and the weather a week before had been very wet humid and windy, this had effected these sand flies to come out and a lot of people including myself were bitten everywhere. Repellent was included in the room for them. I have had customers go other times of the year who had not had this problem, so this is not an all-round issue. I book a lot of Sandals holidays for my customers ranging from special holidays, honeymoons and weddings or for that luxury holiday. I have also been to various other Sandals resorts at other destinations and got married myself at Sandals Grande Antigua so I know the sandals product very well. If you need further help please do contact me so I can help you.

14 June 2015

Jemma originally contacted me via email after being recommended to me. I called Jemma to discuss things further with her and to get all requirements that I needed. One which stood out to me as being the best option was one which I have booked many people too for Honeymoons was the Heritage Awali Resort & Spa in Mauritius. Once Jemma and Aaron had decided on where they wanted to go. I visited them to go over all the details and to get the documents which I needed. Jemma and Aaron were always a great pleasure to take care of and it was an honour to arrange their wedding. They flew out on the 9th August 2014 and got married on the 14th August. Here are their thoughts on booking their wedding with me: “After hours of searching for a beautiful wedding destination at a reasonable price, I had mentioned to a friend how stressful it was all becoming. She then gave me Donna's name and explained that she was a Travel Counsellor who could help. I contacted Donna and she replied promptly to organise a personal home visit. Donna was was very friendly and asked us exactly what we wanted. Donna soon started to research possible destinations and hotels, making sure the hotels she looked at offered us the best service, care and welcome and were within our budget. Donna kept in regular contact and listened to our views, nothing was too much trouble for her. When Donna had found our dream destination she assured us of the financial protection which would be included with our booking. This gave us peace of mind when we were booking such a big occasion and holiday abroad. Before our wedding and holiday Donna provided a comprehensive itinerary detailing every flight, hotel and transfer. That’s not where her personal service ended; she even checked us in and organised personalised seats on both flights. It was entirely stress free, we simply had to pack and turn up. While abroad, Donna contacted us to make sure we were happy with the service we were receiving, which we were absolutely delighted with. Donna also congratulated us on our wedding day which was a nice, personal touch. We are truly grateful to Donna for making our wedding and honeymoon the holiday of a lifetime and would have no hesitation in highly recommending her to anyone looking to book a wedding or honeymoon abroad.” Thank you for Jemma for writing this and allowing me to share this with others. I have since arranged three weddings at the Heritage Awali and this is a resort I am very confident with being a perfect choice.

08 June 2015

I wanted to share with you the wedding which I arranged for a beautiful couple who I got to know so well and will always now regard them as friends. They met me while I had a stand at a local wedding fair a few years ago. They knew where they wanted to get married but they wanted to get married ahead of the time that the holidays were on sale, so it was a waiting game for the time of year they wanted to actually go and for it to be on sale. When the flights were on sale I then contacted them and was then was able to get everything arranged. I booked Sarah and Andy along with their friends and family to fly out on the 8th October 2014, they stayed at the Dreams La Romana and got married on the 17th October 2014. I packaged up the flights, accommodation and private transfers myself rather than going with a pre packaged Tour Operator as I got a much better package for them this way and arranged their wedding through our own weddings department. This way I got to take full control of everything which made life easier for me when finding out information and questions but also my customers because I then got the information to them much quicker. They were also kind enough to invite me to their wedding reception when they came home and they presented me with a beautiful flower arrangement which was just amazing. Sarah and Andy kindly agreed to write a piece about why they booked with me and their thoughts on the having me arrange their wedding: "Donna was fantastic with arranging our wedding to the very first email to walking through the front door after our amazing holiday! There was nothing Donna couldn't do for us and I know if we hadn't booked our wedding through Donna we wouldn't of had such a perfect dream day! Whenever any problems arose (which there were, booking a large group having people drop out, then problems where the wedding was being held) Donna was straight on the case and everything was sorted as quickly as possible. Donna took the stress away from me and dealt with everything for me, I couldn't imagine doing this on my own now I look back! We didn't have to worry about a thing! Our day was just magical and we had our absolute dream wedding that we didn't think we would have at one point but thanks to Donna (our fairy godmother!!!) she made it happen! I couldn't recommend Donna enough, if you want a stress free, happy, perfect wedding or holiday then you must book with Donna. I have used Donna again and will defiantly be using her for years to come! After all she made our dreams come true and gave us the best day of our life so far!"

28 May 2015

We stayed at Beaches Ocho Rios on 1st May 2015 for 7 nights. We booked a Greek Beachfront Concierge Terrace suite which looked right onto the beach, we had a huge terrace which was great for the children and having a concierge room meant we also had a fridge of beers and soft drinks, wine and spirits in the room and a coffee maker, which are all replenished daily. I sell a lot of Sandals and Beaches holidays and appreciate that they can be very expensive, however after experiencing Beaches Ocho Rios as a family, I can completely understand why it is more money than other hotels and I think it is worth that bit more. We had a brilliant holiday and the children had the best time ever. The little water park area is a perfect size to be able to still keep an eye on the children. The restaurants were all lovely, although I think it could do with having one or two more. They had 3 a la carte options, one of them white glove service and then a buffet which was different themes each night and also the BBQ park and a Crepe area. It wasn’t busy when we went which was lovely. The pool never got over busy and there were always some sunbeds spare. Trip advisor mentioned about the sunbeds getting full very early, but we never found this an issue. Now the kids camp…These guys were brilliant, the activities were great and the sesame street characters joined them a lot too. They had flower spotting with Grover, story time with Bert & Ernie, Cooking with the cookie monster, magic with Abby Cadaby, it really was great! They take them to the water park, take them to the beach, take them for games outside, have movie times, lots of arts and crafts, they would take them to lunch and dinner and then the shows on the evenings. Our children didn’t want to eat with us the last 4 nights as they wanted to dine with their friends at kids camp, which we let them as it was their holiday and all about what they wanted to do. We then got lovely meals with no squabbling and they were then happy with their friends. The sesame street shows were so good! They also do a weekly parade which was brilliant. I literally could not fault any of the staff and the entertainment, I was very impressed. Twice a week they do a character breakfast where the children all get a goodie bag with a mini sesame street teddy and other bits, all the characters come into this too and go around the tables, this is a must do! We also arranged the Night Night Tuck in with the Cookie Monster, at 9pm the cookie Monster arrived at our room with his person to surprise the children, he did bed time exercises with them, then he got into bed with the children and laid with them under the covers while the story teller read them a bed time story and asked the children questions about what they remembered from the story. It was very good and priceless, this is something I would 100% recommend to my customers to do. The beach was man made and wasn’t very big, as we live close to the beach we are never big beach people while away anyway so this wasn’t an issue but those who love the beach did say that it wasn’t the best. It was still lovely though. We could arrange lots of trips from the hotel and these trips can also be pre booked before going which I can arrange too. Our children were having such a great time with their friends and with kids camp that they didn’t want to venture out in the end, not even to the Dolphin Cove which is what we had planned. They have swam with dolphins before and I suppose they were happy with the time they did it, but they were adamant that they didn’t want to do it, so we never pursued it if they were having such a great time. Sandals Ochi Beach is about 15 minutes’ drive away from Beaches and you can use the facilities here if you wish, this is adults only though. So one evening while the children were in kids camp we did go over to sandals and enjoy a lovely meal at Soy which is the sushi bar. We love the sushi at Sandals and this was amazing. We only spent an hour here before getting back but it was well worth doing. We decided to pre book the Mombay Lounge at the airport coming home, this was a great move! This lounge was perfect for the children as they had a play room so they were occupied for a few hours while we had friends playing on the TVs, the snacks were wraps, hot pasties, sushi and sandwiches. As well as hot drinks, soft and alcoholic drinks included too. I will be recommending people to book this when departing from Montego Bay. We had such a lovely holiday that I would definitely book to go to Beaches again and next time try out Beaches Negril or Beaches Turks & Caicos. Beaches Barbados is currently being built and won’t be open for about 18 months plus. So it is great that another Beaches is being added to the brand. The great thing about this holiday was how well the children were catered for and how friendly the staff were to everyone. They made everyone feel special. Our children went into kids camp whenever they wanted to, they can go in and out anytime between 9am and 9pm, we would want to obviously spend a lot of the day with them, but if there was an activity they wanted to do we would of course let them do it. Please feel free to call me for any further advice or information, I have a lot more photos and videos and have shared most of these on my business Facebook page, so feel free to follow me on Facebook and take a look at my page.

29 April 2015

On the 19th March 2015, my mother and I had a holiday to Las Vegas and what a superb time we had. I book a lot of holidays for my customers to Las Vegas and it is somewhere my mum had always wanted to go, so I arranged for us to go and thought it was about time I checked out what all the hype was about. We flew with Virgin from Gatwick. I had pre booked our economy seats which I allocated us on the Upper deck, which was much more quieter and found the service quicker being upstairs as this was a smaller area. If you can get upstairs it's worth paying to pre book your seats. We had the No.1 Traveller Lounge prior to our flight, which I always like to do before flying as it makes the start to a holiday that bit more special rather than waiting in the terminal area, and this was a special trip going with my mum. Flying into Las Vegas was amazing, seeing the strip and all the wonderful hotels that you know so well from seeing online and brochures etc. We got a taxi from the airport which was approx. $25 to our hotel which was The Mirage. We were allocated a Volcano view room, which had 2 queen size beds in and was very spacious and lovely. One thing I completely underestimated about Vegas is how far it is to each hotel, they all look so close and look like they are literally across the road, but a hotel that appears to be across the road can still take approx 15-20 minutes to walk to. Anyone who has been will say the same. The night we arrived we had The Legends of Vegas show booked which is at the Flamingo Hotel. This wasn't busy and seats were upgraded to the very front. This was a great show. I even ended up having Elvis sing to me and give me his scarf. The next day we walked to the Bellagio and had a buffet breakfast here, which was really lovely and the best buffet breakfast we had in Vegas. The weather was great in the 80's so this allowed us to lay by the pool a lot which was always busy, so had to get there early to get a sunbed, We went to Freemont Street the old Vegas one evening which was great to do and would thoroughly recommend to do this. We got a taxi which worked out about $50 return but would be much cheaper getting on a one of the Deuce busses. We also saw Rock Of Ages show which is at the Venetian which is a must do, it is a brilliant show and we also saw Million Dollar Quartet which was very good too. Each hotel has just so much to see and do that it is very hard to fit everything all in because each hotel is just huge and once in, it's very hard to find the way out again. We loved the casinos and the drinks were free while gambling too. The shopping was brilliant at some near by malls. Siegfried & Roy's secret garden and Dolphin Habitat was lovely too see. I would also recommend going up the Eiffel Tower for a great view of the strip. For a lovely steak meal, go to the Outback, there is a few on the strip but we went to one which was upstairs opposite the Mirage. We had the most amazing steak dish. There is so much that we didn't get to do, so I need another trip here in the not too distant future.

22 July 2014

We took the children on an 8 night family holiday to Dubai on 2nd June 2014, staying at the 5* Jumeirah Madinat mina a salam and it was amazing!! We had such a great holiday and I would thoroughly recommend it! We booked with complimentary half-board which gave us access to over 40 restaurants. This was a god send and saved us a lot of money. The hotel itself has a massive variety of restaurants to keep you going for weeks, so you are spoilt for choice because not only that but you can also dine at a selection of other Jumeirah hotels. Jumeirah beach was next door so we also spent a lot of time here and dined here too. The great thing about staying in a Jumeirah Hotel is the fact you get access to any of the facilities at any other Jumeirah hotel and also Wild Wadi water park. As the Jumeirah beach was just next door we had days there as you can get there by constant golf buggies going back and forth. There are three parts to the Jumeirah Madinat, you have the Mina A Salam, Al Qasa and Dar Al Masyaf and you get about by regular Abra boats which take you to restaurants areas, kids clubs, other pools and the Souk Madinat for shopping, plus more restaurants and bars. The bars on certain evenings can get busy with local expats having a night out and couples on holiday but wherever you are staying in the hotels, this won’t really affect you. We had an ocean front room looking onto the amazing beach, Burj Al Arab and could also see Atlantis. The rooms were really spacious and lovely - they would put water by the beds at turn down service each night and little treats for the children from chocolates to teddies and toys. It was always a treat coming back to our room in the evenings to see what was left for the children and of course they thought it was great! We pre-booked the dolphin encounter at Atlantis before we went and it was well worth it, the experience was just brilliant. We then had the rest of the day to spend at Atlantis Water Park which was huge. We also pre-booked the Burj Khalifa which is the world’s tallest tower. I wasn’t too fussed about doing this, but am so pleased we did! The water music display was amazing! We also visited the Dubai Mall and I have never seen shopping malls as big as these! It was so much fun for the children too. Emirates Mall is also worth a visit which has the snow dome in it and a big children’s fair rides area. We flew to Dubai with Emirates on the New A380 airbus, this is the nicest and smoothest flight I have ever been on and so spacious. A wonderful family holiday and one which we will do again in the future.

14 March 2014

I stayed three nights at the stunning 5* Abama Golf & Spa Resort which is a Ritz Carlton hotel in Guia De Isora (approximately 30 minutes away from the south airport). My daughter and I were welcomed by very friendly staff and the elegance of the hotel was apparent from the moment you step into the grounds. We were offered a glass of champagne and my daughter an orange juice while checking in. We were told that we had been upgraded to an Abama Citadel Ocean view room. The hotel deducted 300 euros off my card to cover anything I put onto the room such as drinks, food and spa treatments etc. Anything I didn’t spend would be refunded at check out and anything more spent would be paid at checkout. This made perfect sense and was actually a good way to do this. Our room was lovely; it was very spacious, light and airy and the view was lovely over the ocean, golf course and one of the swimming pools. We had welcome cookies on the table and fruit. This hotel has seven swimming pools, some are just for adults only and one is exclusive for Tagora Villa Guests which is also adult only. There are a lovely selection of restaurants here including two Michelin star restaurants too. The food was always amazing and I could not fault this at all. The children’s menu was also very good and had reasonable prices too. We were on bed and breakfast basis and the breakfast was wonderful with a massive selection of things on offer. My daughter spent several hours each day in the kids club which she loved, this was a huge area for the children and was a lot of fun for them. Kids club is available 10am -6pm and you can pay eight euros per child per hour if you would like them to go in the evenings when it closes at midnight. While my daughter was in the kids club, I took this advantage and spent time relaxing by the adult’s only pool, which was lovely. As someone who would appear single around this area, I felt like I could easily come here as a single person and did see others who were also alone. I did check out some of the other room types while here. I had a look at a one bedroomed suite which is located in the Abama Citadel hotel area which was lovely and specious and great views of the sea and main pool which had a large corner balcony which had a lovely seating area of sofas outside. I also visited a one bedroomed villa which was also lovely and comes with its own golf buggy for the holiday duration. These room types sleep up to four people and they also have connecting rooms too for larger families. I also had a look at a Tagora Villa which is exclusively for adults only, comes with its own golf buggy, access to the Tagora Villas exclusive pool, complimentary snacks throughout the day and wines, beers, soft drinks and teas and coffees and private check in. We really did enjoy our stay and would definitely return. This is an up market hotel so do not expect much in the way of entertainment in the evenings, but this attracts the type of client that wouldn’t really want this and to be honest would ruin the elegance of this stunning resort. I have a very good contact at this hotel now, so don’t hesitate to contact me for a quote or if you would like to know any more information.

14 March 2014

I had arranged for ten of us girls to go to Marbella for my friends hen do in September 2012 for three nights. We wanted a hotel within Marbella which wasn’t too far from the beach and centre and easy to get to Puerto Banus for the night life, the Hotel Faro Inn didn’t disappoint for this purpose. The rooms were studios and were spacious but basic. As we didn’t spend much time in them this wasn’t a concern as we were out all day, came back to get ready then went out again. The hotel offered continental breakfast which was fine. Faro Inn was just a few minutes’ walk from the fabulous Marbella beach, where there are loads of restaurants and bars. The main nightlife is in Puerto Banus which was approximately eight minutes away in a taxi from the hotel. This is where the lovely marina is and is home to the rich and famous of Costa del Sol. If you are wanting golf then this is also a good area to be in. I have booked several hen do’s here and ladies going on a girly weekend away and all have found the hotel ideal for what they wanted. I would recommend this hotel for these types of groups whether it is young groups of girls, middle aged or older ladies or young lads or older men. I wouldn’t necessary recommend to couples, unless they want purely a base and do not plan to spend much time at the hotel. I would definitely stay here again with friends.

14 March 2014

We were in Fetihye for a family holiday. I love Turkey and was really pleased to be going back. We stayed at the 4* Majesty Tuana Resort, the hotel had also been recommended to me from other people plus Trip Advisor reviews were also very good. The hotel did not disappoint! It was very nice. The rooms weren’t huge and were quite basic but this is generally typical of Turkey. The pools were lovely and if going with small children then the children’s pool with the slide was a lovely area to settle for the day. There are also two water slides too. There is also another area to this hotel which also has a lovely small and quiet pool area, but it is quite a walk from the restaurants and main pool and entertainment area. The entertainment staff were brilliant and couldn’t do enough, the same with the children’s club too. The children are well entertained here and mine had a great time. The food was lovely, however like most all inclusive hotels, it can become repetitive. They had a different theme each night and a huge selection. The good thing about this hotel was that it does also have three other restaurants with waiter service which is included in the all-inclusive package, you just have to book them. We did book a morning boat trip from the hotels dive centre which was very good. This is located on the beach. I did like that the hotel was literally on the beach and it was also nice sunbathing on the jetty too. Whilst we had a lovely holiday and liked the hotel, I was disappointed at how far away it was from anything, particularly as I know how lovely the resorts Olu Deniz and Fetihye are. I did miss being able to go and wander around the shops from the hotel, as it was about 20 minutes in a dolmus to Fetihye. If a family wants a hotel with everything at hand and not worried about going out and about much then this would be ideal as this really is a lovely hotel.

04 March 2013

When we went to Disneyland Paris a few years ago we travelled from Ashford. This is what I book many of my customers, so this year I wanted to travel from Ebbsfleet so that I had another departure area to compare. We stayed the night before at the Holiday Inn Dartford and went to Bluewater that evening for a meal and shopping. We then drove 15 minutes the next morning to Ebbsfleet International which is a lovely quiet station with toys for the children. It’s very well organised. I find going by Eurostar easy as you leave the car, get on the train and a few hours later you arrive into the Disney area - so simple. We always upgrade our Eurostar to Standard Premier which is the first class of the Eurostar. The difference is you have bigger seating, most have a table and it includes light breakfast on the way out and a light meal with wine or beer coming home. If you can do the upgrade I personally would. It costs more but we think it’s worth it. This time we stayed at the Disney New York and apart from the actual Disneyland hotel itself the Disney New York is the closest thing to it. We really did enjoy this hotel and the fact that it was closer. We had a lake view room which looked onto the skating rink and the Disney New Port Bay hotel was on the other side of the river (this is the hotel we stayed in last time we went). The breakfast was very nice and the dining area was also lovely. The pool closes at 10pm so there’s plenty of time for swimming here too. We stayed ‘half board plus’ which meant we had a choice of 21 restaurants to have either lunch or dinner in, which included restaurants in the parks, Disney Village and hotels. We ate at Restaurant Des Stars in the Disney Studios which was a buffet style. It was very good food and this is where Remi from Ratatouille often hangs out. We also ate at the Park Side Diner in our hotel which was also a buffet and was good food. All of the buffet restaurants have a good choice but will always be very busy so you are best to book your restaurants a day before you want to dine in them. The hotel concierge desk will happily help you. Prepare to queue and wait for tables if eating at any kind of burger restaurant. The meals here were also good but the wait can be annoying. Expect to pay about 42 euros for a family of four for a burger lunch (for two burger meals, four chicken nuggets and two chips each for the children). A large hotdog is approximately six euros and coffee is about four euros. Going before September 2013 means that you will get to see the 20th anniversary lights and firework display over the Cinderella castle and this was amazing! This is on at 8pm each night and included in your Disney package. Although it wasn't busy, the queue times were approximately 25 to 40 minutes and I know this is nothing compared to going in peak times. Use the fast track where possible as this will help you plan things better in order to fit rides in. Last time we went we stayed for three nights and we found that two nights was long enough for next time we went. This is what we did and for us this was a perfect amount of time. You can still easily get everything done and see everything is this time (This will depend of the time of year you go as going in peak time will mean more ques and therefore you may want longer here) If staying for three nights or more I would advise taking a trip into Paris which you can do on the train which is right at the Disney Village (see photo of how close you are from the Eurostar and train terminal) and break it up a bit. This will depend on family size of course and if you have fitted things all in, if going for 4 nights then a trip to Paris I would definately recommend.

25 October 2012

I booked our holiday for 5 nights which was a lovely duration if you want a holiday but haven’t got enough time for 7 nights or you want to keep the cost lower. We stayed at the 4* Rio Playa Blanca in Playa Blanca, an all-inclusive resort which is approximately 45 minutes on a transfer bus from the airport. I booked a 1 bedroomed apartment for the four of us which included waterpark access as well. This allowed us unlimited access to the water park at Paradise Island which was 5 minute away on a shuttle bus. The hotels also provide a complimentary shuttle service each hour to and from the other hotels which is great. We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday here. The bungalow was very spacious. The great thing about the hotel is that all rooms are bungalows and everywhere has great access to everything in and around the hotel. The way the main pool area is laid out, with the gradual steps and railings, is also disabled friendly too. The main town/harbour area of Playa Blanca is about a 20 minute walk from the hotel, but there are also cheap bus services that you can use. The food was lovely; there was always a good choice as well as a good choice for the children too. The animation team were great and my 5 year old loved the kids club which she attended for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. In the evenings, the mini disco starts in the early evening. This is followed by bingo or a game and then a show or singers later on. One thing to remember is that the animation teams do not work on Sundays so there is no kids club or nightly entertainment. The main thing that I loved about this hotel, as well as the size of the bungalow, the lovely pools and the food, was the fact that we could stay in this hotel but also use the facilities (including food, drink and waterparks) at the Paradise Island hotel. However, out of the two, I would still recommend the Rio Playa Blanca as the Paradise Island was very busy with children and had a busy pool area. Having said that, if you don’t mind it being busy, this is a great family hotel. I asked to be located close to the children’s pool, which we were, and we found this really handy. I was impressed that the hotel listened to my request. I found the staff friendly and helpful and the main thing was that the children had a lovely holiday. This is a great family holiday location with fun for all the family!

31 January 2012

While I was at Sandals Grande Riviera I also spent time at Beaches Boscobel. Both are owned by the same company but the difference is Sandals is an adults only 'ultra all inclusive' holiday and Beaches is a 'family ultra all inclusive' holiday. As I have a young family of my own, I was very excited about spending time here and to experience it for myself. When staying at Sandals Grande Riviera or Beaches Boscobel you can use the facilities at both and shuttle is provided througout the day complimentary and takes about 15 minutes. If you are going with children to Beaches then whilst they are in the childrens clubs or if you take advantage of the babysitting service, thats a perfect time to go for a lovely meal at the Grande Riviera. The moment I arrived I was greeted by two of the Sesame Street characters dancing away to the live reggae band at the entrance - brilliant! I was sold from that first greeting and I had even stepped into the resort yet! I just kept thinking how much my children would love this. I was shown round some of the family room types and was impressed to see that some of the rooms even have a microwave which is perfect for heating milk bottles for infants. The main restaurant even had a mini buffet area which is lower down for smaller children to help themselves and mini solid wooden tables seating four on each in mini sizes for younger children to all eat together, allowing the adults to dine peacefully too. The main swimming pool, which had a lovely swim up pool bar was the main feature as you come into the hotel through the main restaurant, then further along is the fun pool with pirates island pool area and waterslides. At this area they had a candyfloss machine, popcorn machine, ice cream factory and drinks section to help yourself too. During the day the Sesame Street characters all parade with band around the pools and encourage children and parents to join in, this was great fun! The children clubs were also full on with a huge entertainment programme throughout the day and night as well as a creche and baby and toddler clubs with a full programme. You also have the option of paying extra and having a babysitter come to your room in the evening so you can enjoy a meal out or go to the Sandals resort up the road. You can even pay to have a sesame street character come to the room on an evening and tuck the children into bed and read a bedtime story - just magical! There is a large xbox area with Kinect games ready to play at a touch of a button and loads of xbox stations with various games all around the room. There's an arts and crafts centre and a cooking with Cookie Monster area too all for the children to get involved with. The beach here is small but lovely. Most of the entertainment is around the pirates Island area of the pool. I really enjoyed spending time at this resort and would very much like to take my children now too now now that I have experienced it for myself. As with a Sandals holiday, Beaches also includes golf, watersports, tips and all premium drinks and all food and snacks. This would make a lovely special family holiday.

31 January 2012

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Sandals & Beaches annual STARS awards in Jamaica, this is an awards event to celebrate the top agents, which I am pleased to say I am! What an amazing time I had! We flew from Heathrow and as a treat we were able to use the Heathrow Lounge, which was a very relaxing large area with games room, cinema, spa room, bar with drinks included when you purchase access to the lounge as well as complimentary food and internet access. Once luggage has been collected, all Sandals and Beaches guests have access to the special Sandals lounge area, which has Red Strip beer on tap to help yourself, tea, coffee and water to have too. As well as a lovely comfortable area. You can use this while your bags are being loaded onto the transfer coach rather than waiting for all guests on the bus you wait in this area, which was fab! The transfer took about 1 hour 20 minutes and was pretty much on a straight round and was a good transfer. They also provided water and beer whilst on this too and all complimentary, so your Sandals experience pretty much starts from the airport. When going on a Sandals holiday there are many room types and grades and it is all about location. All of the rooms inside all have king sized beds, tea and coffee facilities as well as much more, but you can then upgrade to concierge level or butler service. I was put in a honeymoon luxury cottage room concierge level, which included stocked mini bar of soft drinks, beers and wines as well as four, 1 litre bottle of spirits with a choice of El Dorada rum, gin, vodka and whisky - I love this about concierge rooms and fortunate to have experienced this here as well as Sandals Antigua. I personally think its well worth paying that extra for as these are replenished each day plus you can take what you don't drink home (well 1 bottle anyway to be within allowance). The Grande Riviera Beach has just had a $60 million make over and it was fantastic! We had a choice of 15 restaurants to dine at and all very nice and just the best standard. All of the staff are so friendly and can't do enough for you. The thing I love about Sandals holidays is the fact that you don't tip and you don't need any money. I never changed any money into dollars. You don't need cash while on these holidays. You can book all excursions through the hotel or through me before you go, you just need a little while you are on these excursions for any extras you may want to get i.e. photos or local gifts. Staying here is perfect to swim with dolphins, go to Dunns River Falls, try jungle river tubing, go on a jungle bobsled, ride the skyride and head out on a zipline excursion. All are really good and great fun! The swimming pools are superb and a great choice. I spent most of my time by the little pool with a swim up pool bar and is where the gorgeous freshly baked pizzas are (hence why I was there most of the time!) You don't need to take towels to Sandals as every pool or beach you go to will have fresh towels at hand that you help yourself to. Whilst here I did take a look at several types, so if you would like to know more about other room options I can help with this. I stayed on the beach side of the hotel and I preferred this. You also have the villas side which is where the main huge lovely Sandals main pool is which is swim up, but you do need to get a mini bus to the villas side and vice versa, these are constantly going backwards and forwards and only take a few minutes. It really depends on what you want. A Sandals holiday is all about the experience of being ultra all inclusive with all premium brand drinks and champagne included, watersports, 18 hole golf course green fees and driving range and tips, and you can use the near by Beaches Boscobel resort too which is only 15 minutes by transfer (which Sandals provide to and from beaches Boscobel) - how fab is that! A fantastic time, fab staff, great destination and resort!

17 March 2011

What a lovely holiday we have just had, just the four of us. We travelled to Disneyland Paris by Eurostar from Ashford. We stayed the night before at a hotel 5 minutes away which also included the parking which worked out perfect for us. This was my first time on the Eurostar and we were very impressed by how easy and simple it was. We also went Premier select which is equivalent to first class. This was just superb and well worth paying the extra. You get a light breakfast or light dinner and lots of leg room and the seats are so spacious. It’s a really nice start to the holiday. We stayed 3 nights at the Newport Bay Club and had a lovely room on the admiral floor overlooking the lake and onto the New York New York hotel. The hotel was lovely. It had a really nice pool and the staff were very friendly. We had several characters visit the hotel lobby each day. The first day we spent at the Disney Park and arrived for 8am, but most rides didn’t open until 10pm. The children’s rides in Fantasyland were open such as Dumbo and the neverland ride. We had a lot of fun seeing the characters throughout the day and meeting for cuddles and autographs. We spent a day at Universal studios and then another day at the Disney Park, but later in the day went to Universal for the parade then back to Disney again. The great thing with the tickets included in the holiday is you can do this, change from park to park. As it was my husband and I with our 11 month old baby and 3 year old. We really did benefit from the baby switch service. This is a service which allows parents to go on the ride. What happens is one parent will que for the ride while the other one stays with the children, then once they have been on, the other parent can then go straight on the ride. Our daughter Erin loved this as she went on with each of us on each ride. We did the character breakfast which was very good. It would be a great shame to go to Disneyland and not do this as a treat. We had seven characters visit during our breakfast and it was lovely as they come round each table. The buffet breakfast is also very good with a good choice of food. During the evenings we ate out at the Rainforest café and Planet Hollywood. Both were good food. We dined at approx 4pm- 5pm which was a good time as it isn’t busy. We made the mistake one evening of going out at 7.30pm and trying to find somewhere to eat without at least a 30 minute waiting time was impossible, it was crazy. Even the huge McDonalds there was packed and no one was moving fast in the que. A lot of people were moaning about this. So my advise if you are going with smaller children especially, eat early. On our last day, we checked out, handed our luggage in and then we didn’t see our cases until we collected them at the Eurostar express point. This allows people to spend the day in the parks without having to worry about luggage. We had a lovely family holiday and seeing how much fun our 3 year old was having made it all so special. Our baby Ashlea was also loving every moment of it. To me, going by Eurostar is the way to go to Disneyland Paris.

08 March 2011

This was our first holiday with the children. Ashlea was 5 months and Erin was nearly 3 years old. We also went with two other families. We stayed at the Golden Avenida Suites in salou and I had requested our rooms to be next door to each other and pool facing, which we got and were very nice and spacious. We stayed on self-catered basis and the cooking facilities were very good. The pool area was lovely and the chidlren’s club was excellent. Whilst on holiday we spent the day at the PortAventura Theme park. This was superb and not to be missed! Very good and fantastic rides! We also spent a day at the Aquopolis Water park, this was a good water park with a free Dolphin show a few times a day. You also have the chance to meet the dolphins at an extra cost. On one of the evenings we went to see the ‘House of illusion’, this is a magic show which includes food and unlimited wines, beers and soft drinks. I must admit, magic doesn’t normally interest me too much, however this was a superb show. They only had approx. 6/8 large round tables in the show, with 8 people to a table, so it is not too crowded. The tricks they performed were fantastic and it was a very good evening. They actually had my husband participate in a trick that he still can not explain how it happened and our friends husband was also chosen to participate. This show is well worth every penny. We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. If we did it again we would go half board or all inclusive. Overall a lovely holiday in Salou. Oh and don’t miss the lovely restaurant along the seafront which has a very talented cocktail man, who does lot’s of superb tricks with drinks...well worth watching while enjoying your meal!

06 May 2011

We had such a lovely relaxing wedding at Sandals, just the two of us. We decided to go away to get married because it just made sense to us. A big wedding in England would have cost us the earth and neither of us had ever been interested in getting married here. Plus we have a large network of friends and it was becoming too complicated with who to invite, etc, so we just decided to do it and had a lovely wedding reception we when returned. We love staying at Sandals and we hadn't been to Antigua before, so thats why we got married there. When we arrived, we were welcomed with a champagne cocktail while they sat us down to book us in, this in itself was a lovely touch and it's the little touches like this that we love about Sandals. We had a lovely villa style concierge room, the mini bar was full with branded drinks, wines, beers and soft drinks as well as optics with full bottles of more branded drinks. The resort is lovely and has 3 outdoor pools, the main pool area is where we spent most of our time, but there was another pool which also had a swim up pool bar where they played water polo, so we did spend time there too. Sandals put on a jam packed activity programme each day and there is always something fun and different happening each night, but after all that eating and drinking, good on you if you can stay out late! The restaurants were just superb! They had a Japanese restaurant which we went in on most nights, it was so lovely and extremely popular. You did have to book into this. There are also other restaurants that you need to book in advance rather than just turning up. Everything about the meals were just fantastic. We got married on the 18th May at 2pm and was just the best day ever! Everyone made you feel so special. I started off getting my hair done at the hairdressers on site at 12pm. Due to us making friends while we were away, I then went to their room to get ready. This worked out perfectly as they were getting married the following day, so I returned the favour and Tiffany got ready in our room. At 1.50pm the wedding consultant came to their room to collect me and had the bouquet with her that I had ordered prior to travelling. She then escorted me to a lovely car and drove me to the other side of the hotel to our wedding location. We decided to get married next to the beach in a special set area, rather than actually on the beach. Reason for this is, anyone can come and stand and watch if it is directly on the beach or if they wished could even sunbathe next to you. So we had the ceremony next to the beach but had some lovely pictures later taken by the sea. Everything went very smoothly, they had arranged witnesses themselves to be present. After they had pronounced us husband and wife, they then played the music we had chosen to be played while we signed the register. We were handed champagne and our wedding cake was on display. During the ceremony we had a photographer who then took us round Sandals to have more photos taken. I have put a few on here but if you would like to see more, please contact me. I know before we went, I was desperately trying to find peoples photos from their wedding experience with Sandals and I found this difficult, so please ask me and I would happily email them to you. When we got back to our room, there was a lovely selection of canapes waiting and champagne on ice, which was a lovely touch. That evening we had a meal already arranged for us at the top class restaurant. This meal was superb and the waiters kept making a point of addressing me in my married name. Getting married abroad was the best thing we could have done and doing it just the two of us was so relaxing and hassle free. We both lead busy lives so we needed this to be as relaxing as possible and it was and more. Please contact me for full details on Sandals Antigua or advice about your wedding abroad. I would be very happy to help.