10 October 2018

Get Ollie Raikes of Travel Counsellors to do it! Too busy to organise your own well-needed holiday? You want an amazing once-in-a-lifetime holiday – a road-trip across the US, a cruise up the Norwegian fjords, even a round the world trip – but with so many commitments you have little time to research the destinations you want to visit or find the right hotel for your needs. Or maybe you just need a long weekend somewhere different, but don’t have a spare minute to even get that sorted. A few years ago, I organised our road-trip around Florida. It was extremely stressful! Especially as my other half is disabled and a full-time wheelchair user, so we had to be certain that everywhere we stayed was not only accessible, but also pleasant, comfortable, and not too clinical, as many adapted hotel bedrooms and bathrooms can be. Then two years ago we started thinking about planning another fab holiday. This time, a road trip in the US travelling around some of the big national parks – Yosemite, Death Valley, Brian Head, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon and Sedona. But we were both so busy, we decided we needed help. That’s when we turned to Ollie Raikes of Travel Counsellors. Ollie came to our home and discussed what we wanted, making copious notes of our needs and wants. He suggested places to visit and things to do based on his own experiences, such as the fantastic helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon – I will never forget that as long as I live! Totally awesome, in every sense of that over-used word. He created the itinerary for us, which we then tweaked a little, wanting to stay longer in some places. Then he found all the hotels using the criteria we gave him – for instance, as well as parking and accessible rooms, I insisted that we needed tea and coffee making facilities in the rooms! You don’t want to know me in the mornings until I’ve had my first cuppa. Ollie arranged and booked it all – the flights, hotels, adapted car hire, the lot! Even better, we knew we could rely on him if anything went awry while we were away. All we had to do was ring or email him, and he would sort it. In fact, we didn’t even know until the day before that our hotel in Brian Head had closed! The first we knew about it was when Ollie contacted us to give us the different hotel details, apologising for the change. Thank goodness he was on the case! He contacted every hotel a couple of days before our arrival to make sure everything was as planned, and that’s when he found out that the hotel had closed. Can you imagine if we’d turned up, late, in the freezing cold, to find the hotel closed? On another occasion, Ollie had us contacting him just before we arrived in Las Vegas because we decided to stay an extra night, which he happily (we think!) sorted for us. What’s more, we didn’t pay him! Because not only is it all done on commission, but you’re unlikely to find your holiday any cheaper anywhere else. We had the holiday of a lifetime, all thanks to Ollie of Travel Counsellors. We highly recommend him to everyone. In fact, unknown to my other half, Ollie is already sorting a birthday weekend away for him!