Our Holidays and some background as to how we can be as flexible as you want. How we find the best holiday for you and how we price the holidays so that you get the best possible price combined with the best possible service.
How we find the best flights:
We source flights from as many airlines as possible to fit in with your requirements including the best day to travel, the best time and the best airport. Unlike most other operators we are not committed to any one airline or aircraft or indeed airport. We will find the best option for you depending, of course, on availability. We can even fly you out from one airport and back into another if you so wish. You can holiday for one night or one hundred nights…the choice is yours…not ours. One useful tip is to take your own meals and drink on board…saves you money and hopefully should guarantee you quality! Aircraft food, especially on charter flights, is not known for its abundance of Michelin stars!
How we find the best transfers from the airport to your property:
In all our destinations we find an agent that we have known for some time or that has been recommended who has the right level of vehicle be it a Mercedes S class, a minibus, a coach, a speed boat or even a helicopter. We then negotiate the best possible price but before this we make sure that the level of service is right up there. In Venice, for example, all our guests are met at the airport, escorted on the short walk to the private water taxi and escorted all the way to check in at the hotel of your choice. In Dalaman our hosts or drivers are there to meet you and then transfer you direct to your accommodation. All of our drivers know our properties in every location in our Turkish programme and will get you to the property in the quickest possible time whilst adhering to the speed limits! In Malta the transfers to Gozo incur a ferry crossing so we make sure that the driver and car (obviously) stay with you until you reach the hotel and are checked in. All ferry tickets are also pre- paid for you. In essence our aim is that that you have a stress free journey to your choice of accommodation. The important element here is to ensure that all the drivers know the accommodation you are going to and also understand that we are in the service industry which, funnily enough, requires good service.
How we find the best accommodations in the resorts we choose for you:
This is obviously one on my hardest jobs. Getting the right accommodation in a resort like Kalkan, for example, is tough…but it certainly helps if you know the owners of all the properties in the area. I have, more often than not, refused accommodation contracts because the owners do not have our guests’ interests at heart. Agreeing the right price is also a bit of a dark art…but we seem to get it right in most cases so that not only do the guests win but so do the accommodation owners and we, the tour operator. We are fortunate in that we have had the Likya Residence and Spa built with our guests in mind. It’s easily the best hotel in Kalkan not only in terms of the property itself and the quality of rooms but also the exceptional level of service. Just have a look at Tripadvisor to see some of the reviews left by our previous guests. We are also building 8 new villas called the Likya View villas and 2 new boutique hotels where all rooms have their own pools…luxury and class! These will be called the Likya Boutique and the Likya Pavilion. Bit of a Likya theme going here!
My trip around Venice, where there are literally hundreds of hotels was interesting, difficult, challenging but ultimately successful. I have chosen smaller boutique hotels that don’t have many rooms and are again all about service. Good locations and the ability for water taxis to drop off our guests at the door were also high in importance.
In Malta I had to kiss a lot of frogs, so to speak, before I came up with the choices of hotels in our portfolio. But I am proud to say that the choice of hotels is good, interesting and different to the norm. In Marrakech, Charlotte is in charge of getting the right product as she is well known to all the good riads and hoteliers. I have to say that the riads and hotels on offer are excellent and have great feedback as shown on our FEEFO feedback forum which is available for you to look at here *.
How we price our holidays:
Simply put, what we do is to source the right flight for you and charge you exactly what is available on the carrier’s website…so no mark up.
We then add the transfers again at cost…so no mark up.
We then add the accommodation cost plus our mark- up which should in most cases be less than what our guests could buy it for on line or direct with the hotelier. So not only do we give you a better price for the holiday, it’s also 100% ATOL protected and you get the services of all our staff here in the UK and also overseas. All of our staff here in the UK have visited nearly all of the properties that we feature so that we can give you accurate and honest descriptions of not only the hotel, Riad or villa but also a detailed description of the room you have chosen, the hours of sunshine on a balcony, the name of the barman, waitress or manager in most properties and the cost of drinks in the local restaurants or cafes nearby. The idea being that we take all the fear out of booking a holiday so that once you’ve decided to book with us you feel reassured at every stage that we have booked the holiday that you want and at a price that is fair.