Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
An amazing holiday at a great price and we felt we were in good hands throughout the whole process
Jessie is of course a star. She’s simply amazing.
Thanks to Harvey as ever
Finn, as always, was so helpful and dedicated throughout
All went smoothly and we felt in safe hands
We had a very enjoyable trip. All went smoothly - thank you to Michelle for all your help.
Seamless. Thanks
Great service from Dexter. Would highly recommend.
Amelia was incredible, we had to change our return trip at short notice and she could not have been more helpful. Also, the resort team were amazing, the service beyond excellent. We had a very good trip.
Stacey is the best travel agent! We have used her for 10 years. She understands what myself and family require.
Great service as usual, thank you!
This was our 2nd visit to the Anantara Dighu - but since the hotel has been taken over by another hotel group things are no longer as good as they were. The HB option only entitled us to dine at 2 a la carte restaurants so for a 10 day stay this is limiting. This resulted in us using the other restaurants and only a $60 allowance was entitled per adult which didn't even buy you a main course. It is a shame as the quality was not what it used to be.
Stan always gives us a very professional service and that is why we keep coming back
All airlines were great and our resort in Maldives was excellent. Thoroughly recommend our Oblu Xperience for both families and couples. All inclusive was really good and a great variety of cuisines. Thank you Brody for organising our trip.
Outstanding from start to finish, with faultless electronic and human communications throughout. Dexter Tahsin is a legend!
Thank you for suggesting we went all inclusive. It was the correct choice. Brilliant holiday.
Thanks Jim for organising a seamless trip away.
Have been using you for years and service was as good as ever, however the resort has changed dramatically and not for the better. It is more developed than in previous visits and service and food have taken a big dip. No longer the special place it was. I would be careful recommending it as it is fast becoming the Benidorm of the Maldives. No issue with DialAFlight and will continue to use.
Was extremely happy with the service provided and will definitely be a returning customer!
Joey and his colleague were just so easy to deal with and answered our queries promptly. Great service
I always book through Amy Hilbert - she knows our requirements and is helpful and professional
Roger was really helpful as always, and provides an excellent after sales service which is much appreciated.
Had a great holiday. Thanks
I’ve dealt with Ryan for years - he’s a massive credit to your business
Excellent service and support by Kitty Rimell
Location and island were fab. Staff excellent. Perfect place to holiday.
Another great trip to The Maldives organised by Stacey. Thanks again for all your help
We had the most amazing holiday in the Maldives. It was perfect. Ethan was extremely helpful and efficient from the first call. Many thanks.
Riley Ranson was excellent and thorough. My wife and I were very pleased
I love that you always respond so promptly!
I know people who do yoga, of course, but I view them with deep suspicion. I have a sister who's a yoga instructor and of the opinion I would be a healthier, happier person if I saluted the sun every morning.
However, when presented with the prospect of a week in the Maldives, with a little light yoga thrown in, I readily agreed.
Not because it would make me a better person, but because I've been to the Maldives before. Turquoise sea, multi-coloured cocktails - that's what I call balm for the troubled mind.
A little downward dog seemed a small price to pay for all this.
THE PATH TO SERENITY
Baros is among 100 tiny-island resorts rising out of this glistening stretch of Indian Ocean.
It's a 20-minute speedboat ride from Male, the islands' capital - and it looked gorgeous the moment it hove into view, with dusty-white beaches. Once we've disembarked, there's a cocktail waiting for us (and a rolled damp flannel, obviously) in an open-air bar beneath a canopy of palm trees.
Camouflaged behind beautiful bougainvillea lie the 45 beach villas, each with a sea view and its own stretch of beach.
The island is tiny - 380 yards long and 331 yards wide - with sandy foot-printed paths winding from one end to the other.
WHAT TO EXPECT
We've booked one of the 30 'overwater' thatched villas on stilts at the far tip. As we tread the boards of our deck, our attention is drawn to shadows in the shallows - and we catch sight of a trio of 3ft-long reef sharks swimming lazily beneath our feet.
Baros has its own coral reef, and a private ocean teeming with stunning sea-life easily accessible a few feet from your sunbed.
The villa was big and luxurious. And beyond the infinity plunge pool lies your own private Indian Ocean. Unbelievably, 600 yards away, there was a couple standing in the middle of it. Or so it seemed.
We discovered we could lower ourselves from the ladder at the end of our deck and walk, the water no more than thigh-high, to a small sandbank where we could enjoy the view of the island from out-at-sea level.
As we enjoyed this idyllic experience, an unwelcome thought crept in. I had signed up for yoga every morning. At 7am.
DINING OUT
But before that there's dinner - posh nosh at the Lighthouse restaurant or the simpler but equally delicious menu at Lime. (There's a third restaurant, Cayenne, for pizzas and light lunches.)
And also a massage. The Baros masseuses pummel like Olympians and I waft down to dinner in a blissful daze.
The food's fantastic and I float back to our room. How much more relaxed can a man get? I was about to find out.
AN EARLY START
At 6.30am we are padding down to meet Kumar, our yogi for the week. I dislike him on sight. He is small and lithe, glowing with good health, and looks like the kind of man who can flip himself forward and balance on the palm of his hand.
I do a downward dog, in a mongrel fashion. I salute the sun and I balance on one foot, cross over my elbows and bend and stretch and breathe.
And, to my astonishment, I love every moment of it.
Kumar is the kindest, most patient teacher I've ever met. He made each hour melt into mere minutes.
At dawn each day, I was rolling out of bed with something approaching enthusiasm. By day three I was volunteering for evening meditation.
Did yoga teach me to relax? I should say so. I've never slept better, though the snorkelling off Baros's coral reef - teeming with every colour of tropical fish, and, on one occasion, a giant sea turtle - would calm anyone.
THE FINAL CONCLUSION
Did it make me a nicer person? Well, I did plant some coral as part of the Baros conservation programme.
My time on this tiny tropical island involved eating, drinking, swimming, snorkelling and sleeping - and, obviously, meditating and yogitating.
There are no water sports here (hurrah!), and no underwater nightclubs.
What they do, they do brilliantly, simply, without fuss. Blissed-out bliss at its most blissful.
Om, as we yoga converts like to say. Shanti, shanti, shanti.
First published in the Mail Online - February 2018
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