Leamington Spa

Hello Cathy

 

Thanks for your letter.  We had a lovely holiday at the Hotel Mijas, also known these days as TR Mijas Beach Cultural.    It was very early, cold and misty when we set off for Birmingham Airport on the 29th April!    Our car was collected at the Airport and check-in was easy. We enjoyed the Aspire Airport Lounge-nice and quiet.    The flight was good and we were met at Malaga Airport by local rep Karen Quigley and passed to our driver for the transfer via a winding road to Mijas.     The hotel sits in such a spectacular site with views to the mountains and set in lush gardens.    We had a lovely room with views over the tennis court and garden, looking down to Fuengirola and the Mediterranean Sea!   Karen came to see us the following day to talk about excursions but the pick-up point was in Fuengirola and we would have had to get a local bus at 7am!    Having just had an early start for our flight we decided not to do that.  Karen said not many Classic clients go to the hotel , maybe because it is not Five Star?     We found the staff very friendly and seemed to appreciate our modest attempts at speaking Espanol.

 

We enjoyed relaxing by the pool where we had some nice lunches. The dining room also has spectacular views and we ate there several times in the evening. There was a wide mix of people there from Japan, France, Germany, the Netherlands and UK.     

 

There is lots to see in Mijas with its white houses, narrow streets, all bedecked with flowers. When we walked further from the main areas it became more traditional with elderly ladies talking from their front doors. We got a local bus from just outside the hotel to Fuengirola and then a train to Malaga.   Very interesting city, we went to the Cathedral and the Picasso Museum which is housed in a former palace.-very impressive.

We went again to Fuengirola on the bus and walked along its beach promenade.

 

There is a bullring in Mijas and on the Sunday we went to an evening event there. A mix of dancing and horsemanship-no bulls!  On one side of the bullring, basking in the evening sun, was the bell tower of the parish church, on the other was the white houses and straight ahead was the mountains of the Sierra de Mijas and a blue sky with not a cloud in it!   It was just lovely!

 

All good things come to an end. We had a good journey back home and were able to use our Priority Pass for the Sala lounge at Malaga Airport.

Thank you for booking and organising everything for us we had  really enjoyable time and would certainly recommend  Mijas. I attach a few pics of the hotel and Mijas-there are more!   We will send off the feedback questionnaire to Classic and Felicity has put a review on Trip Advisor.  When we are  next in Leamington we will call in to say hello-which days of the week are you around?

 

Best wishes

 

Bill and Felicity Fleming  

Corrine Statford

Corrine,

 

I would just like to thank you and your team at Stratford and the Carrick Travel at Head Office, for their support following the incident at East Midlands Airport which affected our departure to Malta. I have heard horror stories about such delays, but the support and guidance which Carrick provided was nothing less than outstanding. No wonder you are the only Travel Agent we use. In the event the delay only amounted to 2 hours. Your taxi provider on Gozo, Raymond and his wife, were also excellent throughout our stay and should be highly commended.

 

Thank you again  Mike Ward

Cheylesmore

Hi Helen

Well what can I say, Dubai was fabulous, yes we did the Burj.... twice, day time and evening, went to Atlantis on the Palm, both amazing feats of engineering and vision.  We were lucky enough to fly over tha Palm on our way to Kuwait, albeit being a tad hazy.

The Hotel was truly one of the best we have ever stayed at, and we did speak to various couples who said they'd been going there for between ten - twenty years, and yes they had seen plenty of changes!!!  

Whether it was due to Brian having a Birthday while we were away I don't know, but we got an upgrade to Club, and while we would have liked a view up towards the Palm area I wasnt going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so we settled for some beautiful sunsets and made the most of the afternoon teas and pre-dinner drinks instead....

The staff were all extremely courteous, helpful and friendly, Brian got Birthday pancakes, plus candle at breakfast and we came back to our room in the evening to a Birthday cake and bottle of wine.  Check-in and out was very smooth, in fact I think we were asked by five different staff members if we'd got all our belongings, passports and tickets etc when leaving.  Le Royale Meridien is definitely a hotel we'd both recommend and return to.

The transfers went without a hitch, and we did need the larger vehicle to and from the airport.

We also had a very enjoyable stay with our friends in Kuwait, not a tourist hotspot but some interesting sights, including a huge 'sandcastle' display, I'm sure if you google 'sandcastles' Kuwait you'll see what I mean, these weren't amateurish kiddies beach efforts, they had taken teams from all over the world several months to sculpt.

My friends reaction when she came home to see us sat at her kitchen table was BRILLIANT, she hadn't got a clue that we were coming, and it's all recorded!!

All the flights were without incident, that said I wouldnt put Emirates at the top of my list of favourite airlines, they were professional yes, but the flight home especially left a bit of a sour taste.  Initially I wasn't convinced that my wheelchair would actually be put on the plane, the stewardesses I spoke to appeared completely disinterested.  We did our usual, wait til last bit, once we got to Birmingham and then found that there were more people waiting for wheelchairs than expected.  In similar situations the staff have allowed us to wait on the plane, but not this particular set of crew, who quite obviously wanted to be on their way.  So we had to stand in a breezy and chilly stand.

However as we were in the air at the same time as flight MH370 went missing, this seems a bit of an insignificant whinge.

Overall this was another brilliantly put together package by yourselves, and I'm certain we'll be back to your 'sweetie shop' to see what else you have to offer.

Many Thanks to all concerned

Dawn and Brian McBride

Coventry - Africa Helen Sanders

We're back from our Africa hols.  It was amazing, up there as one of the best holidays ever.  All went without a hitch so African Pride did their stuff very well.  All the Sanctuary lodges were very different.  Chichele Presidential lodge was our favourite; very colonial and the rooms were quite dated compared to the other lodges.  However the staff were brilliant and the game drives just out of this world so would thoroughly recommend it especially for newbies like us.  

Sussi and Chuma was more modern, highlight was the trip to Victoria Falls...breathtaking and also seeing the white rhino, safely protected by armed guards !  Chobe Chilwero was not so good on the game front but the rooms were  the best.

As for food.....it was non stop, couldn't keep up with it all excellent.  Also the hotel on Jo'burg was lovely but weather was rubbish, like being in England.

Finally, on our last drive at Chichele just before sunset we were driven to Chichele Hill and waiting for us were the staff from the lodge, a set table, with fizz and nibbles and chairs arranged to watch the sunset...brought a tear to my eye it was wonderful.

Thanks for organising everything Helen in your usual faultless fashion !

So, where to next ????  

Fiona - Mauritius

Hi Fiona

I keep meaning to email you to let you know that we had a fabulous holiday in Mauritius. Everything about it was perfect & we would definitely use Four Seasons again.  The teenage kids club was great for Jonty.  

There were a lot more activities included in the price compared to Antigua, and you could do water skiing as many times as you liked for free.  You could also get free tuition on all the free water sports & sailing.  We took a boat out fishing 3 times & it was only £81 for 2 hours & then they cooked the fish for Jonty's lunch.

We would definitely go again.  The service was amazing.  We also had free bikes to get about the resort, and there were also buggies to take you anywhere you fancied.  The restaurants were all fab and there were various special nights as well.

Re Mauritius Airlines we found them to absolutely fine.  A modern plane, and certainly no worse than BA & VIrgin.  The food was better than BA & Virgin & their flight attendants far more helpful.

A new airport opened in Sept and it was amazing.  Air conditioned, really friendly staff and we have never been through Customs so quickly.  The airport transfers were great and the drivers really informative & a lot safer than Caribbean drivers!

Thanks again for organising such a wonderful holiday

Regards

Susan, Phill & Jonty 

Paul Carter

Dear Carrick,

Thank you for booking our fantastic holiday to Cyprus.  We returned on Monday morning.  The Four Seasons is a fabulous hotel and we would like to return, time and money allowing.

You made booking this holiday seamless, my only gripe would be the time of the return flight from Cyprus, but that's not exactly in your control.

Many thanks,

Jo Bell

Paul Carter

Dear Paul

thank you for the recommendation to visit Ila D'or in Majorca. We have had  a wonderful 4 days away, brilliant weather and excellent location, so again thank you. 

Just to say, we would not hesitate to use your services again, your help and support has been really valued, given the lack of it in other places. While our next holiday is already planned, we have every intention of coming back to you for future holidays. 

Warm regards

Mr & Mrs P.