The holiday went like clockwork

“The holiday went like clockwork”

Written on: 18/05/2012

We're now home again after a truly memorable trip. Everything went very smoothly and we revelled in the luxury of it all. How well you did for us.

Business Class travel and the Lounge at Heathrow was a great start. Hong Kong transfers were spot on, and the Excelsior Hotel was a very comfortable stay indeed. You had organised a view over water for us, the hotel was wonderfully central, and we couldn't have been happier.

Auckland. The Copthorne is a bit tired - definitely only three star, but well situated and once again we were pleased to have a harbour view. It was very convenient for the hire car pick-up from Avis the next morning and we knew how well-placed it was for central Auckland, so were able to sort things like Simcards easily.

On to Brisbane, where you had once again found us a comfortable berth at the Mercure, again with river view and again very conveniently situated for exploring city central and across the river to South Bank galleries and museums. We liked it so much that we stayed an extra night.

Car hire in Australia and New Zealand was fine and just right for us. Europcar in Brisbane were a bit dozy and not so easy to find or phone for some reason. We were pleased to have the SatNav to steer us out of the city onto Pacific Highway and then it was all plain sailing until Sydney, which was an utter nightmare! The drop-off was at Darling Harbour in the Novotel, but poorly signed. SatNav got us there in the end - we couldn't avoid a toll - but after we'd recovered from the drive, the receptionist was actually very helpful and sorted us out with kindness and patience.

We weren't bothered about Bangkok, but how wrong we were and how right YOU were to direct us there. The entire experience actually made the holiday. The Anantara was a super hotel with great facilities (view of river once again - greatly appreciated) and so pleasantly situated away from the bustle of the city. The Tour East operators were excellent, meeting us on time and always with a smile. Their advice about trips was spot-on and we did enjoy our brief glimpse into Thai culture, especially the Royal Palaces and Temples tour. Notes to our room kept us well-informed of transfer times and we were efficiently whisked off to the airport in plenty of time for the check-in and then taken through the confusion to the desks, so we felt very privileged and completely relaxed for the return journey.

Many thanks for your excellent work, which we can't praise highly enough. We'll be in touch with Travelbag like a shot should we ever decide to make the journey again.