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Pre-Travel Experts Summit FAM with The Newt & Maybourne

1st October 2024

“I just wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity to experience Dream Escape, learn about your experiences, enjoy the hotels and to spend time with amazing Sally Strange. It was all a wonderful experience and I sincerely cant thank you enough.”

“Thank you for an amazing FAM-I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Dream Escape Team. Everything was lovely and the time together was magical.”

Dream Escape recently hosted a Travel Experts Pre-Summit FAM trip with our partners at The Newt in Somerset and Maybourne Hotels. We had a fabulous week and showed a great group of agents what we can offer in London and beyond!

The group started off at The Newt in Somerset where they stayed for 2 nights and were treated to exceptional hospitality and blessed with wonderful weather. They spent time exploring the gardens and the beautiful grounds and all the experiences on offer there.

On Thursday the group headed into London and were welcomed at the iconic Claridges with a Traditional Afternoon Tea.

Friday was Dream Escape’s chance to shine with a day of exclusive activities planned for the group.

Accompanied by Dream Escape Blue Badge Guide and Client Relationship Manager, Sally Strange and Head of Travel Design, Kirsty Hoskins the group left the Connaught by private coach to travel into the heart of Chelsea for a privately Guided Tour at the Royal Hospital Chelsea by a Chelsea Pensioner.

This very special visit led them through the 330-year-old Royal Hospital Chelsea, its stories, and collections. Conducted personally by one of the Chelsea Pensioners, the tour transported participants from the dawn of Restoration England through to the Napoleonic Wars and into the austerity of two World Wars.  

They experienced the Royal Hospital, designed by Sir Christopher Wren through the eyes of one of its iconic residents, discovered Nell Gwynn’s rumoured role in its establishment, and learnt about the military titan who lay in state in the Great Hall, hearing fascinating stories of resident’s past and present.

After this, the group boarded a private luxury boat from Cadogan Pier in Chelsea for a leisurely cruise along the River Thames with Sally will pointing out key places of interest and regaling the group with many of her fascinating stories!

The afternoon involved a Street Art Experience in the East End. The group were introduced to a street artist who took them to his unique workshop. His encyclopaedic knowledge of the street-art scene – from the techniques to the artists themselves – makes him a first-class guide around this complex, deeply creative subculture. The group learnt all about paint-adorned walls, taking in everything from full-wall murals to tiny tags, discovering layer by layer, who the key artists are and what techniques they use to create the ever[1]evolving, art-lined backdrop.

After a return to the hotels the group were treated to finale dinner at ABC Kitchen at the Emory hosted by the Patrick and Maybourne Group.

This was a fabulous showcase of the unique private experiences Dream Escape can offer in the capital and demonstrate how a Dream Escape guide is an essential ingredient to make the most of a trip to London

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  • "Incredible service ! The BEST tour guides, tour options and always available to help smooth over any "snafus" that we ran across during our vacation. 5-star, A+ rating from us."

    Clients of Jessica Thompson, Fairway Travel, Virtuoso

  • "....their time in the U.K. was PERFECT – loved everything you guys did for them, and sang praises for everyone! Thank you!! "

    Connie Hanes, Herff Travel

  • "Everyone, from the Tour Guides to our excellent driver, were amazing. All aspects of the trip were beyond expectations. Even changing our day schedule for outside reasons (like the airline sending my bag to a city 120miles away) they were always happy to help and move the schedule around so we could keep enjoying our trip. Everyone made us feel at home and like family."

    Client of Leah Molinari, Molinari Travel, Gifted Travel Network

  • "Dream Escape was the trip of a lifetime. Excellent choice of hotels, tour guide was awesome, the planned tours were wonderful and very informative."

    Client of Trisha Rathke, VIP Travel Designs, Gifted Travel Network

  • "Dreamscape designed an itinerary that combined an exploration of Scottish history and culture and a visit to some of the filming locations for the hit TV show Outlander. The tour guides provided were personable and knowledgeable and responsive to our interests. Our driver who was with us for the entire trip was professional and pleasant and again, flexible and sensitive to our interests. The hotels were magnificent and the pacing of the trip, spending at least two nights in each hotel was perfect. The itinerary was everything we wanted!"

    Client of Susan Morley, Journeys around the World, Cadence

  • "Sally Strange was wonderful so knowledgable, friendly and fun. 100% would use her services again. We feel like we have a friend for life! We LOVED our tours, where we ate lunch, and spending the days with Sally......Thanks (once again!) for looking after our clients so well. We so appreciate you. "

    Lauren Ainsley, Black Tomato

  • "Rosie...thank you for giving us such a world-class experience in Scotland. Everyone had such a wonderful time and your presence was a large part of that. Your warmth and generosity in taking care of us on our little excursion is so beyond appreciated and I can’t wait to work with you again soon."

    Alex Martinetti

  • "Thank you so very much for the amazing trip to Scotland that you planned for us!! It was truly a once in a lifetime fabulous family trip!! Not only were the accommodations perfect, the activities were above expectations, given the people involved with so much knowledge and compassion for what they do....Many, many heartfelt thanks for making this trip so very special for our family. "

    Clients of Kristen Meckem, Kristen Meckem Travel, An Affiliate of Brownell

  • "I work regularly with Michael Davies, who I can not praise enough! Michael is a gem to work with and always delivers extraordinary client itineraries. "

    Jennifer McCrea, Boutique Travel Advisors

  • "We cannot thank you enough for all you did for us during our stay in Scotland! We loved every minute of it....and we loved you teaching us the history of each town and visit. "

    The Pogue Family - Clients of Amy Spence, Strong Travel

  • "We are so grateful for professionalism, expertise, and purely fun personality to entertain and educate our clients in all things royal! I do believe it was a smashing success. 😊"

    Pat Bowden, Red Letter Travel, an independent affiliate of Brownell

  • "Michael does such an outstanding job with making sure every itinerary he works on with me is well thought out. He is attentive to detail and always allows for the clients interest to be reflected in their tours. He makes sure that the perfect tour operator and chauffeur is paired with each client. I wanted you to know what a pleasure it is working with Michael and knowing my clients will always be well cared for when traveling with Dream Escape! "

    Jennifer McCrea, Boutique Travel Advisors

  • "Without a doubt, what made all of it so special and unforgettable was having the true pleasure of having Sally Strange as our guide. She was truly incredible..so full of life, energy, amazing historical knowledge anywhere we visited was extraordinary. Her sense of humor and fun personality made her extra special. Sally was a winner in every way."

    Clients of Betsy Talbot, Travel by Talbot (Brownell)

  • "Your team excelled on all levels! The execution of the itinerary was flawless!!! Well done. The clients LOVED Sally and this was just the second note from them about how exceptional she was. "

    Cathy Major, Cerulean World Travel

  • "I just wanted to send an e-mail to compliment the excellent service I have received with Susie Little. She has been absolutely wonderful to work with. She is quick to respond, easily answers all of our questions, and has had to be patient with my clients as we have made many changes and updates to the itinerary. I really appreciate all of her hard work and the beautiful itinerary she put together for my clients. They said they were in AWE and everything looked fabulous! Thank you for providing such excellent service and I look forward to working with you in the near future! Thank you so much!"

    Krista Boyles, Unique Romance Travel

  • "I want to extend my deepest gratitude for your incredible work on this project, we really could not have gotten it across the finish line without you and your team 😊"

    Marieta Carrrero, Boost Journeys

  • "I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone at Dream Escape who helped in making the Gialamas' visit to London special. I know Dream Escape has many people behind the scenes that work on making an itinerary such as this flow seamlessly and I just wanted to say thank you for all of your hard work! "

    Jennifer McCrea, Boutique Travel Advisors

  • "Activities & Tours - All the events and guides were outstanding.- Guides - Simply the best. All of them. All outstanding! "

    Black Tomato Clients

  • "Thank you for everything you did to make the entire trip, special presentations and events so special. It has added a sparkle in my life!"

    Gretchen Ashworth Stewart, Client

  • "Dream Escape, to no one’s surprise, is the best in the business. I cannot begin to thank you for crafting a perfect vacation for these clients. They had nothing but fabulous things to say about each and every event."

    Nancy Ebel, Virtuoso Travel Advisor

  • "Couldn’t have asked for a better 1st trip to London!......The sites we saw were the best & Sally, you went above & beyond to make it memorable"

    Shannon Marie Long - Reed and Mackay

  • "Delightful to spend time and see the incredible city of London with you all. Dream Escape for a flawless job in seeing the best bespoke sites, Sally you are amazing. Thank you again as this was amazing"

    Josh Whitaker - Owner, Rudi Steele Travel

  • "Probably the best of the best in the UK and Ireland for organising amazing trips. They know their stuff, have fantastic relationships with suppliers and always go the extra mile."

    Rob Arrow, Al Tayyar Group

  • "Lovely suite. Fabulous private tours. Everything has exceeded our expectations. "

    William A Heim, Client

  • "I had the most wonderful time with you and learned so much...What you offer is rare and much needed in the truly exclusive travel world. "

    Jean Newman-Glock, Signature Travel Network

  • "You were the heart and soul of the trip….I truly admired your sunny personality, sense of humor, organization and professionalism.  You also demonstrated  that a guide’s work is never done as you were constantly researching….. Did you ever rest??? "

    Sharon Delano, Frosch

  • "We want to thank you and the team from Dream Escape.  All six of us in our group had a wonderful time, and we all agreed we owed that in large measure to the work of Dream Escape. From the onset of working with you, you demonstrated a tremendous knowledge about all the activities we wished to pursue —from playing golf to dining at excellent restaurants to seeing historical sites and the Tattoo and Fringe Festival.  And, then you executed "

    Thomas Cohen, Client

  • "THANK YOU a zillion times over for choosing/assigning Rosie to be with this family.  She MADE the trip for them – there’s no other way to put it! "

    Jill Jergel, Frontiers International Travel

  • "Our holiday in Scotland now tops their lists of best trips…… To their growing list of amazing and memorable first-time experiences, our sons may add fishing for trout and salmon on the River Tay; steering a motor boat on Loch Ness; and taking private guided tours on Culloden Moor Of the eight full days we were in Scotland, Alex and Mattie thought each and every day was the best"

    Michael Guadarrama & Trammi Nguyen, clients of Peter Carideo. CRC Travel

  • "All six of us were deeply moved by the whole experience. Bravo Dream Escape "

    Max Levy, Direct client

  • "Thank you Karen and all of the staff and guides affiliated with Dream Escape…..the Flemings are having an awesome tour of Scotland. You all have made me look like a star! "

    Joni Gerace, The Travel Society, LLC

  • "Thanks for all your help and we can chalk this one up as a big success!   Our anniversary celebration was all we could have hoped for "

    Clients of Courtney Regan, Affiliate of Brownell Travel

  • "Rosie was MORE than outstanding – she went out of her way to help us in every regard...She was so knowledgeable – we all loved her"

    Jill A. Jergel, Frontiers International Travel

  • "I cannot thank you, Nicola and all the Dream Escape “clan” for the wonderful care & attention you have provided, and are providing for my clients"

    Cindy Evans, Travel Consultant

  • "I hope I have another opportunity to work with Dream Escape in the near future. The company is so professional, yet approachable and easy to work with. It has been a pleasure!"

    Carole McFarland, Universal Travel

  • "Dream Escape is delivering in a superb manner. Jim Johnston is a great driver and one of the best guides we've had - I wish to very much thank the Dream Escape Team for fulfilling a Dream…"

    Donald M. Davis, President, Luxury Travel, Inc.

  • "Thank you all so much it's great to have trusted friends on the ground to take care of our clients!"

    Peter Carideo, CRC Travel

  • "The trip was great.... Dream Escape is the name of the game"

    Ann Lipschitz, Worldview Travel

  • "Your level of service is just outstanding"

    Debra Fini, VWTI

  • "Dream Escape don’t just organise trips – they create adventures"

    Financial Times, How to Spend it

  • "It was, without doubt, one of the most spectacular weekends I have ever had"

    Country Life

  • "David Tobin’s an ace at getting inside private castles and estates and he’s well connected.... "

    Conde Nast Traveller Magazine

  • "The level of service they provide is outstanding. They truly care about every aspect of the trip to ensure you have a fantastic stay. Rosie is a hidden gem of a tour guide. Just fabulous."

    Yvonne Malka, Signature Travel Network, April 2018

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