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At Fleewinter we think that staying in a villa or a small boutique hotel on holiday is by far the best way to enjoy your time away. Compared to the traditional vacation solution of a soulless room in a large hotel you get much more space, better privacy, but probably most important of all you get to live in and experience the community you are staying in. Even mundane activities like a trip to the shops to buy the groceries is an experience to savour in another culture and with an abundance of great value restaurants and cafes, having your own place needn't be a chore.
The other big advantage over a hotel is the value for money particularly if there is a larger group of you going. Many of our villas offer standards of accommodation equivalent to the best boutique hotels and at a fraction of the price - and with full maid service and even your own chef, you can have un-paralleled levels of service when you want and where you want.
With this vision of the way to travel, Fleewinter was set up in 2003 by Alisdair Luxmoore with Cape Town as the first destination. Alisdair had been a regular visitor to South Africa for over 10 years and was fed up with the hassle and trauma of booking villas and apartments remotely and never really knowing what to expect when you arrive. Turning up at an apartment after a 12 hour flight with two young children and fist full of Rands and praying that; a) the property exists and b) it fulfills expectations, was no way to start a holiday. This gave birth to the Fleewinter concept of an impartial advice service to find the best property for you, arrange payment and contractually bind the owner of the property.
The second destination was Tobago in the Caribbean set up by Will and Rachel Hucker. They both lived and worked on the island for most of 2003 and so have an unparalleled knowledge, not just of the best places to stay, but the restaurants to eat in the best diving and water sports and everything you must see and do while you are there. This is another key aspect of our service and do make sure you use our local knowledge to your best advantage. Simon Gill now runs Fleewinter's Tobago operation and in 2006 added Barbados to the portfolio.
2004 saw the launch two new destinations, the Garden Route to the east of Cape Town and Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean . Both hit our criteria of being highly accessible winter destinations with amazing climates but also much more to do than just lie on the beach. Vicki Luxmoore runs the Garden Route operation and Sri Lanka is operated by Kate Glover .
2005 saw the launch of Morocco which is run by Alisdair and Kate and whilst one of our newer destination, it has rapidly become our number 1. Our focus here is on the stunning riads – small boutique hotels with between 2 and 10 bedrooms – you can have them all to yourself or just take a room for your stay but there is no better way to immerse yourself into an extraordinary culture.
As well as Barbados, in 2006 we launched an operation in Thailand (run by Suzy Goulding ) and expanding our South Africa presence to provide a touring service to cover all southern Africa including Mozambique, Victoria Falls, Kruger, Botswana and Namibia . In reality we have arranging these tours for some years for our Cape Town clients but now with its own website and the vast experience of Anthea Myburgh behind it, it is getting the attention it deserves
Anyone for Brazil, Cuba, Australia, Kenya ? For the future there are many other destinations planned and if you have somewhere you are passionate about and would like to be part of the Fleewinter team, give us a call.
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