Marvellous Escapes Avis 

Back from absolute trip of a lifetime for husbands 60th surprise birthday. Laurie arranged a perfect itinerary which encompassed the orient express starting in Paris and ending in Venice. I could not fault anything and made the whole holiday stress free with everything arranged.

Firstly, Laurie Bizouard, Travel Designer, Marvellous Escapes, put a holiday package in Switzerland together for my wife and I that suited our needs perfectly and we did not have to change any of it - two days in Lucerne, two days in Zurich, and two days in Chur. We had the right balance between free time as well as the organised events. All the tickets were provided in advance and with supporting information - all extremely helpful. The holiday was great and the Swiss trains an absolute joy, especially the Bernina Express. If you are going to Switzerland for the first time, please note that many of their plug sockets are different from those in the rest of Europe and you will need a special adaptor.

We had our holiday to Switzerland arranged by Laurie. It was so well organised and we enjoyed it so much we would love to do something similar. Travelling by train was a fantastic opportunity to relax and admire the scenery. We hope to return to Switzerland in the future- a truly beautiful place.

Absolutely fantastic trip last week - Norway in a Nutshell. The trip was extremely well planned and everything ran exactly as planned. Trains were perfectly timed to give you time to explore as well as get to your destinations. Hotels were excellent and perfectly located for ease of access to the train stations and amenities and sights. Most hotels were next door to the train stations. The hotel and train in Flåm were exceptional and such a great addition to the trip. Would highly recommend this trip and Marvellous Escapes - Olivia Price was extremely helpful. The organisation of the paperwork was excellent and sent in a timely manner.

We had an amazing time in Switzerland, flying to Basel then using trains, including Glacier Express and Bernina Express to travel to Lucerne, Interlaken, Montreux, Zermatt and StMoritz. Our step by step itinerary which Christian created for us, was easy to use we didn’t encounter any issues with trains. There was staff in each station to offer help if needed. The hotels were easily found, were in great locations and we had plenty of choice for breakfast. We had some added surprises in the way of chocolate, snacks and the free minibar. Before we left, we searched for extra information about the areas we were visiting and were able to fit in a few extra attractions in addition to those suggested. Having beautiful weather throughout the trip together with spectacular scenery, made the whole experience wonderful. I would recommend Marvellous Escapes and will definitely use this company in future.
(for anyone’s information, Interlaken has two stations, Ost and West, something to be aware off when arriving/departing).

Amazing service from Olivia.
Really understood exactly what we wanted from a holiday.
No pressure - just gentle guidance & support.
The booking process was so easy & gave us confidence with the future holiday.

The staff went over and above to find me exactly what i wanted. Great price great service. They were very helpful and very knowledgable.

Being kept informed - making adjustments according to my wishes and so politely undertaken Thanks to Christian who has been exceptionally helpful

Another wonderful experience with Marvellous Escapes touring Canada.
We arrived in Vancouver stayed in the Paradox Hotel a great location to enjoy the Hop On Hop Off Bus and to collect our tickets from the Rocky Mountaineer Guest Centre located at the Fairmount Hotel just minutes away.
Our whole experience was truly wonderful Marvellous Escapes sorted every detail from transport, hotels and tours all of which were excellent.
The Butchard Gardens Victoria Vancouver Island are spectacular with each garden meticulously manicured.
The Rocky Mountaineer train journey is something we will never forget from check in to the Bag Piper welcoming you on board to the scenery the food served and the exceptional staff it was magical.
Banff is a must see we stayed in the Ptarmagan Hotel on the strip it is very well located for the shops, restaurants and the local bus stops right outside. The hotel gives you a free bus pass for the days you are staying, we used the bus to get to the Gondola, for us the weather was bad the day we went on the Gondola up Sulphur Mountain with no views to see, however we made the most of it and enjoyed a lovely meal in the restaurant at the top whilst chatting to a nice guy from Iceland and enjoyed a couple of glasses of Banff Whisky. Lake Louise, Emerald Lake etc where all really nice and our stay at The Post Hotel Lake Louise was a welcome break from travelling. Next time we would stay longer to really enjoy the spa facilities.
Canada is very clean the people are all very polite, professional and beyond helpful. We highly recommend both Canada and especially Marvellous
Escapes.

All went well (including the weather!).
The staff at Marvellous Escapes were great and their advice was good. I had my own itinerary for Baveria which included hotels in Garmisch and Munich near railway stations and city centres and all were well placed. I enjoy open countryside and wildlife so Garmisch is a great place - what a great place. Went up the highest mountain in Germany by Wrack-railway then by cable-car and the villages nearby including lakes were superb for walking. After 4 nights in Garmisch we spent 2 nights in nearby Munich with superb historical buildings and walks. Another fantastic place - the just a 2 hour flight back to Manchester. I will go to Marvellous Escapes next holiday when I can afford it and their prices are very reasonable.
Thank Laurie, I'm, presently doing a Power Point film of the trip.
Regards as always,
Steve

Just booked our Spanish trip with this company. Laurie has been very helpful and we are very happy with the detailed itinery she has produced for us at such short notice.
Excellent communication throughout. Very happy customer.

Marvellous Escapes put together a Swiss travel package for my husbands 70th birthday.
We like the idea of independent travel and working with Hayley we got that but with the security of knowing she and the team were there with any queries as we travelled.
The booking process was straightforward and we received a detailed travel pack with everything we needed for the trip.
Compliments to them on hotel choices. Not only was every property beautiful all locations were superb.

Negatives
• I asked twice about any additional extras — once in November 2025 before booking, and again in June 2026 when we had to pay for our plane seats. Both times I was reassured there were none.
• Airport transfers were not explained as something we needed to arrange and pay for ourselves. These were only covered after I became upset.
• Travel from the Clarion Hotel Admiral in Bergen was not easily walkable (a minimum of 20 minutes), despite me clearly explaining mobility issues. Thankfully the receptionist booked us a taxi, adding further cost. With a 6:30am breakfast and an 08:08 train, it was quite a rush.
• We arrived in Bergen at 9pm to find the hotel bar/restaurant closed due to it being a Sunday. We had to go out at 9:30pm to find somewhere to eat — not ideal — only to leave again early the next morning for a sevenhour train back to Oslo. We struggle to see the purpose of this. It would have been far more beneficial to stay and explore Bergen and fly home from there.
• You recommended several places to visit in Balestrand, but all were closed because it was Sunday. You knew the day we would be there, so our options were extremely limited, resulting in a very expensive hotel dinner.
• When asking AI and googling post trip for a 5day budget trip to Norway, the same hotels and itinerary appeared — at half the price. We understand we didn’t book a “budget holiday,” but this comparison highlights how little value was added.
• No recommendations were offered until I became upset during our call, after which you emailed some over. We booked the holiday in November 2025 and expected a firstclass service to match the firstclass cost.
Positives
• Norway itself is stunning, and the people we met were kind and welcoming.
• We will absolutely return to Norway — but unfortunately not with Marvelous Escapes, as our experience was far from “Marvelous.”
On sharing our experience, we found the response somewhat disappointing and dismissive.( and defensive!)

I cannot thank Hayley enough for planning the absolute holiday of a lifetime for my family and me. She curated a flawless 6-day itinerary through Switzerland's natural wonders that completely exceeded our expectations.
From the very beginning, the travel logistics were seamless. Hayley handled everything, from our easyJet flights out of Edinburgh to the brilliant flight back from Basel. The scheduling was perfectly timed, ensuring we never felt rushed.
What truly made this trip special were the unforgettable scenic rail journeys she coordinated. Riding the panoramic Golden Pass Express, taking the breath-taking Glacier Express to Chur, and experiencing the stunning Bernina Express day trip across the Italian border to Tirano were absolute highlights. She even arranged the spectacular Jungfraujoch "Top of Europe" mountain excursion, featuring the new Eiger Express gondola and the Ice Palace, which was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the family.
The hotel choices were equally brilliant—beautifully located right near the stations, making check-ins at Montreux, Interlaken, and Chur incredibly easy and stress-free. Every detail, including our Swiss Travel Pass transitions, worked like clockwork. Hayley is a master of her craft. Her attention to detail, thoughtful planning, and excellent communication took all the stress out of travel. If you want a perfectly tailored, unforgettable holiday, look no further than Hayley. We will definitely be booking our next adventure with her!

Have used Mavellous Escapes to book a luxury train holiday to Switzerland. Laurie was very knowledgeable and showed great attention to detail throughout the booking process. She made it a really easy and enjoyable experience ensuring she understood our aims for the holiday and had no issue tweaking the itinerary where necessary. So far the booking process has been excellent.

Very helpful and informative and kept in contact when they said they would.

Marvellous Escapes took all the stress out of arranging our Swiss train holiday, providing us with a wonderful itinerary, great hotels and even glorious weather at a price we would have struggled to match if we'd done all the work ourselves. The customer support was first rate, responding rapidly to any queries or concerns making the whole process as easy as it could possibly be.

Olivia was very professional and polite throughout, it was a pleasure having her to book my holiday.

Olivia was thorough throughout offering plenty of advice on locations to visit and was very patient especially with my numerous questions and efforts to try and cut costs everytime we spoke.

It was an easy process with plenty of communication from Olivia and we can now sit back, relax and look forward to our holiday.

Thank you Olivia

Olivia was helpful, polite and patient will dealing my many question's.

We’ve just come back from our amazing 8-day trip to Switzerland, and what a holiday it was! 🇨🇭

We booked everything through Hayley, who was fantastic from the very start. She really couldn’t do enough for us and was always there if we had a question or needed anything changing. It made such a difference knowing everything had been organised and we could just enjoy ourselves.

We visited Zurich, St Moritz, Zermatt and Interlaken, and each place was so different and beautiful in its own way. We also did the Bernina Express, Glacier Express, Gornergrat and Jungfraujoch, which were all amazing.

There were so many highlights, but travelling through the mountains on the trains and seeing the scenery change along the way was something we’ll remember for a long time. Jungfraujoch was a real wow moment — standing there looking out at the snow-covered Alps was just incredible.

Everything went so smoothly, and we came home with some lovely memories and lots of photos!

A massive thank you to Hayley for helping us plan such a wonderful holiday. She was friendly, helpful and patient throughout, and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her. We’re already thinking about where we might go next! ❤️🇨🇭