polka dot travel bangor photos

Suggested companies

Hays travel, perfect getaways.

Polka Dot Travel   Reviews

In the Airline ticket agency category

Visit this website

Company activity See all

Write a review

Reviews 4.8.

Most relevant

Longton polka dot travel is just…

Longton polka dot travel is just amazing and special thanks to Tara as she’s helped me so many times with booking lots of fantastic trips… Their prices and customer service is fantastic, always look forward to booking with them as nothing is too much trouble. Thank you

Date of experience : 03 August 2023

We had an incredible experience with Alicia / Polka Dot Travel! Would 10000% recommend.

We had an incredible experience booking with Polka Dot Travel Lichfield for our holiday to Rhodes in September 2022. Alicia helped us throughout the whole booking process and was so helpful with all the questions we had! We are already looking to book our next 2 holidays for 2023 with Alicia/ Polka Dot Lichfield! They’re super friendly, helpful and have incredible offers! Would recommend to everyone! Thanks Alicia ❤️

Date of experience : 26 September 2022

Another excellent service given by…

Another excellent service given by Polka Dot Longton. Had to cancel a holiday due to an operation but Tara helped to sort out and rebook for a later date. Would highly recommend a visit to the store.

Date of experience : 05 April 2024

Brilliant Offers

After visiting a couple of travel agents,I was passing Polka Dot Travel. I was looking for our first holiday this year so after speaking to Donna she came up with a brilliant package in Corfu. She gave me a very good price and I couldn't wait to tell my partner. I rang her and she was delighted with the decision I made. I rang Donna as promised to book our holiday and she even made it cheaper,wow. So if you are looking for a reliable travel agent and want to be greeted with a smile, I would recommend "Polka Dot Travel", give them a chance 😊

Date of experience : 27 March 2024

Fabulous team at the Longton Branch

Tara at the Longton branch sorted out a cruise for us, nothing was too much trouble as she had to make a few phone calls as the flights weren’t straightforward, Tara also got our future cruise credited back to our account which was a big help. Would definitely recommend Tara and all the staff at Polka Dot, Longton

Date of experience : 08 November 2022

Polka Dot Llandudno

I made a booking with Paul at Polka Dot Travel Llandudno. He was so helpful and informative. As I had difficulty getting to the shop due to work commitments, he helped me decide on a location through sending emails with different options. I eventually booked over the phone and was really pleased with the support given. Excellent service, thank you.

Date of experience : 18 November 2022

Thanks again Donna for sort out our…

Thanks again Donna for sorting out our first family holiday to Turkey 🇹🇷 we know you will be there if we have any problems or questions like you have done before.... we always come back to polka dot travel

Date of experience : 20 July 2023

Stress free booking

I have made a booking with Nicola at Mold branch. My husband usually takes control of all arrangements but this trip is a surprise for his birthday. Nicola has been amazing, booking flights, hotel and arranging trips and transfers. She has made it stress free and pleasurable experience. Thank you Nicola.

Date of experience : 25 November 2022

The best experience

Had the best experience dealing with Chloe at the Market Drayton branch. From my first phone call and booking our trip it was so easy and certainly had the best customer service experience. Would highly recommend them !!!

Date of experience : 19 February 2024

Iceland - Amazing

Please can I send you a quick note to say thank you so much for helping my family, plan our trip to Iceland. Your team were superb in recommending some great excursions, and gave us some great advice about some things to do and see while we were away. One of us needed a little extra support in preparation for the trip, and we absolutely got this from the team in the Shrewsbury branch. We even saved some money by booking the trips ahead through you. We’ve had a great holiday – and a great experience. Thanks for all your help. Will recommend!

Date of experience : 01 November 2023

Just booked a holiday at polka Dot…

Just booked a holiday at polka Dot Travel in Longton. Erin sorted our Holiday out for me. Very helpful. We will Definitely book with them again. Very good price. So bye Tui. And hello Polka Travel.🤭

Date of experience : 06 March 2024

Longton Branch - Tara

Amazing lady called Tara booked our holiday! Nothing was too much to ask, she went above and beyond for myself and partner to find us the perfect holiday! brilliant customer service! Easy booking and stress free! 100% recommend Longton Branch! 100 recommend visiting!

Date of experience : 06 June 2023

Great Experience

Booking our holiday with Polka Dot was brilliant. Plenty of help finding the right place and the sales staff were brilliant. Our original holiday was unfortunately cancelled 3 days before its start date by the hotel due to them deciding they were going to close early for the season which left us in a bit of a mess, however, Polka Dot were on it, found us another place in Mykonos which was amazing. Helped with flight seat booking and check in, kept up to date with requirements due to covid and helped arrange a little something with the new hotel for my partners birthday. Would highly recommend and will be using them again.

Date of experience : 01 December 2021

We kept seeing Polkadot travel on…

We kept seeing Polkadot travel on social media so thought we would give them a go as we were looking at a bespoke tour of Thailand. Nicola and her team from the Mold branch couldn’t have been more helpful and patient! After numerous emails, visits and calls we decided on exactly what we wanted and Nicola built us the perfect tour of Thailand holiday. Some parts being from her suggestions and experience. The service at Mold branch was excellent, helpful, professional yet very friendly, so much so, we have been back and booked a holiday to Budapest and will be going back soon for our next adventure plans. Thank you to Nicola and the team at Mold.

Date of experience : 17 March 2023

We came to polkadot Lichfield to…Organise a trip to Cambodia

We came to polkadot Lichfield to organise a somewhat complicated trip to Cambodia, it was made particularly difficult by the fact that one of us is disabled needing her carer to sit beside her. Polkadot sorted this out with the carrier which took a great deal of time and effort, as well as sorting out our specific flight requirements. Unlike other so-called travel agents which simply sell packages, polkadot is a real travel agent who sorts out your trip for you as opposed to simply sell you a package.

Date of experience : 16 December 2023

Just booked a villa holiday to Cyprus…

Just booked a villa holiday to Cyprus for our family of 6 adults and 2 babies, using Polka Dot in Market Drayton. Georgia Evans, was the young lady sorting everything out for me and was exceptionally helpful with making sure we had everything we needed, from pre-booking seats to arranging the cots and high chairs. She was very knowledgeable and efficient, so I would definitely book again through Georgia.

Date of experience : 17 July 2023

Leek Polka Dot Travel

Leek Polka Dot Travel - Thank you. We have just got back from our Montenegro holiday and we want to thank the Leek team. The holiday was fantastic, the hotel was perfect, and the resort was just as they had described, ideal! The team facilitated a fabulous holiday, and we are so grateful. Everything was taken care of and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the service provided by Leek Polka Dot and Montenegro as a destination. Thank you 🙏

Date of experience : 14 July 2023

Excellent, courteous, efficient, professional- what more can we say. Will book our holidays every time through Polka Dot Travel, Market Drayton. Great service. Thank you Chloe.

Date of experience : 01 March 2023

Fantastic service as usual from Tara at…

Fantastic service as usual from Tara at Longton Branch. All the girls in the shop are great always smiling with a friendly welcome. We will not book a holiday with anyone else. Keep up the good work Girls!! No doubt see you soon.

Date of experience : 23 March 2024

Outstanding staff and deals.

My husband and I went into the Stafford store over the weekend to book a last minute holiday in the sun. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by a really pleasant young lady, Maddy, and invited to take a seat. Maddy patiently listened to our requests and was extremely informative and helpful. With 15 minutes we had booked our holiday and have a really great deal as well!! Even better than on-line. Thanks to the outstanding service provided by Maddy and the great deals, Polka Dot travel will now be our ‘go to’ travel agent.

Date of experience : 09 September 2023

• FREE Listing
• Business Listing
• All Products
• Free Listings
• Business Listings
• Business Citations
• Verified Reviews
• Essential Websites
• Business Websites
• Business Reviews
• Accountants
• Electricians
• Funeral Directors
• Garage Services
• Get a FREE Listing
• Get a Business Listing
• travel agents
• north wales

Polka Dot Travel Bangor

01248 660420

• 228 High Street ,  Bangor ,  LL571NY
• Visit website

Bright Angel Travel

020 8616 0800

Key Holidays of Romiley

0161 494 5881

Travel Counsellors

01234 581066

Sorry we cannot display the map because your browser does not appear to support JavaScript, or JavaScript is NOT turned on.

Sign into or create an account.

Get notified - if an advertiser responds to your review

Stay informed - if your review is disputed

Respond to advertisers - if they reply to your review

Continue as a guest

Don't want to sign in, no problem.

Continue to post your review as a guest

• thomsonlocal
• Join us for FREE
• Accessibility
• Terms & Conditions
• Terms of Website Use
• Acceptable Use
• Direct Marketing
• Market Location services
• Market Location
• Get Me Everywhere
• Essential Listings

Polka Dot Travel Bangor

Category : Travel Agents Category : Travel Agents

Address: 228 High Street, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 1NY

Landline: 01248 6... Landline: 01248 6... Landline: 01248 660420 -->

Report a problem with this listing

Useful Tools

Get a fabulous new logo

Use our fabulous new logo builder

Is this your business?!

• Add rich content via our editing tools
• Remove ads from your listing
• Appear more prominently in search results

• What's On
• In Your Area
• Buy, Sell & Tell

Polka Dot Travel Bangor

Category : Travel Agents Category : Travel Agents

Address: 228 High Street, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 1NY

Landline: 01248 6... Landline: 01248 6... Landline: 01248 660420 -->

Report a problem with this listing

Is this your business?!

• Add rich content via our editing tools
• Remove ads from your listing
• Appear more prominently in search results

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

They’re Putting Some Fun in Funerals

Modern, even hip, mortuaries around the world are hoping to answer one question: How do we commemorate death in 2024?

By Annabel Nugent

Reporting from London

In the affluent neighborhood of Crouch End in London, a new business is attracting some attention. The storefront’s blue-and-white facade is airy and minimalist. Three polka-dot vases on plinths sit in the window. To the casual observer, the space might look like an art gallery. But through the window is something a little more curious: a sea-foam-green box measuring 7 feet by 2 feet.

It’s generally upon noticing the box that passers-by will do a double-take of the shop’s signage: Exit Here. The polka dot vases aren’t vases. They’re urns. The box is a coffin. And in the back, unknown to them, is a 12-person morgue.

“We knew the name would be Marmite,” said Oliver Peyton, a renowned restaurateur, comparing the polarized reactions to his funeral home’s somewhat cheeky name to those elicited by the yeasty British spread. “You either love it or you hate it. My mother-in-law hates it.”

Mr. Peyton, who founded the first branch of Exit Here in the neighborhood of Chiswick in 2019 as a modern alternative to traditional funeral parlors, is a familiar face on the British hospitality scene: He was the founder of the Atlantic Bar & Grill, a West London hot spot that closed in 2006, and he served as a judge on the BBC show “Great British Menu.”

Mr. Peyton, 62, who is originally from Sligo, Ireland, became interested in the mortuary business while planning a funeral for his father, who died in 2010. He felt that there weren’t enough choices in the process. “Funerals are historically a hand-me-down business,” he said, adding that people tend to use the funeral parlor that’s closest to their home.

He also believes funeral planning is not so different from hospitality. “It’s still a service industry,” he said. “We’re taking care of people at a very heightened emotional period in their lives.”

Exit Here is among a small group of funeral homes around the world — like Sparrow in New York, Poppy’s in London and Altima in Spain — with a modern feel.

Exit Here’s new Crouch End space, with its velvet upholstery and curved archways, resembles a fancy members-only club. Altima, a chain with 40 homes around the Catalonia region, works with the architecture firm Batlleiroig to build parlors that resemble art galleries, featuring marble and lattice brickwork. The walls at Sparrow are dusty rose and forest green, and there is always incense burning.

For funeral homes, they’re surprisingly hip.

Looks aren’t everything, of course. These businesses also tend to offer nontraditional services like support groups for the bereaved and memorials personalized down to every detail.

‘It’s Going to Be Fabulous’

Steven Wilson, 47, discovered Exit Here in 2020 on a walk near his house in Chiswick. “What a brilliant name,” he thought to himself at the time. After being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, which he eventually learned was terminal, he returned in March to start planning his own funeral.

Past memorials Mr. Wilson has attended have served as cautionary tales. When his boyfriend died in 2014, the minister knew nothing beyond his name. “They played a nine-minute medley of ‘November Rain,’” Mr. Wilson said, adding that he “never once” heard his boyfriend play Guns N’ Roses. “The whole thing was just utterly impersonal.”

Mr. Wilson, who worked in philanthropy, said his own funeral was going to be “fabulous,” using an alliterative curse word for emphasis. On the top of his hand was a freshly applied I.V. bandage.

He saw it as a gift to have the time to plan his own funeral. “It sounds strange, but I want people to enjoy it,” he said. And so, sometime probably within the next six months, his friends and family will gather in his hometown, Aberdeen, Scotland, where his body will lie in a coffin draped in a rainbow flag.

Instead of traditional programs, memory books divided into eras of Mr. Wilson’s life (“Very Taylor Swift,” as he put it) will be handed out as Jo Napthine, a former West End star and a professional funeral celebrant, belts numbers from Mr. Wilson’s favorite musicals: “Bring Me Home” from “Les Miserables”; “Somewhere” from “West Side Story”; “Tomorrow” from “Annie.”

And later, at the crematory: “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.

The ‘Sweetgreen’ of Funeral Homes

For much of her life, Natividad Hawkins, who lives in Hillside, N.J., knew of only one funeral home in the Brooklyn neighborhood where she grew up. “It was where we all went when someone died,” said Ms. Hawkins, who arranged her mother’s funeral there in 2021. “The lady working there was very nice, but it was very much a transactional thing.”

It was only last year after attending the funeral of her childhood best friend, held at Sparrow in Greenpoint, that Ms. Hawkins realized there were other options.

According to its founder, Erica Hill, people have been known to wander into Sparrow, which opened in 2021, thinking it’s a spa. The home has a morgue and two “celebration rooms,” as they’re called, for memorials, as well as a shop, where candles and condolence cards with line drawings are sold.

Ms. Hawkins, who is now in her 50s and works in tech, was struck by how beautiful the space was and how uplifting the service for her friend turned out to be.

When her brother, Francis Ortega, died in October, Ms. Hawkins knew where she wanted to hold the funeral. “As a self-aware control freak, I appreciated the fact they were never like, ‘This is how we do it,’” she said. “It was always, ‘What do you want?’”

Ms. Hill, 61, said Sparrow’s services were aimed at people who were looking for something that feels “warm and inviting.”

She likened her business to Sweetgreen or SoulCycle. “They repackage something, rebrand it and make it look cool,” she said. “What we’re doing is in the same realm.”

Nicola Tuer, the former chief operating officer at Sony Music in Britain and Ireland, was so taken with Exit Here’s branding that she referred to it on the mood board for the funeral of her husband, Tim Tuer, when he died of a brain tumor in October. The memorial was held at the celebrity chef Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant in the neighborhood of Barnes in London, in what was the eatery’s first-ever funeral. There were personalized bottles of wine — “ Have a drink on me. Château Tuer 1961 ” — and lovingly prepared memory books that bore the same typeface and color palette as Exit Here.

“I know it’s a silly thing to say, but we liked beautiful things, as I think a lot of people do,” Ms. Tuer, 58, said. Her husband was buried in a “gorgeous” Scandinavian coffin. “He’d have been happy to be there.”

Doing Death Differently

Aesthetic developments seem to be a reflection of changing conversations around death. “Younger people especially are getting more comfortable talking about it,” Ms. Hill of Sparrow said. Look at the rise in popularity of death doulas , who provide support for the dying — and in some cases, the grieving, too. In the United States, end-of-life planning sites like Lantern and Cake, which are marketed toward millennials, easier to navigate and more transparent about their pricing, have sprung up.

Which is not to say that so-called traditional or mainstream funeral homes are not adapting. In recent years, Co-Op Funeralcare, one of the largest funeral services providers in the United Kingdom, has changed its tune. Advertisements are now geared toward not only personalization, but also fostering openness around death. In July, the company worked with Channel 4 on a television show called “Celebrity Send Off,” in which stars and their loved ones plan and test-run a funeral.

Gill Stewart, the company’s managing director, reiterated the importance of evolving alongside its clients. Co-Op has introduced more colors for its coffins and has started offering unconventional hearse options, like a fire truck or a double-decker red bus.

A recent study conducted by Co-Op, which involved 4,000 people in the U.K., found that 68 percent of participants see funerals as celebrations of life as opposed to somber occasions. Ms. Stewart said that it was important for families to have options at their funeral homes that reflect those beliefs.

Sparrow hosts events that reflect the evolving attitudes about funerals, like grief circles; a death-themed comedy show; guided meditations; and several death cafes, where people who are dying or coping with grief can eat pastries and connect. Exit Here, too, holds regular coffee gatherings for the bereaved.

Similar initiatives are underway at Poppy’s, a funeral home the color of a clementine in South West London. An ad campaign for the company last year involved plastering tube stations around the city with posters that read: “1861 called. They want their funeral traditions back.” The vehicles used by Poppy’s to pick up the recently deceased are a soothing shade of lilac. They’re also electric.

“Whatever you end up choosing or wanting for the funeral, you want to be treated like a human,” said Poppy Mardall, 41, who worked for Sotheby’s before pivoting to the mortuary business. You don’t want to be “upsold on packages when you are grieving,” she added.

The Price of Death

Of course, amid all this is the looming matter of cost. Mr. Wilson, for example, is using a “very nice” six-figure insurance payout, from a critical illness policy he took out a few years ago, to execute his funeral vision. “I’m extremely fortunate to have that money,” he said.

But what all these places reiterate is that whatever the budget, they can typically make it work. “The perception, which drives me slightly mad, is that a place that looks nice will cost more,” Mr. Peyton said.

In reality, personalized services do tend to come with a higher price tag — but not always. For example, in addition to Exit Here’s signature wooden coffin, which has a retail price of 1,950 pounds (about $2,500), there is also a biodegradable cardboard model that costs 570 pounds (about $730). As for the funerals themselves, prices are as extravagant as the service permits.

Last year, as found by the insurance company Sun Life in its long-running “Cost of Dying” report , the average cost of a “basic” funeral — burial or cremation; funeral home fees; a midrange coffin; a limousine; and celebrant fees — in London was 5,171 pounds (about $6,640).

In the U.S., according to a 2023 study conducted by the National Funeral Directors Association , the median cost for a funeral with a coffin and burial is $8,300 (then there is the burial plot itself, which can range from the hundreds to the tens of thousands, depending on the state and whether it’s a public or private cemetery); if you choose cremation instead, that median cost comes down to $6,280.

Exit Here’s pricing falls around that estimate, with an equivalent funeral starting at 5,819 pounds (about $7,500). At Poppy’s, the cost is lower: A basic service starts at 4,448 pounds (about $5,700). And although it’s not as stylish, Co-Op Funeralcare is even more affordable, with starter packages going for 3,900 pounds (about $5,000).

Growing the Clientele

Mortuaries, of course, will never lack for customers. But how do these modern homes attract business? Places like Exit Here rely mainly on word-of-mouth recommendations, largely because funerals tend to be private affairs. They aren’t exactly shareable moments — though that could be changing, too.

When Exit Here organized the funeral last year of Poppy Chancellor — the artist and daughter of the “Downton Abbey” star Anna Chancellor — who died at 36, guests shared photos of the “leaving party,” as the service was called, on social media. Inside the West London crematory were big, beautiful banners emblazoned with slogans like “Embrace joy today” and “I want to see you dance again.” In one video, guests were doing the limbo to the silky vocals and pulse of Beyoncé’s hit song “Heated.”

In 2024, the question of death is very much alive. And how we choose to answer it, well, that’s a personal matter.

Explore Our Style Coverage

The latest in fashion, trends, love and more..

A Memoir Skews Expectations: Anna Marie Tendler was a regular subject in the stand-ups of her ex-husband, John Mulaney. Readers might be surprised by what they find (or don’t) in her new memoir.

Snow All Summer: At a factory in western New York, the holiday décor brand Buffalo Snow has been manufacturing blizzards  for almost 40 years.

African American Film Festival: Summer on the Martha’s Vineyard is packed with cultural events, and for many celebrities, politicians and filmmakers, the festival is a highlight .

Off the Grid, Extremely Online: In corners of the internet — and in wooded, undeveloped parts of the country — young men are documenting their efforts to to live off the land .

The Harris-Walz ‘Visual Age’ Gap: They’re the same age, but pundits and voters can’t stop talking about how much older Governor Tim Walz looks  than Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s not the only way he seems to be absorbing some of the scrutiny usually heaped on female candidates.