5 days ago
This Crete hotel ticks all the boxes for a multigeneration getaway
Extensive flower-filled gardens, various lagoon-style pools (for style, not swimming) and a calming decor of whites, creams, marbles and natural woods give this large Grecotel resort a Grecian palace feel. It's immediately visually impressive, with sea views from the open-air check-in area and a fairly sizeable sandy beach beyond. It's a true family paradise, with an outdoor (shaded) kids' club and park, and nightly mini discos — a hit with stylish parents and grandparents too. The hotel is trialling extending the season to December; it'll be a bit nippy, but could be a stylish base for blue skies and island exploration.
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Score 8/10There are 212 rooms, suites, bungalows and villas in the resort, across a staggering 31 categories. All are simple yet elegant and immediately calming; think cream and white palettes and gold accent mirrors, plus statement ceramic lamps. Stone or wooden bedside tables sit beside huge beds of crisp white linen, while marble bathrooms have seriously strong rain showers.
Many bedrooms have balconies and the large two-bedroom villas deliver really special sea views. All villas have plunge pools, but the orientation of the two-bedroom variety means you won't actually get much, or any, sun on your outdoor loungers or pools. A better bet would be one of the smaller, single-floor villas, which have gardens (great for families), direct beach access and the opportunity to move your lounger to catch the sun.
On the other side of the hotel you'll find the swim-up pool suites, which feel more sociable with loungers laid out next to your neighbours'. You're also closer to the pool and kids' club here — but nothing is ever more than a couple of minutes' wander away. Ahead of your stay you can fill in a form for all the child kit you'd like, from baths to potties, changing mats and cots.
Score 7/10 If there's a slightly disappointing element to your stay here it will probably be some of your meals. Service is reliably friendly and efficient, and the setting for breakfast is lovely — with a lagoon pool at the centre — but the small buffet room gets crowded and the start of the day can be a little fraught because of it. The choice, however, at breakfast and lunch is great — with yoghurts, fruit, every possible bread, freshly made omelettes, salads and cooked options. Staff are extremely efficient at whisking away used cups and delivering flat whites.
At lunch, you'll find dozens of salads, dips, pasta dishes and souvlaki (with fish fingers and fries for children — and adults so inclined). The buffet evening meal is the biggest disappointment, however: again, long queues, jostling to the front and a selection of dishes that don't sit well together. That being said, the buffet is hugely helpful for families with children (the majority of guests here have them). It starts from 6.30pm and requests for oat milk in beakers for bedtime are not an issue.
There are à la carte options too. The setting of the restaurant Lago di Candida would be spectacular in the summer, with tables hovering above the decorative lagoon. When it's a bit chillier you'll be seated beneath the dazzling spotlights in the Minotaur restaurant, a room that lacks atmosphere despite the colourful Picasso ceramics. Dishes, including prawn salads to start and beef fillet for main, are good, but not memorable. In neighbouring Blue Monkey, an Asian fusion restaurant with a menu encompassing dim sum and katsu curry, the food is a little underwhelming. The outdoor seating — right by the beach — is lovely in the summer; indoor is another brightly lit room with tomato-red silk chairs and walls. That means the indoor atmosphere in both is lacking. Xasteria — the Greek — is good, with lovely local souvlaki, cheese and Cretan pasta dishes. You will have the option to dine at these restaurants with a voucher if you're all-inclusive, if not, you may be better off wandering to a local taverna as the dishes are pricey.
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Score 8/10You will find golfers and honeymooners here, but it's families who seem to love it most, thanks to the activities on offer (children up to the age of 12 can also stay and dine for no charge). Grecoland is a large outdoor play area with swings, slides, giant chessboards and sandpits for diggers, plus a shaded play area for organised crafts and activities. In the summer, Grecoteens has a football academy, although parents may find the hotel is generally better for primary-aged kids, who adore the nightly mini disco at the amphitheatre, complete with dance routines from the Grecoland team, followed by outdoor film screenings.
You'll see people doing lengths, aqua aerobics and cooling off in the Olympic-sized swimming pool, and there's a small shaded pool for toddlers, with loungers dotting the grass and a relatively large sweep of sandy beach. The Elixir Alchemy spa is small but does the job, with ayurvedic treatments and an indoor heated pool. Choose from two gyms — one outdoor, one indoor — three floodlit tennis courts and a good little water-sports centre to take kayaks out. A number of boutiques on site sell everything from sustainable deodorants and children's toys to glitzy jewellery and lovely kaftans, trunks and jumpsuits.
Score 8/10You're about 15 minutes from Heraklion airport, right under the flight path — which could be a good or bad thing. It means, after a pretty long flight from the UK, you get to the hotel very quickly, but the planes can be relatively noisy. The hotel is on a blue-flag beach reached down a fairly nondescript road with minimarts and tavernas. You're a short drive or taxi from waterparks, Dinosaur Park and many ancient sites.
Price all-inclusive from £239Family-friendly YAccessible N
Hannah Summers was a guest of Grecotel Amirandes (
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