Отличный отдых в отличном отеле Great stay in a great hotel

We had a great rest for 2 weeks, from June 09 to June 23.2012. As a summary - an excellent hotel for a relaxing, measured rest, wonderful attentive staff, ready to solve any problem. To taverns, shops and wild fun - 10-15 minutes by taxi, which you can ask to call at the reception, in Chania or in Platanias. Please note that now the hotel is re-confirming the compliance of the beach with the criteria of the “blue flag” (because the flag itself was removed), and in view of the bottom washed out to stones by a four-day storm, this can be a problem. We were assured that as soon as the storm ended, the beach and entry into the sea would be put in order. We left on the second day after the storm, because we do not know what is now with the beach. I recommend checking before the trip if everything is fine with the beach.
And now in order ☺ For the first time in Crete. We strived for a quiet seaside holiday in good conditions.
Carrier "Wind Rose" / "Donbassaero". They flew to Crete from Boryspil without delay, despite the emergency due to the start of Euro 2012. Pilots of the A-320 Donbassaero - bravo, the softest takeoff and landing for the last thirty of my flights.

At Heraklion airport, upon arrival, be prepared for long queues for passport control, especially if several flights from the CIS arrive at the same time. Behind us, a Transaero plane flew in from Moscow, and a line of passengers from two rather big planes stretched out into the street, in the heat. Passport control took 35-40 minutes. But everyone managed to smoke on the street (quietly, since it is forbidden, the airfield field, after all) ☺
The host is Kalamaki Travel. The representative at the airport found us herself while we were smoking near the exit of the terminal, brought the driver of an individual transfer, he took the suitcases and led us to the car. I highly recommend an ind. transfer - then the road from the airport to the hotel takes 1.40-1.50 minutes in a business class car, instead of more than three hours by bus. This pleasure cost 150 euros. Well, a tip to the driver for heavy suitcases and a comfortable transfer ☺
Beautiful, quiet, comfortable hotel. The entrance to the hotel is directly from the city street, the very one that is quite busy, because of which the rooms "with garden view" are very noisy, according to many reviews (by the way, there is no garden, which is like a view, in fact). The hotel as a whole is quiet and peaceful, broken a couple of times a day by flying military aircraft. The contingent at the beginning of the holiday - Germans, Belgians, Dutch, a couple of Americans, British, and a few Russians, and from Ukraine, it seems, we were alone.
At the reception - nice staff, and a very nice Greek woman Despina who speaks excellent Russian. Welcome champagne, fresh juice and wet wipes. Registration took about five minutes to fill out a questionnaire and drink a fresh drink ☺ Then Despina conducted an introductory tour of the hotel, and then took her to the room, explained and showed everything.

Standard room with direct sea view, large enough, quiet and comfortable, with bath and separate shower. Slightly hard chairs on the balcony. Another small minus is the water flowing under the shower door onto the bathroom floor, nothing can be done about it, a design error. In general, the room was completely satisfied throughout the rest. No problems with air conditioning. Almost no problems with cleaning - one or two minor flaws were quickly corrected after a verbal request to the maid or a call from guest relations. If anyone is interested, TV - with Greek and European channels, was used to watch the football of the Euro 2012, and the language is not particularly important ☺
Since we were going for a relaxing holiday, we didn’t really plan to travel around the island, so we took the Premium Plus service program - this is a full board with some free drinks in bars and restaurants during the day, and with discounts on the paid part of the menu in all bars and restaurants and on room service. It turns out profitable. Well, if you are going to travel around the island, then half board or breakfast will be better, and then drinks at the hotel will be to your taste and budget. Half board is also interesting for more varied menus, because for Premium Plus the choice of free dishes at lunch is limited, and in two weeks it can get someone. Although we didn’t really want to have lunch in the heat, including because we ate breakfast a bit late ☺
A wonderful sandy beach, with a sandy gentle entrance to the cleanest sea. There are no problems with sunbeds, there were always free places. Beach towels were brought to the room, those thrown on the floor were changed the next morning, and if necessary - they asked the maid to give new ones - no problem, with a smile. By the main pool, sunbeds are more comfortable than on the beach, although more noisy because of the children, but the waiter is a little easier to call than on the beach. The waiters of the bar by the pool are great, pleasant and efficient, for the whole rest he went to the bar once, and then just passing by. One point - the taste and appearance of cocktails are unstable even with one bartender, and mojito with pieces of ice from molds can make someone angry ☺ But everything is acceptable and tasty, and if something doesn’t suit you, ask the waiter and everything will be ok ☺
Another pool, on the right side of the beach, is intended for children, with a maximum depth of 1.4 meters, but there are no children there and almost no one has a rest, and it’s far from the bar. The water in the pools is good, only once there was a smell from disinfection, and then not for long.

There were practically no problems with food. Food is not the main goal of our trip, to put it mildly; freshly baked bread with new wine is already great, I love it ☺ . And seafood, and several types of meat, and a variety of fruits and desserts - everything was there. Well, as for the taste and color - you understand... We came to restaurants closer to the end of lunches / dinners, and we already got a quiet, pleasant atmosphere and the best tables, without compromising the assortment of buffet dishes. Pleasant and efficient waiters. Of the minuses - a couple of times for breakfast there were absolutely soy sausages and completely dried bacon (we made a discount for the later time of our arrival ☺ ). Well, closer to the closing of the restaurant, the waiters begin to carry carts with dishes - it turns out a little noisy, and someone may consider this not very worthy of an upscale restaurant.
When an early breakfast was needed, they got a problem: they arrived about fifteen minutes later than the start time of an early breakfast and found practically nothing on the tables. Going to the restaurant, we saw the same early birds, Russian-speaking, who had obviously already had breakfast and were waiting for their sightseeing bus. After them, there was practically nothing left to eat. This is despite the fact that an early breakfast is by appointment at the guest relations, with the calculation of the amount of food for the number of those who signed up. There was only one cook in the restaurant who could not help. Why this happened is not entirely clear. Since we went on a sea excursion that morning with a rather rough sea, the forced light breakfast turned out to be rather a plus ☺ Later I spoke with Despina with guest relations, from the position to remove the negative moment with an early breakfast for the future, which could spoil the reputation of the hotel, even suggested some actions to avoid such situations. Despina assured that she would definitely convey the information to the manager. A day later, an unexpected surprise awaited us in the room - a basket of fruit and a note of apology. Well, whether the problem with early breakfast has been eliminated - this will be seen from the reviews of other vacationers ☺ Such a lengthy description of the problem is only to illustrate the work of the hotel staff as a whole and their desire to make the hotel even better.
We didn’t use the SPA - laziness took its toll, unexpectedly ☺ There are not enough simulators in the gym for the usual full-fledged workout (for example, there is no orbit track).
From the animation - a polite invitation to water aerobics (the lesson lasts 30-40 minutes) and volleyball, as well as pretty decent evening concerts by local artists. Animation - initially not a strong point of this hotel, designed for a relaxing holiday.

By the end of the holiday, the percentage of Russian-speakers increased dramatically literally in a day, and this immediately negatively affected the comfort of the rest for everyone - it became noisier both on the beach and in restaurants. Hearing screams from one end of the pool to the other – “Naaaa, are you going to dinner? “Now, let’s dive into baaasssein, and let’s go” - it’s a little annoying, I haven’t been to hotels with such people for a long time. Well, loudly share the far-fetched negative from the rest - there are no paper napkins in restaurants (although there are pure fabric ones), there is no animation (although you can find out about this when choosing a hotel, from the Internet), etc. , and so that everyone around hears , - this is our opinion... It was much more comfortable next to a married couple from Belgium, whose well-mannered and positive child only once threw something like a tantrum, for about 30 seconds. Our, and Greek children, rarely differed in such upbringing, screaming and capriciousness it was too much. But it’s summer, where can you hide from children… ☺ But the children were obviously bored in the hotel, which is not surprising, the hotel does not position itself for families with children, and here are questions for parents who have chosen this particular hotel…
Knowledge of English is necessary at least basic - then it is easier and more pleasant to communicate and get what you want. They were amused by fellow tribesmen who, on principle, did not want to say at least a couple of words in either English or Greek; by chance, the rationale was heard - "they must speak Russian, since people from Russia are resting here. " The fact that the Germans and Belgians communicate with the staff in English and greet in Greek, as well as the fact that it is incredibly difficult to solve any problem in Russian - our people are not interested, “they must speak Russian, and that's it”... The staff patiently tried to help and to such people too (despite the incomprehensibility for them of the loudly scandalous demand to bring those very paper napkins, for example), but the impression of the Russian-speakers is formed, you know what (a waiter told or hinted in secret). Once again, bravo to the staff - by the end of the holiday in the main restaurant, such people began to be greeted in Russian. Although further order something - only in English.
Understand correctly - this did not spoil the rest in the slightest, and I am not against fellow tribesmen, personally I am against such behavior of vacationers when they disrespect others and even interfere with them. And I would not want to sit in a restaurant next to my fellow tribesmen, enthusiastically picking their noses at once for two phalanxes of a finger... There were also Russian-speaking people in the hotel who did not interfere with anyone and whose behavior cannot be distinguished from Europeans. As I was rightly told, most likely, the influx of "specific" representatives of the CIS is due to the high cost of Turkey this year and the slightly lower prices in Greece due to the crisis. So be prepared to disregard this - this is a warning and is the reason for the lengthy description of vacationers.
Special thanks to Kalamaki Travel for excursions to Santorini, Gramvousa and the beautiful Balos bay, as well as to the south of Crete. It's unforgettable ☺ and quite comfortable. One moment - I would not advise going to the black sand beach in Santorini, it is better to stay for this time in Fira, the main city of Santorini (the tour operator provides such a choice). The sand is black more from mud ☺ (this is especially noticeable on the feet after the beach), the sea also leaves much to be desired, in the shower on the beach you need to catch a trickle of water in the wind, and in the tavern next to the beach, where it was proposed to dine, it is unreasonably expensive and tasteless ( but this is a minus for the tour operator in Santorini - a monopolist, and not for Kalamaki). Excursions were taken for the second week of rest, because the storm mentioned above did not spoil the rest.

The hotel has a nice little jewelry boutique with normal prices. Of course, there is more choice in the shops of Chania, and a ride there up to 15 minutes (with traffic jams in Chania itself) for 9-10 euros in a good taxi, which will arrive at the call from the reception in 3-5 minutes. And of course, Chania is pleasant not only for “jewellery” - there are taverns overlooking the bay, and an interesting old town, and handmade souvenirs. Prices pleasantly pleased in comparison with Kiev. The Hondos Center cosmetics, perfume and care shop advertised in the hotel, in the center of Chania, is very good, with prices lower than duty free and with a very wide selection in all price segments. If you take expensive cognacs and wine as souvenirs, it is better to do it in Chania, it is more profitable there than in the duty free of Heraklion airport (but to the detriment of the weight of luggage, of course).
For the return transfer - once again many thanks to Evgenia, Kalamaki Travel representative. When departing according to the schedule at 15:00, in the morning I saw on the Internet an unexpected three-hour delay in arrival to Boryspil; phoned Evgenia, who found out everything about the delay and the start of registration at Heraklion airport, and promptly rescheduled the private transfer. Because of this, we spent a little more time in our favorite hotel, and, accordingly, we waited less at the airport. No crowds at Heraklion airport, which some reviews are full of descriptions, were noticed.
Thank you Grecotel for Kalliston - a truly excellent hotel, true to its name in Greek ☺ Thanks to this holiday, on your next trip to Greece, the Grecotel chain will be a priority.