On foreign holidays, I don't generally like staying in big hotels and I really don't like buffets (queuing for food makes me feel like I am at work on set). I much prefer small hotels/B+B's and sampling food from local restaurants. You always meet really interesting characters and I think have a much richer experience by getting out of the hotel and having a good old sniff around.
However, now I have a small child my priorities have totally changed and since our first choice of hotel was not available.
Things I look for in a holiday now:
* Will the weather be good?
* Are there lots of places to lay down?
And thats pretty much it.
Our first foreign holiday after we had our son was at the Ammos Hotel in Crete. It is BRILLIANT for people with young children. They have everything new parents could want: Ikea highchairs, travel cots, baby towels, bottle warmers, a pool, on the beach, a 24 hour kitchen, soft play room and babysitting facilities. It was perfect. Sadly though, it gets booked up very quickly as it only has about 30 rooms and the only way we could have gone this year is by changing rooms mid way through our holiday. As this was our first holiday in nearly 2 years the thought of changing rooms didn't really appeal. So after a quick panicky search on the net of where else we could go in Crete, we found the Avra Imperial. It was big and had a buffet but at least it would be sunny and looked like it had lots of sun beds.
So imagine my despair when we left behind a UK heat wave, flew through the worst turbulence I have experienced for a very long time and arrived in Crete to this:
So, in a nut shell, I couldn't recommend this place enough. Despite being a hotel with around 300 rooms we still felt that the we got to know the staff as much as we would have done had it been a boutique hotel. The Manager saw us off when we went (hugs and kisses all round) which was really surprising for a place this size. We already knew we loved Greece, all our holidays in the last few years have been there, but in particular Crete. The people are always super friendly, especially towards children, the weather is great, the produce that they make is amazing (honey, olive oil, wine), it's just a really great place and we can't wait to go back.
However, now I have a small child my priorities have totally changed and since our first choice of hotel was not available.
Things I look for in a holiday now:
* Will the weather be good?
* Are there lots of places to lay down?
And thats pretty much it.
Our first foreign holiday after we had our son was at the Ammos Hotel in Crete. It is BRILLIANT for people with young children. They have everything new parents could want: Ikea highchairs, travel cots, baby towels, bottle warmers, a pool, on the beach, a 24 hour kitchen, soft play room and babysitting facilities. It was perfect. Sadly though, it gets booked up very quickly as it only has about 30 rooms and the only way we could have gone this year is by changing rooms mid way through our holiday. As this was our first holiday in nearly 2 years the thought of changing rooms didn't really appeal. So after a quick panicky search on the net of where else we could go in Crete, we found the Avra Imperial. It was big and had a buffet but at least it would be sunny and looked like it had lots of sun beds.
So imagine my despair when we left behind a UK heat wave, flew through the worst turbulence I have experienced for a very long time and arrived in Crete to this:
View from the taxi to the hotel.
To say I was gutted would be a massive understatement. Then when we arrived at the hotel we were told there had been a mix up with the rooms and we would have to move after one night... It really wasn't a great start but to make up for the mix up they would let us use the buffet restaurant in the evening for the duration of our stay (this would have cost an extra 50 Euros for us all each night). Then the sun came out.
There are swimming pools everywhere. Most rooms also have either their own private pools or a shared pool with the rooms next door. If (when) we go again, we wouldn't pay extra to have our own pool. We didn't use it once. It was in shade most of the day so we used the bigger pools.
The room we had for the first night with the shared pool. This would be great place to come with a group of friends if you could get adjoining rooms.
The room we actually booked with its own pool.
The hotel has only been open about 3 years I think so is very clean and very nicely designed. You could take photos of it all day. Every corner we turned was another nice view.
There is also a spa if you like that kind of thing. I personally can't think of anything worse than a stranger touching me, apart from Airport Frisking which is always acceptable.
The Avra even has its own chapel on site.
We took a trip one day to the town of Chania which has a beautiful Venetian style port, lots of shops and a great market. This was about 30 mins in a taxi and cost about 30 Euros each way. You could take a bus but apparently it is very slow and very hot.
Most evenings there was a little show for the kids. There was also a nursery here and child activities where children of 4 years or older could be left for a few hours and looked after.
The hotel is also located next to a beach but it was very pebbly so we didn't go there very much.
A short walk out the front of the hotel, there is a supermarket, some cafes/restaurants, several along the seafront. They are good options if you have breakfast and dinner at the hotel but fancy a change at lunchtime. Obviously now I am home I am on a strict liquid only diet. I have promised myself not to be the tubby-iest person round the pool on my next holiday.
Lovely fresh, local produce.
On our last might, we found this cake in our room for our son and a bottle of wine for the Wig and I from the Manager. I am still not quite sure why, but he said it was because he loved our son. The man who ran the local shop also seemed to love our son as he gave him a free ball and the lady that works at the Duty Free shop in the airport gave him a lolly. The Cretans really do love children, its wonderful.
I'm going to miss these :(
So, in a nut shell, I couldn't recommend this place enough. Despite being a hotel with around 300 rooms we still felt that the we got to know the staff as much as we would have done had it been a boutique hotel. The Manager saw us off when we went (hugs and kisses all round) which was really surprising for a place this size. We already knew we loved Greece, all our holidays in the last few years have been there, but in particular Crete. The people are always super friendly, especially towards children, the weather is great, the produce that they make is amazing (honey, olive oil, wine), it's just a really great place and we can't wait to go back.
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