Hotel Cretan Village

Located on Crete's northern coast, the Cretan Village is on the shore, across from Zeus Island, 15 miles east of Heraklion international airport, and a few hundred feet from the small village of Hersonissos. In an area concentrating most hotels of the island, open spaces are scarce and new buildings are sprouting everywhere. One has to travel over 6 miles to find Cretan authenticity.

Numerous amenities are aimed at children. The hotel is open from early April to early November.

This hotel, built in a Cretan horizontal style architecture, was built in 1987 on sixty hectares of gardens with abundant flowers and greenery, in a soft slope. Particularly well-fitted and very well maintained, the grounds are split in several areas suited for everyone's lifestyle: playing, resting, swimming, reading... Every area is sufficiently far from the other in order to preserve everyone's peace. Children are particularly lucky, with two playgrounds, and a giant blue slide.

The hotel is split into 13 small white buildings, with coloured balconies, and offers six different accommodation types (standard rooms, family rooms, VIP rooms, etc.). It has a total of 347 rooms, all with a balcony or a terrace with a view of the sea, the pool, or the garden. They have air conditioning, television (18 channels), a safe (additional fee), a direct international access telephone, and a refrigerator. Since the renovation completed in 1996, most rooms have charming wood furniture painted in red, and a bathroom with a tub and a hair dryer. The VIP rooms are right on the water.

Breakfast and dinner are served in the main restaurant, buffet style, with a variety of selections, including Greek specialities. There is an à la carte restaurant by the beach, open from 10.00am to 6.00pm. It is also possible to have dinner at La Taverne. There are four bars, including three snack bars, on the site. One of them, by a swimming pool, serves pizzas from 10.00am to 10.00pm. Last, the hotel periodically organises Greek or Italian evenings, as well as barbecues.

The beach is prettier here, and very close. It is long and narrow, but very pleasant because it is lined with trees. The sand is not particularly fine, but the water is delicious. It is also quiet, except for a low rumour coming from the nearby pool bar. There are deckchairs for rent, bamboo parasols and beach towels (with deposit), as well as toilet, showers, and changing rooms.