| | . Platanias, Platanias, Crete, 73014, Greece
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Overall Community Rating: |   8.8 (based on 1 user reviews) |
 Palazzo Porto Platanias: So glad we stayed at Palazzo Porto Platanias by Ted Lickrish |
| Posted 04 October 2005 about a visit in May 2005 | Overall rating: 8.8 |
My wife and I returned on home on Tuesday evening (14th June) from a seven-day break at Palazzo Porto Platanias. We booked the holiday via Freedom Travel World (who advertise on Teletext Luxury Holidays). It appeared to be a ‘bundled package’: Flight via ThomsonFly, Hotel via Medhotels and transfer via Hoteltransfer Ltd. We pre-booked our flight seats at a reservation fee of £40 total (2-ways), so we knew our seat allocation on the aircraft, outward and return - no rush to check-in.
TRANSFERS: Upon our arrival at Chania Airport the meet ‘n’ greet and transfer was seamless..
HOTEL STAFF: The diminutive Katerina (Guest Relations) was a most pleasant gem. This girl never stopped smiling (despite all the hours she worked). Reception staff were efficient and friendly
The Restaurant Manager (Maitre D’) was so professional - conducting his staff with the order and precision of a brotherly Sergeant-Major.
In the delightful comfortable lounge/cocktail bar, the bar waitress, the other Katerina (????greedie) had the most wonderful sense of humour, but equally professional in her work.
BEACH: A lovely clean sandy beach only a few metres across the hotel’s front access road. OK, the beach was a bit ‘pebbly’ at the water’s edge, but quite a safe shelf into the water. To give the bathers that extra sense of security, there was a lifeguard tower (complete with motorised inflatable) immediately next to the hotel Beach Hut (no Pamela Anderson tho’) only big, butch lifeguards.
A shower and tap were positioned next to the hotel Beach Hut, for de-salting and de-sanding.
At the hotel Beach Hut there were Parasols and Beds at €8 for 2 Beds + Parasol (everyday I saw a free third bed given for a child with parents).
Meet Vladimir (from Albania) the Beach Hut man. Such an interesting character with a special story all of his own. I read another ‘poster’ which said you could get 2 beds + 1 Parasol (on another section of beach) 50 metres from Palazzo Porto Platanias’ section, but the useful thing about using Palazzo Porto Platanias’ facilities, is that you can charge Beds, Drinks and eats from the beach bar, to your room, and settle up on your credit card at the end of your holiday.
ROOMS: We expected a garden view room at Palazzo Porto Platanias, but to our (pleasant) surprise we were allocated a ground floor sea view room. The rooms were of a comfortable size and importantly, very clean. Adequate wardrobe and drawer space. A.C. and multi channel TV (inc BBC World News – just to keep up-to-date with what’s affecting the UK). Refrigerator (empty) – useful when buying your own beer, wine and water from the local minimarkets. Hair dryer plus complimentary lotions and potions in the bathroom (surprisingly, no plastic shower cap for the wife’s ‘Barnet’).
FOOD & DRINK
We were on a half board deal. The breakfast buffet offered a wide choice of hot and cold options including traditional British fayre, plus customary North European cheeses and hams, plus some lovely fresh breads and pastries (buns and sliced) and as you would expect - a wide range of cereals, fruits, yoghurts and preserves.
Evening Dinner was Buffet Service, and offered a good range of soup, cold salad starters, various International and Greek hot main courses including fish, chicken and other meat options, accompanied by a range of vegetables and pastas. Some tempting desserts, ice creams, fruits and cheeses to follow (for those who could find room). Wines (local and international), Water, Beers and soft drinks were available by the glass, half bottle or full bottle, at reasonable prices.
A strict No Smoking policy was observed within the main body of the restaurant. ‘Polluters’ had to dine on the 3 balconies (2 with clear sea views).
ENTERTAINMENT: during the week we stayed, there was a Cretan folklore evening (including food, music and dancers) – not bad. On another evening there was a choreographed dancing troupe (3 gorgeous birds and a nice boy) performing to backing tapes. After that it was the ubiquitous Bingo in the cocktail bar.
CHILD CARE/ENTERTAINMENT was provided by the resident ‘Animation’ team (from Italy). A crèche during the daytime and a ‘swings and roundabout’ playground, more suitable for the evenings. Just to keep the guests in touch with nature, there was the hotel’s (6 metre) aviary, stocked with chattering, squawking budgies etc. this was situated (outside) next to the kids’ playground.
POOL: The hotel had a lovely ‘freeform’ pool with pool bar and Eatery within the main hotel, plus another ‘square ‘ pool within the Kronos Apartment annexe.
LOCAL AMMENETIES: The resort of Porto Platanias is accessible with a 200-metre stroll from the Hotel. The resort is a ‘strip’ (ribbon development) with nothing memorable. A collection of shops, bars and restaurants. To its credit, I didn’t see any Karaoke culture or yobbish behaviour.
Based on the evidence of what I saw, did Palazzo Porto Platanias strike me as a 5 Star property? No, I’d assess it as a 4 Star operation. Nevertheless, we came away with some lovely memories of the hotel, it’s staff and our fellow guests. Furthermore, I’d have no hesitation in re-visiting this hotel, confident that I (we) would have a delightful holiday – and I’m not on the payroll of the hotel management or any tour company. This is just Joe Public offering his honest opinion.
I hope this review proves helpful to future readers.
This review is the opinion of a diytravel.co.uk user and not of diytravel.co.uk. |
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