“angel village heraklion review”

we spent one week in APRIL as a family there. Down: bathrooms are very tiny (shower, one sink, WC) / swimming pool is not heated. Nowhere to go on foot Plus : food! excellent meals. Service: extremely nice people, especially Angel at the bar. Very quiet. (in April, mind) There is one tennis court, … Meer

we spent one week in APRIL as a family there. Down: bathrooms are very tiny (shower, one sink, WC) / swimming pool is not heated. Nowhere to go on foot Plus : food! excellent meals. Service: extremely nice people, especially Angel at the bar. Very quiet. (in April, mind) There is one tennis court, it is free and there are rackets (ping pong rackets suck but the table is indoor so you can play even if it is windy) Nice walk donw to Lygaria beach and very nice restaurant there. From there you can walk to Agia Pelagia but it is a long way back. Rent a car (leave the hotel, turn right and newt to the supermarket you'll find a car rental) and go to Matala in the South, do some of the gorge hikes (beware: some hikes and some boat trips are not available in April). Go to Agios nicolaos and find a boat to Spinalonga. Go to Héraklion by bus (9:30 from the hotel and comes back at 2:30PM). Go to La Chania and rethymnon. That should be enough Do not choose this hotel in summer, it is too small but it was perfect in April. There is no entertainment, it does not please teenagers much. There are swings for toddlers. Have fun

Minder

“off the beaten track”

This was a last minute booking for a few days sun after the rain of our British summer. I arrived at 04.00 a.m., was dropped off at the door by an independent transfer company and was a bit scared; no lights on anywhere. There was a doorbell which brought a member of staff a few minutes later (comp… Meer

This was a last minute booking for a few days sun after the rain of our British summer. I arrived at 04.00 a.m., was dropped off at the door by an independent transfer company and was a bit scared; no lights on anywhere. There was a doorbell which brought a member of staff a few minutes later (complete with dressing gown) who I had obviously woken from her sleep. But she couldn't have been more efficient, obviously couldn't wait to go back to bed. I was shown to my room, a studio apartment, and advised to return to reception the next day. My room, on the ground floor, had 2 single beds, mattress was a little hard, and the bed itself seemed on the short side; I found myself waking several times a night having banged my foot on the metal rail at the bottom of the bed. But linen was clean and the pillow was one of the best I have ever had in a hotel. There was no bath but otherwise usual suspects were present. Towels were changed daily and were still fluffy despite it being the end of high season. Room was cleaned daily. There was a clock radio in the room but unfortunately every time I returned to the room it had to be reset as the key is also the electric pass thingy(!!) . Small kitchenette area with basic amenities, fridge, 2 ring hot plate, crockery and cutlery. Small patio outside with stunning views of Lygiria bay. Hotel ammenities include tv and small library in reception; pool table, board games and snacks at the pool bar. Tennis court. Hotel also has small minibus which will take you down to beach at 10.30, 14.30 and 17.30. Other than that its a bit of a hike down (took 30 minutes) to the beach and about 60 minutes back (up a steep hill- don't forget to take water with you). Fortunately the views were great so pretended my rest stops were to take pictures rather than just to fill up on oxygen!! Went on a self catering basis and stocked up on bread, cheese, cooked meat on first day. Hotel has small market attached but only sells non-perishable goods. Does mean you don't have to lug water up the hill though. Hotel has buffet style breakfast and dinners. Lunch can be purchased at pool bar ie pizza, moussaka etc. Only ate at dinner time and menus were in German or French (I was the only Brit there). Ate a few things that remain a mystery to me and avoided something that looked remarkably like what a cobbler might repair your shoes with. Overall though food was to an acceptable standard and some dishes were home cooked from scratch which I liked. Not a lot to do at night time as the 'bus' stops at 17.30. Spent a lot of time on my patio contemplating the night sky with a bottle of Cretan wine (not bad). You would need to hire a car to get the most out of this hotel as it is a little isolated, half way up a hill and as a single traveller surrounded by French and German couples, there wasn't really a lot to do other than eat, drink, read and sleep. Good value for money and would recommend to others with the for mentioned car!

Minder

“good and bad”

My wife and I stayed for 10 days in September. First the good points: i) the weather was great - sept seems to be a good time to visit crete. no rain, not too hot, not many mosquitoes. ii) the hotel has great views over the bay of lygaria and agia pelagia iii) there aren't many brits here. its mos… Meer

My wife and I stayed for 10 days in September. First the good points: i) the weather was great - sept seems to be a good time to visit crete. no rain, not too hot, not many mosquitoes. ii) the hotel has great views over the bay of lygaria and agia pelagia iii) there aren't many brits here. its mostly civilised french couples here so you leave all the [-] heading for malia at the airport. iv) its only half an hour from heraklion airport. v) no loud music coming from the pool bar at night. staff keep themselves to themselves and let you enjoy your holiday in peace. vi) there's another hotel around the corner (about 3 mins walk) with a good taverna serving a good range of food, and with good service. The receptionist at angel village warned us not to go there, but i didn't really trust her so we tried it anyway and didn't regret it. now the bad points: i) its over a mile to the nearest beach (lygaria) on a mostly unlit and very steep road. you need to hire a car. ii) there are only 2 tavernas in lygaria - agia pelagia is bigger but is around 2.5 miles away. iii) the hotel is a bit shabby - a few things broken in the room iv) the hotel restaurant although well used has no choice of meals - set menu each night v) there is a terrible smell of raw sewage coming from an open drain next to the swimming pool. The grid is never closed over it (trip hazard), and although the smell is only noticeable a couple of times a day, it is pretty disgusting when its there. vi) its not very near to any tourist attractions, so unless you want to spend around half a day driving to reach somewhere, you won't see much. facilities: tennis court, swimming pool, table tennis, basketball court. mini market (selling suncream, beer and postcards - no other food or other useful self catering products). The resort is very quiet and quite remote. Whether you see that as a positive or a negative, we had a great holiday there in spite of the hotel's imperfections.

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