Aquis Arina Sand Hotel

“ It said free Wifi throughout but was not working until the last day of our holiday although they did let me use the PC briefly on the reception desk as this was the only one that was working.

Also thought watersports were included but are not, even non motorized ones you still have to pay.

Paid more to have a taxi from and back to the airport but on the return journey it was a coach, went to the taxi office about this but was empty.

These were the only small gripes, the holiday was fantastic, the hotel is great value for money.

“ Top Tip: We went on the Samari Gorge trip and it was amazing, absolutely spectacular but not for the fainthearted, definitely would recommend it.

“ The hotel looks (& is) beautiful, the rooms are big & clean with superb sea views & a lovely pool. In all these respects it deserves a 5 star rating. Unfortunately it is badly let down by the dreadful standard of food (no variety, everything was overcooked, nothing particularly 'Greek' about the food), there was no option to have a 'better' menu (& opt to pay a little extra) with better wine. The queue each night for drinks was always 15-20 minutes - the barman did his best but was working alone each night. For a 5 star hotel we would also have expected a little serenity (the poolside bar opened for snacks at 4 each day which was the same time as the 'water polo' started with 10 or more very loud people - egged on by the so-called animation team leader, as they played their 1/2 hour game. The evening 'entertainment' was dire - felt like a particularly bad butlin's holiday camp.

“ Top Tip: No, there is nothing nearby at all, unless you like plane spotting (the plane's fly directly over the hotel)

“ The hotel was good quality. It is not 5 star however. I would rate it 4 star.
It was excellent value. The food quality was very good. The beer and wine available on the all inclusive option were drinkable. The rooms were a good size and the staff were helpful.

“ Top Tip: The bus stops right outside the hotel. Journey to Heraklion about 20 minutes. It is easy to get to knossos from the Heraklion bus station with a regular service.

“ This is not a 5* hotel more 3*. We were given a room in the old part of the hotel and the lift was so small and claustrophobic something out of the 70s!! We used the stairs each day. We were unfortunate to get some wet and windy weather and as our block had no shelter this blew all sorts into our room which included a rather large beetle!! Our rooms were clean but very tired looking and there were all sorts of squashed insert marks on the walls and in the bathroom which had not been removed. The main hotel was very nice and clean but the food was very limited especially for a vegetarian - breakfast was the best meal of the day, both lunch and dinner were basically the same stuff each day.
The best bit is being so close the to beach but you have to pay extra for the sunbeds ... but the advantage is you are close enough to the hotel to be able to get your drinks etc through the day. The entertainment was very poor only had one good night where they had a live band play the rest of the time it was a mixture of silly stage shows provided by the same staff each night!

“ Top Tip: We had to travel further afield to find something special - Chania is a jem full of very old buildings and little cobbled streets. We had the best meal of the holiday here.

Ask to for a room in the new block!
We were disappointed with the town Kokkini Hani is very run down with most of the tavernas closed down you had to walk at least 30 mins to the next town to find a few more bars and restaurants.

There is no local taxi company so when you book a taxi bear in mind that you have to pay extra on top as it will be coming from Heraklion.

We hired a car for 2 days and went east and west and the best town was Chania really lovely harbour and little cobbled streets.