Thalassa Beach Resort

We have just returned from our first visit to Crete, spending 10 days at the Thalassa Beach Resort.

Sadly, we didn't have the same experience that many seem to have had, and we put this down to being first time visitors as we didn't seem to be treated the same as others.

When we arrived, our room was unavailable, so we were placed in an interior room (it sits withing the atrium of reception). We couldn't unpack, and were told our cases would be moved to our room the following day. I did ask if we could pay to upgrade to a better room but was told no. The room we were then given from our second day onwards was ok - a pretty standard hotel room.

As we had an evening flight home, near the end of our stay we enquired about having a late checkout. We were told this may be possible but to check back with reception the day before departure. Sadly, when we checked back with reception we were told that some other guests needed our room so we could not have a later checkout. I enquired about moving to another room for the last day but was told this was also not possible.

We were advised however that we could stay on the premises and use the shower room before leaving. The shower room left a lot to be desired. It was simply a shower in the toilets that are used by guests during the day. There was very little space and sadly both the men's and women's showers were not up to the standard we would expect.

Our first and last impressions of this hotel were therefore soured. We were given a free meal for the inconvenience when we arrived but this did little to compensate.

There seemed to be a few returning customers and/or groups in the hotel that were part of the 'in' crowd. All the staff were exceptionally polite to us, but when we needed a favour or personal attention there was none:

• We ordered drinks during lunch one day that never appeared (we had to remind the waiter)
• We couldn't pay for drinks at the bar in the evening even though that was our choice. Drink bills had to be added to the room bill and paid at the end of the stay
• The range of drinks in the hotel bar was poor (the only draft beer was Mythos)

The layout of the hotel is exceptional. To be able to move between sea, sunbed and pool makes the daytime extremely convenient.

Evenings were not so great as Agia Marina/Platanias doesn't have the bars that some British visitors enjoy in other Greek resorts. The resort is very busy - not the place if you like chilled evenings.

There are some great restaurants and Chania is a wonderful city to visit so our trip did have many positives. We just felt a little let down by what we thought would be a superior hotel.

Stayed in a lovely sea view room overlooking the pool. Room was spacious and spotlessly clean as was the whole hotel and grounds. Rooms were cleaned daily and the staff were friendly and helpful. One small criticism was the beds could have benefited from a topper as the mattress was on the firm side. Air conditioning was good.

Breakfast in the hotel was plentiful with every choice imaginable. Lunch in the pool area was good with lots of choice.

The pool and surrounding area was clean and well looked after with plenty of sun beds. The hotel has their own section of beach which was great. You do need sea shoes as the beach was pebbles and there were rocks in the sea.

The hotel was within walking distance to restaurants and bars although the bus ran frequently.

Overall this was a great hotel with lovely staff. I would definitely recommend staying if you want a chilled out, adults only vibe to your holidays.

I always read Trip Advisor reviews when picking a hotel and they were all brilliant for Thalassa Breach Resort, so we were confident in our choice and overall we weren’t disappointed. There was only one thing we were disappointed with, I’ve left that until last.

It was our first time staying at an adult-only hotel and we both loved how quiet it was. We received a bottle of wine on arrival as a celebration for the hotel’s 20th anniversary, which was nice, and when we told them it was our anniversary too we received a bottle of bubbly and a congratulatory note which was a lovely touch. The staff were all very friendly and would go out of their way to help in any way they could, from hotel reception, housekeeping and restaurant staff and especially Manos at the pool bar. I’d seen his name mentioned in many reviews, and having met him I know why. The personal touch was great - all the guests he must come into contact with, but he made a point of remembering our names and our usual order and was very friendly and personable.

Rooms – aren’t huge but there’s plenty of storage and plug sockets. Bed is comfy, pillows are good, air con is great. There’s a fridge, TV, safe, coffee/ tea, hairdryer, robes, slippers, and if you need an iron they’ll bring you one in minutes. We liked the pool/ beach towel system, with fresh towels every day. Everything was very clean.

Restaurant – we were Bed and Breakfast, and breakfast was a standard buffet with plenty of choice. Everything was clearly labelled with lots of veggie options, and a gluten-free section. It was lovely sitting overlooking the pool and sea every morning. We found the hotel cat very entertaining, turning up for his own breakfast every morning, and the lovely staff who took him to one side to give him his biscuits.

We received a voucher for 15% off an evening meal (38 euros excluding drinks) so gave it a try on the Italian night. It was another buffet with plenty of choice but nothing to write home about.

Pool/ Beach – The hotel is right on the beach. The first week we were there, there was no problem getting a lounger, although by the second week you had to be up sharp if you wanted a specific spot. There are signs telling guests not to reserve beds and that towels will be removed but we didn’t see this happen on the beach, with some guests reserving beds three days running before 0830 and not turning up until after 12. We didn’t sit at the pool so not sure if this was a problem there, but we did swim in the pool a few times and used the swim-up bar. The pool water is very warm, and it’s a lovely setting with the view over the sea. The pool bar has entertainment on most nights, but the bar was never packed while we were there. It’s a lovely walk along the beach in either direction, very picturesque. There are some rocks as you enter the sea and the sand gets burning hot, so I’d definitely recommend beach shoes.

Location – Lots of shops, bars and restaurants in easy walking distance. Agia Marina centre is 5-minute walk to the left as you leave the hotel, and 10 minutes to the right is Plantanias which we loved. There are lots of places to eat while watching the glorious sunset, there’s definitely something for everyone. There is a bus stop across the road from the hotel from where you can get the bus to Chania, it took 20 minutes, although if the traffic is bad it can take longer. The bus station is easy to find on the return too and a very reasonable 4.40 euro round trip cost. I recommend going on a Tuesday evening to see Strata, where there are dancers and musicians in Greek traditional dress, it’s a treat.

Places to see – We went to Elafonissi beach on a day trip through Get Your Guide and although beautiful, it was absolutely rammed, you seriously couldn’t get moved. I know we were part of the problem, that’s not lost on me, but it put me off going on any other beach trips. If you’re going, probably best to go first thing in the morning to avoid the crowds. The rep Daniel more than made up for this with his story telling, and we stopped off at a lovely little village Elos for food on the way back which was beautiful.

We did a ‘tasting tour’ through Get Your Guide which was fab, great value for money, especially the wine tasting. We went right up into the hills to the south-west of Agia Marina and the scenery was stunning.

We also did a boat trip from Chania which was fun, we learnt a lot of the history of the area from the guide, and it was a really interesting day.

Now the bad bit. We were put on the ground floor, 1 level below street level / reception, in room 407. Arriving in the middle of the night we didn’t see the ‘view’ from the balcony until the following morning, and unfortunately it was awful. We were at the end of the block with a very tall hedge coming in at a 45-degree angle from the corner of our 'balcony' on the right and a large bush to the left. We had no ‘view’ at all, only the hedge. I was devastated. We usually spend a lot of time on the balcony, but didn’t sit out at all during this visit, it was too depressing. There wasn’t any sun so anything we left on the airer was still damp the following day. The housekeeper kept leaving our balcony door unlocked despite a sign on the door instructing it should be locked. I called reception about this twice and we resorted to coming up to the room after it had been cleaned to double check. After three days of this I visited reception to report it again. I pointed out we’re on the ground floor so anyone could get into our room. I was advised this was not likely to happen, but if it did they have CCTV, which wasn’t really the answer I wanted. The door was locked every day after that thankfully.

Prior to our visit I’d seen a review on Trip Advisor saying it was ‘worth paying the extra for a sea view’ – I’d already booked so contacted the hotel directly to enquire about this. I got an email back saying for 2 weeks it was an additional 1120 euros. Not for a bigger room or a better room, just a sea view. It was just too expensive to consider (we could have a city break for that) so I politely declined, hoping the inland view would be interesting. But seeing the room we were allocated made me think we were being punished for having the cheek to ask as I couldn’t see a single room in the hotel with a worse ‘view’ than ours. In the past we’ve stayed at many hotels with fabulous views for no extra charge, the most I’ve paid for a guaranteed sea view in the past was 350 euros for a fortnight. If the listing had stated the ‘view’ would be a hedge I wouldn’t have booked it, and I doubt we paid any less for our room than others in the hotel who had a more scenic outlook.

On our last day we received a survey under the door. It got me wondering how I hadn’t seen any comments about the ‘view’ from any other guests so looked up more reviews, this time on a page other than Trip Advisor. I saw one review where someone said they’d complained about their awful ‘view’ and were moved to a nicer room. I was kicking myself, wishing I’d done the same. Another room might not have been available, but at least I’d have tried.

So all things considered would this be enough to put me off visiting again? No, but only if I wasn’t staying in the same part of the hotel. We had a lovely time, and the ‘view’ didn’t spoil the holiday but it definitely had an impact. I’d probably try my luck elsewhere if there was no guarantee of not being stuck in same part of the hotel again.