This is our review of Anastasia Hotel in Crete, Greece. We spent 7 days there in September, and got to enjoy the hotel and surroundings. In this article, we’ll let you know the pros and possible cons of Anastasia hotel, and tips we learned along the way. We’ll be talking about the hotel premises, rooms, staff, food & drinks and entertainment. Just bear with us!
The hotel is located in Stalis or Stalida, a location well known for its shallow waters, perfect for families. It’s bordered by outdoor restaurants, bars and souvenir shops, and for us this was just perfect.
Location is about 7 minutes walk to the beach, 10 min if you are a slow walker. Access is convenient. They have an underpass under the busy road and then you walk trough another hotel grounds (Ikaros).
Beach itself is long and sandy, clear water, with restaurants along the shore. Sunbeds tended to be around €10 for 2 beds + umbrella, or €10 for just one under the shade of a tree. Overall, quite nice if you are looking for beach/pool vacation.
Anastasia hotel is a cozy complex, surrounded by trees and flowery walk ways, consisting of 18 different buildings in a total of 9,700 square meters. But, besides from that, what surprised us the most were the plants there! The greenery there is something you would not expect from a 3 star hotel.
If you are someone that enjoys a natural landscape, then this hotel will surely be something you like; except the cicadas – you will surely not enjoy those!
There are two entries to the hotel, none of which are guarded and are always open. The entrances frame the hotel, one on the left and one on the right, making it easy to access your room. You have the reception located to your right, that being the main entrance, and the other entrance that’s also used for staff and any incoming vehicles that supply the hotel with goods.
Although the hotel is situated on the road, the great thing is the traffic is not that heavy and the rooms are mostly located in the back – so you won’t be bothered by the traffic noise (if any!).
Pools
The hotel offers 3 freshwater pools (2 family and 1 children’s pool).
Despite having around 80 rooms to book, there were no issues with the sunbeds offered by the swimming pools.
These are open 10am till 6.30pm, so there’s enough time to take a bath, and enjoy the sun.
Honestly, we never stayed at the swimming pool, but we also never saw it be too crowded when we passed by. We always went to the beach instead, since it was so close.
Pros:
- always saw available sunbeds;
- cleaned every day;
- 2 pools available.
Cons:
- sometimes smelled like chlorine;
- not that big, so you can’t swim;
- you were not allowed to sit on the sunbed after the pool closed.
Rooms
The room we had was their basic “classic double”. We booked the cheapest room there, I believe.
Room was spacious but a bit outdated, clean, and lots of space to keep your belongings. The bathroom had a small window, but not mosquito net. We left it open a few days because we didn’t notice that, and we soon ended up with a few uninvited guests: small spiders and of course, mosquitoes. We were on the ground floor, so that probably added a lot to having some bugs, too.
Despite being a three star hotel, we had nothing to complain about, except the TV – which was small, old, and might I say it didn’t actually work that well. The problem wasn’t the TV itself, from the early 80’s, but the fact that it did not work. The signal was scrambled and we found no way to make that work. But, we weren’t there to watch news, and besides that, most of the TV channels (not that many) were not in English. Bring your tablet, if you want to watch something (online).
Rooms have air conditioning, which you will need if you’re travelling in the summer. They will not allow you to separate the key door from the electricity card that powers the AC. Actually, you are specifically told not to leave the AC running if you are not in the room.
You had a note placed on your mirror which stated that the bed linen is changed every three days, towels every 2 days and no service on Sundays. We found their schedule convenient, and most of the time we had a Do Not Disturb sign placed on the door knob.
Pros:
- decent size room;
- clean.
Cons:
- old outdated furniture;
- no mosquito net for the bathroom window;
- no mosquito net for the terrace door;
- no drinking glasses/cups;
- no working TV.
Food
The restaurant is located near the entrance of the hotel. It’s actually the first thing you will notice, when arriving at Anastasia Hotel. There’s also a terrace with an open bar there. You can dine inside or outside – wherever you want.
We got half board (breakfast and dinner), but I personally skipped some meals. This wasn’t because I didn’t find them appealing, but simply because I ate outside of the hotel. Friends that joined said the food was properly cooked, although it sometimes lacked spices (when they say “spices”, they usually mean salt). Tasteful, nonetheless, at least what I tried!
You can watch the video from the beginning of this article to see some of the food that was there.
Keep in mind that it’s a 3 star hotel, so don’t expect endless buffet. Some of the dishes would quickly be gone, like desserts, and it took some time for them to replenish – but they eventually did!
I found it a bit strange that no water or any drinks were served during dinner, and you were not allowed to bring outside drinks. You could order them from the bar, but you had to pay for them. Expect to pay the price they would normally charge in a restaurant.
At breakfast, there are two hot drinks machines, from which you can make yourself a coffee, hot chocolate etc, and a cold drinks machine (orange drink, apple drink) which are included in the breakfast.
Staff was efficient and courteous, and tables were cleaned promptly. Pricewise it was a great value.
Pros:
- tasty food;
- different food each night;
- polite staff;
- open buffet.
Cons:
- during peak season you might struggle to find a seat;
- no drinks included in the dinner for half-board;
- not allowed to bring outside drinks (even if they didn’t serve them).
Hotel Staff
We found the hotel staff to be alright: friendly and helpful. The one thing we didn’t enjoy were the maids that came to clean the neighboring rooms: they would sometimes (always!) talk loud and make fun of some guests. I found that to be rude, but hey, they never got to know that, so no vacation was ruined!
Plenty to do in the hotel grounds including five a side football pitch, table tennis, mini golf, pool and basketball.
The hotel also offers entertainment throughout the evening, so if you would rather not walk outside, you will find something to keep you busy.
Conclusion
I must say, the hotel deserves a great refreshment in its entirety. It’s not something that I find requires immediate attention, but would surely help build confidence in choosing it again.
Overall, our experience was decent: noting exceptional about the place, but nothing to downvote it. That being said, keep in mind this is a subjective review, and your experience might not be the same. Just make the best out of your stay, you’re on vacation!
Tips:
- don’t rent a car from the hotel. You’ll find it cheaper on the promenade (you can also negotiate a bit);
- we dined well at Ikaros, but also at nearby Kamara and taverna Golden Fass;
- go and see Vassilakis Estate olive oil factory, and learn how it’s made. Take a free guided tour and enjoy the tastings. Bring a Merlin Orange balsamic vinegar for me, please!
- take the happy train ride to see the surroundings;
- some handmade souvenir shops can make discounts if you purchase several items. Don’t be afraid to ask if the price is negotiable.