Crete Sissi

[Kendhni]

We are just back after a lovely week in Sissi in Crete. On the old P&O board I had asked for suggestions in relation to Crete and one that had come up was the Vasia Beach in Sissi ... and when we were enquiring about several hotels they were the ones that had the deal on ... so we booked.

Getting There
The flights were with THomas Cook and yet again they showed what a good airline they are. We had booked the extra leg room seats (11D and 11E and so had plenty of space. Both the flight there and back left and arrived on (or ahread) of time. The flight out was a long day, with the flight leaving at 14:00, arriving at 19:30 and then we needed an hour to get our baggage, find the bus and a couple more hours to get to the hotel. We arrived there at 23:30 ready for out beds.

The Vasia Beach Hotel
We arrived in the dark and the reception staff could not have been more helpful. We got checked in and then invited to the dining room where 'the chef' had prepared something for us'. We were presented with a drink, large salad and a beef dish ... it was very nice but at 23:30 all I wanted was a shower and get to my bed. We were then shown to our room which we were told was the best in the hotel.

We got room 21 which I could believe was the best. It had a large bedroom and a living area consisting of two more bed settees and a large en suite bathroom. The room was beautifully presented but what we noticed was the sound of the sea and the fact it had 2 balconies (a small one facing north(ish) looking out over the sea and the main one facing east (ish)). The north balcony provided us with views of some great sunset sets and sun rises and you could see down towards the town of Sissi from it and up towards Malia .. this balcony was really just for standing on and admiring the view (and drying clothes). The east balcony had 4 chairs and a table and had doors to both the main living area and the bedroom .. it got lots of sun in the morning and was shaded in the afternoons (our preference). it was directly over one of the select dining venues (Trattorias) which opened every other day. The room was fully air conditioned and came with a selection of soft drinks in the fridge, a bowl of fruit and a bottle of red wine. The safe however was €30 extra for the week (probably overkill but I paid for peace of mind).

The next morning I finally read the literature we was surprised to find out that in the evenings all public areas were 'smart casual' ... not something i had picked up on ... big oops, considering I had only packed shorts and vest tops.

The hotel itself has many swimming pools including family suites with their own pools, smaller rooms with swim up pools (for families) and 7 (I think) public swimming pools. The next morning when we got up to go for breakfast the pool areas were being scrubbed and cleaned by an army of cleaners and there wasn't a towel in site. Overall we found ALL the staff to be efficient and friendly.

While most of the reviews on Tripadvisor were positive there had been some bad reviews. I have just gone back and reread a couple and, quite honestly, I am not convinced those people were being fair. In some cases (but no others) I can see their point, but you just have to take some good with the bad.

[Kendhni]

Life by the pool
We had booked this holiday for a week of R&R by the pool which is why we chose Sissi. It is away from the night life of other resorts. There were 2 main pool areas each with multiple pools. One is tile covered and has a childs pool and large pool (about 3-4foot deep) with a permanent water volleyball net across it. The other area had a large square(ish) pool which was used for aquarobics and some other daytime events (not too deep) and a large curvy pool that went from about 3foot to 9 foot deep (along with a small kiddies paddling pool).

There were more than enough loungers about and it became pretty obvious that for most of the holiday people simply came and went as suited them. A couple of lounger groups were reserved with towels but these were because they had some young children with them and wanted to be close to the childrens pool (acceptable). Sadly over the weekend a new group arrived and suddenly there were towels everywhere ... and I am sorry to say most were English. Good old Jolly foreigner saw the towels and simply lifted them and dumped in a pile (which may or may not have got soaked as the crew cleaned the pool). Towels that belonged to the hotel were sometimes lifted by the staff and then the person had to go to reception to explain why they had lost their towel and have the 'pool rules' explained to them again. Good management!

There were loads of umbrellas and other shady areas including a grassy are with a tree which many seemed to like sitting under.

Given a recent thread, it was noted that most pools (including those in other hotels we walked through) had signs up saying that there were no lifeguards on duty and parent should watch their own children. I thought it was wonderful watching mums and dads playing in the pools with the children.

Most of the children were very young (pre-school) but at the beginning of the week you could see some of the families with older children starting to arrive ... we did not see a single incident or issue while we were there although I heard one couple (at reception complaining some teens had been having a bit of a party into the early hours near them ... the hotel management said they would have a word (so hopefully that sorted itself out).

All-in-all life by the pool was very relaxing, with lots of people watching and the occasional cooling off in the pool. The music was not invasive ... if anything I think they could have pumped it up a bit more.

There was a small man made beach nearby, at the mouth of the harbour in Sissi and another further out (much bigger) but we did not visit these. Rest of the shore line near us looked very rocky.

Dining
There were a couple of poolside bars one of which also served snacks. Staff did not go around trying to sell you things or offer you drinks, you simply went up to the bar and got a drink. We were AI (without wrist bands) and after a few days the staff seemed to get to know people and stopped asking for room cards. There was a choice of the usual fountain drinks, orange juice, a local beer, various alcoholic drinks, 5 cocktails and a couple of mocktails ... the strength of the alcohol varied, with some being much more potent than others

The main dining area, breakfast, lunch and dinner was a very well laid out buffet with multiple serving stations. Overall the food was very good with a reasonable choice every meal .. including a freezer of ice cream (which suited Julie). If anything the staff were too efficient ... sometimes you went up to get a dessert and came back to find the staff had cleaned away your plates and cutlery, reset the table and someone else was sitting at it ... I found this funny although some 'grumpy drawers' got a bit stroppy about it. One lady was getting very annoyed because they had taken her drink and she had not finished it ... they kept asking what it was she wanted and they would replace it (remembering it was AI and was free), but she was determined to make her point and let logic go out the window (BTW she only had a coke).

There were also 3 select dining venues. A greek restaurant and an italian restaurant (Trattorias) at extra cost .. although you were allowed to visit one free of charge as part of the AI. There was also a 1966 (?) gourmet dining club but we never saw this open.

We visited the Italian restaurant .. possibly because the aromas that wafted up to our room (which was directly above it) were fantastic. After being greeted with a complimentary drink we had the choice to dine outside or inside .. little difference, because the glass frontage of the restaurant folded away so it was simply a covered area. We both had a fantastic carbonara to start with, Julie went for a lovely chicken dish for her main and I had a fresh pizza with loads of fancy breads and for dessert Julie had the Tiramassou (sp?) and I had the 'surprise' (which was a lovely walnut cake). We had a lovely meal.

Despite Julie sometimes struggling to find something she liked we had no issue with the food ... when in trouble Julie sampled many of the wonderful breads they had on offer
.

[Kendhni]

Sissi
We wanted a relaxing holiday and so had decided not to go for one of the 'hot spots'. Sissi is about 10 minutes drive east of Malia and is a small town. Our hotel was about a 10 minute walk from the town centre. The town itself consisted of an area around the harbour which was lined with many restaurants and a couple of streets that sold the usual gee gaws and cheap belts (€10 for 4). It was a lovely town and was a pleasure to sit and watch the sun go down from one of the restaurants or bars around the harbour (we usually sat in Ormos).

There was a little man made beach (held about 100 people) with many swimming in the harbour and having to move out of the way as botas carrying sightseers from other resorts came and went.

We also took the happy train around another local village (that was mostly deserted and whose name escapes me) and we took a taxi into Malia for the day (€15 each way). Malia was totally different and geared towards the night life scene and a younger more lively crowd ... the beach itself looked like another man made beach and was packed (and I mean packed) with sun bathers.


Overall
Overall we had a fantastic holiday, probably ate a bit too much and drank a bit too much and got crispier than expected (on MOnday it was like someone turned the heat up several notches). The Vasia Beach was an excellent hotel and Sissi is a lovely place for a quiet week away from it all.

[sunseeker16]

Glad you had such a lovely time

We had a happy holiday in Sissi some years ago - long enough for me to forget the details. We were in the long low hotel on the waterfront on the 'other' side of the creek, if that makes sense

Does the trip boat still come in and disgorge visitors every afternoon? We were in Sissi before we discovered cruising but I sometimes recall it when we get to a 'quiet' port and two thousand people suddenly descend on the residents. Same thing at a smaller scale

Welcome back

[david63]

Good to see you back and that you enjoyed you holiday.

I assume that as you made no mention of it that your orange dayglow mankini was acceptable

[Manoverboard]

Reads well and just the job for a week of R&R ... haven't had a holiday like that for maybe 15 years, certainly brings back memories but not of Crete in our case.

Talking of cases, did they approve of yours ?

[Kendhni]

We had a happy holiday in Sissi some years ago - long enough for me to forget the details. We were in the long low hotel on the waterfront on the 'other' side of the creek, if that makes sense

I know the one you are talking about ... the name escapes me at the minute though (possibly 'The paradise club' ... that was the one that had loads of swinging chairs overlooking the harbour. Julie sat in one and decided to have a swing .. in an over exuberant swing she sent a table flying, so we decided to move on

Does the trip boat still come in and disgorge visitors every afternoon? We were in Sissi before we discovered cruising but I sometimes recall it when we get to a 'quiet' port and two thousand people suddenly descend on the residents. Same thing at a smaller scale

There were several boats came in every day ... on leaving most headed west (so I assume they came from Malia) whereas one headed east (I think it came from Elounda).