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Old 17 Aug 20, 09:35 AM  
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#1
srh
slightly serious Dibber
 
Join Date: Dec 14
Crete - the raki diaries. Day 3.

This morning I was rudely woken by the alarm. Today we were leaving Spilia 😢.
The shutters were open and I could see the deep blue, cloudless sky over the top of the mountains. The church bell clanged and the cockerels were doing their business. I was sad to be leaving.
I packed the last bits in the cases and opened the door ready to go down to breakfast.
Whilst sitting on the terrace with our coffee last night, the dog had stealthily crept up the stairs, crossed the terrace like a ninja and put his head on my lap. I don’t know who was more shocked, him or me at my screeching surprise.
Poor thing, he was only being friendly. I wonder if that’s a game he and the cats play and sneak back off to their den sniggering and adding another chalk mark to their scare tally.
I know I shouldn’t have done this, but I felt so sorry for him that I gave him a chocolate minstrel. Well he had obviously never encountered the deliciousness of galaxy minstrels before. He sniffed it, pawed it, licked it, circled it and then finally ate it. Anyway, I digress. When I opened the door to go down to breakfast, he was still on the terrace.
Escorted to breakfast by my faithful canine friend, we had our fill of the usual coffee, juice, eggs and toast and then camped by the pool until checkout.
Cases loaded, we were then on our way to our treat of the holiday.
We made our way along the main coast road, through villages, past deserted beaches, up mountains until we had reached the other side of Heraklion.
It was an easy drive, if a little long.
We were booked in at the Grecotel Amirandes in a tiny village called Agia Pelagia, next to Kato Gouves.
I am always quite dubious about 5 star resorts in Greece. They don’t always turn out to be 5 star. This one worryingly had the word ‘exclusive’ in the title too.
We drove down a single track road to a traffic bollard where the Grecotel Gestapo wanted evidence in blood of our reservation.
We were allowed through ( thanks for letting us in for our prepaid reservation) and told to circle round to reception.
The entrance was beautiful. Palm trees, water features, cool marble steps, the sort of place that is buffed, preened and swept hourly.
We parked up in the covered parking and a gentleman came and whisked our luggage away. He was wearing gloves and mask.
A masked receptionist met us on the steps. They prefer you to check in online to minimise contact and it was a very slick operation.
Temperature checked and sanitised we were whisked off to our room.
We hadn’t actually booked this resort originally, but had booked the Grecotel Caramel. Two days after booking I had an email advising that the hotel would now not open for the season. I was gutted for two reasons, one it looked gorgeous and two Grecotel would not refund our deposit, but would give us a voucher and 15% off any other resort that was open.
Consequently we were now staying at the Amirandes. Walking through the resort first impressions were - amazing. It was built of local stone and wood and was spotless.
We were shown to our room and our luggage arrived shortly afterwards. The room was beautiful. Large with the bath between the dressing area and the four poster. Lots of wardrobe space and a free minibar of soft drinks and snacks.i opened the terrace door to two sun beds, a swing chair, a table and at the end cushions built into the stone wall. I’m not sure if it was an upgrade or if all rooms are equally amazing. Next door had a private pool ( not so private that when I craned my neck round the stone wall I couldn’t see that they had no room for sun loungers! ) At the bottom of the terrace I could both see and hear the waves crashing onto the beach.
Happily we made our way outside and tossed a coin for beach or pool. The pool won. It’s fairly large surrounded by pergolas and gazebos. Thick cushioned sun beds, towels and iced water a plenty.
We snoozed and watched the Grand Prix until about 6 o clock when suitcase unpacking called.
One good thing about the resort is the lack of physical contact. Our room key was presented in a sealed envelope on a tray and our room had a sanitary seal on it.
Any food or drink round the pool is ordered through a guest portal and the hotel has a private whatsapp for any requests you may have.
After showering we decided to venture out in the car looking for a local taverna.
There were a few in Kato Gouves and we settled on the Medusa.
Delicious as always, we had tzatziki, grilled prawns (enormous); salad and chicken and spinach cooked in cream with fries. I nearly made a fatal error when ordering. Mmm I thought, I will try beef leaver. When I asked how it was cooked it dawned on me it was liver!
DH ordered creme brûlée and it was finished off at the table by the chef proudly displaying his skills with a bag of sugar and a blowtorch.
The food was very good, washed down with a beer for DH and wine for me. The bill was brought with melon and of course raki which I had to drink due to DH driving. It was 53 euros. The food was good, but more expensive than in Spilia.
The evening ended with coffee and wine listening to the waves and Man U being beaten in the Champions League.






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Old 17 Aug 20, 03:37 PM  
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#2
2point
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Join Date: Aug 04
Fantastic report, love Crete and the beautiful and friendliest people we have ever met on holiday.

Look forward to the rest of the report!
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Old 18 Aug 20, 08:46 PM  
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#3
mickeyspal
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Join Date: Oct 09
That looks lovely
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Old 5 Sep 20, 10:01 AM  
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#4
darbs
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Join Date: Mar 12
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Beautiful looking resort 💖
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