Sensatori Crete Review May 2015

Travelling to Sensatori and our first impressions 

Our Thomson holiday began with an afternoon flight from Newcastle to Heraklion. Arriving in the evening, (after the almost 4 hour flight and 20 minute transfer) it was dark and difficult to see the beauty of the resort when we arrived at Sensatori Crete. After arrival, we were ushered to the main restaurant in order to eat before bed. They'd extended the opening hours due to our late arrival and provided a welcome drink of prosecco. A great start!

After a restful sleep in one of the most comfortable beds we've ever slept in, we awoke to sunshine and began to explore our surroundings. 

The rooms

The resort has varying rooms from suites to swim ups, sea views and family rooms. There is something to fit everyone's tastes and budgets.

We'd booked a standard family room and it was nicely decorated and the furniture was well kept and the room immaculately clean! The main room was partitioned with doors and a bed set up for our toddler and a sofa. A travel cot was also provided. 

Outside was a small terrace which included seats and a table, it overlooked a well maintained garden area. It seemed to be a quieter part of the hotel, but was close by to the Splash pool and the play park.

We've visited Sensatori in Egypt in January 2014 and loved it; so we had high expectations of this resort too. Sensatori is described as a resort which fuels all of your senses, it often is luxurious and a high end type of holiday. 

Entertainment and activities

Whilst in Sensatori, we attended several 'Stay and Play' sessions with our boys. These were sessions where toys and activities are provided and children can play alongside their parents. A huge hit with both boys and the staff were very welcoming and attentive.

On an evening, we attended some Playhouse Live activities with games, singing and dancing. As our eldest was a little reluctant to participate, we only attended twice, however the children who were there appeared to be enjoying themselves. 

As our main aim was relaxation (with a baby and a toddler in tow... This didn't happen so much!) we chose to mainly stay on site and use their facilities; the Splash pool and the play park were a big hit for our boys.

We spent a day using the train which stops outside of the hotel. For €10 per adult and €5 per child, you could visit old Hersonissos and Hersonissos and see the local sights whilst listening to some Greek music. We got off at old Hersonnissos and had a lovely walk through the quaint little streets, before getting back on the train and seeing the sights of Hersonnisos whilst on the train. A lovely way to spend the morning.

We often frequented a nearby bar/restaurant on an evening which had a small children's play area. Perfect if you've got little ones and a fabulous spot to watch the sun go down.

Food and drink 

Food was varied and plentiful at Sensatori. Breakfast had s range of hot Full English breakfast, porridge, fruit and pastries, as well as Greek specialities. Lunch can either be served in the main buffet restaurant or in the Tex Mex. again, both had plentiful food. For lunch in the Tex Mex, it can become particularly busy and as a result service can be a bit slow.

The a la carte restaurants which we visited were the Red Saffron Greek restaurant and the Five Flavour Thai restaurant. Both places served a range of delicious food. We particularly enjoyed the king prawns with chilli and garlic and the duck with hoi sin. Unfortunately, we didn't try the Tex Mex on an evening or any of the paid restaurants on site. 

Drinks included in the full board are served with meals. This includes soft drinks, beer and wine. Bottles of water are also placed on tables. The Rose was delicious and very easy drinking. The beer was light and enjoyable. 

Checking out and Flying home

We checked out at 10.30 and spent the day in the resort in various areas. We booked a complimentary room for an hour slot to freshen up before our departure. We had the opportunity to check in our bags on site and they were then transported to the airport. This saved a lot of time and fast tracked us through the airport. Our departure was on time and a smooth journey home (with a fussy tired toddler and exhausted baby!) 

Pros and Cons of our holiday

Pros:

*Relatively short flight from the UK at around 4 hours.

*Short airport transfer time at around 20 minutes.

*Almost guaranteed sunshine (but rained on our final day!)

*Village feel to the resort.

*Lots of things to do for children and families.

*Welcoming and polite staff from waitresses to cleaners. They all wished you well and recognised you around the resort.

*Clean, well maintained rooms and grounds. The cleaners and gardeners do such a thorough job.

*Staff are always welcoming to children, chatting to them and helping to guide them to their table.

*We met some lovely families and locals who made our holiday special.

*We think pricing was reasonable for this holiday.

Cons

*The resort can be very busy at full occupancy.

*As it is full board plus, drinks are only included along with your meals, you must pay for additional drinks and some can be particularly expensive.

*The A La Carte restaurants become fully booked quickly, so you need to be fast when booking in advance! This is 10am at the machines.

*We were disappointed in the local beach. It is a gritty sand and it needs a good clean up. Lots of rubbish was strewn around when we walked along the promenade.

*The area of Lyttos Beach/Analypsis is fairly quiet with only a few shops and tavernas; some people may find this a little isolating.

*As there are some adult only areas, we found it strange that the nursery and Playhouse were positioned close to these. We had some negativity from people enjoying the adult only areas whilst we passed by with our children. It's a resort for everyone and some people need to be more aware of that!

Our final thoughts...

Overall, personally we preferred the Sensatori in Egypt. We feel that the standard of food and the added advantage of the beach being on site give it the edge over Crete. 

We're hoping to visit more Sensatori resorts in future, with several new ones recently opened (Cyprus, Ibiza and Turkey) it's whet our appetite to sample some more Sensatori delights. 

Sensatori is exclusive to Thomson in the UK; look at www.Thomson.co.uk for more details! Have you had a Sensatori experience you'd like to share?