We recently holidayed at the Daios Cove resort in Crete. It was a last minute booking and more expensive then we would usually pay but we managed to secure a great deal and felt it was well worth splashing out. We drove from the airport which took roughly an hour and followed the directions the resort had e-mailed us. The resort is set into a cliff and is very secure and you have to approach a barrier and show proof that you are staying there, very pleased with the security in and around the resort, especially as we’d hired a car for the duration. We arrived at five in the evening and were promptly shown to our room which was on the 5th level with great views from our balcony.
The room was beautifully decorated and well laid out with a very comfortable king size bed, seating area etc. There was ample wardrobe space and plenty of hangers. The bathroom was open plan and a full length mirrored wall separated the bathroom area from the main room. The bathroom itself was beautiful with two showers, bath and separate enclosed toilet. The lighting could be altered to suit your mood and there were speakers so you could hear the TV if listening to the news etc. The mood lighting took some working out but we soon got used to it and loved going back in the evenings to relax on the balcony. The balcony was large and well furnished with a private pool and we had great views of the coast. The decor around the resort is stunning and the spa and indoor pool are a must, for a relaxing few hours. To get to your rooms you can either use the funicular which had good view of the resort but pretty slow, alternately you could flag down one of the golf buggies. The resort is well laid out and never seemed overcrowded, although at night the bar areas were incredibly quiet, people seemed to just have a few drinks on their balconies.
Before going I’d read all the reviews on Facebook about the over pricing of drinks etc. and the mini bar prices were laughable. Doing my research before hand definitely helped as we found a Lidl and stocked up on drinks nuts etc, so avoided the hefty mini bar charges (7euros for a beer, 40 euros for a bottle of wine). Glad we did as lots of guests were complaining especially those with children, who must have been hit with some very large bills at the end of their stay.
We’d chosen the resort for it’s location and comfort and were more than happy to have Daios Cove as our base. We went for breakfast in the mornings where there was a great variety of food available, pretty much the same as most hotels. We spent the mornings at the pool and then headed out for lunch each day finding lots of local restaurants and some picturesque villages and towns along the coast. I’d recommend Agios Nicolaos with plenty of great family run restaurants. Elounda and Spinalonga are worth a visit and we just headed out and went were the mood took us. A car is a must as the local buses are sporadic and finish early in the evening, so taxis into Agios Nicolaos were expensive. We loved the freedom of choosing were to eat and meeting the locals and trying some excellent Greek food. We never had a bad meal and even on departure driving to the airport stopping off at a roadside cafe we had some fantastic chicken kebabs, not what we expected at all.
Would we go back to Daios Cove, probably not as we like to try different hotels. Saying that it was an ideal base in secure and beautiful surroundings, spotlessly clean and with everything you needed on site. Just a shame that they overcharged for everything. Will definitely be returning to Crete next year but will probably visit the other side of the island.
