INNSiDE by Meliá Crete Elounda 

We arrived late and a bit damp as our holiday started with us landing just after a big thunderstorm.. not quite the start to our holiday! The transfer was just about 1hr 20mins. We were dropped off at the bottom of a hill and told to phone reception. A few minutes later, we were picked up and taken to reception.. good job too! It wasn't a long ride but all uphill! Then we were taken to our "bungalow"..which just happened to be the first block from the entrance🤣🤣 Lovely room, clean, spacious, plenty of cupboard space, fridge and wonderfully a kettle! Big bed..none of that pushing 2 beds together BUT as with a lot of hotels, guest houses etc, there was a protective lining on the bed beneath the sheet.. it did make the night quite sweaty, and i found that turning over in bed woke me up as i got stuck 😵‍💫 There were nearly some puddles as i extracted myself to go to the loo! 😳 that aside, bed linens and towels were exchanged every couple of days with rooms cleaned daily. We stayed B&B as we like the choice to eat in different places for lunch and evening meals. Meals were buffet style although i did see that there was an a la carte menu available. Food was excellent. Breakfast choices included 4 different egg options, boiled, fried, scrambled (not that powdered stuff either!) Or in an omelette. Usual continetal with loads of fresh fruit and yoghurt. There was also a corner for those that wanted to try the home country start to the day, which my best beloved had on several mornings.. a dark rusk (dakos) smothered in olive oil, tomato salsa,feta and oregano. Lunch could be had at the pool bar..good menu choices from spaghetti/pizza to fish etc..great club sandwiches fabulous chips.. Evening meals had a pasta dish, meat, fish , various vegetables, choices of salads and wonderful sweets. The chef and kitchen staff put on a series of great xhoices. We asked for a wine recommendation and had that for the rest of our stay. Evening buffet was 25 Euros each. Water and alcohol not included. The pool area is immaculate, plenty of sunbeds and parasols - i spied a pool table and easy chairs in the shade, there is a lovely area to sit and look at the stars at night too. All the staff we met were fabulous, open , friendly, lovely smiles and nothing was too much trouble. We did have to pay for a safe key and to hire beach towels, but those costs were minimal.. better to pay 3 euros a towel than not get everything you want in your case! I would say that this is not somewhere to stay if you struggle with mobility. The hotel has an amazing outlook as it is built on the side of a hill. So a quick work out for the glutes and hamstrings before our walk into Elounda or to the bus stop daily! There are steps from the path to reception, the restaurant and pool. It took me over a week to be able to walk from our room to the restaurant without stopping.. but he, the views along the wsy were stunning.. The walk into Elounda is 2km to the sign, with a further 1/2km to the centre.. the route is along a single track road which in high season will be busier than it was for us. The walk to the bus stop is 200m ( we found everywhere to be 200m!) But uphill to the main road.. We had a fabulous holiday and were reallly sad to leave. This is somewhere that we would return to. Our only caveat is think hard about your level of mobility, its hard on the hips,knees and ankles but the views are worth it 👌