Istron Blue

We stayed for a week in Villa Dimitris and had the most fantastic family holiday. The location is perfect, a short stroll to the beach but high enough to provide the most fantastic views and a nice breeze in the heat of the day. Our hosts could not have been more helpful and welcoming - Dimitris was incredibly friendly, helpful and responsive to any query, and his father Andonis cooked us wonderful food (our 3 boys loved his breakfast spread which he started to tailor to their tastes without us mentioning). All of the staff there made us feel very relaxed (shout out to Bo for gifting us the inflatable Stork!). Our 2 bedroom villa was very comfortable and well equipped - certainly not fancy but perfect for us, with comfortable beds, decent bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen. The star of the show was the outside space: we spent many happy hours in and out of the pool and lounging around enjoying the views and the tranquility. The pool was salt water which only meant our boys (7, 4 and 3) learned to keep their mouths shut when jumping in, and they wore goggles. The beach of the Istron Bay Hotel is beautiful and was quiet when we were there (5 min downhill walk) but as with all the beaches we went to in Crete there was sadly some plastic in the water and on the sand but the hotel were good at trying to clear it. Hotel sunloungers and umbrellas are free to use. The hotel has a large swimming pool, a beach bar, small shop and 2 restaurants which are all at your disposal. We didn't eat there so can't recommend either way. The hotel had outdoor entertainment most evenings (9pm-10pmish) which you can hear from the patio of the villa - it tended to be for an hour or so and not too late but it didn't spoil our enjoyment of this wonderful place. One tip is to use Anna-Maria at Istron Top Cars for car hire, a fantastic and hassle free service which meant not waiting at the carhire desks at the airport. They are based in the Istron Bay hotel. Voulisma Beach in Istron village (5 min drive) was superb. A beautiful bay with the beach set down away from the road and with all amenities including drinks and food to your sunlounger. 2 beds and umbrella were EUR15 for the day, get there early (pre 10am) if you want a decent spot but we spent 2 full days there, our boys loved playing in the surf. All in all a wonderful holiday in a beautiful and peaceful location. We booked direct with the owners which was considerably cheaper than through any other third party websites. Dimitris, Andonis and all your family and staff thank you for making it such a memorable experience. We will be back!