Aldemar Knossos Royal Village - Khersonisos, Greece     

We have twice enjoyed the Aldemar on Rhodes but tried Crete for a change and loved it. The most wonderful welcome and check-in, room 812 very comfortable. Bathroom small and no high shower hook but we coped! All areas so clean. All staff so friendly and helpful and keen for you to have a great time. We were all-inclusive which was probably better with the exchange rate being as it is, we love the simplicity of this system. The food was very good (except for breakfast orange juice!), better than Rhodes and although it is all buffet style the waiters do take your drinks order and serve it. Lots of choice. On the all-inclusive you get tokens for two special dinners, one in the taverna which was actually an up-market restaurant and one for the Gala dinner which is right on the beach and beautifully done. All pools gorgeous. Didnt use private beach but looked lovely if shingly.Gardens beautiful. Our daughter loved the mini club, girls very friendly and provided lots of activities. Parents well looked after too, coffee and cakes always available and the staff would bring dishes of fresh fruit as you sat and read! Entertainment not quite up to Rhodes standard but they had staff problems and did try very hard. Would certainly go back.

This is a beautiful hotel overall, in a lovely setting. Our rooms were spacious and well furnished, with a nice bathroom and patio. The two main pools were gorgeous, and there were lovely views across the bay from the pools, the restaurant and the main bar. We were half board, and the breakfast and dinners in the main restaurant were excellent, we felt, with a wide range of choices and of good quality. Our children enjoyed the activities arranged by the animation team, and we didn't mind chatting to them every day when they came round drumming up business for the various activities. However, the hotel lets itself down in a few areas. The live music in the main bar varied in quality from quite good to pretty poor. The shows in the amphitheatre varied even more, from very good (a group of professional dancers) to excrutiating (the animation team). You couldn't fault the enthusiasm of the animation team shows, but sometimes it was desperately amateurish and sometimes frankly awful. One or two other minor niggles make you realise this is not quite up to five star quality, such as rusty fittings on pool ladders, copious weeds in the sand pit of the play area, and generally poor maintenance in some areas. Our biggest problem was that our daughter injured herself while paragliding, and whilst the doctor at the nearby hotel Royal Mare was very good, and the hotel readily provided transportation for our three visits there, when it came to the crunch, they refused to sign the holiday rep's accident report and refused to accept any responsibility, claiming that the watersports company was nothing to do with them (even though it is something they advertise). Finally, when we were leaving, we ordered the golf buggy to take our suitcases to reception half an hour before the coach was due to pick us up. However, it did not arrive for 25 minutes, despite two chasing phone calls, and when we finally got to reception the coach was waiting for us. We then had to rush like mad to complete check out and get on the coach, meaning that our holiday finished in a less than relaxed and pleasant manner. Overall, we enjoyed this hotel and its facilities - however, a word of warning - it may not be quite five star in its facilities and services, but it certainly is in its prices! Drinks in the bars are VERY expensive (i.e. over 5 euros for a half litre of beer), as is the food in the pool snack bar and beach restaurant. The watersports are also excessively expensive.