Cretan Malia was our second hotel we visited this July in Crete. It’s a chilled out and design led enclave hidden away (from the crowds) at the eastern end of the resort town of Malia. The hotel is purpose built and modern and looks stunning. Everything is low profile and it’s laid out perfectly, with buildings at angles and winding pathways.
The resort is family friendly through and through which it is renowned for. Happily it looks like it should be adults only such is the slick design. Coming to Cretan Malia from sister hotel Village Heights, it was lovely to be by the sea – literally a 3 minute walk from our room.
Our room was a pool front bungalow. I’m so glad we picked this option, the river pool that it opens out onto was wonderful. Predominantly used by those with pool front rooms it was relatively quiet, warm and had a lovely variety of depths. The pool front rooms have reserved loungers by the pool, which is a game changer as there definitely aren’t enough loungers elsewhere.
The main pool is popular too and has a great vibe. It’s alongside one of the restaurants as well as the bar. The river pool we used is handily located alongside the gelato and pancake bar (and our room fridge!).
Our room was set up with the day bed as a bed for Bertie. It was a very zen and calm space despite us having less space than normal. I liked the modern look to it, and the neutral colours and tones. There’s an incredible amount of storage both in the big wardrobes, side board and bedside tables, so we were able to stow everything neatly which stopped things feeling cramped. We also had a big patio between our room and the pool which we filled with water toys and outdoor bits and bobs! There’s a discreet little airer in the wall but wet stuff dried quicker on the loungers in the sun!
Most rooms are the same, with just a small number of suites or family rooms (with three kids beds). I liked that there’s pretty much one standard type of room – great evidence that the rooms are big enough for families. There are some nearer the sea and others on the first floor, plenty of options.
Food is the resorts selling point – such a lot of fabulous choice, it’s definitely for foodies. When we arrived I discovered I’d inadvertently booked half board which points you towards the buffet for evening meals. Thankfully we were able to change to bed and breakfast which works better for us as we like a la carte or to go out and about. There’s an all inclusive option too that agents can book if wanted.
For breakfast there is an insane buffet at Mediterraneo, truly excellent and the fresh pancakes and French toast were a big hit. Lactose free yoghurt and every milk you can imagine was a win for me! Traditional breakfast at Mouries is also worth booking.
For lunch we ate at Mezze which was a feast of food from the Levant by the main pool. We also had snacks and cocktails at the beach bar which was made excellent by the particularly charming staff. The beach is spectacular for sunset, so a perfectly located beach bar for a sundowner.
We had supper on site on two evenings. Once at Mouries which is set up as a traditional Cretan taverna with open kitchen cooking, a lovely vibe and delicious food. Another evening we enjoyed Italian fayre and Almyra – really good quality and wonderful sea food options. All of the food was excellent, some of the best we’ve had in Crete. The restaurant staff were charming and a credit to the resort.
The beach and the pool is of course where everyone heads to after breakfast. However if you do want a spot on the beach you either need to breakfast very early or take towels down early for loungers. The beach is blue flag and very calm, spread across two little bays, Bertie loved it as one side was deeply shelving with waves and the other calmer for swimming. There are rocks in the shallows so wetsuit shoes are useful for little toes – use the east bit of the beach to avoid the rocks, there’s more sand too.
Bertie begrudgingly went to kids club on our first day and then begged to go back the next day! The best approval! There was no need to book for the club and different activities happen each hour. The staff were fantastic. There’s a tiny explorers and a little explorers club, so babies are welcome too! It’s in a purpose built air conditioned space with tonnes of toys. For adults there’s the gym which Mr P used a few times.
Most people don’t seem to leave the resort, it is definitely a fly and flop favourite. We did however head to Stalis for lunch one day at Beachcomber and we spent Bertie’s birthday on the beach in Voulisma which is a spectacular locals beach.
For all the wonderful bits it wasn’t perfect, there’s a lot to the resort in a relatively small amount of space so I think housekeeping and ground keeping was over pressed. There was a lot of dead grass, and dirt patches and the exterior of the bungalows looked unloved too. It looked like a resort at the end of the season, or like someone forgot to turn on the sprinklers for a week! We called room service when we broke a bottle in our room, we called them a second time too. They never came. Mr P cleared up all the glass and the floor himself with toilet paper. The evening entertainment is overly loud until 10pm which was surprising on a resort with a zen vibe like this!
It’s a tough job to be the second hotel of a holiday – comparisons will always be drawn. I expected Cretan Malia to be a cut above Village Heights, but surprisingly it was the other way round – the underdog impressed us more. Cretan Malia delivered what we wanted – a few days by the sea, great food and drink and in a stunning setting… But it wasn’t the full package – it wasn’t elevated which is how it is promoted and how it looks like it should be. Notwithstanding, there’s such a lot going for this resort and we had an incredible few days: fabulous food, a neat beach, great rooms, excellent kids activities. Will definitely be exploring more of Phaea in future visits.
Looks wonderful!
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It’s sad to be home!!