With half term on it’s way and the weather taking a chilly turn, we packed our cases and headed to Crete! We were going to spend a week at Kalyves Beach Resort in Chania, a SeaCrete hotel and we were very excited!
Although I’ve been to Corfu once when I was younger. As a family we had never been to Greece and we had also never been on an ‘all-inclusive’ holiday either. It was going to be a voyage of discovery!
Getting to Kalyves Beach Hotel
Our 7 night stay was gifted to us in return for our feedback, but we paid for our flights ourselves. For two adults and one child we paid just under £1100 with EasyJet. Our flight was at 8am so we additionally paid to stay in the Airport Holiday Inn for the outward journey.
We flew from Gatwick to Chania, which is a 3 hour 45 minute flight. Kalyves Beach resort organised airport transfers for us. It was only a picturesque 25 minutes from the airport to Kalyves.
We were immediately struck by the friendliness of the Greek people. The lady collecting us, introduced herself to Ava, then took her hand and off they wandered together across the carpark. It was so sweet.
Kalyves Beach Resort is situated right on the beach in the small village of Kalyves. We were greeted warmly when we arrived at the hotel. It genuinely felt like we were meeting family.
Accommodation at Kalyves Beach Hotel
The hotel is situated on either side of a small one-way road.
The Rooms at Kalyves Beach Hotel
We were thrilled to have interconnecting rooms with balconies and sea views. It’s always great for us to be able to put Ava to bed in a room next to us, so we don’t have to sit in the dark for hours!
There are a variety of room at Kalyves Beach Hotel some with mountain views and some with the sea view like ours. There were tea and coffee facilities in the room and a fridge.
Each room had its own small bathroom, coffee machine, kettle, fridge, TV, Dressing table, chair, wardrobe and table/chairs on the balconies.
From our balcony we had, in addition to the sea view, a pool and beach bar view.
Both rooms were cleaned every morning and fresh beach towels left. Ava was excited every day when we got back to the room to see where the cleaning ladies had put her cuddly toys. Every day they placed them differently in her bed.
We had VIP wristbands so our fridge was filled almost daily with beer cans.
Facilities at Kalyves Beach Hotel
There’s one indoor pool and two outdoor pools. For me the outdoor ones were too cold to swim in, although Ava swam outside on our first day. The indoor pool, although not a large pool, was much warmer.
Near the indoor pool was a games room with pool and ping pong tables and a small gym.
Around both outdoor pools there were a good number of sunbeds and plenty and tables and chairs near the outside bar.
There was entertainment most evenings mainly near the beach bar, but one night’s was inside. This included Greek night, Rock night and a Saxophonist.
As our room was overlooking the beach bar, the noise was pretty significant in our rooms during the entertainment. We could have asked to be moved, but we weighed up the noise against potentially losing the sea view and interconnecting rooms and decided to stick it out. A couple of nights Ava had to go to sleep with her headphones on and then we sneaked in and removed them when she was asleep.
To be honest the sea air pretty much knocked us all out each night, so I think we would have slept through anything.
In addition to the large restaurant, there is plenty of comfortable couches to relax in and also two amazing massage chairs. 2 euros for 8 minutes, it was definitely worth it!
The Food at Kalyves Beach Hotel
As mentioned it was our first experience of All-inclusive. Each meal was buffet style, with so much choice. Breakfast (between 7.30am-9.30am) included cold meats, cheese, a hot selection of potatoes, eggs, sausages, bacon, yoghurts, fruits, breads, pastries and lots of cereals and dried fruits. Also if you venture outside to the open air stove you could choose a crepe.
The choice for lunch (1pm – 2.30pm) and dinner (6.30pm – 8.30pm) were pretty much the same. Lots of salad options, a Meze selection, a few different meat dishes, breads, potatoes, rice, pasta and a special kids hot plate which often had chips, nuggets, Spaghetti Bolognese and other similar things. Again if you popped outside you could get a burger, pizza, kebabs, lamb chops, for example.
There was a decent selection of Vegetarian options, but I’m a rubbish veggie, so I lived off pasta and potatoes for most of the week.
The dessert selection was something to behold. Ava LOVED it! Pasties, cakes, gateaux style cakes and ice cream available every lunch and dinner time.
Hot and cold drinks were available unlimited during meal times in the restaurant and at other times from the beach bar. As VIP’s we could have a certain number of branded alcoholic drinks each day, but the selection of soft drinks and alcoholic drinks which were included unlimited was great. I loved the virgin Pina Colada!
Between 11am-12pm and 4pm-5pm there’s a snack station and ice cream cart by the pool outside. A fridge filled with sandwiches, salads and fruit cocktails could be dug into should you feel peckish.
You can ask for them to prepare a sandwich lunch for excursions, just request it by 8pm the night before.
The beach at Kalyves
The beach at Kalyves is a blue flag beach. Meaning it has passed the stringent standards of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).
The beach is divided by a river. On the left side you can get to the beach over a bridge. On the right side the sea was much warmer. There were lots of sun loungers so there was always somewhere to sit and watch the world go by.
The sister hotel Kiani Beach Resort
As guests of Kalyves Beach Hotel we were able to access the facilities at Kiani Beach Hotel too. It only takes about 5 minutes in the car to get there.
Kiani Beach Resort is more focused towards children. Whereas Kalyves is focused towards couples (although plenty of families stay there).
Kiana has four outdoor pools and one indoor pool. We loved the indoor pool it was warm and wasn’t busy either of the times we went to swim. There’s also a small play area right beside the pools and a ping pong table.
Over at the main part of the hotel, there was a larger play area, kid’s club, games room and ride on vehicles.
The Kid’s Club at Kiani
The kid’s club at Kiani Beach runs every morning and afternoon. Ava didn’t want to go this time, but it’s a great feature of the hotel and wonderful that Kalyves holiday makers can access it too.
The weather in Crete at the end of October
The weather was amazing! We’d checked the forecast, but it exceeded our expectations. Every day we were greeted by glorious blue skies and the sun on our faces. Late afternoons felt slightly chilly, but nothing a thin jumper couldn’t fix.
Our verdict on the Kalyves Beach Hotel
We all loved Kalyves Beach Hotel. Ava at 6 years old loved swimming at Kiani the most. Although the pools were larger at Kiani, we loved the friendly, homely feel of Kalyves. The area is so safe, and everyone is beyond helpful. The surrounding area is a breathtaking mix of turquoise water and stunning mountains.
We would have no hesitation in recommending Kalyves Beach Hotel to families or couples and we would love to return in the future!
Want to know more?
The Kalyves Beach Hotel is closed from 1st November for the Winter. It will reopen in Spring and you can check out the discount offers on their website.
You can also see all of my Instagram Stories – saved in a highlight ‘Crete hols’ on my profile here.
The onsite (at Kiani) excursions office can organise trips and car hire.
My next post: I will be sharing our excursions from Kalyves Beach Hotel.
Have you ever been to Crete?
Disclosure: We were gifted our stay at Kalyves Beach Hotel in return for our honest opinion.