"We booked the holiday with Love Holiday on the 30th April to fly out to Crete on 11th May for a week and stay at the Castello Resort and Spa in the maisonette suite with private pool. The airports (both Manchester and Heraklion) and flight were excellent and stress free and we arrived at 6:15pm feeling super relaxed and ready to start our holiday. Unfortunately when we arrived at the hotel (Resort and Spa) we were told we’d arrived at the wrong resort and that we needed to take our cases to the other Castello hotel (across the road) which was the Castello Boutique Suites By The Sea. When we then arrived at that hotel there was lots of confusion about the booking and we were told it was actually the Castello Resort and Spa we were at- which we did know so were confused as to why they sent us to the suites in the first place. We were given a complimentary drink and were told to wait in the bar area whilst they sorted out our room and bring the cases over. About 1.5 hours had passed and no one had been over to see us. By this time we were hungry and were still wearing our travel clothes. My husband went to the desk and was told that they didn’t have the room we originally booked available and this was due to the reservation from Love Holiday going into the email junk folder. The lady on reception said they would look into finding us a like for like room in one of the other Castello Resorts (there are 3 all next to each other). Again, we waited another 45 minutes to an hour. Eventually, we were taken over the Castello Boutique Suites and told there was a room for us there, it looked nice so we were totally fine with that. They were very apologetic and gave us a complimentary dinner in the restaurant (which was absolutely incredible). After dinner a member of the hotel team took us to our room which was another maisonette suite with private pool. I’m not writing this to have a go at the hotel as they were very apologetic and did manage to resolve the situation, it is just to highlight that this did happen so you might want to check if you booked with Love Holiday that you do have the room booked and it isn’t sat in the junk mail- on the confirmation Love Holiday clearly state that they do confirm rooms with hotels. We don’t actually know who was at fault to be honest.
The room was nice and very spacious. On the upper deck there is a very large and comfortable bed with a TV, a sink and toilet in a separate room. Downstairs there is a sofa, TV, dressing table with sink, shower area, toilet with sink, coffee making machine (espresso cups so if you are tea drinker you might need to ask for a mug), fridge and safety deposit box (inside wardrobe) and 2 wardrobes, one with hangers and one without (not many hangers for 2 people). On a less positive note about the shower, it’s absolutely rubbish. No pressure at certain times of the day and not much water came out of the rain head. The terrace has a private pool (though not so private as everyone walking past can see you), a table with 2 chairs and 2 Sun beds. The pool is quite cold until later in the afternoon, though I would suspect it’s a lot warmer in the summer months. Rooms are cleaned daily. Our room was 1005 and was usually cleaned around 1:30pm each day. You will get fresh towels for both showering and pool if you leave them on the floor. Any areas which are cluttered like tables and dressers will not be cleaned, which is understandable. The plugs are EU and there are plenty scattered about on both floors. You also get slippers and bathrobes. The room and resort does have WIFI and Air con. The WIFI isn’t great in the room and terrace during certain hours of the day, usually mornings and late evenings so you may need to use your data which is around £2 a day depending on who you’re with. If you have mobility issues and struggle with stairs, this room isn’t for you. The hotel has a restaurant which overlooks the pool. We did only eat dinner here once which was our complementary meal and it was absolutely delicious! The chicken breast is unreal (see photo). At breakfast they have a menu that you can select items from (again, menu attached). You can also grab items from the buffet such as cereal, bread, meats, cheeses, pastries and yogurts. Tea, coffee, water and juices are available too. On arrival to the suites resort we were given a voucher for 1 signature cocktail each and a 10 minute spa treatment (not sure if this is for all guests or it was a good will gesture due to room mix up). Within the boutique suites resort there is a small gym with treadmill, rowing machine and weights which is available to use by guests. I believe you can eat breakfast in the Castello resort across the road but we didn’t go over there. If you haven’t been to Sissi before it’s a very small place, but have plenty of restaurants and bars. There are lots of supermarkets that sell everything and anything you’ll need. Crete is extremely cat friendly and there are a lot of cats mooching around that the tourists feed and look after. All in all, it was a very relaxing stay for a week. The reception, housekeeping and restaurant staff were all lovely and very friendly.
We did do one trip to Spinalonga whilst we were there which includes a trip to a small town called Nikolaos, boat trip to Spinalonga, an opportunity to swim at a beach and a lunch that is eaten on the boats which consists of chicken, pork or vegetarian, salad, feta cheese, bread roll, wine or soft drink. I think the trip was around €60 each and you’re out from around 9:20am (pick up from our resort) until around 6pm. We booked this through a lady that runs a tours company just down the road from the hotel- she’s lovely and super friendly. There are plenty of trips available such a a day trip to Santorini and quad bike safaris. We didn’t hire a car whilst there, probably would have done if we had a second week. There is a car hire place across the road from the hotel. The island is beautiful and the roads do appear to be save to drive on, no one seems to be driving wild.
We have been in touch with Love Holiday about the issue with rooms who then contacted the hotel. The hotel did offer on the Saturday night to put us back in one of the rooms we’d originally booked, we did decline as we were leaving on the Monday morning and didn’t think it would be worth it. One of the reasons we booked the resort and spa is because the room and private pool were on the first floor overlooking the sea and with the room we had there was always other guests, housekeeping and maintenance staff walking across to the other resort that was next door.
Minus the room issues, the holiday was very relaxing and I would recommend Sissi to anyone who is looking for a peaceful, quiet break. I would not recommend to anyone that is looking for a party holiday."
