ENORME SERENITY SPRITZ - ADULTS ONLY

If it was possible to give half ratings then I’d I’ve given this a 3.5 My partner and I arrived in the very early hours (3am) for a 2 week stay. The security met us at reception and the only thing that we were told was that sunbeds were no to be reserved with a towel. This proved not to be the case, it’s another World wide issue that unfortunately is not actually enforced by staff and as new people arrive they continue the fad as they get drawn into this craze from day one. We like to get up early and as our room was on the ground floor directly opposite the dining area, so as I walked out at 6:30am most sunbeds already had towels on them. We would have breakfast, go to our room, get ready to enjoy a few hours round the pool and luckily we managed to grab a couple of beds. Those that had been reserved by guests obviously had sneaked out around 5am and then knowing they had no worry about finding one, would sleep in, have a late breakfast and we’d see them finally come over around 10:30am. Another issue is the proximity to other couples beds and there were a few heavy smokers, so you’d lie there and then get a lung full of smoke. From that day we preferred to make our way to the beach. As you face the church outside we turned left and went to the beach around 10/15 min walk away, just after Gouves harbour. €10 would get you 2 beds, parasol & table. Much better than pool as the sea was warm and there was always a breeze. All the staff at the hotel were excellent, polite, friendly & nothing was too much trouble, cleaners were also very polite too. Food wise the breakfast choices weren’t too bad but it wasn’t until our last day that they had a cook doing fresh omelettes of your choice. Every other hotel I’ve stayed in always had this option everyday. The evening meals were a bit hit or miss, pasta dishes were over cooked & tasted bland. But you’d find something in the dining area that was quite nice - the mussels were always good. The dessert table was very basic, they should invest in a portable freezer that has ice cream tubs in them, as most people love that on a hot day. Out of the two weeks there was one rock band that played in the bar area opposite the sea front, other than that you’d go out to bars. We found that the Anfield bar 30 seconds away was a good call. We watched 3 England games whilst away and they were happy to open all night for one of them. We also booked the sunset boat trip from the tour operators just to the right of the Anfield bar. €85 per adult but it was very good, I’d highly recommend that. Vantage sailing was the actual name of this tour, 5hrs long, great food, very small group on board and included swimming, paddle boarding too. Another great experience was through the Get Your Guide app. Catamaran trip to Dia island, pick up from hotel, 5hr either morning to late afternoon (morning was 9am-2pm) again the group was small (8 plus 2 crew) food very good, soft drinks & wine as much as you wanted. Swimming, snorkelling & paddle boarding included. This cost in pounds £91 each adult. Gouves is a lovely little place, locals friendly, nice restaurants and a few bars on the main shopping street (about 10 min walk from hotel) All in all hotel was clean, basic, lovely staff, pool warm and bar area nice but sunbeds, smoking & food could be improved.

Stayed here for eight nights 1st time to Crete. On arrival staff very friendly and gave us a welcome drink and explained as we went to our room where everything was. We had booked a junior suite and this was great size with balcony. Beds firm but that’s what we like, tried to turn on the tv, probably the sixth night we were there, but couldn’t get it to work. The cleaner came in everyday but floors were only brushed not mopped and bed linen was never changed. The bathroom is very dark and not much space for our toiletries. Glad I took an extension cable with me so I could dry my hair & use my straighteners as where the mirror was there was no socket. The fridge had a complementary bottle of water and was a good size, the safe above it was tiny, my iPad wouldn’t fit in. The air con was brilliant. Our room faced the pool area which was a relief when I saw that others were facing a child’s play area and road The restaurant was fine and always found something to eat food not always warm though at breakfast there’s 2 toasters that take 2 slices of bread which took forever to toast, cats wander through the outside tables with some folk feeding them. Staff here were always friendly and cleaning tables The pool area was busy with very little space between beds some people using 6 beds for 4 people and beds had towels on them from very early in the morning . The buzzer for ordering drinks was great when it worked. The pool had green stuff round the sides of tiles and a man would clean this off every afternoon when folk were swimming in it. The gardens were a bit unkempt and the low seats were totally a waste of space you would struggle to get out of them. The hotel has planes going over very low constantly during the day and some of the night We didn’t try the spa and got fed up of the girl going around every day trying to get you to go. There’s a supermarket a few yards from hotel which was very handy. The Anfield bar was close by but you had to walk to other bars as quite a spread out area and a lot of derelict areas We didn’t feel this was a 4 star hotel probably 3 star and unfortunately wouldn’t go back to hotel or that area

Travelled with husband for an 11 night stay with Jet2. The hotel is situated just off the main coastal road opposite a very pretty church and area offering amazing sunset views. On arrival we were greeted by Nikos who helped with the check in process and also offered us a welcome drink. The Reception area had a boutique feel but the plants needed attention and refreshing. There was apparently a problem with the room we had booked and we were kindly offered an upgrade to a junior suite at no extra charge. We grew to appreciate this as when exploring the hotel we thought perhaps our seaview room we had originally booked might not have been quite what we had imagined as they also overlooked the outside bar and restaurant area and might have been a bit noisy at times as this was next to a children's play area, not part of the hotel. We were in room 104 overlooking the pool area, the balcony got very hot, too hot to sit outside! Things lacking a full length mirror or decent lighting for us ladies to do makeup. The TV was also bizarrely behind the bedroom door! The double bed was ok for us as we are ok with a firm mattress. Pillows good too. The restaurant offered a good selection for both breakfast and the evening meal with themed eating experiences. Snacks also available throughout the day. Unique drink and food ordering process around the pool using an individual bell push system to grab the attention of the waiting staff. Around the pool was a bit cramped but the sunbeds comfortable. The staff were all extremely friendly and attentive, nothing too much trouble. Gouves offer a few lively bars and restaurants along the coast road. There is another more village feel area inland but was a bit too far for us oldies to walk! It should be noted the hotel is directly under the flight path for Heraklion airport but we didn't find this intrusive as no flights in or out before 8am/11pm. All in all we had a lovely relaxing enjoyable holiday at the Enorme Maya Beach Hotel.