Grecotel’s LUXME is all-inclusive, but not as you know it

Words: Luciana Bellini

I’ll admit, an all-inclusive holiday isn’t usually my idea of a dream summer getaway. But that was before I tried Grecotel’s LUXME offering at its newly revamped Creta Palace. Located on Crete’s northern coast, the hotel originally opened in 1989 and has just undergone a complete renovation from the ground up. And boy, does it show.

The five-star resort feels thoroughly modern yet still totally in keeping with its laid-back, Mediterranean surroundings. There’s chic coastal decor throughout – think coral-shaped lamps, plenty of sea blues and natural woods – and a stunning central pool split into four different sections, surrounded by loungers. Situated on Crete’s longest sandy beach, it also boasts a pristine stretch of sand complete with a beach bar.

But my favourite spot has to be the Village Quartier, the open-air square designed to emulate a traditional Cretan community, with charming cobbled alleyways, its own chapel and a kafenio (coffee house), where you can pick up a quintessentially Greek frappĂŠ (frothy iced coffee).

Being half Greek myself, these are the sorts of details I usually miss when I go for an all-inclusive option – but the Grecotel team have cleverly added them into the mix, which means you can get a taste of authentic Greek life without ever having to set foot off the resort.

There are seven dining spots to choose from, ranging from Asian to Italian cuisine, but the Village Quartier is also where you’ll find my favourite restaurant, the Antica Taverna Rithy. Offering local Greek cuisine, it serves up a barbecue every Thursday night with traditional Cretan music and dancing – a definite highlight of our stay. That along with an evening tour of Grecotel’s renowned Agreco Farm, located a 10-minute drive away and followed by a delicious dinner made with home-grown produce, gave me the real Greek fix I’d been craving.

The glorious thing about a Grecotel LUXME property is that while all my needs were met, so were my five-year-old daughter’s, who happily skipped off to the Grecoland kids’ club for cooking classes and watercolour painting. She was also delighted by the new King Minos Aqua Park, with its high-octane water slides and splash zones. Add in the all-you-can-eat snacks and ice cream included in the LUXME package and she was in heaven. As for next summer, it looks like we might be booking an all-inclusive after all…

grecotel.com