Althea Village SuneoClub | Crete

Believe it or not but even travel bloggers look forward to holidays; the trouble is that I don’t often have long to plan them. We booked a very last minute week in Crete this summer with TUI –  we chose the Althea Village SuneoClub just outside Chania and what felt like no time (just over 2 weeks) after booking we were heading off for a week on the Greek island.

We’re big fans of airport lounges so it was great to try out the newly refurbished Aspire lounge at Gatwick North Terminal – you can read the full review here. Landing into Chania airport just after 10 pm meant that we didn’t arrive at the Althea Village until after 11 pm but we were greeted by evening snacks of sandwiches, sweet treats and some wine and beer for the adults. The homely welcome we received on the night of our arrival really set the tone for our stay.  Amenities aside (I’ll explore those further down) the staff are the absolute jewel in the crown at Althea. I’ve stayed all over the world and the most memorable trips are always those that are made by the staff. Althea Village is no exception; every single member of staff we encountered from housekeeping to the restaurant were amazing.

We were staying in a ground floor suite which is across the road from the main buildings in a small development. I was wondering how the road would impact but honestly, it really didn’t and we appreciated the added quiet and seclusion. That said, the Althea Village is in no way crowded – with less than 200 rooms spread out in a village style there was never ‘a rush’ with plenty of sunbeds at all three pools and never a queue at the restaurant at mealtimes.

 

The suite was perfect for the three of us and everything we needed and more. Opening out onto the small pool was a lovely touch – I even enjoyed my early morning work catch ups by the pool.

One of the big concerns when travelling all inclusive is the food – get it wrong and it can spell disaster, it has the ability to make or break a holiday. The Althea doesn’t offer any a-la-carte restaurants with all guests eating at the same buffet restaurant so all our eggs were in one basket; we weren’t disappointed. One of my biggest regrets is not taking any photos of the food. Each meal was varied, delicious and plentiful – there wasn’t an occasion where we didn’t find something that we really enjoyed. I think now’s the appropriate time to admit to leaving Althea Village with an unhealthy addiction to Feta… haha!!

The Althea Village is offered to the UK club through TUI as SuneoClub – cost conscious all-inclusive product that allows families to make the most of their budget while not losing out. All hotels within the SuneoClub group are 3 stars but I honestly think Althea Village is a solid 4 star – with the friendly, efficient while not being over the top service playing a big part.

Part of the SuneoClub offering is the entertainment –  consisting of Charley, Mikaela, Liesa and Pawel I’m historically not a big fan of animation teams, however, these guys were amazing. I was absolutely blown away by just how hard they worked to keep children (and a fair few adults too!) entertained.

The dip in and dip out style of SuneoClub’s entertainment makes it perfect for everyone. Whilst I was working hard on my tan and my stack of books by the pool, I was watching on as Boo was in the pool with the Suneo team playing games in groups. They also offer evening entertainment and whilst we dipped in and out of that we made sure we were there for the children’s disco every night… Boo still sings Baby Shark and the Suneo song daily!

The hotel was a cocoon of beautiful predictability, every day had a lovely flow and I’m not even sad that we only made it Chania once. Just means we’ll have to go back.

The best way I find to gain a true insight into a resort/destination is to talk to fellow guests, and I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a resort that has so many repeat guests – one large group who had been coming for over twelve years said it was like visiting old friends. I couldn’t think of a better way to describe the Althea Village SuneoClub; this is one of those reviews that I’m both want to and don’t want to share. On the one hand, everybody deserves to discover this amazing jewel in the Cretan crown but on the other, I’d quite like to keep this one our little secret.