Family-friendly Hotels in Lavris

As a package holiday first timer, our experience at Creta Marine was just brilliant. We were welcomed into a fantastic resort and location by friendly and helpful staff. We stayed in a family waterfront bungalow and it absoluely blew me away. Gorgeous views from the balcony and right above the best swimming cove. The apartment was comfortable and spacious for 2 adults and 2 teenage boys. The rooms were kept beautifully clean and housekeeping was very flexible in their visit times, allowing us to relax in the room when we wanted. I really appreciated the fresh towels and linen each day. The beds were comfortable and there were thoughtful touches all around the accomodation. The balcony was my favourite place, day and evening. The village style layout of the bungalow complex was absolutely charming. The landscaping and planting add extra enjoyment and the opportunity to enjoy native plants. We enjoyed snorkelling in each of the coves, lots of fish to see! Comfortable loungers at every location and refreshment options too. The resort is so large and has so many facilities, even as it filled up, it never felt crowded. Lots of space around the main pool (which is gorgeous) and around the many smaller pools and areas. We visited in October so it was still comfortably warm. The water was cool, but we're Cornish and a bit hardy so that didn't faze us. The land train to nearby Panormo was charming, lots of options for eating and shopping in that little village. Rethymnon is an easy bus ride away, stopping right outside the resort. Beautiful town with the most amazing shops and places to eat. Utterly charming. Reception staff very helpful in helping us navigate and get to where we wanted. The whole atmosphere was so hospitable, we had a 5 hour wait between checkout and airport transfer on the way home. We were welcomed to use all the communal facilities with thoughtfully provisioned showers etc so we could still swim and enjoy. There's a very handy little resort shop with some basics, snacks, drinks, souveniers, books, bus tickets etc. A short walk away is a local shop which is definitely worth a visit, so many local snacks and foods, as well as gorgeous gifts, souveniers, clothes and interesting things. I cannot think of a single negative about our stay. Thank you to the brilliant staff, we were fortunate to stay for 11 nights and got to know our favourites. The smell sometimes alluded to is the bore water used to irrigate the plants at night, which has a sulphurous smell. This is due to rock composition of Crete imparting sulphide gas into the water table. Using untreated bore water to irrigate is much more sustainable than using drinking quality water, especially where water supply is under severe pressure. We drank the tap water for the whole stay, using the mini fridge to chill. The mineral content is beneficial I believe but if you can't get along with the difference in taste, bottles of spring water are readily and cheaply available f