Two lovely weeks at the Silva Beach Hotel
by TripAdvisor Member HappytravellerOslo
We arrived a little before midnight, and were told that the kitchen closed at midnight, so if we wanted some food, there was some available. Excellent first impression! The room was ok, wonderful with air condition. The whole hotel area was also very nice, and clean, with two pools. The staff was nice, and even though not everyone's English was perfect, they always tried their best to help you. The location was very nice: close to the ocean, not in the center of the party area, but still in walking distance to everything if you wanted to participate.
Great time in Crete
by TripAdvisor Member D_and_J
We stayed at the Silva Maris in late May, 2008 and enjoyed it. The pools were great, good location, friendly staff. Typical all-inclusive atmosphere, good place to relax.
Fine hotel for some, bad location for us
by TripAdvisor Member Sabbydoo
My husband and I stayed here in early September. We booked this hotel, like the rest of our honeymoon, through a travel agency. I had actually originally requested a hotel in Chania and, for one reason or another, was told that we couldn't stay there and offered the Silva Maris. We were therefore disappointed when we got to Hersonissos and realized it is basically a Fort Lauderdale type place in Greece. The street the hotel is on is super touristy -- and not only in the way of little shops selling Greek wares, but there were shops selling beach stuff and horrible cheap t-shirts and so on... if you've been to any major beach town in North America you know the type of store I'm talking about. There are also plenty of cafes, restaurants and bars lining the main street. This would have been fine had we wanted just to lie on the beach, party and drink all night, but that wasn't quite the objective of our trip...
The hotel itself was fine, a pretty standard all-inclusive. Our room was nice, very clean and quite large, and the bathroom had a tub and shower. You couldn't hear any of the street noise from the room. Our air conditioner didn't really work properly but it wasn't that hot while we were there so it wasn't too much of an issue. The breakfast was good -- lots of variety. The lunches and dinners were pretty terrible. I agree with the reviewer below who equated it with hospital food. It reminded me of the food at the Cuban all-inclusive I once stayed at. We didn't take too much advantage of our all-inclusive deal, but the one time I went in search of snacks and drinks it seemed like both were pretty plentiful.
The two pools were both large and beautiful. There were always a lot of chairs free at each. There were lots of kids around and it seemed like it was a good place to take a family. The beach was pretty small and a bit rocky but the water was nice.
The staff were extremely helpful and always courteous. After our travel agency rep turned out to be pretty useless at providing us with any info about things we wanted to do, the hotel front desk clerk booked us with no trouble at all on an excursion to the Samaria Gorge, which we would highly recommend. We also went to the Palace of Knossos, which was really good too. You can get there by public bus but it takes quite a while.
All in all, if you are looking to come to Crete just to lie on a beach or by a pool, drink all day and party at night, this is the place for you. Likewise if you have kids and want to be at a place with nice large pools and fun activities. But if you want to feel like you're actually in Greece, and take in some of the sights and cities, this is not the place for you. I would stay closer to Iraklion next time or in one of the other cities.
Definitely not a 4 Star but good for families
by TripAdvisor Member SuzySueThorpeBay
My husband and I wanted a last minute reasonable holiday in the sun to relax. Purely based on good reviews on this site we booked the Aquis Silva a week before departure on an All Inclusive package, including transfers.
The room was acceptable but pretty basic, not 4* accommodation by any stretch. The maid service was good and our bed linen was changed twice during our week's stay. The air conditioning was excellent and a necessity in July.
The Cretan weather was fantastic during our holiday. Unfortunately it was impossible to relax and enjoy it by the large pool which was very busy with lots of Russians holidaying with their children. We particularly travel outside the UK holidays but it must have been the holiday season in Russia! Fortunately we either found a quieter spot on a small beach or the break water in front of the hotel where sunbeds and umbrellas were provided free of charge for hotel guests. However, these were very old and in need of replacement, compared to the nicer ones by the pool.
To our dismay to guarantee getting a sunbed either by the pool or beach you had to set your alarm early in the morning so you could beat the other hotel residents before all the sunbeds were reserved with towels! By 7.30am many would be taken so take heed, no lie -ins even on your holiday! This behaviour should be banned, I know some hotels stop it.
The food in the restaurant was OK, but again more 2-3* quality. The salads were good however though there was evidence of recycling of breakfast items to lunch salads, lunch items to dinner! The hot food was very poor in our opinion. OK if you like soggy salty pasta and chips. I particularly like to eat fish on holiday but this was very poor and some of the meat dishes inedible. The best food was the BBQ night, at least there was some variety! The wine was good as was the cold beer and in plentiful supply as was the delicious icecream. Leave your manners at the door though, people push and shove and prod you with their plates as they are so impatient which I found shocking!
The same applies to the Romantic/poolside bar. There were often queues and only ever one bar person serving who was quite surly. Two staff were really needed. Hotel guests would be rude and push in so again you have to be just as rude or you wont get served, its as simple as that !
As part of our deal we were able to try the so called "a la carte" restaurant on one occasion. This was a total disappointment. The service was awful even by the Maitre'D himself. The food was poor and the chicken overcooked and dry. It was an effort to get a glass of wine and alot of people seemed unhappy and were taking ages to get served even though it was almost empty. The waiters were scrapping the plates off into bins and clattering plates and cutlery like a school canteen a few yards from our table! They didn't seem to have the first clue about creating a nice atmosphere. Needless to say we turned down the chance to dine there again when we were offered to do so at a supplement of €35!
Even though we were all-inclusive until our departure, we decided to dine out in town on the last night, which was very enjoyable and the service excellent and friendly. A total contrast!
We went out every evening for a drink in town as there was no entertainment which was surprising for a large AI hotel. Only Greek music/dancers on one evening in the buffet restaurant.
In summary, we got what we wanted, a week's relaxation in the sun without spending a fortune as the Euro is very bad currently. The Aquis Silva is good for families on a budget. If you want a romantic peaceful break, forget it. Also if you enjoy a good meal and good food is your passion, forget that also!
If you decide to book this hotel, make sure you don't pay brochure prices and don't overpay !
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