Creta Maris-aegean Style Rst

Very nice place

by TripAdvisor Member ingefanton

We went to the Silva Maris hotel with four persons. The rooms were not so big but very clean. Our room was on the main street of Chersonissos, wich is a very crowdy and noisy road but inside the room it did'n bothered us at all. The hotel is build like a little village, with plants and flowers everywhere. The pools were nice and very clean and the staff was very helpfull and friendly.The dinners were super! Every day something else and the buffets were really inviting you to eat. No complains at all. The dining room was clean and fresh, you really could enjoy dinner. The location of the hotel is great! On the backside you find the beach en on the other side, you have the city. Everything is within walking distance. Chersonissos however is crowdy, noisy but I think for young people it is the place to be.

Not a real 4 star

by TripAdvisor Member 06sun

We stayed at the Silva Maris for four nights in July, 2008. I must admit that we were disappointed as it wasn’t what we were expecting from a 4 star hotel.

To be fair, I think the hotel is a great choice for families as they cater very well to children and teenagers. There were kids everywhere. The hotel grounds are colorful and well kept. The two pools are very large. The staff is helpful and friendly.

However, if you’re looking for stylish rooms, comfort, great food or a romantic getaway, this is NOT the place. The rooms need some serious refurbishing (squeaky beds, small old television, old furniture, old curtains, stained towels…). The bathrooms need a good scrub and new shower curtains as ours was very dirty and moldy. We had to wear our flip-flops in the shower.

With regard to the food, the large breakfast buffet was satisfactory and offered a variety of food for everyone. We were never there for lunch but had the option to order a takeout lunch box. We didn’t take up the lunch box offered as we were very disappointed with the dinner buffet and wanted to eat out for lunch during our day trips. The dinner buffet, although very large, was of poor quality. The food was plain and bland. It reminded me of a hospital cafeteria. It actually turned us off. I've been to many other 4 star hotels that offered a much better quality dinner buffet.

However, I must say the “à la carte restaurant” meal , unfortunately only offered once while we were there, was of much better quality and was the type of quality meal we were expecting every night from a 4 star hotel . They need to add the items offered at the “à la carte” to the dinner buffets.

I think children would have a great time at the Silva Maris, but I would definitely not recommend it to couples or anyone expecting a 4 star level of comfort and quality.

Everything you'd expect for a great mediterranean A.I. stay in Crete, Greece.

by TripAdvisor Member Lodhizattva

Multi-lingual staff, fantastic food, professional and courteous - this place made you want to stay longer. The concierge was willing to inform us of special, non-published amentities and services, free of charge. The location is great for shopping and nightlife, steps to Hersonissos and yet very quiet inside the lot, especially inward suites and villas. There are two pools, tennis courts (2), specialty dinning and 24 hr snacks. There are four other Maris properties, and you can shuttle between them for various beaches, amenities, et cetera. Special entertainment nights with Cretan traditional music and dance.

The people are warm and thoughtful as we found out on our belated honeymoon, where they pampered us with compliments, flowers and wines, and suggestions of what to do in town and about Crete.

The food is varied and western-Europeanized a little, and the beer on tap is Warsteiner, as they mainly tend to cater to German vacationers. The beach is small, but never badly crowded, complete with a smooth rock outcrop to sunbathe on. Topless sunbathing is the norm in this region of the world - no one thinks twice, nor cares. Voltage is 220V, sockets similar to German-speaking Europe, so bring converters and adapters if you're North American or Australian.

We found that most daytrips could be done cheaper and at a more relaxed pace if just done with public transit or hired vehicles or taxis. Just buy the books and listen to passing tour guides, especially if you haven't learnt anything about the place you're visiting before you came. Just mind that the roads are tighter, vehicles smaller, and driving is a bit more skilled and hectic in Crete than North America or the rest of Europe.

Our second home

by TripAdvisor Member FriendlyOslo

We have spend our 20th stay in Silva this summer. This is our second home. Thanks to all the staff: Haroula is my best friend! Greetings also to old friends Stella (manager) Lefteris and Nikos (headwaiters), Dimitra (cleaning our room) and many, many more... This year we got new friends in Silva: Diana, Karolina and Tomek from the animation team, and Lenka and Kostas in the Romantic Bar. Thank you for making this vacation the best one ever! We miss you all, and are counting the weeks until next summer. We are looking forward to the renovation of the hotel, and trust you will not destroy the atmosphere of this "small village". The most important is to keep the staff!!!

Ocean Village

by kevin36

" Ocean Village Cruise "

This Was our first ever Cruise and is just our personal experience on Ocean Village
And these are the places we visited on our two week voyage
Dubrovnik
Corfu
Cefalonia
Katakolon
Athens
Heraklion
Limassol
Rhodes
Kusadasi
Mykonos
Santorini
Ocean Village

"Ocean Village( Flight & Arrival)"

From start to finish everything went smoothly, We booked in at Gatwick Airport, flew out exactly on time, the flight was with Thomas Cook to Heraklion.
Flight time approx 3hrs 45Mins.
The flight crew we had for this particular flight I have to say, were "Brilliant" it was nice to have a Captain who had a wicked sense of humour and was very cheerful with it, it made a good start to the Holiday.
"Thank you" Capt Min brown and your crew.
Once you arrive in Heraklion you collect your baggage then you put them on the coach, after that your suitcases are taken to your cabin.
You register your credit card for the duration of the trip at Heraklion and you are given a bar coded card for entry and exit of the ship.(Simple). Also your photo is taken to identify you are the holder of the card.

Below are some video clips taken during the cruise.

First night on board was the Greek night sail away party, a memorable night

Our trip on Ocean Village One
Rhodes
Santorini
Dubrovnik
Athens
Katakolon
Corfu
Mykonos
Kusadasi
Cefalonia

"Ocean Village (The Trip)"

"What can I say!" Blue skies and hot weather the whole time, Temperatures varied from 28% - 40%.The ship itself is very capable of riding rougher weather, the night we sailed from Heraklion it was very windy and the sea fairly rough, however we hardly noticed it,until you opened a door!.
The journey through out the 14days was smooth and without incident,the ship is comfortable and well run, the staff work very hard and work very long hours.
You have a team member assigned to you,ours was "Sherilyn" who looked after us very well and the room was cleaned every day.(spotless).
I will go into food etc under the different categories along with excursions.
Again I cannot compare what this particular cruise is like compared to others as this was our first cruise,what I can say is from our personal experience it was just right for us,casual and relaxing, and we were treated very well and looked after.