Silva Beach Hotel

It was a lovely stay in a beautiful spot, with plenty of shops around. The pools were excellent, the food had lots of choice and was good, and the staff were accommodating. It’s the kind of all inclusive you’d expect.

Back at Silva Beach for a second time. Our sea-facing room was lovely, clean, and airy, and the staff were brilliant about everything. We went in October this time, so there were no fights over sunbeds and there was always one to find.

The Cretan style of the hotel was a welcome change from modern concrete buildings. The sea was very clear, and beyond the small, steep entry there’s a big turtle living a little farther out. At the pool, guests kept saving chairs with towels, though we could still find a spot at 10 a.m. and choose where to lie down, so the towel blocking made little sense. The people are what make this place feel lovely. The employees were open and friendly, and made us feel welcome, even though the rooms could use maintenance. Food was good, and we didn’t have to book the Italian or Burger Restaurant far ahead. Meals at the Minoan Restaurant are buffet style.

The food let us down most days: it was poor quality with little variety, so we ended up eating out most nights, which wasn’t ideal after spending so much on the holiday. In contrast, the drinks were good, with a decent choice of cocktails that weren’t watered down, though the beer wasn’t very good. We were asked for a €100 per person deposit as soon as we checked in, supposedly because of destructive behavior by other young guests. This hadn’t been mentioned when we booked, and being asked at 1 a.m. felt like a rude welcome. The rooms were just adequate. The bathroom was tiny, with so little space in the shower that I bumped into the handle several times. Most staff were pleasant and often chatted with us, though a few were somewhat rude or ignorant. That wasn’t a major issue. The location is lovely, right by a beautiful beach and close to shops and restaurants. There are three nice pools: a saltwater one by the romantic bar, a regular pool farther down near the beach and pool bar, and one on the beach, ringed by rocks but open to the sea. Getting a sun lounger was very hard because people left towels on them all day, sometimes without coming back. We felt too polite to move the towels. Evenings dragged because the entertainment was poor, and there was very little seating. Still, we had a lovely holiday by making the most of what was around us. There are plenty of nice bars, shops, and restaurants within a 20-minute walk in either direction. This could suit people planning to be out most days, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a holiday spent mainly at the hotel. It didn’t feel worth it for that.