Enorme Santanna Island

***** We stayed at Enorme Santanna Island for a week in a sea view room in July. Overall we had a fantastic relaxing time and were impressed with the food. I worried a bit after reading reviews before arriving, but soon realised everyone is entitled to their own opinion ***** Re: check-in. Relatively smooth experience. Entering your details at check-in was self-service - a bartender was available to make us a drink while we filled out our details. Food was available in the buffet when we arrived at 10 PM. The receptionist advised us to book our three included restaurants as soon as possible - we did this as soon as we got to our room and had no major issues getting reservations throughout the week. Re: room. The room was nice with great sea views. Bottle of fizz and a fruit platter on arrival. Spacious bathroom and bedroom, with two wardrobes and a few drawers. There were very few coat hangers in our room with one wardrobe having no hangers in, but for a week stay we managed fine. The bedside tables were wooden stools, so storage was limited there, but it wasn’t an issue for us. Re: hotel grounds. Well-maintained and clean, with the main pool area mopped each morning. The main pool was impressive, with padded sun loungers and good views. The pool ‘officially’ opens at 9 AM. There was a queue starting around 8 AM, and loungers were usually available until 9ish. It was a bit of a rush, but not as bad as some other reviews suggest if you’re prepared to be at the pool for 08:00 AM. The sign also suggested no pool use before 10am or after 7pm, but people did. Staff could do better at enforcing the no reserving before 8:30 AM as people did leave towels/items and didn’t return for hours. Re: food. Buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was excellent, with lots of choices and great service. Personally we thought the Creatian restaurant was lovely, with a great lamb shank, though some food was a repeat from the buffet. We genuinely looked forward to our meals. Re: Drink. The bar menu was good - white sangria is a good choice. Aperol hut is a nice touch - Hugo spritz were our favourites. Coffee house had oat, almond, coconut milk. Re: entertainment. Evenings consisted of a great Latin singer on Saturday, a rock act on Sunday, a DJ, and a violinist. Quiet music played around the main pool. Lots of couples playing cards in the evening. Re: Influencers. Yes, lots of photos were being taken, especially at sunset. We didn’t find it a problem at all and makes for a great bit of people watching! Re: checkout. We had a late night flight back and our wristbands were cut off after checkout. We were given a food voucher for lunch. We then used the changing room facilities later in the afternoon. It’d have been good to have no had our wristbands cut off especially since we arrived so late on our ‘first day’, although we still managed to get food/drink anyway. Re: excursions. We chose to organise our own catamaran tour to Dia island through Viator, although there were trips advertised in the hotel. We also went into Malia old town for an evening - we used the hotels taxi service for that. Re: staff. During our stay we found the staff to be lovely. Like most situations, be nice to others and they’ll be nice back.

Excellent food and the staff was very nice and attentive, especially the chief of the buffet Muhammed!

Incredible hotel, good food, kind and professional staff, just beds needs to be more firm they are too soft and not comfortable

Amazing experience at Énorme Santanna Island! Beautiful setting, lovely atmosphere, great service, and the perfect place to fully relax and enjoy your holiday. Would definitely recommend!

Five star resort with 3 star food and drinks. The resort is very attractive with rooms built around four pools and bars, on a stunning coastline. The resort is billed as premium all inclusive, and I incorrectly assumed this meant premium drinks - but spirits and beers are local and premium brands have to be paid for. Food is satisfactory but no where near 5 star. Food in the buffet restaurant is not kept hot and is left out for long periods of time. I am not eating it. Food not eaten at dinner is then set aside for the late night snacks from 10 to 0400! At lunchtime there are places where lighter meals on a fixed menu can be cooked to order. Our room interior is nice, but our balcony overlooks a public road which runs through the middle of the resort, whereas other rooms overlook pools. There are no facilities for children and on a positive note there are few around!