Thalassi

I’m sat by the pool on the last day of our holiday at Thalassi, reflecting on our time here. It’s been a beautiful week of wall to wall sunshine. My wife, son, daughter in law, grandchildren (ages 5 and 3) and me have really enjoyed our stay. The rooms are great, everywhere is clean. It was above 30 degrees every day so we paid 5 euros a day for the air conditioning, it has been so worth it. We had a double room with sea and pool views and they had a sizeable family room for four with pool view. The family who run the hotel work tirelessly and you get to know them all well. You also feel like a community pretty quickly as you get to know many of the friendly guests. Breakfast at the hotel is plentiful and delicious, the breakfast ladies are so welcoming. Our evening meals were at the restaurant a short 5 minute walk or free shuttle away. Half board provided a limited buffet but we all always found something to eat. You can of course pay for Al a carte at the restaurant if you prefer and the food on that menu looked delicious. Our grandchildren loved the play area at the restaurant so we stuck to the buffet. We all enjoyed eating by the sea and relaxing over drinks while taking in the breathtaking sunsets. The hotel pool bar serves drinks from 10.30am and a tasty lunch menu from 12pm to 3pm. We used the local bus service twice, purchasing the tickets at the supermarket (only 2.20 Euros per journey), jumping on the bus by the restaurant, before visiting the old town and harbour, then a day at the beach, using Bora Bora beach club as our base. If you purchase a drink at the club, they’ll give you a free sun bed on the beach with waiter service. It was a fantastic experience. The food at Bora Bora is great too and reasonably priced. (Tip - wear beach shoes as the entrance to the sea is pebbly.) Thanks to the Thalassi team, Eva, Steffi, Michael and Dimitri for looking after us this week. We are grateful for your generosity including our sandwiches in our room after our late arrival, the homemade olive oil gift, the free dish of melt in your mouth lamb and chicken nuggets for the children from the Al a carte menu.

The hotel is very clean and the staff are polite, but that’s about it. Breakfast is good with reasonable options, however the dinner buffet is very poor. Almost no choice and the same few dishes repeated every night. The restaurant does have a nice view, but the owner is unwelcoming and rude unless you eat a la carte. We didn’t feel welcome there at all. The drinks are overpriced and not included in the buffet. Not even water. The beach is a 10 minute walk from the hotel and is lovely and sandy. The location is isolated in a run-down area, full of hotels, with almost nothing around. Only 2 supermarkets, 1 taverna, 2 bakeries and 1 coffee shop. You absolutely need to rent a car, depend on the bus or to pay for excursions. Extra fees: €5 per day for AC, €3 per day for the safe, plus €5 per day tourist tax. Overall: Only suitable for a very quiet stay if you have low expectations about food and service.

We had the best time! We took our older teenage daughters and it was perfect. Dimitri, Eva and the Thalassi family were so welcoming. Nothing was too much trouble, Dimitri and Eva are so kind and genuinely treat you like friends. The hotel was spotless and bedrooms cleaned every day. Air con is extra. The atmosphere was relaxing, quiet and friendly. We thoroughly enjoyed breakfast and the evening meals, especially our chats with Dimitri, who was very kind, generous and really looked after us. One night we had the privilege of listening to Dimitri sing along with a local singer and another night there were Greek dancers. We had so much fun as they get you involved. There is a short walk to the restaurant but if you don’t want to walk they do put on a mini bus that can take you. Bus stops are close by which run regularly and gives you the opportunity to travel to a busier but stunning Rethymno, Heraklion or any of the smaller villages / beaches for more beautiful views. The areas we went felt very safe and laid back. There are a few supermarkets, bakery, ice cream / cake shop and coffee shops which are all worth visiting but the bar at the hotel also caters for a range of lunch food. For us it was great value for money and a nice balance of quiet, stunning sunsets, great food and most importantly the kindest hosts. Everything was greatly appreciated, thank you, we will be returning.

Fantastic family run hotel all the staff are amazing and nothing is too much trouble. Demetrius & Eva the hotel owners made us feel so welcome . We stayed half board and did not have any issues what so ever with the food. Its typically greek food that you get all over greece. We have been to many different greek islands and would without a doubt be returning here. I cannot fault this hotel its so clean throughout .There were always sunbeds available round the pool no matter what time you go as you cannot put your towels on the beds to reserve them which is a massive plus for me . If you want a quiet hotel with only a supermarket and a couple of bars but within easy reach of Rethymon then this is for you. The bus stop is close to the hotel so really easy to get about . The beach is 5/10 mins walk. For the evening meal you go to their restaurant which has the most amazing views of the sunset there is free transport to take you but you can walk only 5 mins away . I am a travel agent and will be definitely selling this hotel.

We stayed for two weeks as a family of four with two young boys 6yo & 4yo. Hotel team is extremely helpful and kind, Nothing is too much trouble. They always took time to chat to us and made my children feel extremely welcomed. Hotel room was extremely clean. The food was delicious, there was always something we enjoyed on the menu. Hotel isn't far from the bus stop you can catch the number 20 from outside the school to go one way or outside of the restaurant to go the other. The restaurant is around a 5 minute walk but you do go past a lovely cake/ice cream shop which sells the most beautiful cakes so highly recommend. The walk never bothered us atall. The restaurant has the most beautiful sea views and the sunsets are stunning. We hired a car from the hire company next to the restaurant and again they were brilliant. We had an amazing holiday and Thalassi Hotel was beautiful. Would 100 percent return.