We spent a very relaxing week at this hotel from 9th to 16th June this year. In general the hotel is really nice, with some things that exceed expectations and a few others that don't meet them.

Restaurants: there is the main buffet style restaurant, open from 6.30 to 9.30 for evening meal, 12.30 to 2.30 for full board guests and 7-10 for breakfast. The breakfasts were very nice with plenty of choice; food was always fresh and piping hot. Selections for breakfast include the following: Scrambled eggs with or without herbs and peppers, sausages, fried eggs, boiled eggs cooked both 3 and 5 minutes-nice touch, several pastry items that were Greek, yoghurts, jams, honey, croissants, bread rolls, bread for toasting, uncut loaves with a cloth and knife so you could cut your own slice, malt loaf, freshly squeezed orange juice, cereals and loads of fruit (melon, cherries, kiwi, pears, peaches..). This was all very impressive and tasty. Coffee is poured for you, and you can help yourself to many types of tea or juices.

Evening meal: again very nice selection, there was a section for many types of bread and rolls, a soup that was always lovely and never watery, about 14 different types of pasta or rice or pate or bean dishes (all cold), loads of salad items including different types of lettuce and all the trimmings and sauces, and a selection or about 10 hot items which over our week included pizza squares, pasta with different sauces, spaghetti, dolmades, many meat and fish options- sometimes breaded sometimes in sauce, potatoes of all varieties..

We also had one lunch which was superb with loads of choice. Desserts were plentiful and tasty, traditionally Greek such as Kadafi and Baklava, with fruit and ice cream to supplement. The atmosphere we never found rushed, service was just right and you could sit there as long as you wished with as many courses as you could manage! Tablecloths always promptly changed and clean for next people.

The room we had was lovely and spacious, as was the balcony which we had to both put our arms out end to end to touch each side as it was so wide! It was always spotlessly clean after maid service, they would even wash up our glasses and leave them ready for use again. The balcony and room was swept every day, and we requested and extra pillow which arrived within the hour. Plenty of storage, although it may become tight if children were in the room. Free safe and fridge nice touches, complimentary toiletries and shower cap! Bathroom well appointed, the room had everything we needed. Only downsides are the lack of English TV channels (this sounds really sad but we like to have it on whilst getting ready to go out) and no coffee or tea facilities (we were ok as we don't drink much tea, but for a 5* this should be included).

The pool areas were nice; we used the top area with the swim up pool bar as it was quieter. Always very clean, if you were up early enough you could see the maids hard at work scrubbing the tiles etc. Sun beds did fill up but the amount seemed just right, we never went down before 10am and always got 2 together. Once we went to the pool at 1.30pm and still got two no problems. The pool bar had half price happy hour from 2.30 to 3.30; we took advantage of this as Cocktails were 7E full price which can work out expensive once you get a taste for them! The bottom pool had daytime activities, but we can't really comment on those. The hotel grounds are lovely and gardeners were always hard at work. Generally everything was spotlessly maintained and clean.

Staff were almost without exception very helpful, the lady at the pool bar was great. On our first day we went to collect our pool towels, we asked a man where we were supposed to go- he insisted we take a seat while he went and collected them for us. There was only one receptionist who was unhelpful- but the rest were lovely. The manager was also very visible, always chatting to guests in the restaurant and wandering around the grounds and pools throughout the day.

In terms of accuracy of the 5* rating, I would perhaps say a 4* plus would have been better, some things just weren't up to scratch. We have stayed Thomson Holidays Gold before, where staff bring cold towels and fruit round the pool in the afternoons, and they have professional entertainment most evenings. The Annabelle doesn't offer this, which would be good for a 5*. Some touches are nice, e.g. The 3 and 5 minute eggs, the porter who carries your luggage to and from the rooms, the prompt delivery of an ironing board if required.. The entertainment wasn't up to much, the team (Italian I think) performed dances most evenings, but the stage area had plastic garden seats to sit and watch which wasn't nice. We tended to go to the top lobby bar with outside seating, much nicer but only a man and keyboard every night!

Location- this we felt really let the hotel down. We knew it wasn't in the centre of Hersonnisos (thank goodness!), but the area was really difficult to walk around. The roads didn't have paths around the hotel entrance; there was a particularly hairy bend we witnessed 2 near misses on. There is a supermarket very near, as well as a bar with big TV (essential for world cup games!). We would buy some sparkling wine for only 8E and chill it in our fridge (you get wine glasses in room), then sit on balcony and drink it! It is 6E for a taxi in to Hersonnisos; we didn't like this resort at all. You couldn't walk along the promenade without being accosted at every stop by people trying to con you by offering "4 for the price of 1" on drinks (as if!) We picked out and returned to what we thought looked like the best restaurant (Cave D'Ouro) with white linen and candles etc. It was awful! This seemed like the best and was still bad, summing up our opinion of the resort in general.

Finally- the airport. We travelled with Thomas Cook and felt they let us down on every front, our return flight was delayed by 14 hours, during which they didn't even provide drinking water! A complete disaster, we would never use Thomas Cook again. The hotel reps, whilst very nice and helpful, was only in the hotel for a couple of hours 3 times a week- we had a problem specific to something she had told us and by the time she was back it was our last day and too late to sort it out.

Overall the hotel is really good with few negatives except location, but we wouldn't return to Crete. The capital was large, dirty and charmless, and even Knossos was a disappointment. Other resorts may be lovely, but we saw nothing that gave us a favourable impression of Crete as a whole. Pick up the hotel and move it to Corfu, we would return next year! So, You will enjoy your stay if you've already booked, if you haven't- think carefully. Hire a car, and don't believe the brochure description of Hersonnisos as 'Cosmopolitan'-it's really not!!

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Annabelle Village Hotel - Hersonissos

Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - Sept 2005