Our absolutely perfect family holiday at Cretan Malia Park
// Press Visit
The last time Izzy was on a plane was when we took her to Spain when she was about 11 months old. We had plans to go to Cyprus just before she turned 2, but then a pesky pandemic blew in and scuppered our travel plans forevermore… UNTIL this Summer, a couple of weeks after Izzy turned 4, when we boarded a plane together as a family and flew across the seas to Crete, where we would be staying at the gorgeous Cretan Malia Park. And it really was, gorgeous…
“Experience a new, slow-paced lifestyle. Discover the charm hidden in simplicity…this is the life worth living”.
Cretan Malia Park, a member of Design Hotels, is stunning. Stunning in a way that kind of takes your breath away. Every chair, every cup, every door, sofa or swimming pool is considered, thoughtfully designed and beautiful. Being immersed in the exquisite world they’ve created, left me with a deep sense of peace and joy.
The beauty extends to their private sandy beach, the long river pool, the main swimming pool, and even the children’s paddling pool. There are 3 restaurants (we tried them all – read on) a spa, a wellness programme, which provides yoga, meditation sessions, pilates classes, basketball, volleyball, biking… you can even rent bicycles from the hotel.
We carved out our own little holiday routines amidst the gorgeousness, and because Crete is 2 hours ahead, we were able to keep Izzy on her same timings and pretended she was on British time… so when she woke up at 7amish UK time, it was actually 9am, so we had a lovely lie in 🙂 And when it was her bed time at 7pm UK time, we had an hour or so on our balcony before we hit the hay at 10pm Greek time. No idea if this makes sense to you, but it made perfect sense to us and worked brilliantly.
“From its boundless slow-paced aura, carefully aligned with the tempo of the island, to an authentically Cretan gastronomic experience, Cretan Malia Park is a microcosm of the island on which is resides — an accurate and detailed snapshot of Crete, where travellers are offered ample opportunity to explore, experience and live”.
On our first evening we had dinner at Almyra, the resort’s Italian restaurant. Located on the beach front, the sunsets were unreal and the food was wonderful. Izzy ate Pizza and chips, and we enjoyed an Italian feast.
We all shared one of the ‘bungalows’, which had the most enormous bed for me and LM and a very comfy daybed for Izzy too. The room was bright, calm and beautiful and again, just beautifully designed…
The living spaces reflect Cretan Malia Park’s sustainable and nature-inspired approach to holistic relaxation…
There is also a traditional Cretan restaurant on the resort, called Mouries. The restaurant is designed like a Cretan courtyard, with oversized stone pots, mulberry trees, and greenery…
The holiday was a real holiday. Properly relaxing and so easy and gentle… Izzy was in her element and it was so easy for her meet and play with other children – there were so many there! However, despite there being so many children and families, the whole vibe of the hotel was incredibly calm. We remarked on this to each other, while we there there, and we just put it down to everyone having the most wonderful time! Or, maybe there was something in the Greek Salad…
One of the most impressive things I found, was how wonderful the hotel is for children and families, yet there’s nothing ‘kiddie’ about it. It’s a beautiful, grown-up and sophisticated.
Key to Cretan Malia Park’s identity is its commitment to sustainability — a crucial philosophy that has been woven
into the hotel’s DNA since its establishment a quarter century ago.
Cretan Malia Park
I had a gorgeous pedicure on my holiday… 
The whole experience was totally magical and as soon as we arrived we said we had to return – it’s just so so special. We relaxed, we laughed, we made friends and we had a proper holiday.
We all loved it. And seeing Izzy in her element, leaping into the pool, shrieking with laughter, soaking up the sunshine and and trying Greek Salad… well. It was worth the wait.
michelle
so lovely to read your review! we are actually going to this hotel next week with our 19 month old daughter. i guess she won’t be able to use the kids club yet but maybe we can accompany her there to play with others? were there any activities you could do when the weather wasn’t the best? thanks in advance!