Traditions & History of Crete

Highlight was the Hotel Elia and it’s lovely staff and location. We would certainly return. The walks were very suitable for us and the views superb. We were blessed with perfect walking weather. We enjoyed 4 superb lunches at excellent seaside fish restaurants - 2 at Nopigio and 2 at Kolimbari. A very welcome pleasure was plentiful supply of hot water in the Hotel and a superb terrace where we could watch the setting sun. The holiday is highly recommended.

Super accommodation at the Elia Hotel, however check out the accuracy of the walking routes.

Crete is a wonderful Country with very friendly people and great food and drink. The Elia Traditional Hotel is in a beautiful and private location, but it is worth taking the upgrade to ensure you get a good view from your room. I would suggest you take a car Sat Nav as some of the routes are quite tricky especially if any of the routes are blocked which is not uncommon. The Hotel location gives you easy access to Kissamos, Chania and all of the North West and some of the amazing gorges in the South West. 9 days was just not enough!

Elia is a beautiful relaxed family-run hotel set in peaceful olive groves.  Very comfortable room, attentive service and excellent home cooking all made for a very happy week.  The walking and driving routes were well chosen to give a comprehensive overview of western Crete.

A wonderful hotel and stimulating walking. But beware gorge walking is much more demanding than you would expect for the distance and elevations.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: Damage from spring storms this year appears to have made the gorge walks more demanding than in previous years, and we'll be reviewing our notes accordingly

The Elia Hotel is a gem. Totally unique, in our experience.

The hotel was delightful, both in terms of its position, facilities, staff and meals. There was so much to experience we now know that a week was insufficient and we will have to return to Crete in future.

Elia traditional hotel is a delightful and very peaceful place to stay with good views, accommodation, food and facilities and very friendly, helpful staff. It is however in the countryside about 20 minutes from the nearest town and beaches and a car is essential.  

Great location and lovely hotel for a relaxing holiday and varied walks. Great way to see Crete off the beaten track. 

We fell in love with Crete and its friendly and welcoming people, any taverna off the beaten track is just great.The Elia hotel is an oasis of peace and tranquility

This was our second visit to Elia with InnTravel and we could not have asked for a better holiday. The hotel makes this trip what it is, the staff are so kind and welcoming and cannot do enough to help you. The food at the hotel is delicious and meals over and above the package are outstanding value. Stakis is a great chef And if you do have any dietary requirements fear not they will be easily catered for! 

On two mornings we chose to beat the heat by starting out early to complete the Irini Gorge and the Falassarna coastal walk (both of which are beautiful walks) and Stakis made up a breakfast tray for us with our picnics so that we didn’t miss out - a very kind thought!

Outside the walking, which is varied and beautiful, we particularly enjoyed our visit to The Botanical Gardens which have been very cleverly designed and the Taverna makes excellent use of the produce grown in the gardens.

Thank you InnTravel and all the staff at Elia 

The Elia Hotel is excellent and all of the Staff were great, having the Spa was a lovely extra which we used.  The locals walks were good for orientating ourselves and the Irini Gorge walk was excellent given that the temperatures were so high

Very friendly, very Greek, very lovely. Beautiful part of the world, although needs a bit of effort to find it.

We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday, hotel Elia is perfect. 

We really enjoyed the walk in Sirikari Gorge and the very generous packed lunch from the hotel! We also enjoyed our massages with Aida and she made some great recommendations of places to go. A lovely drive to Paleochora and a walk around the ancient village of Rokku. Also recommend a meal at the Eleas restaurant on their terrace and the Frosinis Garden where we ended up on Monday night after discoering the Eleas doesn't open on Mondays. Do ask at the hotel for reccommendations - they are happy to give them and very knowledgable about the area. And the picnic lunch is huge!

The whole holiday was fantastic. The Elia is in beautiful surroundings - very peaceful and relaxing. The staff there are all very friendly;  Effie is incredibly helpful, she advised us to go to the Samaria Gorge a little later to avoid all the crowds which we did and we were very fortunate to have it all to ourselves for a good part of the way - the highlight of the holiday. All the walks were great - the scenery and wildflowers spectacular. The winter storms have left many of the roads in bad conditions so care needs to be taken when driving.

The Samaria Gorge is spectacular and very beautiful. It is tiring but you have all day and, for us, it was the highlight. The beach at Elafonissi is lovely and scenic although the drive is fairly long and tortuous. If you can do without a bed and an umbrella, walk out onto the 'island' where there are a series of sandy inlets with lovely clear water where it is possible to find a quiet spot away from the crowds on the main beach. Visitors to Crete should be aware that the island was affected by serious storms and flooding earlier in the year which has caused extensive damage to roads (there are numerous land slides reducing road width and resurfacing work going on). It will take a long time for them to recover and care should be taken when you are off the main road. 

The monastery at Kolymvari was an unexpected treasure.   The walk up from Kolymvari to Afrata tough but outstanding views and lovely taverna at the top 

The hotel made the holiday for us. The circular walks suited us as we are not inveterate hikers, only ramblers. The fact that some gorges were closed was not a major problem. We enjoyed the Sirikari gorge (although went temporarily awry again due to our misinterpretation!). The botanical garden and its restaurant was another pleasure, although early in the season some plants were not at their loveliest, but in compensation the all pervading perfume of the orange and jasmine was memorable.

Irini Gorge was our spectacular favourite - though difficult to chose just one highlight. The walk from the Monastery up over the peninsular villages, all done against the backdrop of snow covered mountains, was also memorable. (Think this was one of the alternatives offered due to closures elsewhere.) The sun shone, the flowers were glorious and everywhere looked lovely.  Saddened to see the damage done by the bad winter rains. But Inntravel stepped up and presented us with extra interesting walking options - and plenty of extra exercise.

The hotel was spot on. We were there for the Greek Orthodox Easter (a week after ours) and enjoyed a terrific Easter Sunday lunch with the staff and family, culminating in the traditional distribution of hard boiled eggs dyed red which we smashed against each other's, the least damaged being the victor.  Good food, very hospitable hosts and good company, wonderful.

We were very impressed by the enthusiasm of Effie and all her staff and the situation of the hotel amongst the olive trees was lovely. Takis' cooking was very good and dinner at the hotel was great fun.

Highlights were the Sirikari Gorge, the Polirinia walk (stunning wildflowers), and the Kolymbari [Gonia] Monastery. Also, chef Takis's meals at Elia were hearty and delicious and a much better option than driving elsewhere.

We really enjoyed the welcome from the staff, the setting and the food at the Elia Traditional Hotel. In terms of Western Crete, the botanical gardens and seeing a kingfisher up close at the Agia Lake were also a real highlight. We really enjoyed the dramatic Sirikari gorge walk with the griffon vultures circulating high above us. The Monastery at Kolymbari is well worth a visit for a history of its role in Cretan resistance and the seafood platter at the Argentina restaurant in Kolymbari was to die for. 

We did all the drives (unfit pensioners in our mid-late 60s).  Can recommend them all.

Tour 1: You cannot walk round the lake unless you divert onto roads for a much longer walk.  Work finished and no link between the W & E sides.  For the longest lakeside walk, turn right at the back of the Lakeside Cafe.  Botanical Gardens a must, a highlight of the hoilday for us plant lovers.  Spectacular but challenging driving thereafter, luckily very few other vehicles met in late September.

Tour 2: We recommend the monastery and the cadet memorial, great views and moving.  Afrata Beach our favourite and the road to it is fine (repaired since "badly eroded" advice?).  We went there twice, enjoying a lovely last morning there.  About 20 Beach Umbrellas with pairs of loungers - free.  Never more than about 30 people there.  We had a super Sunday lunch at the beachside restaurant in Ravdoucha (the one on the left, by the rockpools).  Deliana Gorge was just our level - easy!  Only 2 people & 5 goats there.

Tour 3: Ancient Falarsana interesting (drive right to the site, don't park at the 1st car park 1km away).  Super seafood beach lunch at Sfinara.  Arrived at Elafonisi beach 1530 on a weekday afternoon in late September to find about 5000 others there!  Beach Umbrella & 2 loungers for 9 Euros.  Would only recommend it for families with young children (v safe, shallow, warm swimming).

We loved our holiday - our first time on Crete, the walks provided us with a wonderful introduction, the gorge walks especially spectacular.  Elia Hotel and Spa was just perfect - a great country house feel, we met some lovely people, and the team just surpassed expectations.  We thought this was a great value hotel and we would totally recommend it. A very relaxed and laid back feel - if this is what you're after, the Elia is perfect!!

The hotel is an absolute delight, with lovely authentic Greek meals, giving us a real taste for local food at an exceptionally good price. All the staff were so willing to help and advise on places to visit. We combined the Falassama beach - excellent for swimming with the quiet, attractive beach further down the coast at Sfinari. A really attractive coastal drive and the peaceful beach has two welcoming  tavernas, both providing free loungers under shady canopies on the beach.  We commend the Thalami tavern especially.  The Botanical Garden is certainly very well worth the visit, especially having read the history of its creation. The drive through the little villages, each with their own taverna, perched up in the hills was also well worthwhile, ending with a lovely drive through the dramatic Theriso gorge.

The holiday exceeded our expectations. The Elia hotel was a haven of friendliness and peace, and we really enjoyed the food at the Rebetiko restaurent.

The Cretan people were lovely and very welcoming, the Elia hotel is superb.

An exceptional holiday in a special hotel In a beautiful setting. Very friendly and personal service from staff. Meals were great. Information folder gave very clear instructions for travelling and walking routes. 

We loved the hotel. It is peaceful, relaxing & very friendly. The service is friendly & caring. Jo is always happy to offer help & advice. The food was tasty & plentiful & although dinner was a set menu, there was always the option of having just the starter, the main or a salad (a good idea if you want to have a nice lunch out - just let them know what you would like). 

There is a lot to do nearby, some wonderful beaches (ask Jo for the best), fabulous walks & lots of history. The Botanical Gardens are amazing & also have a fabulous resturant.

We had a fabulous holiday & would highly recommend the hotel.

Beautiful accommodation in a quiet location, but not far from a good national road.

We enjoyed it and are considering going again next spring.

Do not expect to lose weight on this holiday, the Cretans don't understand small helpings.

The wonderful location provided for a very varied holiday experience; we could easily have spent longer than a week without exhausting all there was to see and do.

Jo was extremely helpful with local knowledge and suggestions. The local walks were tranquil and beautiful but the walking highlight was undoubtably the Samaria Gorge. We were glad to be doing this trip in late October as it would have been far less enjoyable in high season with larger numbers of walkers. It is a long day because of the complications of ferry and bus journeys. We ended it with a spectacular, if hair-raising drive back through the mountains in a deluge with lightning flashing all around!

Elafonsi was also beautiful but probably to be avoided in peak season.

The Samaria gorge definitely worth the effort. It is well organised with rests, water, toilets and handrails where necessary. Walking stick or poles would help less surefooted.

Our personal highlight of this holiday was undoubtedly our day's adventure walking the Samaria Gorge. We loved the adventure of the whole day, the travel to the gorge, the walk, the boat trip, the bus ride back to the start and the drive back to the hotel. It made for a full and wholly adventurous day out. Don't worry about connecting transport - it will always be there for you!

Also memorable is the hotel itself. It has such a welcoming and laid back atmosphere. As we have always found with Greek people, they are totally welcoming and personable. Nothing is too much trouble; they give freely of themselves and their wonderful hospitality. The meals here are truly tasty and wholesome, the whole atmosphere is one of relaxation and friendliness. I wouldn't hesitate to eat here every evening; as long as you like what's on the day's menu - you would not fare any better at any restaurant, the chef is marvellous. And you will never taste better Greek yogurt!

This was our first planned walking holiday, it was not a let down! Loved the freedom with the guidance notes, suited us perfectly.  The scenery in Crete by foot and car was a treat.  We've arrived home feeling full of fresh air, sunshine and good fresh food.  Definitely going to try another, maybe in the same place?!

We found the Elia Traditional Hotel to be a truly delightful place. In a lovely setting away from any other housing and with fantastic views all around. The staff were extremely friendly and went out of their way to ensure we enjoyed our time there. The hotel proved to be a perfect location for exploring the area, either by short walks locally, or further afield with the use of the hire car.

Highlights: The houseparty atmosphere at Elia. The drive through the mountains to Elafonisi and the return along the coast road.

We had quite a lot of rain but we still managed to dodge a lot of it as it was patchy. We really enjoyed Chania and would have liked to have spent longer there. Our stay at the Lato boutique hotel in Heraklion for a few days was a good choice by us. We had a view of the fort across the harbour and the roof restaurant was superb.

Hotel Elia was well up to what we expect of Inntravel - delightful place, very nice team and excellent company with other guests. Western crete is beautiful; higlights included the wonderful gorge walks (and Griffon Vultures), some beautiful seaside, especially in the far west, and some good fish meals. The mountain villages and drives were lovely too.

This was a truly relaxing holiday and a great experience of Cretan hospitality. The hotel staff were attentive but not intrusive and fostered a wonderful relaxed atmosphere.

The Elia Hotel is delightful and the staff extremely welcoming. We had a very good room with a verandah that faced west so were able to enjoy the magnificent sunsets. The breakfasts were very good too, with plenty of fresh fruit and delicious bread, jams, honey and biscuits. We had 3 picnics, which were so large that we kept half back for the following day! We very much enjoyed the pool which is a decent size and has wonderful views down to the sea. Highly recommended.

Staying at Hotel Elia perfectly fitted our need for a relaxing week. The staff were very friendly and helpful, the dining terrace for delicious, simple dinners was a great place to end the day, and the beautiful swimming pool was well maintained, in a glorious location and large enough for a proper swim.

The situation of the Elia Hotel was excellent, the staff were lovely (even to the point of worrying that we had got up early to go to Knossos and hadn't had breakfast).  Jo, the Manager, was friendly and helpful at all times.  Takis, the chef, made lovely food and his olive oil, which we bought, is really good.

The hotel, its setting and the welcome we received were all fabulous and both Jo and Monda looked after us very well. The food was a definite highlight - we didn't bother eating out anywhere else as the quantity, quality and value were just amazing, plus you have a lovely view from the terrace. Crete itself is beautiful and the people were all friendly and chatty.

The driving takes a little while to get used to on the National Road as you have to almost drive on the hard shoulder for other vehicles to be able to overtake you. Elsewhere, some of the little, mountainous roads can be quite 'interesting' as there often are no barriers with sometimes sheer drops right next to the car. It all adds to the excitement though, and at least there is very little traffic. When returning the car (if you have a Portobelis hire car), you need to drop off your luggage and the passenger at the airport first, then the driver only takes the vehicle back to the drop off point. They can't take luggage in the little shuttlebus they use so can only take the driver back.

If you plan on doing a lot of walking, mid to late June is getting a bit too hot really. We were aware that this might be the case, but due to other commitments could not go any earlier. However, relaxing by the pool at the hotel is very nice, too, so bring enough reading material (although there is a little library in reception too, where guests can leave their books at the end of the holiday if they so wish).

If you want to do the walk to Lissos from Sougia be aware that the drive to Sougia takes quite a while (around 2 hours). The walk to Lissos is sign-posted but it takes longer than the 75 minutes as shown on the sign-post. It goes through a small gorge first where you have to be careful where to step as the path is rock-strewn and not flat so will slow you down, it then goes steeply up the next hill, crosses it (very little shade on this section) and then drops very steeply into the next valley for Lissos. We didn't know when the ferry boats were going (so you could take the boat there and walk back or vice versa) so best to ask in one of the little beach cafes first if you don't want to walk both ways which can be quite tiring.

Overall a really nice relaxing holiday which has made us want to see more of Crete and Greece generally.

Highlights: The blissful atmosphere at Elia and the friendly attentiveness of all the staff. Walking would have to be the Palea Roumata walk and the hospitality of the lady at the taverna in Vavouledo and the fields we passed who gave us a cheery welcome and presented us with two freshly picked courgettes. Priceless!

The Elia Hotel is an oasis of calm and tranquility in a spellbinding setting, with views from the restaurant terrace across to the sea. Delightful home cooked food is served by the chef with plenty of fresh fruit and raki for the brave to complete each meal.The holiday exceeded our expectations due to the beautiful wild walks, the friendliness of Jo her staff the other guests and the amazing raki massages! We particularly enjoyed a visit to the Botanical gardens but tell guests to eat elsewhere and a drive over the mountains to Sougia, where there is a fabulous walk to Lissoss.

We all thought the Elia Hotel was the most peaceful and beautiful place - its conversion from a derelict farmhouse is quite stunning, as are the views.  The staff are very friendly and nothing was too much trouble.  

Service at Elia was excellent, particularly Monda who looked after us all very well. Views from the property are wonderful. The food was very reasonably priced and frankly better value than in the coastal restaurants. A day trip to Chania was very worthwhile,and the leather goods great value. Suggest you emphasise that there are not any other restaurants in easy walking distance so that future customers know they will be reliant on transport if they wish to go out in the evening.

We loved the location of the hotel amid the beautiful old olive groves, with turtle doves almost always singing to us in the woods. The Deliana Gorge walk was especially lovely, and the one to the ruined archaeological site. We loved the laid-back Cretans and their friendliness and the beauty of the mountains.

The walking was just right, even though some of the directions were erroneous! The location is exceptionally peaceful and tranquil. Great views from the terrace and a relatively unique dining experience. Touches such as the corkscrew, mosquito repellant, kettle and drying rack are welcome. Access to chilled water/ice would be a further asset. A little more variety for breakfast would be welcome e.g. fresh fruit salad or more variety of fruits.

The reception we got from Jo [at the Elia Traditional Hotel] was very warm. She went well beyond the call of duty in finding a (gluten free) cake for my sister's birthday, which happened when we were out there.