Ostria Resort and Spa

The Good

1. The Hotel/Resort

It's less a hotel and more of a resort, like a little Cretan village. It's beautifully maintained with a mix of traditionally inspired architecture, local plants, alongside modern water features and lighting. It's a pleasure to walk around the resort, which includes all the facilities you could need, from a spa and shop to several à la carte restaurants and laundry services. A big wood-fired oven cooking lamb all evening just off the main square fills the air with one of the best smells in Crete. It looks like a 5 star resort, clean and maintained to a very high standard. To the south of the resort is a small beach, and it's stunning: beautiful clear water filled with fish.

2. The Food

I ate some of the best hotel food I've ever eaten here. Very Greek/Cretan menu, but that's what you want in Crete. There's no Mexican night here, and the food is better for it. Plenty of fresh meat, veggie options, salads and delicious dishes. This is the highlight here, the food really is amazing. The poolside snack bar was excellent too.

The Bad

1. No Provision for Kids

This is a terrible place for families. The splash park we saw in the pictures is now gone. The kids club was closed, and not a single kid-oriented activity was provided for children. Activities run all day by the pools, but not one of them was designed for young children. There's no kids disco, and the entertainment starts at 9:30pm, meaning we missed it almost every evening to put our son to bed. Dinner starts at 7:30pm, which again isn't ideal for children. We asked about the kids club, and they offered it on an à la carte basis: book it, and one person will entertain one child for an hour. This isn't a kids club, that's a childminder. What a shame. Kids love to meet up and play, and the hotel failed to provide this space, even though it was advertised.

2. Room Smell

The room smelled like a blocked drain. I mentioned this to reception, but nothing came of it. I didn't bother to follow up.

3. All Inclusive Plus is Missold

The hotel advertises itself as all inclusive plus. That's a lie, this is just standard all inclusive. The branded drinks are brands I'd never heard of. Want a Malibu and Coke? Extra. Want a mojito? Extra (unless you go to the adults-only bar, but we weren't allowed because we have a child). Minibar? Extra. Bottle of Sprite? Extra.

All inclusive plus is a well-established concept. This wasn't what we got, it was basic all inclusive. Every guest is "all inclusive plus." This was a major point of annoyance for us, as was having to wear a wristband for the entire stay, which is something you expect from a 2 star.

4. Reception

This was one of the most rude and hostile reception teams I've ever met, and it really put a bad feeling on a beautiful place.

5. Towels

Beach towels can only be changed every other day from the store, no exceptions. Coffee spilled on the towel? Too bad. It's a minor issue, but it really didn't feel like a 5 star experience. On that note, our bedsheets weren't changed once. We actually had to ask the cleaner to do this. We change them more often at home.

Worth Noting

1. The Gala Night

For one night, your only meal option is a gala night in a large venue on site for dinner and a show. The show was excellent, they put on a version of Moulin Rouge, and the dancers did an amazing job. We all loved the show and the cruise style experience, though it's not for everyone.

What was odd was the food. One menu for everyone: prawns, risotto, sea bass. This was an issue for us, as we both dislike fish. Nobody asked about allergies, and there was nobody to ask about alternatives. We all went hungry, and that's a shame, as it could have been so fun had they just stopped to ask about dietary requirements. We'd left our phones in the room, so couldn't even read the QR-scanned menu. It's a matter of time before someone becomes seriously ill from an allergy.

7. The Gym

One of the big draws for us was the gym. It looked amazing. Unfortunately, it hasn't been built yet. You can use the spa gym, but it costs €6 each, per day. That wasn't mentioned, and again feels like more misrepresentation and penny pinching.

8. French Leaning

The hotel will deny/defend this, but it caters first and foremost to French holidaymakers. While there were both English and French translations in the evenings, most of the daytime games were in French only. There were no German translations at all, which felt odd, as we met quite a few German families who surely must have felt a bit sidelined. This wasn't an issue for us at all, but it's important to note that the crowd is primarily French, and the hotel caters to that.

TL;DR: A beautiful resort with great food, let down by setting false expectations, penny pinching, and a rude reception desk. If you have children, I'd suggest avoiding this resort. For a couple without kids, you'll have a great time, as long as you understand you'll have to pay extra for certain drinks, the gym, etc.

In all, our holiday was spent trying to keep a child entertained, and that's tiring. Had we known the reality, we would have booked elsewhere.

3/5. Wouldn't return again, but glad we got to eat the delicious food.

We are freshly back from staying at this gorgeous village resort. We had to write a review as we felt other reviews were not fair on their feedback on such a lovely place.

Location we were told is quiet and quite remote, perfect for us as this is just what we wanted. A taxi to the local town was 11€ one way, so not a deal breaker. There were numerous excursions offered so you needn't go stir crazy. The atmosphere we thought was low key chic, friendly, calm. Being in an all inclusive resort you didn't feel that you'd lost the Greek experience. We still knew that we were in Crete. The room (2302) we had was on the Zen pool. It was zen with a sunbed over the water. Quiet and just the place for an afternoon sleep. The interior was spacious, spotlessly clean, separate shower and toilet. 2 hairdryers, one decent one for those who want and a smaller hotel type for a quick dry. Seating area x 2 and a big comfie bed. We slept well every single night. Our towels and room were cleaned every single day. The cleaner was very friendly, smiling and kept our room spotlessly clean and topped up with water, gels, shampoos etc. The location of our room was very close to the buffet restaurant and adults pool which suited us perfectly. We also noticed a laundry area within the resort which is a fantastic idea. Stops you from bringing too much. Value for money, from the excellent flights by Sky Express to the all inclusive package we thought was about the right money. Any higher prices would've been too high in our opinion. We've seen the reviews regarding premium drinks etc. In our view, the drinks aren't your Smirnoff etc., but you can get those at an extra price but the drinks that are offered within the package are premium Greek spirits etc. All of my drinks were strong and they did not scrimp on the measures in any of the bars. The food offering was value for money and you couldn't ask for anymore. It's not a noisy resort, there are areas where you can play games, splash around etc but there are also quiet areas for those wanting a nice gentle break. It wasn't a resort where the music was played till late and alcohol was the cause of any disruptions. It's just not that kind of place. We did not go to any other pool other than the adult pool. It's what we wanted. We also enjoyed the ambience here and the service was excellent. Particular mention to Stella & Manos, absolutely brilliant duo at the adult pool bar. We couldn't keep away. They were both friendly, charming, witty and poured a mean drink. It's Manos birthday today (23/9), so happy birthday to you. I know Stella will be looking at the reviews, so I hope she views this one. The buffet restaurant is fantastic, if you struggle to find something you like in there, then i'm afraid you are the issue not the restaurant. Can it get repetitive, well certainly if you are there for 10 plus days but I was overjoyed to try the foods once more that I enjoyed for the first 7 days. The other 2 A la cartes were delicious. The staff very friendly and genial. One of the ladies in one of the restaurants is a sommelier and I asked her for a white, oaky type chardonnay on the wine selection (to pay for). She didn't have anything like that but curiously offered me a Greek red wine. Well I took her advice. She was spot on, it was delicious. I ended buying multiple bottles and glasses throughout my stay. All of the restaurants offered very tender Meats, cut like butter. Plenty of fish, plenty of amazing Salads, fresh fruits, i could go on forever... All of the staff in the buffet restaurant were excellent. The white wine in the complex was rather good. My husband treated me to a lovely meal at the Thalassa Seaside Bar Restaurant (not part of the all inclusive package). It was delicious and well worth the money. The olive marmalade was to die for, my husbands beef starter was stunning! The restaurant had a birthday cake made for me that was delightful. Said and the young man that had the curly hair made my night singing happy birthday to me. We visited the spa for a neck massage and an Indian head massage plus my daughter paid for my birthday a full body massage. All very lovely and the staff were very kind and gentle.

All in all we had a very relaxing, gastronomic wonderful holiday. We feel rejuvenated and very contented with our holiday.

The Greek people in the resort and the local area were so authentic, kind and friendly.

We are looking to book again for next year.