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Taking Pleasure Seriously

GREECE : Daios Cove – Luxury Resort & Villas – Our Perfect Vacation

When Daniel and I travel abroad or even when we vacation here in Israel, I’m always the one who chooses the accommodations and sleeping arrangements – I research all of the possibilities online to make sure that the place we end up going to is no less than perfect. I can sit in front of the computer for many hours, reviewing and checking which hotel would be best in terms of location, the room, the decor, breakfast and of course financially.

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

At least the hard work ends up paying off – I really can’t remember one time we got to a hotel or an Airbnb apartment that failed out very high expectations.

On my last birthday two weeks ago, Daniel invited me on a trip to Crete – he chose the destination and the hotel and for once I wasn’t involved at all in any aspect of the planning.

Of course before we even arrived at the hotel he couldn’t stop talking about how amazing this hotel is and the high recommendations it got, but I tried to keep my expectations realistic because I had no idea that slowly but surely Daniel learned the secrets of planning a perfect holiday and fully researched everything before choosing the hotel 😉

כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

On the first night I finally understood why Daniel planned this perfect vacation in this amazing place…

Greece travel guides

Daniel said that we have to get to an amazing cliff overlooking the bay by the beach in time for the sunset, and I was still tired from the flight and lounging by the beach, so I kept trying to push it off for another day… I didn’t understand why he kept insisting to go on the first day! So I kept telling him ‘Well look… maybe we could go a different day… why now…”. After many attempts trying to persuade me and providing a variety of excuses {I'll spare you his bizarre excuses…} that we need to go there before dinner, I decided to please him and to go with him – I mean, I’m not going to bum him out during our vacation! We started walking towards the cliff and it started getting dark by the time we arrived at a beautiful spot on a hill that was lit up with small lights.

He managed to distract me with all sorts of odd requests related to the camera, and suddenly, he dropped down on one knee and pulled out the ring.

COMPLETE  SHOCK

I totally didn’t expect it so all the clues in the world didn’t make me suspect the proposal and it took me about five minutes just to realize what was going on!

So… we're getting married this coming May I'll try taking only about the interesting parts of the wedding 😉

{ You can read all about our wedding here & here  🙂 }

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And now for my review regarding the hotel and why you should definitely fly there next time you’re planning a vacation abroad…

The price In contrary to many hotels in Greece, you won’t be able to find a vacation at Daios Cove: Luxury Resort & Villas in deals and vacation packages on “last minute deal” kind of websites, and the only supplier in Israel working with this resort is a company called WTC that specializes in packages and luxury hotels in Greece, the Greek islands and destinations in Europe.

That means that you won’t find ridiculously cheap prices for this hotel, but in terms of VFM {Value For Money}, there’s no doubt that the additional cost pays in terms of the incredible design of the hotel, the services provided and the amazing food – it’s on a level above all the other hotels.

I’ve already been to some very good hotels in Greece but I’ve never been to a resort as amazing as this one. If I would compare this resort to other hotels it would be equal to the most luxurious hotels we stayed at in Thailand and a giant step ahead of all of the other hotels I stayed at in Greece or Turkey. Bottom line, if you decide to go on vacation and want to fully indulge yourself, you should spend a little more to get a lot more.

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

Location

Greece is a very popular vacation destination among Israelis mainly because of the short flight – a flight to Crete is around an hour and a half {which is about the time it takes to fly from Tel Aviv to Eilat}.

Daios Cove resort is located relatively far from the airport in Heraklion, so if you choose to travel via the company's shuttle you’ll have to add about another hour and a half or two hours {depends on how many other hotel stops they need to make on the way}. So yes, the long journey could be a bit of a bummer, but when you get to the resort you’ll realize that it was totally worth it.

The resort is located on a slope that sits on the shores of the spectacular gulf in the northeastern part of Crete, a 10 minute drive from the town of Agios Nikolaos.

Although we only had a short four-day vacation, we planned on renting a car to explore the area outside of the hotel; but after we arrived we decided that there was no way we were going to miss even one second of relaxation on the private beach and the hotel’s pools.

But if you’re planning a longer trip, or if you want to see a little more, you can go on a day trip to Agios Nikolaos, continue to the village Krista {Cretan village known for producing olive oil}, visit the palace of Knossos, the most prominent archaeological site from the Bronze Age on Crete, or even take a cruise to the island Kalydon {the island of Spinalonga}, the ‘Lepers Island’.

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Flights

The only thing that bummed us out on this trip were the flights to the resort. As of now, the only package deal sold with this hotel includes a flight leaving Israel at 5:25 AM and the returning flight at 9:10 AM.

A few days before the flight, when I heard about the flight times, I was upset and told Daniel that even if the hotel is amazing it’s really not worth the times of these flights, but looking back I would take the package again because it’s really a pity to miss this hotel.

The Design

The Daios Cove resort sits on a very large area that’s divided into five levels with lush greenery and aesthetic building.

They invested 130 million euros when they built this resort, and you could really feel it. The entire resort has a modern-eclectic design with a Greek scent and decorated with many works of art, some of which are displayed at the hotel as part of temporary exhibitions and offered for sale to hotel guests. We were surprised that all the resort employees knew to explain about the exhibiting artists in detail, the nature of their works and the story behind them, and of course about the price and transportation options.

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The beach and the pools were well equipped and you can tell that they payed attention to the smallest details in the design, creating a more pleasant experience for vacationers at the resort.

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

You can also find three funicular elevators in the hotel – super cool elevators that make access to each hotel floor easier and much more convenient. The only disadvantage of these elevators was during the rain, when they simply stopped working altogether.

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

The Stores

I usually don’t get excited about shops in hotels, but 3 out of the 4 stores in this resort were really nice and they sold things I actually wanted to buy.

One store was dedicated to decorative and modern art items, including the prints and paintings of the artists presenting their artwork at the hotel. Another store sold super chic vacation-style clothing and accessories {sunglasses, bathing suits, beach dresses and more…}, and the third store, located right near the main restaurant, sold food and beauty products from the Greek islands. So even if you choose not to leave the hotel, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll do some shopping inside the hotel 😉

The Room

We were in a room with the Deluxe Sea View, which is the second level out of the different types of rooms the resort offers.

The room had elegant décor, was very clean and it spread over 42 square meters {It was huge!!}, and included a very large washing area made out of marble with a shower and a separate bath, a huge restroom, a huge bedroom with a super king-size bed, and a large balcony overlooking this magnificent bay.

Honestly, you can’t ask for more than seeing this amazing scenery the first thing in the morning.

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

Even the bathing and grooming accessories were the best – all of the hotel’s soaps and creams were from the company APIVITA, a boutique company with natural and holistic beauty care products. The blow dryer they had in the room was also great and it was even better than the one I brought from home – a huge bonus for the hotel.

The cleaning service was excellent and we were happy to always return to a room that was clean and tidy room. One thing that wasn’t clear to me was why the cleaning staff never threw out the empty bottles of soap in the shower – strange.

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

The only downside was that the WiFi in the room simply didn’t work most of the time.

Room Service

One thing that could really bum you out when you go to Greece on vacation is falling on rainy weather, right? So that's exactly what happened to us this time – out of the four days, a day and a half were very rainy. We decided that you can’t be bummed out in a special place like this and we decided to have a fun spa day, and after that we ordered an amazing lunch to our room, drank a bottle of red wine and took a long and fun nap until dinner. If you’re already relaxing and getting pampered – you might as well go all the way, right??

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{For my birthday they also sent a cake to our room }

The Spa

The resort’s spa center, operated by a specialized Spanish company called Germain des Capuchini, offers a variety of services {hairstyling, Mani-Pedi and more} and all kinds of spa treatments, 2 indoor pools {one at normal temperature, and the other heated} ,a Turkish Hammam {Turkish Bath} and saunas.

The pool with the normal temperature, which had a relaxing corner next to it, was right across a huge window overlooking the stunning bay – the most perfect place to relax. At first we upgraded our spa package for 25 euros, which included the heated pool, the hammam and the saunas, but after we went into the pool, and I discovered it wasn’t nearly warm enough {at least in my opinion} I decided to skip the saunas, cancel the charge and go back to the relaxing corner across the stunning scenery.

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On one of the rainy days, I enjoyed a detox spa treatment…. The treatment complex was very classy with a relaxing design, big massage rooms and a nice relaxing area with tea and dried fruit. If you want a great treat, don’t pass on this opportunity.

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In the spa area you could also find a fitness center that offers free pilates and yoga classes.

The Food

When it comes to the culinary field, the resort offers plenty of restaurants and bars.

The Pangea restaurant is the resort’s main dining room and features an internal area, two open terraces and one closed balcony.

For breakfast the restaurant offers a huge buffet with a wide variety of great food – they served everything!! It had a huge variety of fruits, smoothies, freshly squeezed juices, all kinds of eggs, vegetables, sausages, bacon, sausages, hot dishes, cheeses, fresh breads, cereals, yogurts, cakes and other sweets.

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

In the evening, the restaurant becomes an international food bazaar, and they often have theme nights – we went to a BBQ dinner and a fish dinner and the selection available was amazing. If you’re not really in a buffet mood, the hotel offers to upgrade your dinner to dinner at one of the hotel’s restaurants, the Greek Tavern or the Ocean Club, so that each diner gets a 25 euro credit for a restaurant. We upgraded to the Tavern restaurant on our last night there and we had a great time – from the amazing view of the bay and from the special food and professional service.

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

If you didn’t get completely full from the breakfast buffet, and your stomach is rumbling a bit during the afternoon, the hotel has restaurants by the pool and on the beach that offer food and great cocktails.  

 כריתים // יוון // חופשה // daios cove -- crete -- greece -- travel guide

Oh and before I forget – don’t pass on a cocktail hour at the Crystalbox Bar, the hotel’s stylish bar, because there’s nothing like watching the sunset on the bay with a drink in your hand.

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If you want a luxurious and indulging vacation – the Daios Cove Resort is definitely the place to go to!

Have you also been to an amazing hotel lately that I shouldn’t miss? Tell me about it in the comments

Luxury resort with beautiful beach in Crete : Daios Cove Resort in Greece | Travel destinations to add to your bucket list. Click through to see the full guide on hedonistit.com

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