Hotel Bella Vista Stalis

Bella Vista is about 15 minutes walk to the beach and main strip of Stalis, with its extensive range of shops, restaurants and other facilities, such as ATMs, public 'phone boxes, taxi rank, bank, car and bike hire etc.There is also a supermarket at the bottom of the hill which supplies more or less all you need. The large medical centre is about 10 minutes away, by car, near Hersonnissos, and the hotel is about 30 minutes drive from the airport and Heraklion, the capital city of Crete, with its museum, displaying ancient Cretan artefacts, including the original "Three Graces", "The Prince with the lilies",and the Minotaur statues, plus the nearby Knossos ancient Greek site.For younger (and older!) people who like the club scene, Malia is a few minutes away.Aghios Nicolaos, the main seaside resort of Crete, is half an hour away in the opposite direction, all the above accessible using the main sea highway at the bottom of the hill. On the way to Ag. Nic., there is the delightful little port of Sisi, with its marina and similarity to Capri, but without the inflated prices! Great for lunch on your way out .The mountain villages nearby offer local fare at cheap prices and are easily reached from the hotel, with your own transport. There are also local buses, Minoan Line; however, we never needed to use these.Excursions are available via the holiday reps. and are also advertised in shops in Stalis.

Kyria Maria and Kyrio Costas are perhaps the warmest and most friendly proprietors we have known, amongst our 10 holidays in Crete, so far,and have a good command of English, so that we were able to sit with them and discuss anything,(with a few gesticulations on both parts!) from the World Cup, (that week,) to the Greek economic situation.They were also available at any time,despite being grandparents, and when a couple on holiday suffered a personal crisis, they moved them to the apartment right next door to their house, in order to offer support and comfort. There is a local laundry service, and a telephone in the rooms, direct to the owners, for any other needs.There is no formal child care service, being apartments, but families with children are welcome at any time, the children brought down to eat in the evenings, with everyone keeping an eye out for the kids .The rooms are spotless, and cleaned regularly, with sheets and towels replaced. The only problem was tiny ants, but they are inevitable in hot countries, and only tended to frequent places where there were food traces. We found that, by wiping surfaces immediately after eating, and locking everything edible in the 'fridge, we had no problems after the first day.The Aphrodite-like domestic is an energy-bomb, flitting up and down the steps and catering to everyone's requests for extra towels etc.Lastly, let's not forget the charming , urbane and handsome Nic., barman, chef, conversationalist and general good-guy-to-have-around.

La Bella Vista has the pool bar, which caters for everything and everyone, being a fairly small establishment.Nic is an excellent chef in this genre, and is available to cook anything , from the sometimes-craved English breakfast, toasties, sandwiches,chip butties, then able to dish up a traditional Cretan dinner, with lamb chops/pork souvlaki etc., always served with fresh salad.We only drank the house wine, which is citrousy, slightly tart, but good for 7 euros a litre, and it is refined enough not to give you a headache if you drink a litre between two of you, unlike some local Greek wines.Friends drank beer, which was obviously not as robust as English, but they enjoyed it anyway.Whatever you ask for, anytime of day, Nic is able to serve, in between chatting to guests, commenting on TV programmes being shown on the screen behind the bar,and generally being a multitasker.The area is clean and sweet, the bar WC checked regularly, and tips are not expected, but gratefully received.The prices of food are very reasonable, considering that this is not the main Stalis strip, where there is a lot of price competition, for example:-for 2 people, lamb chops,(4 each), fries and salad, bottle of mineral water and a litre of wine costs 25 euros.

La Bella Vista is a small, traditional,family-run place, without a lot of sophisticated bits.(You can access all that 15 minutes away.) The pool has a pre-shower , washroom/toilet and private shower. There are sun umbrellas and sunbeds by the pool, plus a separate seating area in and out of the sun, under trees.Everything is impeccably clean.We did not use the pool, as we were out every day, and prefer the beach, but friends and their children spent all day in the area and loved it.There was no formal programme of sports etc. We and most others who had chosen this venue preferred this, as, sometimes, animation teams can prove intrusive, and many people prefer to do their own thing, playing games in the pool when they prefer etc. There was a barbecue night, with everyone seated at a long table, and a buffet meal, and an arranged Cretan dancing display.

The apartment was excellent, with a living room/bedroom and kitchen combined and a separate bedroom. Coffee and tea makers supplied, plus all utensils necessary for a holiday stay. The bathroom was adequate, with a shower quite awkward to access if you were a big person, but with fluffy white towels.The TV was new, with loads of channels, including BBC.There was a small garden at the back, excellent for a cool shady breakfast area, table and chairs provided, and the same at the front, which was great for sunbathing as it faced sun and sea.There was a safe,(small fee,) and a telephone, to call reception, or receive calls from anywhere.The building has recently been modernised.

You can use your mobile, if the model functions in Crete.(We had 2, one did, one didn't.) Weather is great in June, as sometimes it rains in May. Incredibly hot in July and August, but a lot of people prefer that.Should you consider La Bella Vista, also consider transport, as the hill to the hotel is steep, especially in hot weather,(upto 40C last week,) unless you want to combine losing weight and toning up as part of your holiday.We had a motorbike for 4 days, but even 3 days of that walk up the hill and the 100 steps to our flat has toned my expanding waistline and I feel I have more strength generally, considering my usual sedentary work mode.Transport good, too, for access to all the fantastic places you can travel to.Sometimes, on holiday, the people you meet are important, and I found that Maria, Costas and Nic were part of the enjoyment, and we would certainly return to La Bella Vista.