If you have visited any of our blog posts before, you would have seen just how much we love Crete. In fact- this was our fifth visit- and most certainly not the last! We have previously visited Knossos Palace and Heraklion, Margarites and Moni Arkadi, Loutro, and much more, so for this particular trip, we were keen to return but focus more on rest and relaxation rather than doing many day trips to explore the island (although we did do a few!)
Hence, when chosing where to say, we wanted to stay somewhere with good facilities, walking distance to beaches and with a town center nearby. When we find our that InterContinental would be opening a hotel in Crete, specifically in Agios Nikolaos, we jumped at the opportunity to stay there (please note this is not a sponsored post!). Given this hotel is very new and only opened in June (we stayed a few weeks after opening), we decided to put together this post as a review and let others know just how good our experience was. We also want to give a few ideas of what to do and what to visit in the area, and some of our recommendations.
The hotel’s location
The hotel is located in Agios Nikolaos, on the eastern side of the island, around an hour’s drive from Heraklion Airport. It is incredibly well located, with incredible views over Mirabello Bay, and whilst it is located on a road, the road is one way and isn’t very busy.
InterContinental Crete: Front of the hotel
There are some parking spots outside the hotel- but these are not specifically reserved for the hotel guests. If there are no spots available, there is a valet service- you can park just outside the hotel, and the valet drives the car to a nearby carpark, and then picks it up for you again when you next need it. This was very much appreciated as sometimes parking could be difficult during peak days/weekends.
The hotel entrance itself is very spacious and well decorated. There is a lobby with a bar, and lots of seating areas. The reception area was also very well designed, with lots of helpful staff. Overall, we found everyone to be very welcoming and friendly- and the service was outstanding!
InterContinental Crete: lobby
InterContinental Crete: the Infinity pool
The pool and the views
One of the highlights of the hotel was the view from the main pool. As you can see, it is breathtaking, and we spent quite a lot of time just looking out over Mirabello Bay.
As well as having an infinity pool, the fifth floor had the main hotel restaurant (where we had both breakfast and dinner), and a bar/cafe area. There were tables inside (air-conditioned of course), but also quite a number of tables outside with incredible views. We chose to sit outside for every meal as it made for a very pleasant meal in the sunshine and the fresh air.
And around the pool, there were loads of sunloungers and cabanas, all very much enjoying the incredible view.
Mirabello Bay
InterContinental Crete: Hotel restaurant
InterContinental Crete: Double room with plunge pool
InterContinental Crete: Private plunge pool
Hotel rooms
When booking our room, we went for a double room with a sea view, and plunge pool.
The room was very well sized, with plenty of space around the bed, and even a small seating area. There was a full walk in shower and seperate toilet cubicle.
We found the room to have plenty of storage, and all the necessary amenities such as an iron, safe, minifridge and coffee machine. The housekeeping service was as expected and there was a turndown service as well- as expected for an InterContinental hotel.
The main highlight of the room was the individual plunge pool with sea views, on a private terrace. We spent a bit of time here, having a morning coffee or evening glass of wine, and the room offered stunning sunrise views.
As well as rooms with plunge pools, there are other room options available, including some suites, and rooms with individual pools (these seem to be slightly bigger than the plunge pool, and perhaps with more sun).
InterContinental Crete: sunrise views
Food and drink at the hotel
We had both breakfast and dinner at the hotel every day during our one week stay. The breakfast was delicious, there was a good selection of fresh ingredients for salads, fresh fruit, pastries and desserts, sliced meats and cheeses, as well hot dishes such as hash browns, scrambled eggs. There was also an option to have eggs to order- including eggs benedict or a Cretan omelette (with Cretan smoked pork and graviera cheese).
The food options at breakfast were accompanied by fresh juices, coffees/teas to order, as well as the option to make a bloody mary or a bit of sparkling.
The dinner service was outstanding- and as we were staying a whole week, we had the opportunity to try various options from the menu. Each and every dish was delicious- and some so good we had to have them twice. The menu was put together by a Michelin starred chef and had an interesting selection of Cretan dishes such as Octopus stifado, dakos and lobster giouvetsi.
There were several highlights to the dinner at the hotel- the view was breathtaking, the service was wonderful and there was also live entertainment- some tasteful music to accompany the delicious dishes.
InterContinental Crete: desserts at breakfast
InterContinental Crete: various dishes
Other facilities at the hotel
Whilst we spent quite a bit of time at the hotel’s infinity pool, we also did spend a bit of time at the downstairs bar, and at the hotel spa. There is a good sized indoor pool, as well as a sauna, steam and hammam room. There is also quite an extensive treatment menu. Wally and I both had a massage and a body scrub- and it was very well done and relaxing.
InterContinental Crete: indoor pool
Lake Voulismeni in Agios Nikolaos
Agios Nikolaos
For those wanting to expore beyond the hotel, we found its location perfect for just that. The hotel is a very short walk away from the town, very close to some amazing restaurants. The nearest beach is literally one minute away- across the road, and we found the water there to be amazing for snorkelling.
From the hotel, it is also easy to reach the main road in Crete, and be within easy reach of many other towns/cities.
To find out more about what there is to do in Agios Nikolaos, and elsewhere in Crete, do check out some of our recommendations here.
Our favourite food near the InterContinental Crete
Sergiani Seaside- Agios Nikolaos
We came across this restaurant whilst walking to the town center. We found the menu to have primarily seafood dishes, all fresh of course and absolutely delicious. We had some dips to share, followed by some fresh sardines and calamari.
Xatheri- Kroustas
A short drive away from Kritsa, you will find Xatheri restaurant. We found this place almost by chance- but were very glad to have come across it, and it is certainly worth the detour if nearby. We had some classic Cretan dishes, including fennel pie, stuffed zuchini flowers, as well as some homemade pasta and a goat stew.
0 Comments