stimpy

The signs are easy, and they have plenty with the Roman alphabet. No GPS necessary. You basically follow the north coast to the east end of the island.

September is busy with people leaving. No worries about arrivals at that time. To me it is the best time to go to the islands. For me the in-suite pool was fine in late September and the weather should be great. Bring sun block!

ajnaro

Most road signs are in Greek and Latin characters, but the spelling can vary. In my GPS it was Elounta.


More like an hour and a half, with good traffic. And it is indeed true that the airport is inadequate to handle the large groups that arrive from time to time. You have to calculate at very least an hour for check-in and another half hour or more for car return.



I did get an upgrade to a sort of loft suite (in October), without a pool but with a heated outdoor spa, after considerable negotiation at check-in. I was told that there were no heated pools at all at the property. The hotel was virtually empty.

JBauer

Be prepared for battle. Have your iPad or something to show them availability you see for your entire stay...and yes, some rooms do have heated pools. You pay more for it.

staylor9

I had read some of the earlier reviews stating that the BP wasn't the most accomodating with free upgrades, but some people semeed to have success. I also just got an email from them stating I could pay 45 Euro (~$69) for an upgrade to one of the Bungalow Sea View Private Pool rooms. I'm tempted since it is our 10 year anniversary, but was trying to keep our out of pocket down since our award ticket on Air France had some fees too.

Anyhow, if I were to pay the upgrade, do you think that would help my case of maybe being upgraded into one of the heated pool rooms? I can hope...right?

And, wow...so for the drive to the airport (1.5 hours), rental car return (.5 hour) and check in (1 hour)...geeeze..so you're suggesting we should leave a total of 3+ hours before our flight, right? I was hopng that early in the morning like that on a Saturda it might not be as bad, but I suppose there could be a lot of people traveling home after a week of vacation, so you just never know, right?

pyite

I thought I posted it in this thread earlier, but I guess I didn't.

Anyhow, thus far, this is my favorite property in SPG chain.

If you are going to drive, I would probably rent/bring a GPS. I downloaded some maps for my garmin, and sided loaded them on an SD card, and it worked great. I probably could have gotten to the hotel on my own from the airport, but it was late at night, and I really didn't want to make any wrong turns. The trip ended up taking about 1.5 hours, most of which was highway. Additionally, if you are planning on going anywhere off the resort, I would definitely use a GPS. We went to Vai Beach, and there is no way that I could have made it there without a GPS.

I was upgraded to an island luxury suite, complete with a heated plunge pool. It was heated, but it really wasn't all that warm. Definitely call the plat line and have them make a note on your reservation that you are going there for your anniversary. In addition to the 'local gift' (and points) we got when I checked in, I was also given a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries the first night (I went as part of my honeymoon).

Edit: If you are only gold, I wouldn't count on an upgrade. If you are really set on your own private pool, then I would pay for the upgrade, but in mid Sep, there probably won't be ALL that many people there, and there are so many pools (not associated with individual rooms) that I would probably consider it unnecessary. But like you said, it is your 10 yr anniversary.

Your second question, you are never going to make a 9 AM flight out of HER if you leave the hotel at 6. By the time you get to the airport and return the rental car, it is going to be at least 8 AM, and then HER is probably the craziest airport I have ever been to. Could have just been the day I was there, but there was no way I could have made my flight with only an hour.

Its a great spot, make sure that you get a chance to go to Ferryman Tavern in Elounda. That being said, there are a ton of amazing places to eat. The town of Plaka is right next to the resort and has a lot of really cool little eateries/shops. Take the ferry across the bay to Spinalonga Island, a really neat walk and shouldn't take more than 2 hours. I would definitely drive up the coast and hit some of the other beaches as well, they're absolutely beautiful.

david55

We were there last May. I let them know it was our 20th anniversary. We were upgraded ( we are *wood Gold) to a lovely room with a plunge pool ( too cold to use) and on our second day a delivery of a delicious chocolate mousse cake with our names and " Happy Anniversary" written on it.

With regards to what time to go to the airport...play it safe. There are a few weird turns in the drive between the resort and the airport ( it is 1.5 hours) and even though I have been to Crete many times and driven that road a lot.... we still got turned around near Malia and got off track. If I was trying to make a flight I would have been VERY panicked.

You can save TONS of money by not eating major meals at the resort but walking the 5 minutes into the small town of Plaka and eating in one of the several lovely waterside restaurants.

sent

The infinity pools are not heated. I believe the heated pools are the individual pools in the newer section of the resort. We had an infinity pool that had sunlight shining on our pool till 5 pm which made it warm enough to tolerate entering the pool in early August. I don't know if that will work for your late September stay. Definitely eat in Plaka to save some serious cash compared to the resort. We had no choice but to leave the hotel at 7:30 am for a 9:30 am flight (taxi strike, hotel arranged a bus). I was very nervous but we made it. I don't recall the airport having horrible lines or slow service or else I would've been ever more on edge. I was just nervous because of the time.

pyite

Oh, take cash. There are no ATM's around unless you make the drive into Elounda. The hotel will charge up to 300 euro to your room if you need money, which isn't a bad option either.

stimpy

I think most of us who got the nice upgrades were Platinum. I wouldn't expect it as Gold. If you want to be sure, you would have to lock it in in advance.

Well the drive took just under an hour for me. No traffic in September. And returning the car with Avis took about 5 minutes. If your flight back is near the end of September, most everyone will be gone by then, so no crowds.

Duke777

I used two FRN last September at the Blue Palace. As a *gold, I received an upgrade to an infinity pool room a day before check-in. The pool was not heated, so we only took quick dips.

The resort seemed fairly empty. My friends and I really enjoyed Blue Palace and the surrounding area. It's really a beautiful resort. When I was there, it was quite windy. We tried to play tennis, which is located at the top of the resort. It was very difficult with the wind, but there were great views from the top of the resort. The restaurants are fairly expensive, so walking to nearby Plaka is a good option.

We rented a car. We didn't have GPS, but I did a decent amount of research before the trip and printed directions. It's fairly easy, but you need to pay attention to signage. I'd recommend 1.5 hours for the drive, just to be safe.

staylor9

Thank you everyone for all the various tips. I really appreciate the feedback. I am now leaning towards trying to do a slightly later flight versus having to leave the resort at like 5:30am to make an 8:30 flight. Might mean less time at the Acropolis, but hey...we're on vacation and getting up at 5 am doesn't sound like fun.

Thanks again!

wendySFO

Just did the Acropolis the day before yesterday. It can take good 2 hours for the Acropolis and another 2 hours for the museum. Nice walk around the surroundings for city view and other treasures.

The metro ride from airport to Syntagma Square is around 70min. Don't know when is your flight out but just FYI for time budget.

The cafe at the museum is a good spot for lunch, food is good and reasonable priced with the Acropolis view!

staylor9

Wow...so 70 min each way from the airport to Syntagma Square? When I pulled up the info on the Athens metro website it said something like 45 minutes. So I was guessing to allow 2 hours round trip. Yikes...70 is a significant difference. The flight out that I'm looking at leaves at 6:50 so I was thinking we should try to be back at the airport around 5 to be safe especially if we aren't able to check our bags straight through from Crete.

Hhmmm...maybe we will have to go for the early morning flight, as painful as that might be, so that we'll have enough time to see the Acropolis. Thanks again for the feedback. It's all definitely very helpful!!

wendySFO

I meant to type 60min, not enough coffee (or sleep) in Athens . Probably 45min is possible without any wait.

I enjoyed having dinner at the Blue Door, excellent Greek food and view of Spinalonga island.

david55

"It's really a beautiful resort. When I was there, it was quite windy."

I mentioned this once before in a post a few years ago. Plaka ( where the Blue Palace sits) is in a valley where the mountains converge down to the sea. It can be VERY windy there as the winds come off the sea and are funneled up the valley.

In 1970 my family actually owned property in that area. ( Close to where the Elounda Beach is now). Our first choice was Plaka, but after many visits to the property we realized that the wind was a deal breaker. The Meltimi winds are relentless there. We ended up buying a few kilometers down the coast in Elounda where the winds are not nearly as intense.