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.