The Santa Marina Plaza hotel is situated in Agia Marina which is 8km from Chania (a city with an old Venetian harbour which has lovely restauratns dotted around it) and 1km from Plantanias (a more lively resort with lots of bars and restaurants). Agia Marina is fairly small but with plenty going on - there is a Sports bar down the road which we visited to watch the England match and made some super friends - a guy called Mark runs this outside bar and is from San Francisco, USA and you can hear laughing the night away - a real character (his Dad is Greek).
The hotel is modern with a slighly cosmopolitan feel to it. The reception staff were very efficient and always said hello and were happy to help with any queries. The rooms themself were perfect, spacious, clean and modern with all the facilities you need and everything is new. We stayed in a side-sea view room which was lovely although you can pay more for ones directly looking out to sea. Our room was ground level and although we were disappointed at first, we could walk out our patio door to get towels on the sun loungers very quickly in the morning lol!
The pool is a perfect size and has a number of sun loungers around them again which are modern and of good quality. As this hotel doesn't have any kids club programmes going on, the pool was more or less empty every day so if you are after some peace and quiet, you have definitely found the right hotel - it was such a treat not having to hear kids shouting and bawling and hogging the pool, wonderfully blissful if you are trying to relax. There is only a limited number of sun loungers and our rep did say that the hotel will eventually do something about it but in Greece, you know that they can take their time with things. However, saying that we never struggled with this as an issue and always got a couple plus as the hotel is on the beach, you can get a sun lounger on the beach but please be aware, the Government impose a tax of six euros for two sun longers so you do have to pay. There is a pool bar also but be aware, three euros for a coke...... not cheap so buy some stuff and put it in your room or take it down to the beach.
The food at the hotel is fairly good, the breakfasts are the usual assortment of bacon, eggs, sausages, salad, meats and cheeses and the odd Greek dish such as mushroom pie. Plenty of choice and slightly better quality than normal. The evening food is actually pretty good too although we only dined in once as we like to eat out on holiday but if you are on a budget, you won't be disappointed if you eat in. Again, the staff are very helpful and friendly.
As hotels go, this one is ideal if you are looking for a bit of luxury, no screaming kids, a beach and good food. From all my visits to Greece, this was the best hotel I've stayed in and was overjoyed with it, so relaxing plus in an ideal location in Western Crete. It is situated on a main road so there are buses going by every half hour directly to Chania or Plantanias (buy your tickets from the local shops outside the hotel or on the bus).
Outside the hotel, Chania is to your left and Plantanias to your right so stand on the side of the road at the bus stop to go either way (if you get stuck, ask at the shop which if you come out the hotel is on your right). Plantanias is worth a visit for a good meal up the hill - walk up and look for the signs to Vigli, a hill top restaurant with the most amazing views. Word of warning, avoid Cosmos restaurant, a really weird feel and very expensive. Vigli was lovely and run by a family and will take care of you, bringing you complementary watermelon, cherries and ouzo for afterwards mmmmmm......
For trips, don't book with your representative, soooo expensive. Instead hire a car - prebook with EuroCars or Hertz online to get the best deal. Then take your car out and visit the places your rep will tell you about. There is a church inside a cave worth a look at (omg though, the car trip is scary with all the cliffs lol), there is a Botannical Gardens. This is quite interesting as a few years back Crete suffered a major forest fire. Following this, four brothers decided to replant some vegetation in memory of this fire and created these lovely gardens with so many different varieties of fruit and herbs and a really nice thing to walk around. It was only 4 euros and you would be supporting this wonderful park type gardens. There is a modern taverna there too with a purpose built arena and all the food and drink served is made from their own produce so really cool - have a fresh orange juice, they are incredible.
If you are a beach lover, take a drive to Efalonsi. This beach is the most amazing beach I have ever seen, it looks like it belongs to the Maldives which pink soft sand and clear water with fish swimming around your legs - amazing. This area is protected by the Government so there is nothing around this beach, no development at all. There are toilet facilities which are portaloos but very nice ones and they have a collapsable beach bar, again Government owned and is taken away at the end of the season. The beach bar is very reasonable and you won't get ripped off. Go here - you won't be disappointed.
I hope this review has been informative, I really hope you choose this hotel as it is perfect for visiting Western Crete. This side of the island has a totally different feel to it. On the East side you have Malia which is a bit of a Blackpool Abroad with the old 'English pub' thing going on which we just dread - the West side is more authentic and has breathtaking scenery and you will feel more like you have seen some of the real Greek way of life.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
