Normally I like to explore different places on holiday but we had such a great time last year that we're going back. Going at low season meant that the cost was really very reasonable. Two weeks with car hire and afternoon creche for our 1.5 year old was about £1200. Accommodation is not luxurious but felt homely and spotlessly clean - we liked it straight away. The pictures you see on the net do not really do it justice.

There are lots of really good places to eat nearby we're fussy and were really surprised. Chania is a fascinating and surprising town to explore. Plenty of good beaches within walking/driving distance.

The Aloni has lovely pools with a great view of snow-capped mountains (when we went in May), a simple, but practical gym that ticked all the boxes for me ... treadmill, rower, cycle. The bar's not bad either with simple but tasty meal options.

Icing on the cake though? The wonderful hospitality we were shown by the owners, Mr and Mrs Lefteris, Julia the manager, the delightful cleaners and the creche staff who you're happy to entrust your most precious bundles to. You wouldn't get better in a 5 star!

I have just spent 2 weeks with my family (2 children 5 and 3 yoa) at the Aloni Apartments. Aloni appears to be a common name so to avoid dobut these are situated just on the town boundary of Chorafakia about 20 minutes drive outside of Chania on the road to Stavros and about 15 mins drive from Chania Airport.

They are quite new and consist of 16 ,2 or 3 bed apartments. The apartments are fairly basic but very comfortable and cleaned very well daily. The pool is excellent and if you have young children you would be hard pressed to find a better children's pool.

There is a snack bar on the premises which does acceptable food and a good range of alcoholic beverages. You would be hard pressed to eat only on site as the choice is limited but it does offer an alternative to going out if you simply want a quiet night. This is not really suitable for those wanting to party all night and for us that was perfect (being the wrong side of 40). There is a laundry and dryer. There is a television (limited to local channels) in each room. The kitchen has a fridge/freezer and a simple two ring oven, perfect for breakfast.

The entire place is booked by Simply Crete ( a subsidiary of Thompsons). They manage and run a kids club on site which is very secure and well run. Personally I think it might be a little limited activity wise for kids over 7 as it is limited to indoor activites (painting sticking etc). that aside my 5 year old loved it.

Obviously this means quite a few kids during school holidays. Dont be put off by this as outside of these times this would still be a great place to stay but if you are allergic to small children make sure you know when the UK school holiday times are.

As a base it is close to Chania which has everything you need, there is a local supermamrket very close by for essentials and a decent taverna about 3 mins walk away.

In summary I can recommend this place without any reservation. It is not luxurious (although not cheap) but it is very clean, has everything you need and is run by delightful staff who are very helpful. If you have children it is a prefect base with the advantage of a good Kids Club.