Hello to all of you from a very rainy England - I wish we were still in your sunshine.

I wanted to give you some feedback but didn't want to fill in a standard form - and I didn't just want to say "It's a great place"; I wanted to say why. Please feel free to use this feedback in any way you want.

Why is Eria Resort a great place?
Above everything else that is good about Eria are the people. It is they who create the atmosphere; they who provide the services and the information.

Every single member of staff really seemed to care about their guests - and they truly treated us as guests, rather than just paying customers. They were warm and welcoming. They were upbeat and enthusiastic, but in a gentle, thoughtful way - never 'in your face'.

If you wanted to know anything - about the hotel, the resorts, the cities etc., they would take the time to tell you. If they didn't know the answer, they'd find out. If you wanted to arrange something - bike hire, boat trips etc., they'd help.

The excursions that were available didn't come with a hard sell. They were just a well thought out variety of excursions, carefully tailored to the guests' needs, for the guests only (no big coachloads), and presented in a factual way - no pressure to join them.

Also, if there was somewhere different that a guest wanted to go, or a request for a minor variation to an excursion, that was OK too.

The hotel, the rooms and all the facilities where beautifully clean and well looked after. The rooms have everything you could need and are very attractively designed. The pool is brilliant, large enough for able bodied swimmers to get some exercise but designed so non-swimmers and the disabled can enjoy the crystal clear water too (that sounds a bit like a brochure entry but the water was exceptionally clear) - a great benefit in the hot sunshine.

The food was good - it was certainly plentiful, with lots of chance to come again. We liked the flexibility of the timing - it was served punctually at a given time but kept warm and replenished for those who wanted to arrive a bit later. Eating the evening meal, sitting in the warmth and peace by the pool was really relaxing.

Eria Resort is different and it is great. When we were there the guests were quite a varied group - age, nationality and activity. We didn't expect, nor did we want, to do anything other than have a good time on our own but we ended up developing some really nice, casual relationships.

The behaviour of Eria's driver, Yannis, really captures what Eria is like. Having a hire car, we never joined an excursion in the resort's small bus but twice - going to the beach and up to the mountains - Yannis allowed us to follow him, taking great care that we were OK, even when it came to parking. And, when were going home and found ourselves (with wheelchair and too many bags!) at the tail of a very long check-in queue, Yannis, who was waiting for arrivals, spotted us, left what he was doing and took us to the front of the queue where we could be checked-in quickly. His job didn't require him to do that, but he did it.

The owners and managers of Eria Resort have really created something very special.
Thanks
Andy Blanchard

Eria really is unique. After so many hassles and disappointments elsewhere in Euope, this is a welcome change - somewhere where the disabled traveller and carer can relax because nearly everything is designed to make life stress-free. This despite the charging policy for things like hoists - if disability is your market, these things really should be thrown in free, and not at a price clearly intended to generalte extra profit. The location also gets less than top rating; Maleme is a good 15-20 minutes wheelchair push away across a daunting main road and via no, or very rough, pavements.

That's all the gripes. The chief positive, beyond the fact that such a place exists at all, are the cheerful and obliging staff; Diamanto, the manageress, is a bundle of fun and energy, for whom nothing is too much trouble, and the rest of the staff are similarly helpful. The place is scrupulously clean, and the food, though simple, is entirely adequate and plentiful, with a nice sprinkling of local dishes. It's a pity it all has to be served buffet-style, so nothing is ever truly hot and things like fried calamari just aren't possible. (They are excellent and cheap in Maleme, though).

The Greek evening (Cretan dancers, all still in their teens) went very well, with even the most reserved guests getting in the swing . The turs, via Eria's own minibus, are well chosen and worth the cost.

So in total, here's a place where as far as is possible, you can forget your disabilities. It's not perfect, but we'll certainly be going again.

It is very hard finding somewhere suitable for my wife Jenny following her stroke. She is now quadriplegic and holidaying is a tough proposition. Luckily, we came across Eria resort. It is a fabulous place, even for those with very severe disabilities.

They have a fabulous pool and Jenny was swimming everyday, which was great therapy and fun! The hotel supplies hoists and electric beds, air mattresses, etc and the rooms are spacious, spotless and well-equipped. The staff are excellent, very friendly and can't do enough for you and we had some great late nights at the pool bar. Listen to the frog chorus!!!!

Food is good at the hotel, although we liked try other places to eat, but it was fresh, healthy and tasty when we ate there. Eria have an extensive bar menu, some great fruit cocktails and the beer is always ice cold!

Out of the hotel the local pavements and roads are a little tricky to negotiate with a wheelchair, but it is worth the effort to go into Maleme for some great food, a walk to the beach or local shopping. The hotel arranges transport to various places but try Chania - it is a great little fishing town with great dining and shops. Again though, the terrain is a bit rough for the wheelchair, but worth the effort.

Our week there is one we will always remember and we will return in the near future, for sure. See you soon Eria Resort!

The Eria Resort is purpose built for disabled people and their carers. The hotel is wonderfully barrier-free from the pool (gentle sloped ramp with good handrails and wheelchairs suitable for the pool if needed) to the bedroom suites with walk/wheel-in showers and plenty of grab rails. The view from our balcony was lovely and I would recommend the first floor rooms because of this. The staff were very friendly and unfailingly polite and helpful. We particularly appreciated the help given by Iannis (not sure of spelling!) during the airport transfers - something that can be a bit stressful with a wheelchair.

Breakfasts are great - wonderful greek yoghurt, fruit, cereal, pastries, cheese and fruit as well as cooked food if you want it. It was nice to be able to eat at the hotel if we didn't want to go out, but we enjoyed eating at the many restaurants along the seafront at Maleme. We were glad we had hired an electric scooter as it would have been a long push back from the beach (about 15-20mins walk). We chose to take the quiet road to the beach through the olive groves. This was fine as we had lights on the electric scooter but otherwise a good torch would be advisable. Maleme seafront is ideal for wheelchair users - very flat and you can "wheel" quite a long way. Restaurant staff were keen to make you feel at home and the food was very reasonably priced.

We appreciated the wheelchair accessible outings as we chose not to hire a car. Crete, by its nature, is not very accessible terrain so it was good to be able to get out and about without making the effort ourselves!

It was good to stay at a hotel where you could relax knowing that your disabled partner can be as independent as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed my lazy holiday and we have already booked to go back in 2007.