We spent family holiday in June, I am sorry to write such late review, however it was really nice holiday, otherwise I would not review it so late :-)
We were 2 families with small kids. We got nice bungalow in front of the beach. It was great for us, because we could sit in front of the bungalow. There is a porch with chairs and table. Because we got bungalow at ground floor, we did not have to care about our kids so much because they were running from one room to the other. Our friend were located next to us in the neighbouring bungalow. The beach is grat for children and it is regularly cleaned. You have to pay some money for the umbrella and sunbeds, but it is good, because you do not have to worry about "reservations of sunbeds by towels" - which is common for sunbeds at the swimmingpool. It means you can get allways some sunbeds and umbrella even if you are with children and go late to the beach. There is also small swimming pool for kids. It is also OK. The food is fantastic. Everyone can choose something. WIFI internet was working also in the bungalow and all parts of the hotel.
I recommend to visit Cretaquarium which is easily accessible by local bus. The bus station is in front of the hotel. Another positive is the location it is only 15 minuts from the airport.

We had a week here my and daughter in October, the hotel is very clean, food choice is pretty good for the price you pay, but the staff are very friendly and you soon build a rapport and they are happy to see you. Hotel is situated on the beach also and snorkling is possible as the sea is largely shallow across the frontage of the hotel.
The only downside was the animation leader and the 'shows' they presented which were really poor and once clients had seen one or two they did not go again!! The all inclusive range of drinks is very good, no complaints at all. The hotel very is handy for getting the local transport, bus stop outside which is excellent to explore other places east or west on the island.

This holiday was a late booking in Oct 11, a week before Crete closes for the season. Booking for two rooms, 1 double, and 1 twin. All-inclusive. – Exactly what we got.

OVERALL WE REALLY ENJOYED OUR STAY AT THIS HOTEL, IT WAS A LATE BOOKING AND END OF SEASON, BUT I DIDN’T FEEL THAT ANYTHING HAD BEEN CUT BACK TO SPOIL OUR STAY.

Description of Hotel:
The hotel comprised of the main building and several low level annex blocks stretching along the sea front with a sandy beach. I believe all the interior has recently been refurbished to a high standard.
I HAVE PUT THE “WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW AT THE END”
Our accommodation was in the 3rd annex a 2-storey building. The Hotel is situated on the outskirts of Kokini Hani, the last hotel on the main road back towards Heraklion, with very little nightlife or shops. Peaceful, but other shops, bars and supermarkets etc are only a short walk away further into town.
The reception area’s have are large and comfortable, with plenty of seating to play cards or games (available at reception, as are dvd's etc). The main reception has no bar; the main bars are downstairs (lift available) main bar, pool bar and a beach bar near the annex complex.
The main bar is where most people congregate after diner, with the dining room and entertainment hall just off this area. Plenty of comfortable chairs and table’s to sit and chat etc again with a further patio area.
The pool is in front of the restaurant and about 3 meters from the sandy beach, there are sun loungers available free around the pool, but the beech sun lounger’s are chargeable, I think about 5 Euro’s for two with an umbrella. The guy that takes the money also cleans the beach of litter and any seaweed.
The hotel does have many other facilities, gym, massage etc, we just didn’t use them.
Description of Rooms:
The rooms allocated to us are typical of the accommodation in the annex units. They were large enough to accommodate 4 people and still have space, all our rooms appeared to have been recently upgraded to a superb standard, with a supper king size bed, dressing table and chairs, with a further table and sofa. From our bed you could look directly out onto the waves lapping up the sandy beach. The room also had a balcony with table and chairs to sit on late at night watching the sea.
The hotel rooms are north facing out to sea, so I don’t think you would get the sun, but mid august, it would be better to be in the shade.
The bathrooms are again well furnished and quite big, with a large mirror and hair drier for the woman to pamper themselves. A bath with a shower tap overhead and clear glass partition, plenty of hot water at any time of the day.
The rooms also have a flat screen TV opposite the bed with remote control, unfortunately I could only find 2 news channels, but occasionally on channel 13 a Greek channel the wood run an English film with sub titles in Greek. There is also a DVD player connected to the TV and my daughter and friend used this with films from reception on a couple of times.
One other good point WIFI was available in our room, with a good signal, free of charge; reception again provided an access code. – Well done.
The rooms were cleaned daily with the sheets and towels being replaced frequently if not every day.

FOOD & DRINK:
Excellent choice and variety of food for any meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner, in the restaurant drinks were self services, with beer, 3 types of wine, water, coffee, tea and soft drinks.
If breakfast was missed the pool bar had continuous snacks available, you won’t go hungry, even after the main restaurant had shut, and I did see rolls available late on. The beer is Mytos; it appeared to be slightly better in the restaurant than at the bar? The drinks and cocktails were generally of a good quality.
The bars are not self-service and a short queue may occur at peek times, but soon clears.
The Aquis group operate a “card” all inclusive system as opposed to a wrist band, previous experience of this at the Aquis Vassi Beach, was a real pain, but thankfully the only thing we used it for was opening our door and putting the electric on, this might be seasonal? At the Vassi beach it was required for everything, so if the card was being used in the room, it could be at the bar.

Entertainment:
Day time entertainment was available for adults and children through out the day, evening entertainment needs to improve, of the 6 nights entertainment, I honestly think 3 were ok, the rest was a waste of time.
STAFF:
I found that all the staff at the hotel was both pleasant and courteous, not only the reception and managers, but also the cleaners, gardeners and restaurant staff. A real pleasure to be there.

WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW
Now the not so good stuff! Anyone can pick holes with every hotel and I believe the following are only minor things and won’t cause you any displeasure whilst stopping here.

BATHROOM: Don’t put anything on the floor when having a shower, the glass screen simply doesn’t work or stop the water going onto the floor, there is a hole in the floor and eventually it will drain away.

ROOMS: The rooms are north facing, consequently I don’t think you would be able to sit on the balcony and get a sun tan.

BUILDINGS: The exterior of the building are in need of some touch up, which will probably be done over the winter period. Internally everything has been.

BEACH: Sun loungers are not operated by hotel and are chargeable, but the guy does clean the beach. I saw other hotel beaches near by and ours was the best kept.

BARS: You will have to queue at the bars at certain times, your best waiting until the queue goes down before standing in it. All drinks are chargeable after 11pm. Maybe the hotel could offer self-services for tea, coffee, soft drinks and beer, like the restaurant.

SHOP: The shop in the hotel and across the road was expensive, but convenient, travelling a bit further prices was cheaper. Not far away in Kokini Hani is Spar and if you have transport, follow the coast road out side the hotel back towards the airport and a Lidl is on the left side. Really cheap good quality red wine, if you want a late late drink in the room without queuing.

AIRCRAFT: There is no getting away from this, the flight path is about 500mts to 1000mts out to sea as they approach Heraklion airport. Some aircraft noise is heard – no loud, but it is there when you are outside or on the beach. When in the room or main area’s it is hardly noticeable AND NONE AT ALL WHEN THE GREEK’S GO ON STRIKE.

CARD SYSTEM: If as I suspect the card system is only implemented in high season, it’s a real pain, If someone is back at the room with the card, you won’t be able to get in the restaurant or have a drink with out it – as per Vassi Beach, but maybe some one knows different?

OVERALL WE REALLY ENJOYED OUR STAY AT THIS HOTEL, IT WAS A LATE BOOKING AND END OF SEASON, BUT I DIDN’T FEEL THAT ANYTHING HAD BEEN CUT BACK TO SPOIL OUR STAY.

We stayed at Arina sands in October and can pretty much do nothing other than sing it praises.
the staff are friendly and extremely proficient
The food is amazing, pretty much on tap from dawn till bed time ( chef you are wonderful )
the room we had was well kept , clean and had a great view over the sea
the hotel is isolated but is fully self contained for those who just want R & R
There is a bus stop right outside the hotel and you can get around really easily and much cheaper than the excursions offered by the tour operator. We did a couple of trips and found it to be great fun on the local buses .
Only down side ( very small ) and I'm sure was just down to our late in the season visit was the evening entertainment , which quite frankly was appalling
For what we paid for a week with flights transfers and all inclusive hotel is truly a steal .
Well done