Purple Travel Official Blog – Page 68 – Fall In Love With Holidays

Purple Tips: Best Hotels Crete

Jul 09 2010

We came up with a brilliant list of hotels in Crete, the southernmost and largest island of Greece, to discover with your favorite travel companion(s). We chose these hotels because of their high quality standards of service and the great feedback we get from you – our customer.

These properties are really something to get excited about, especially with the great prices we have on offer. If you like what you see, take a look at our website to get the holiday from your local airport. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Give our expert travel advisors a ring on 02079939228 for more of the best hotels Crete now.

Image via @ Michalis Polakis

Porto Elounda De Luxe Resort 5* Elounda

The ultimate in luxury, set in the stunning resort of Elounda, the Porto Elounda Deluxe Resort is the place to spend an unforgettable holiday. Exceptional service is combined with an array of high-quality facilities just steps away from the most beautiful resort in Crete.

Customer Rating: 5/5
Restaurants: Buffet, Mediterranean & Cretan, Seafood & Greek Tavern
Bars: Piano Bar, Beach Bar
Activities: Spa, Golf, Water sports, Tennis, Gym, Indoor Heated Pool, Entertainment
Children: Kids Club, 2 Children’s Pools, Children’s Entertainment, Babysitting

Louis Creta Princes 4* Chania

Right on the beautiful beach of Maleme Bay, the Louis Creta Princess offers bright and elegant rooms positioned around its lush gardens and pool, all with sea views.

Customer Rating: 4/5
Restaurants: Show Cooking Buffet, Italian, Chinese
Bars: Lobby Bar, Beach Bar, Disco
Activities: Entertainment, Varied Sports, Tennis
Children: Children’s Pool, Mini Club, Playground, Mini Golf, Kids Buffet, Mini Disco

Aegean Sky Hotel & Suites 5* Malia

Get away to the lively resort of Malia without compromising on great quality service and fantastic facilities. Just a short distance to the nightlife and to the beautiful beach, the Aegean Sky provides the ultimate accommodation for your lively holiday.

Customer Rating: 5/5
Restaurants: Snack Bar
Bars: Pool Bar
Activities: BBQ Nights, Pool Parties

Minos Hotel 4* Rethymnon

Just a stone’s throw from the beautiful Blue Flag beach, the Minos Hotel offers tranquility and excellent service that’s right next to the historic centre of Rethymnon.

Customer Rating: 4/5
Restaurants: Buffet, Mediterranean
Bars: Lobby Bar, Pool Bar
Activities: Entertainment, Varied Sports, Water Sports*, Tennis

Amazones Village Suites 4* Hersonissos

This boutique all-suite hotel is the perfect setting for any type of holiday you are looking for. Set in a good location with easy access to all the favorite Cretan resorts, the Amazones Village Suites offers you incredible service and luxury.

Customer Rating: 5/5
Restaurants: Main Restaurant
Bars: Main Bar
Activities: Fitness Centre, Tennis, Golf, Excursions

Marni Village Hotel 3* Hersonissos

Set just off the main area of Hersonissos, the Marni Village Hotel offers the ultimate combination of relaxation and great entertainment for the entire family. Enjoy the splendid sea views from the pool area or head over to the bustling town of Hersonissos for the sandy beaches and shopping.

Customer Rating: 4/5
Restaurants: Poolside Restaurant
Bars: Pool Bar
Activities: Sauna, Tennis
Children: 2 Children’s Pools, Playground, Playroom

Alantha Apartments 4* Agios Nikolaos

Located a few meters away from the city centre, the Alantha Apartments offer the ultimate in style and functionality. Featuring all the room facilities you need for an incredible holiday, the Alantha Apartments are not to be missed if you’re looking for a great place to stay in a central location.

Customer Rating: 4/5
Restaurants: Snack Bar
Bars: Pool Bar
Activities: Roof Terrace Swimming Pool, Games Room

You should read… Corfu Hotels Greece

The Culture of Alcohol

Jun 29 2010

Drinking is a part of the culture in the UK, pubs are the best places to go and socialise, catch up on gossip and watch the match of the day on the TV, all while having a pint or two, or three, or so on….

Holidays are no different, as the number of people choosing All Inclusive (AI) hotels proves that even whilst abroad, people still want to have alcohol to end (or in some cases begin!) the day with.

In case you don’t know, AI means that free drinks, snacks and even ice cream are served throughout the day, not just at mealtimes. There are varying types of AI, which tell you exactly when they are served. While it is all day, most hotels do not allow free alcohol after midnight, so do check with your hotel before trying for an all night booze up!

To keep costs down, hotels don’t always give away popular drinks all the time, since they are fairly expensive to import. Instead they tend to use drinks that are either brewed locally or imported from nearby. Though it isn’t your normal pint at the pub, their own local flavours are worth trying.

Here is quick list of the different types and brands of local alcoholic drinks that you may get to sample at your hotel or resort. This doesn’t include the small shots you can get in every bar, since those are everywhere, but for the more sedate pace of drinking a can of beer, or glass of wine.

In Tenerife, they have a beer called Dorada which is exclusive to the island, and comes in three varieties, Dorada Pils (normal alcohol level), Dorada Pils (strong), and Dorada Sin (alcohol free). The neighbouring island of Gran Canaria has its own beer by the name of Tropical, and as the two islands are so close to each other, both beers can be found on either one.

The Canary Islands also have their own wine thanks to their climate, and asking for the house wine for a meal is not a bad choice at all. Red wine is more common here too, and may even be chilled, good for those boiling summer days!

Egypt, despite being a Muslim country, is fairly tolerant of foreigners drinking alcohol, and so they have a large selection available. The most common beer which can be found in almost every bar is known as Stella (yes, similar name, but this isn’t related to the Artois family). Two more varieties, Stella Export and then Stella Premium have higher alcohol levels. A European brand called Meister, licensed for and produced in Egypt is also available and Meistar Max, another type, has the highest alcohol level for beer in Egypt, good if you want a quick dizziness spell!

For the wine lover, there are some that try to capture the taste from the ancient Egyptian days, these include Omar Khayyam, Cru Des Ptolmees, Rubis D’Egypte and Abarkai. They’re called Giancils types of wines, so ask for one if you’re interested.

Greece is famous for Ouzo, highly alcohol with the taste of aniseed, thus giving licorice-haters less to drink. However there are other drinks too. For beer there is Mythos, the most famous out of all the brands, and is easy to find. Retsina is a white wine that can be served with a meal, however house wine does taste good on the whole.

Overall, a huge variety which should move you away from your current tipple of choice. You’re sure to get a hangover if you overdose on them too much, but then you can rely on your own methods to clear your head. The levels of alcohol vary so do check the amount before beginning another round at the bar. Be sure to follow the law with regards to drinking age, and drink responsibly. Ending up in a police cell or even a medical clinic overnight does not make for a good vacation!

So, happy holidays, cheers, and bottoms-up!

Real Reviews from Purple Travellers!

May 03 2010

Here at Purple Holidays, we pride ourselves on our exceptional customer service. So when we get good reviews from our customers online, we get all warm and tingly with pride! We thought we would share some of the great things our customers say about us and our holidays with you – just so we can bask in all of our hard work.

These are all real reviews by real customers. Some of them have been emailed and others have been posted on third-party websites. For those that have been posted, we put a link to the website so you can see it on there for yourself. All the reviews are in their exact words (so please excuse any typos).

“I should have been on holiday this week having booked a 2 week AI to hurgada in Egypt at the cost of 1400 quid, I should have been flying on the 16 but the volcano put an end to that.

After phoning several times to find out what was going on I was reassured not to worry, everthing was being looked into and they would get back asap after they heard anything, but they were near enough positive everything would be fine and told me i would probably be re-sheduled or even refunded my money.

so after dis-cussing this with my other half we deceided any later and egypt would be too hot anyway ,so we decieded on another destiation for later on in may . this morning linda phoned me back and on telling her of our decesion which even though was half the original price ,she very quickly sorted all the details out and got it booked up for us,and although the holiday we picked was not as luxurious as the hotel we were originally going on we deceided we were happy to just be going on holiday finally.

but i,m sat thinking about this company now and i can,t praise them highly enough they have been fantastic through out from the girl we originaly booked it with who gave us insurance cover and then discounted off the price,right through to the customer services,were brilliant and anyone thinking of booking a holiday you could do a lot worse, I’m certainly glad i booked with them.”

(Posted by “the big fella” on Apr 23, 2010)

“I want to thank Iva for being extremely helpful and prepared to look at alternatives when I was helping my son and his friends to book a holiday to Turkey. I gave Iva a number of challenges over best price and suitable accommodation for a group of 8-10. The actual group was reduced with work commitments and the need to check the ability to obtain the leave they required. She was helpful and friendly and gave me ways of helping the others to add on to the booking. Iva was very flexible and provided me with alternatives if the group were not happy. She then had to take payment from different cards and was so patient with everyone. I am extremely happy with the service Iva provided and would be happy to book a holiday using her help and guidance again.”

(Emailed by Barbara C. on Apr 28, 2010)

“This is just a quick email to say a big thank you to Leo who was my booking agent for the above holiday reference. Having booked through a number of different holiday agents previously, Purple Holidays has by far been the most helpful and friendliest company I’ve dealt with. I will definitely recommend your company to all and look forward to booking my next holiday with you. Thanks again for all your help Leo!”

(Emailed by Arlene D. on April 23, 2010)

“i booked a holiday with purple holidays on march 10 ,and we were flying to eygpt on a 14 night all inc, but on the 16 april we were struck with the volcano, the holiday had cost quite a bit of money and we were struck with panic thinking we would lose out.

we had to wait until the planes were given the all clear before we could re-book but any worries we had were quickly put to bed by purple holiday staff ,who reassured us there would be no problem in either getting a re-booking or if it came to that a refund. as it turned out we could not get the original hotel at the same price,but we managed to find another holiday that suited us.

i cannot speak highly enough of this company and would have no hesitation what so ever in booking a holiday with them . many thanks to linda, who tried so hard to get us another booking at the same destination and rosie ,both who were very polite courtious, and professional at all times through out my constant harassment, and also vicky who helped us with our original booking, best in the buissness. if you find a holiday with purple don,t even hesitate a fantastic company, and will most definatly be back.”

(Posted by Carl Peters on April 23, 2010)

“I`d like to thank very much to your travel agent Fiona who found me and to my boyfriend very fab holiday in Egypt, just got back and had a great time,its been as she said very good location close to the beach, shops…etc. we enjoyed our stayed there. I`ll be in touch with her very soon for my next holiday!!!!”

(Emailed by Dada F. on April 8, 2010)

“James was one of the most pleasent people I have had to talk to on the phone when it comes to ringing companies. He was polite, sociable and extremely friendly. I think he has amazing costumer service skills and made booking my holiday an absolute delight. I would love if you could make him aware of this and to pass on my compliments. So he remebers who I am, I booked today around 3pm, my holiday was to Rhodes, Greece for me and my partner Burhan. I believe that you have an amazing worker and would love for you to thank him for his great service. I would appreciate it very much if I could recieve an email back from you just to confirm you have read and acknowledged my email. Thank you very much.”

(Emailed by Camilla B. on March 31, 2010)

“Just wanted to pass on my thanks to the chap who booked our holiday didnt get his name sorry maybe you can tell from booking ref ###-###. It was greatly appreciated as he went out of his way to find our requirements and i know that he must have had to stay beyond his shift as it was going up to 22.00hrs on friday evening before we had finally finished booking. We are always quick to complain when things are not right but i feel he has exceeded his normal duties and thought he deserved a mention.Or maybe you have an employee reward scheme. I will definately look to book with you for the summer. Thank you from a very satisfied customer.”

(Emailed by Andrew T. on March 22, 2010)

“Within a matter of no more than five minutes Claire had not only e-mailed the confirmation details, tickets etc, to my e-mail address , she had also organised a hard copy of the details to be sent first class post as a back up following the e-mail problems that l had been experiencing,and they arrived as promised, on following day.

The way in which Claire was able to sort the problems o quickly is a credit to herself and the name of Purple Holidays.Throughout our brief conversation she was extremely courteous and professional at all times. Could l therefore ask you to thank Claire on my behalf. Given the service that l recieved from Claire, l shall certainly be booking further holidays with Purple Holidays.”

(Emailed by Alan M. on March 13, 2010)

“Just felt I had to write to say thanks to Robbie. We booked a last minute holiday through Purple Holidays who recommended Hurghada and the Stella Makadi Resort. We were surprised by how lovely it was, the servce the atmosphere and location. If you are looking for a relaxing holiday with simple food, drink, great service then look no further. We were able to have some well needed R & R listening to the ocean. The only thing I would say is that if your flight arrives in the day do not be disuaded by your journey to the resort, you will feel like it is either a war zone or a building site but when you get the resort all is well and you will not even know or care what is going on outside. There are 2 pool areas, if you are looking for quiet, go to the one nearest the spa, or you will be subjected to loud belly dancing throughout your stay. We also did the Quad bike trip from the beach which was great fun. We had a great, well needed holiday, purple were spot on with their recommendations.”

(Emailed by Amy T. on March 4, 2010)

Thanks to all our wonderful customers for giving us such great feedback! Your reactions are the reason why Purple Holidays will continue to strive for excellent customer service for all our present and future purple holidaymakers.

Holidays: Cultural Dining… Taste the Experience

Apr 16 2010

Holidays abroad can be a chance to try something just a little different to what you’re used to at home. Whether you’re in a five star, all inclusive hotel, or just a two star self-catering apartment, no matter what, at some point, you’ll want to eat!