Thomson Sensatori Resort, Lyttos Beach, Crete

Mrs Hughes

September 2009

Full Board

No

No

Thomson Holidays

1

The service is terrible - not once did we sit down to a fully laid table the whole 2 weeks we were there, and when asked for the missing items, the staff seem most put out, and actually snarl at you.

We had a couple of problems with our bath in our room - mainly the jets squirted out dirty, smelly water. This was reported to reception 3 times and took a week before anything was done about it.

The rooms have nice, big beds, but that's about it. The rest of the furniture leaves a lot to be desired. We were lucky to be allocated a room in the main block, as some of the rooms are across a road over looking the hotel generators and a couple of local supermarkets. Feel really sorry for the poor people stuck over there.

The food in the Main Restaurant (or canteen I feel is a more appropriate description) was really unsatisfying and in most cases totally over-salted. This includes the children's buffet which my 2 yr old refused to eat (and she's not a fussy eater).

The Tex Mex and the Thai are better than the canteen, but would probably be investigated under the trades description act if they set up in the UK and called themselves Tex Mex and Thai. (The waitress in the Tex Mex did not even know what salsa was, and seemed to find nothing wrong with serving Tortilla Chips with salad dressing to dip them in!!)

The floors all round the hotel and swimming pools are really slippery and rather dangerous. One poor lady slipped over on some rain water that had been left in the corridor for 2 days and broke her leg. I'm quite suprised there weren't more incidents like this too.

The actual location of the hotel is terrible. It is more or less in the middle of nowhere, with the village of Analypsi a 10 minute walk away down a road with large stretches of no pavements and absolutely no street lights making it particularly hazardous at night.

Would never go to this hotel again, would not recommend it to anyone and would think twice about booking anything with Thompson again as I feel they totally over-sold the Hotel both in their brochures and through their travel agents.

A total disappointment. Not a 5 Star Hotel......This hotel is definately NOT a 5 Star.

Mr P Thom

June 2008

All Inclusive

No

No

Thomson Holidays

9

We went to the Sensatori in June 2008 and really enjoyed ourselves. The rooms are outstanding, but I would maintain that they are not a true 5 star standard. However for the money we paid, this was a great holiday.

My only tip would be to find out everything you would want to use in terms of facilities and book them as soon as possible, because lots of the 'experiences' get fully booked.

We didn't know anything about the Sensatori Resort until we stumbled upon this site at www.sensatori-resort.com which featured videos and photos of the Sensatori Resort in Crete.

Mr B Peterson

July 2008

All Inclusive

No

No

Thomson Holidays

10

We Have just returned from the Sensatori. The room was nice; we had a standard room with a sea view room. With regards to the food, there was a good choice most days; however it would be either warm or stone cold. The restaurant staff were very professional and well organised.

The entertainment at the Sensatori was OK but have seen better in 3 and 4 star hotels. The main show each evening usually starts around 10 pm with the disco starting around midnight.

We actually left the Sensatori for one day and went on one of the trips to Spinalonga Island. That was overall a very good day out, with a knowledgeable guide. All things considered we had a great holiday, but slightly expensive!

Mr Stefen Renolds

October 2008

Half Board

No

No

Thomson Holidays

10

We have just returned from the Sensatori Resort from my first holiday since we got married. We could not have picked a better place for our holiday. Rated as 5 star, but I would not put it in the same league as a 5 Star hotel in London, New York etc, but it was an excellent hotel.

In the lobby bar of the Sensatori the prices of the drinks were reasonable and to be honest were not that much more expensive than the local bars and Tavernas. We had our meals in the Thai restaurant which I would recommend. You need to book this restaurant as it gets very busy. The meals were of a good standard and the wine was always cold when it arrived. The Tex Mex restaurant is always busy at lunchtime and you will need to wait your turn to enter.

All in all the Sensatori provided a good holiday and I will be back next year. One area I would like to se the management team at either the Sensatori or Thomson resolve is the putting out of towels in the morning to reserve sunbeds, it's really annoying to see the effort made with this complex from Thomson, just to see the Sensatori decline into just another 'holiday hotel in the sun'!

Activities for the kids were very good and the night time entertainment was fairly good as well. The television in your room has plenty of information available with regards the daily activities and nightly entertainment.

Julie Brown

August 2008

All Inclusive

No

No

Thomson Holidays

8

We had a great holiday at the Sensatori, Thomson should be congratulated for this move on taking package holidays to a higher level.

Transfers were excellent, only 20 minutes on the air conditioned coach with our bags taken directly to our room and the return journey is even better, as you do you check in at the hotel. The best to date.

Rooms excellent: huge bed, iron, hairdryer, tea making, fridge, television, air conditioning, balcony with a sea view, shower, bathroom and Jacuzzi. The staff was excellent; all of them, serving, reception, bar staff, room maids etc. Our room at the Sensatori was cleaned daily and was spotless, as were communal areas. The Thomson reps, sport team and entertainments team were all earning their money.

Facilities were outstanding: loved the swimming pools and plenty of comfortable sunbeds and parasols. The gym was good and spa fantastic, if a bit expensive. Food good, but could be improved, not 5 star in my opinion: breakfast lunch, so much to choose from. My recommendations for Thomson at the Sensatori would be to get the food slightly better and consider offering the Sensatori for people who only want Half Board.

Sarah Jenkins

September 2008

All Inclusive

No

No

Thomson Holidays

8

The hotel and complex generally are very good, but I would like to mention the need to book the restaurants in advance could be something to be sorted out by the owners of the Sensatori. Were on holiday, and the need to make a formal booking at the restaurants in advance is a little restrictive in my opinion.

Another thing that Thomson should try to eliminate is the transferring of people from other hotels to this one and having them on Half Board, I thought the whole concept was for All Inclusive and should not be taking Half Board customers from other hotels.

That's all my moaning out of the way so here are the good points I found for the Sensatori. The food was of a very good standard with plenty of choice. The swim up rooms was a nice touch, which I've not seen before on any package holiday. All the advertised facilities were of a high standard, if a little over crowded around some of the pools!

Finally a special mention to the entertainment staff who worked hard and the Thomson team at the Sensatori who start your holiday off with a professional approach.

Jim Leadbetter

September 2008

All Inclusive

No

No

Thomson Holidays

8

I reckon that we paid top dollar for our 2 rooms at the Sensatori, but we needed 2 rooms due to there being 6 people in our party, so we were hoping that Thomson delivered its 5 star experience promises. Unfortunately I think the standard was only 4 stars.

The problems at the Sensatori range from little niggles like the cutlery service in the restaurants, where you are provided with the wrong type of cutlery to the more important issues of Health & Safety, particularly around the pool area, which is very slippy.

We found that the entertainment was excellent in the evenings and the range of shows was of a good standard. All things considered, we would go back, but would be reluctant to pay the full brochure price too far in advance of taking our holiday again.

R Matthews

August 2008

All Inclusive

No

No

Thomson Holidays

8

After reading some of the early reviews on Trip Advisor we were a little apprehensive of the hotel to be honest. But I think the reviews on Trip Advisor for the Sensatori that reflect holidays taken in May and June reflect some of the teething problems that this hotel suffered in its early days.

With the exception of the slippy floors, that was mentioned on Trip Advisor, I didn't notice anything particularly wrong with this resort. Contrary to the image portrayed in the Thomson brochure regarding offering 5 star service and a relaxing time for couples, I think this resort is more suitable for families, as there are hundreds of kids around the place, so anyone thinking that their holiday would be in a sophisticated, adult exclusive environment will be somewhat disappointed with the Sensatori.

Was the Sensatori right for us? Yes, very much so, we were there as a family of 4 and enjoyed every minute of it. I'm sure the kids developed webbed feet with the amount of time that they were in the pools! Food is good too, with lots of choice, and plenty to of restaurants to try out. Drinks can be a little expensive, as they are only included at meal times in our package, but overall we would go back again to the Sensatori.