Vasia beach hotel itself and the rooms I would class as 5star, the spa is out of this world and treatments at 30euro for 50mins with free 25mins treatment on top is definitely worth while, very luxurious atmosphere and we were treated like royalty in there, I wanted to go every day !!

Cleanliness is excellent and food the usual all inclusive stuff mainly aimed at Dutch and German guests although salads were excellent and fresh.

Some of the staff were difficult to communicate with due to lack of English but generally very helpful and the entertainment staff were very friendly and had the usual organised stuff and evening kids disco etc.

The hotel website is very misleading as the pictures of the pool are taken before the refurbishment as it shows one pool with surrounding grass area, this is now the second pool surrounded by new apartment blocks all around and there is a mini market before it and then another similar sized oblong pool in front with the new main building block before that. With it being August, you can imagine how busy it was with families and these two pools had sun beds 3 rows deep around them and they were all occupied every day, it was a little like I could imagine Butlins to be !! This was the main reason for not wanting to return, the pools not being freeform and the layout being regimented with limited space was off putting for us, although others didn't seem to mind!

We booked for a Suite and found this had a separate larger bedroom with balcony onto both bedroom and lounge area with 2 sofa beds for kids. Our 13 year old did find the sofa bed too small though. We were in room 303 overlooking the main entrance/car park which wasn't great as the evening bar had tables laid out in front of us right up the car park so could be noisy if you wanted an early night. Friends had a junior suite with one balcony and lounge area leading into double bedroom; these seemed better located as they were in a block with views of the sea even though they didn't pay for sea view so I would recommend booking just a Junior Suite.

The maisonettes with private pool were excellent sizes but views overlooking pool or side and they didn't appeal to us at all as they pools were immediately next to each other like terrace houses ! I think if you are not looking at getting really luxurious larger suites then go for the normal rooms as these were in the older block at the bottom closest to the sea front and had another pool down there, these seemed really quaint and most had part sea views.

Because of lack of space around pools areas and the appearance of the 2 pools I would class this part as only 3 to 4 star but rest of hotel and spa does now deserve the 5 stars as is new and very modern.

The website makes you think it is on the beach, it is actually across a small dirt track/road and then there is a rocky incline to water's edge, I wouldn't say it is possible to sunbathe on this area as it is very uneven and dangerous for kids, but saying that if you walk a few minutes along track there is the 'harbour' with stone breakwater where people sunbathe and swim in the harbour sea.

Olympic transfer times were exaggerated as it only took us under 1hr to get to hotel with 3 drops on the way so don't be put off, taxi would probably only take 1/2hr. Also, it says 10mins walk into Sissi resort - straight outside the hotel are a couple of bars and few shops with car hire etc. then you take a lovely walk down a short hill and in a few minutes you reach the start of the shops and edge of harbour in Sissi.

Sissi is very very beautiful, it amazed us - if we visited again we would go self catering as the selection of bars and restaurants is ample and the prices are very cheap e.g. sardine meal/Greek chicken, chips meal about 8euro max. Very good value meals. If you walk for another 5mins through Main Street out other side you go into the 'Traditional Village' of Sissi which is like walking back in time with lovely authentic cafe/bars with locals sat outside. Would definitely recommend this resort.

Didn't visit the beach, although went on the 'Happy Train' which trundles around for 1hr for 6euro/adults and saw a beach out other side of Sissi which had a coach load of 'Malia youths' doing a beach party, which didn't look inviting for families !!

After realising the short transfer time from airport had wished travelled down to Elounda which is meant to be very elite and beautiful! Would recommend Sissi though, great for all family.

This hotel was excellent for families.

Rooms were a good size and kept spotless by the maids on a daily basis. The hotel bars, pools, restaurants were also kept spotless.

There was the usual sunbed battle - but if you're going to this hotel soon, there are 3 pools and the third is set in beautiful gardens and is very quiet - not many people know this one exists!

Food was good with a huge selection for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the poolside bar served adequate snacks throughout the day. The weekly Greek night BBQ was highly popular!

Staff were always polite and helpful and really good with kids.

Entertainment was of the normal standard, great hotel entertainers. Some nights, entertainment was provided from outside - the singer Kenny was fantastic.

We would certainly visit this hotel again - a fantastic holiday!

This was our first all inclusive holiday and we were expecting something special, especially as it was classed as a 5*.

We were not happy with the food at all. There were a lot of German and Dutch guests staying at this hotel and the food definitely catered more for them than the English.
I would say that if you love salad, chips, pasta, chicken and pork, then you will be very happy, as apart from the other food that was offered (which sometimes you couldn't even make out what it was)that was served every night.

Also, it got very busy in the dining hall, get used to queueing while you are here! We ended up eating out most nights and my kids seem to have pasta every night.
Was not amused having to spend extra money on food when the holiday had already cost us

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Despite having emailed the hotel requesting twin beds, we were shown to a small, dark room with a double bed and a sofa bed. There was a "half-bath" in the bathroom and the balcony was tiny. This was not acceptable and we were moved to The Palm Bay Hotel which was five minutes walk away.

The hotel was full but we had no trouble getting a table for meals or getting drinks.

There was a huge choice for all mealtimes, including lots of veggie dishes. Overall, food quality was reasonable given that it was a buffet restaurant.

The hotel advertises that guests can have one visit to each of the "a la carte" restaurants. We only visited the seafood restaurant and had a mini-buffet of salad and four fish dishes for starters, a choice of two fish and a veggie main, and buffet desserts. The main fish were freshly cooked but pre-plated nouvelle cuisine-style with salad. Not impressed.

The foyer, lobby bar and dining room looked very sterile with few plants and no pictures on the walls. There was no handrail leading down the stairs to the toilets, though there is a lift.

I would not consider this hotel suitable for those with walking difficulties as there were many steps to get around the complex.

The thalassotherapy spa and beauty salon is very new and offered a wide range of treatments at similar prices to the UK.

In spite of the above, we had a wonderful, relaxing week.

They are back at home they must eat like kings or they are just being picky. All our meals were taking outside as the weather was fantastic, just as well as the restaurant could never have coped if it was raining or cool.

Room was basic but very comfortable, bathroom was a bit of a disappointment, floor always wet and shower not attached to the wall which was very irritating.

Staff in the hotel were very friendly especially Nickie and Maria who worked at the snack bar at the pool. They were very hard working, efficient and lots of fun, they really were a big part of our holiday and lots of people would agree with us.

Animation team pretty poor in the evening ,in fact they were rubbish ,live entertainment was quite good every second night a singer or a band a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday would go back in a minute

We stayed in the Vassia Beach and Spa Hotel for 2 weeks in June/July. The hotel is lovely and the staff are very nice.

We had a junior suite which was of a very high standard.

The food was very good but as with all these buffet type hotels a bit repetitive after 2 weeks. The salads were excellent both at lunch and dinner. They do an excellent BBQ evening on a Wednesday.

There were 3 pools which were all spotlessly clean. There was plenty of sun loungers and parasols to go round but the sun beds were all a bit jammed together so you did not get much room.

The village of Sissi is very nice and very quiet which suited us fine. The 2 beaches within easy reach of the hotel are not up to much. There is a much nicer beach beside the Kalimari Kriti Hotel, reached by climbing over the rocks from Bufos beach (Well worth the effort!!). We hired a car for a few days and visited Knossos, Agios Nikolias and the Aqua Plus water park at Hersonissos.

We stayed at Vasia Spa & Beach for 2 weeks at the beginning of June 2006.

We arrived in the early hours of the morning and as soon as we got off the bus we were greeted by friendly staff who put our cases into a golf buggy and drove us to our room and gave us a guided tour whilst on the buggy.

We stayed in a junior suite which was absolutely amazing! The bathroom was wonderful it had a shower over the bath, table top sink and a seperate shower cubicle which was all frosted glass, it was very stylish.

The living room was 2 settees with a fridge filled with 4 choices of pop, beer and water. There was also tea and coffee making facilities with cups glasses and a kettle, on the night of arrival there was also a packed lunch waiting for us.

In the bedroom which was huge there was a queen size bed, bed side tables, plenty of clothing space, pc with tv, remote controlled air con, and a frosted glass door seperating the bedroom from the living room.
We had a large balcony and a lovely sea view.

The food had a variety of meats problem was everything came with chips but good for kids.
Snacks from the pool bar were small portions but you could go back as many times as you wanted.
Wednesday is BBQ night which is excellent its all done outside and the amount of food there is to choose from is unbelievable.
There is a large selection of deserts to choose from each night and really nice ice cream.

The a la carte italian restaurant is definately worth going to the food is cooked to perfection with a beautiful sea view.

The rooms were cleaned every day and bedding changed every other day.

The staff were all friendly and very helpful.

Animations team is really good and funny AMAR is really nice and definately have a game of bowls with Mario.

There is never a shortage for parasols or sunbeds and there is no need to put towels on them also ask at reception as you get towels provided. There is 3 pools to choose from 2 main ones though where the entertainment happens.

Drinks is good but non international however there local vodka doesnt taste anything like vodka also drink malibu all day it wont touch you. (only downfall)

We arrived at the hotel at 6am, our bags where promptly brought to our room by one of the staff.

Our room was decorated and furnished to a high standard, the bathroom was especially impressive, table top sink, granite floor, bath with shower and also a walk in shower!, fixtures and fittings were of a high standard.

There were two rooms separated by opaque sliding doors, two single beds in one room and a fridge (which was partially stocked with beer and soft drinks and very handy to store water in).

The second room was equipped with a queen side bed, remote controlled air con LCD telly and adequate storage for a family of four, French doors led out to a good size balcony which was ideal for late drinks when the kids where asleep ( just nip to the bar free before eleven).

The food was in my opinion was of a high standard with a good selection for both adults and kids. (My wife and I put on at least a stone each).

The service was ok in the restaurant the head waiter was very quiet and did not take part in welcoming you, in fact I only heard him speak on very rare occasions. We found at evening meal times we struggled to get a table on a couple of occasions, no assistance was offered by the staff, this only happened a couple of times and a table became available within 5-10 mins max (Although I don