Last updated on April 28th, 2023 at 03:47 pm
Offering panoramic views of Chania
A view of Chania, Crete from the Monte Vardia
The island of Crete lays east to west in the Mediterranean Sea. The seaport town of Chania is on the western tip of the island.
The Monte Vardia is a wonderful mixture of the past and the present in a Greek hotel. The facility reminds me of the country hotels in Greece of 40 years ago — but with modern amenities and the upgrades one would expect.
The ceilings are high, the hallways broad enough for two people to walk side by side, and the rooms are a good size. Room’s feature sliding privacy shades to block out light and noise from the street while letting in breezes. There’s all new windows and sliding doors throughout. Much effort has gone into updating the facility — a continuous process.
And this place offers the best swimming pool I’ve ever seen anywhere for a hotel in this price range. It’s just fabulous.
And there’s SPACE. You won’t feel like you’re sitting on top of other guests when you’re in the restaurant, at the pool, in the gaming room, or anywhere else. Large outdoor terraces with chairs and tables are on the ground and second floor areas. On the latter, you can sit outside and gaze down on Chania about 1/2 mile below or watch the sunsets gracing the landscape.
Renovations are ongoing here. This is a continuous process. Management offers very good Wi-Fi, digital TV, A/C, and a modern bathroom, safe, and updated closets with lots of extra storage, and other modern conveniences.
The elevator is tiny — typical in Greece and much of older buildings in Europe. But fortunately, this isn’t much of a hindrance.
Across the street from this place is a bakery offering coffee variants and pastries. There’s a small mini-mart type store in the same area offering various items that one could find only in a combination hardware and grocery store. And, about 3 city blocks away, there are 3 cafe’s offering scenic overlooks of Chania and the surrounding bay: Koukouvaya, Ostreia, and Nymfes.
Earlier I talked about gazing at Chania from above. This hotel, in my opinion, offers the most desirable access to Chania. Like other cities in Crete, and Greece in general, traffic congestion is a major problem. There’s little room for transient street parking in Chania. Take a look the cars in most towns and you’ll notice many of them are bashed up.
Now, imagine checking into a hotel in downtown Chania and having to walk around pedestrians, over rough uneven sidewalks, or lugging your bags around and in between parked cars — all to get near the quaint downtown harbor area. Finding a parking spot is almost impossible and can be nerve racking. If you have a rental car, you can spend up to an hour trying to find one every time you use your car.
When you stay at this place, you won’t have to worry about any of this. It’s exactly 4 kilometers from the mountaintop perch of Monte Vardia to the picturesque old town harbor area. From here, you can snag a panoramic view of Chania and the surrounding area. And it’s about a 10-minute ride in the opposite direction to the airport. This puts the hotel about equidistant between the airport and downtown.
If you want to go out to areas outside the immediate area of the hotel, you’ll need to take either a taxi or a rental car to get there from this hotel. That’s probably a down side for travelers without rental cars. But as with many good things in life, you can’t have the superlatives with one choice without nixing out those of another.
If you want to be smack-dab in the middle of downtown — you’ll pay for it — in terms of price and stress — but it’s cool. Or you can avoid the downtown option altogether — and overlook it from this place while still being about 10 minutes from the airport and downtown.
This place is just off a busy hilltop road — the road to the airport and downtown. You’ll hear street noise at all hours to some degree or other. But it won’t be as bad as it would be if you were in a hotel in downtown Chania. We didn’t find road noise to be bothersome at all.
For me, this location makes this hotel the ideal choice.
Got a rental car? Parking is plentiful.
Like breakfast in the morning? A nice layout of fresh foods awaits you. All stem from local sources.
Want to just relax? Grab a book near the front desk area. There are racks of books in the computer room in the lobby.
Note to US Military personnel:
This place is well equipped and used to dealing with people like you. The computer/reading room is chock full of plaques presented to hotel management over the years by the crews of US Navy commands.
Is there a downside? Well, only one for me. My favorite “pet peeve” is the lack of queen or king size mattresses in Greek hotels. In Greece, hotels typically cram two single beds together and call them a “double” or a “double room”. It’s an annoying and misleading practice and most hotels in the country do this. Having said that, I was comfortable at this hotel because the mattresses were firm — I didn’t fall in between them like I have in other hotels — and because the space in the rooms doesn’t confine a guest to use the bed as a solution for all seating. Our room had double balconies with chairs and tables.
How much do I like this place? So much that I spent a week here —and I liked it a lot more than the 5-star hotel where I stayed in Heraklion. And the price was right: we booked a special and it cost us 370 Euros for 6 nights.
You’ll note in my other reviews that I talk about the pervasive problem of smoking in Greece. There were smokers at this hotel during our stay. But they aren’t allowed to smoke in the rooms. And they aren’t bothersome in the outdoor areas because there’s enough space to get away from them.
If you’re looking for a place to “get away” from it all but still have access to Chania, the local beaches, the peninsula, and this end of Crete, I commend you to consider this place. We loved it. And we suspect you will too.
Room Tip: Corners rooms afford two balconies. Ask for refurbished rooms. Refurbishment is continuing.
Contact:
Monte Vardia Hotel
2 Akrotiriou & Odyssea Elyti,
Chania Town, Crete 731 00, Greece
