Insula Alba Resort & Spa (Adults Only)

Our very first TUI resort holiday and travelling with our older children to this adults only resort there were high expectations. We need not have worried. From the moment we arrived (late night) we were warmly welcomed by Nikos (a true gentleman, who keeps the hotel running with a quiet but consistent approach) and lovely Nia, checked in with care, fed from a lovey little buffet open especially for the late arrivals. The rooms (one double with balcony, one twin with balcony) were a good size, and the beds were so comfortable. Being half board contained a small fridge which we were able to store water and a few drinks purchased from the shop next door. There were slippers, dressing gowns, shower and beach towels. The rooms had a kettle, iron and ironing board and shower gel / shampoo, tea and coffee sachets were replenished every day by a lovely cleaner who kept our room spotless. A TUI welcome meeting with Clare was great, and she was a constant source of information / support during our stay. We did two trips, Spinalonga and Knossos, both were organised by TUI and we're worth doing as part of a guided tour. The TUI entertainment team really made our holiday, daily aqua aerobics with Javi (who seems to have endless amounts of energy and we never saw him not smiling!) Alva who took us on our first walk of the local area which was great to get our bearings. Stone painting with Eva, and all coordinated by "Bonkers Bingo Beth". The activities were low key enough during the day so not to upset the quiet calm balance, but complemented the musical and dance entertainment evenings put on by the hotel, providing casino night, silent disco, open air movies etc. The only thing I would have liked to experience is maybe some traditional greek music / dancing, just to complete the experience, maybe on the Greek food night? The pool is deep (1.5m) so at 5'4" I could just tiptoe. There were plenty of sunbeds, and only once did we see two towels and two books put out before 9am to 'reserve' two loungers under a parasol whose owners didn't appear for the rest of the day meaning nobody could use them. Being adults only most were swimming / floating or stood by the side. Only once was there some shouting over a ball game that did change the pool atmosphere, but that stopped the next day so I wonder whether something was said. Our only negative was a T-shirt and a pair of Adidas sliders that went missing from the poolside - checked every day for a week but told they were unlikely to turn up which my daughter was upset about. The beach directly ahead was clear but rocky, 10 minutes to the left was a huge sandy beach, a little harbour just outside and to the left, and to the right a selection of beaches, mostly associated with other hotels, but sunbeds could be hired or you could sit on the sand. Also to this side was the watersports where we did Parasailing. The food, well we couldn't fault it, it was amazing. We had breakfast and dinner every night for 2

I do not often write reviews but I felt I needed to . I found this hotel as a last minute deal for myself and my husband . We wanted a week of total relaxation which we got To all the reviewers who complain about this hotel I do no know what you are reviewing I am the most fussy person with high expectations and have stayed all over in 5 star hotels so was a bit concerned on reading some of these reviews before I went We were upgraded to a poolside room from a garden room and it was great . The room was lovely . We had a bottle of wine and fruit as the rep had mentioned it was our anniversary We chose half board so we could have drinks out of the hotel aswell as in and also ate out a couple of times for a change of scene The food was good better than the usual canteen style all inclusive The staff were great everyone of them always smiling and happy to help The area is not good re the beach and this was the only thing would stop me going back as I like a nice beach Don’t hesitate to book the hotel it is immaculate . If relaxing adults only is what you want this is what you will get . It definately is not party central !!! I am not sure the prices for the pool rooms would be worth it but I can’t really comment but they looked fantastic But for us we had a great week And from someone who is hard to please

We had a lovely relaxing 1 week break at the Insula Alba. We always managed to get two sunbeds with a parasol by the pool , we used to get there around 9am. The beach bar staff are lovely and a special shout out for Manos - what a lovely guy, so friendly and hardworking, and he makes great cocktails. We had a duplex junior suite room , the spiral staircase to the bed and bathroom was a bit precarious , we are both quite fit 65 year olds , if you are not steady on your feet then I wouldn't go for this grade of room. The one disappointing thing was the food which we found very bland , we ate at the Epicurian for lunch most days which was better than the buffet at the restaurant we thought. The pool is fantastic, great if you like a swim or just chilling , beware though that the pool is one continuous depth and my wife who is 5' 2" couldn't really touch the bottom of the pool so spent a lot of time hanging onto me or the side of the pool. Nice mix of couples, a few unruly Brits getting hammered and being a nuisance in the pool but not enough to ruin the experience. Analipsi is very quiet and not a resort for younger groups as its nightlife is pretty low-key which we liked. Some of the local tavernas have unfortunately closed since we were last in Analipsi due to hotels being AI which is a real shame.