Sensatori Hotel. We found the food quality and variety
excellent at all times, in all restaurants. The staff were polite ,helpful and extremely friendly and efficient. We did not attend much of the entertainment as the adult part did not start until 10pm+ which was a little late for us.
Our room was a swim up suite with sea view, which was comfortable apart from the 2 sofas in the sitting room which were uncomfortable to sit on for any length of time. The room was serviced every day to a high standard.
If a five star rated is to be taken seriously, the dress code for the restaurants in the evenings should be enforced. There were too many gents wearing sandals, t-shirts and football shirts in the restaurants for a 5* hotel.
It does seem that this hotel caters more for families, especially those with children under 5.

I have just arrived home and wanted to say that my mum and I have had a fantastic holiday at the sensatori resort.
We had a standard room which was of a very high standard and very clean.
The staff were very friendly and hard working!!
We eat fabulous food all week in each of the restaurants.
The only thing I can't really say alot about was the entertainment as it isn't really something that I enjoy anyway.
I can understand why people felt the location wasn't the best but remember you are in Greece not Spain!!!!!
I would recommend this hotel to everyone in low season as I think that in high season it might become very busy.

The hotel and it's staff were 5 star without question. Having paid a 5 star price to go here I expected 5 star behaviour from the guests. Unfortunately, Thomsons late deals meant a lot of the unfilled places went to too many Vicky Pollard-a-likes and their awful partners, many of whom had the unwanted child with them. I know this because I asked a lot of people when they booked and how much they paid. If I wanted this then I could have saved myself a whole lot of money and booked a 3 star in Benidorm. I'm not a snob but

We have just returned from the Sensatori experience. No real difference to a decent hotel experience.

Having read past reviews I was dreading this holiday and would have cancelled it if I'd had the chance. However I am pleased that we went. The hotel is clean and staff friendly. Rooms are very adequate although storage space is very limited.
Food is good with plenty of choice although a little repetitive. Service however is hit and miss and the staff do not seem to like clearing plates away. Drinks in the resturant are again hit and miss with luke warm beer and wine along with flat fizzy drinks.

Yes pool areas are slippery but if you use common sense then you should be OK. The sun bed/towel problem is a problem but I dont know how you can change the attitude of people - and yes its us Brits!

The entertainment is average - the production cast are good but the shows are pretty much singing and dancing with no participation for the audience. Didn't see childrens entertainment area. The duo who perform easy listening before the 'main show' and after are actually very good but with little personality.

Sport is very good and my two boys enjoyed immensely. If you play tennis the courts are not of the best quality!

It is a good hotel that would like to be a 5 star (deluxe) one - its not more like an average 4 star, however if the problems are sorted it could be a very good 4 star resort.

And yes we would go back!

We probably paid over the odds for our booking as we needed 2 rooms due to there being 5 members in our party, so we were hoping that the hotel's marketing material delivered it's 5 star promises. Our experience suggested like many others, that the standard will reach a 4 star rating when all the initial snags have been ironed out.
The hotel complex is too dense to be regarded as anything greater.
The range of teathing problems with this hotel, span from little things like the cutlery service in the various eating establishments, where you are provided with a tablespoon for soup and a teaspoon for dessert through to more serious and numerous Health & Saftey issues, particulary in and around the pool & sun terrace areas, but if one proceeds with caution injuries can be avoided.
However, my main criticism of the Sensatori Caldera Palace (which also applies to many other places throughout Europe) relates to the manner in which the Hotel deals with the sunbed & towel situation. We are early risers and like to be up and about by 7.00am, even on holiday and part of the enjoyment for us is to soak in the tranquil atmosphere around the pool side whilst reading and observing the quiet activities of the staff going about the duties. At this part of the day, it is very peaceful and worth making the effort to get out of bed for. After about an hours worth of this early morning relaxation, we like to take breakfast which would last for about 25 to 30 minutes. This is where the problem begins as we found on few occassions that the towels, bags, books, cameras etc had been moved to the walls at the side of the pool area by Hotel staff, there by freeing up the sunloungers that people were enjoying before breakfast, for the other late rising guests. Fortunately for us, we were able to secure the space where we intended to spend the rest of the day without too much of a problem, but for others, like one particular family which had a couple of children and grandparents with them that were also early risers, whom took a little longer at breakfast, meant that their belongings had been removed from the sun beds which had subsequently been reclaimed by another couple of late risers. This should not happen as the distress & upset caused in such circumstances is diplorable and Sensatori should have taken this common problem into account when designing the complex.
General power failures during the fortnight needed the Hotel's emergency diesel power generators firing up at 6.00am on 3 separate occassions producing at least 120dB and belching plumes of blue smoke for about half an hour. The water supply also temporarily shut down at approximately 7.00pm on the 30th July for about an hour, meaning that loos would not flush, showers work not work, etc.
On the bright side of things though, the Hotel location is far enough from the hedonistic Malia to be comfortable with, yet within easy reach of Hersonissoss (Old Town).
The entertainment was excellent on 3 of the evenings during our stay and the program of acts scheduled looked to be slowly increasing in quality, I'm sure that over time, the evening entertainment will become first class.
On balance, we met some lovely people and had a brilliant holiday and would consider returning.

we have just returned from sensatori after an 11 night stay.there are a lot of positives about this hotel but there are a few negatives which need to be addressed by thomsons and the hotel management if they want people to return.firstly i want to sing the praises of the 8 11 and groove staff (flick,cat,deano and mickey)these four people made our son's holiday the best ever as part of the kids club our son was involved in so many activities my husband and i couldn't keep up.the food in the hotel was good most of the staff were very friendly however it was obvious that they were run off their feet not enough staff in the restaurants. Our main concerns were major problems with ear infections from the hotel pools, the queues to see the hotel doctor every day were far too long and all with the same ear problems. The other concern was how dangerous the slippy floors are all around the hotel.(I believe this is getting sorted this winter). As far as our room was concerned we were lucky and had a good room however i would be very disappointed if i was located ovrlooking the road or at the back of the hotel. Thomsons need to make sure that they do not overprice this hotel our same holiday for next year has gone up

The hotel was ok but definately not 5* plus, dangerous due to slippy floor tiles all round pools.Adult pool was absolutely pitiful it was only 0.75m deep and bearly went past my waist. And when did lay and try to relax you could still hear the cries of children that seemed to out number us 2:1. The staff were good but there wasn't enough of them to go round. Enterainment was shocking and even if you tried to escape to your balcony to relax you could still hear the show loud and clear. This was my honeymoon and i saved hard for something special all i got was a honeymoon i will remember for all the wrong reasons. If you have children im sure you'll love this resort but couple beware.

I visited with my 16 year old daughter (a post-GCSE treat!), we were enticed by the 'spa' aspects of the hotel. The Sensatori (aka Caldera Palace) is wonderful, the pools are beautiful and clean. Okay, so the adult pool is shallow and the children's pool is deep, but there are enough other pools to choose from. I was annoyed that the staff and guests alike ignoted the 'over 12's only' safety sign on the large jacuzzi, but since it wasn't working anyway I suppose it didn't matter.

Unfortunately there is still the 'towels on sunbeds' mentality, and no staff were addressing this,(for my part I'd chuck all unattended towels in the pool!) but it was only once that we ended up on a patch of grass instead of sunbeds.

Our room was big, it was designated as 'sleeps 2-4', but there was just one 6 ft wide really comfy bed and then 2 settees that must have been single sofa beds. The bathroom was great, a spa bath ( I managed to create a bubble volcano which overflowed!),a multi-spray shower, hairdryer etc. There was even a phone next to the loo(!) and a set of bathroom scales (which we avoided like the plague) The toileries are okay, the soap has the nicest scent. The room also included an iron, ironing board, fridge with icebox, kettle and tea & coffee, plus a huge flat screen TV showing English channels.

The hotel food is plentiful and tasty, with a huge choice in the main restaurant, and yes of course there were 'repeats' during the week but so what if it's a dish you like? The salads were fresh,and food was also cooked to order on the show-grill. The inclusive wine though is not brilliant, very rough and there is no choice beyond 'white or red?' However, soft drinks, juices and water are also freely available.

One thing that did disappoint us was that the alternative 'inclusive' restaurants were fully booked several days in advance, so we were only able to dine once in the Red Saffron Taverna, (which did a good 'buffet' barbecue) and the rest of the time we were obliged to eat in the Main restaurant. If choice is important to you you should book the other restaurants on your very first morning - go down to the reservations desk on the lower floor of the main building at 8am. For breakfast we tended to go to the Red Saffron Taverna, this is reserved for couples at this time, and along with typical English and European options the buffet choices included champagne, smoked salmon and even caviar- yum! It was lovely to breakfast in peace without children around.

At lunch for convenience we tended to use the Tex-Mex (aka The Hub Sports Bar) which is next to one of the pools- however the choice is quite limited (mostly wraps and salad) and doesn't extend to desserts, (but if you opt for the watermelon, tomato and ham salad that pretty well does the job!).

We didn't take part in the on-site daytime activities, although we twice went on the 3 hour horse-riding safari(cost E55 per adult, includes lunch or barbecue meal in the evening)- Gregory who runs it is a real character and showman, it's great fun for all ages and abilities. The evening on-site entertainment was pretty average, the Jongleurs (adult-only) comedians were okay but the 6 in-house troupe were chronic, for a start the stage isn't big enough for them to do much more than stand and sing. They did a tap-dance routine to a backing track (no tap-shoes!) We enjoyed the kid's magic show though.

The cocktails on sale at the downstairs bar seemed very expensive at the time, but Thomsons have actually reduced the prices without updating the price list! Non-alcoholic cocktails, priced up at E6.60, were actually charged to my account at E2.50, and the alcoholic ones were E7.50.
The spa itself is fabulous, you must take a tour round even if you don't indulge! We opted for the chocolate massage, which is totally decadent and carried out on a water bed with colour changing lights (and totally in the nude so no inhibitions here folks!) There are two saunas,a steam room, plunge pool, treatment and relaxation rooms and indoor pools, and the 'menu' includes treatments for kids too.

Despite being a supposedly 'cash-free' resort, the 'mini-market' only takes cash, but the supermarket just off-site is much cheaper and sells bottled water etc straight from the fridge.

All in all we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and apart from the prohibitive cost I'd love to return with my whole family.

We have just returned from a one week break to the Sensatori Hotel in Crete. Lovely hotel fantastic pools good food, spotlessly clean. Massive bed even had a sea view. But kids kids kids. really a 5 star complex for families. Don't be put off though we had a fantastic time. The entertainment was awful, go out of the complex to a tiny pub called MOJO just turn up the street where you will find some shops and there it is on the left hand side. Drinks good price music good and owner is a German lady, who will play any type of music you wish. We wish we could have found it sooner but don't waste your time waiting for good entertainment at the hotel and the drink prices are far too expensive! I was careful walking about because I had heard the tiles were very slippery, but unfortunately fell because some of the steps are only 2 inches high so watch out. The only reason I would not return is the fact that there were too many children running around and when you go as a couple it is nice to have some piece and quite.

We've just returned from 2 weeks at the Sensatori and had a great time. Great transfer from airport, quick check-in, fabulous room with flat screen tvs and huge beds. The Children's entertainment was great - there were members of the CBeebies cast there who were brilliant with the children, different acts every night. The children loved the hosts - Danny and Kerry. The pools were salt water - not great and far too slippery which was worrying with youngsters. You need to book in advance for some of the restaurants but they were booked up for a while. The staff were friendly to everyone and the place was spotless. Apart from the pools being a bit dangerous, we'd def go back.