The Candia Park is a great complex. The apartments are spacious and clean. The gardens are kept really well and the staff are excellent. The main restaurant offers plenty of choice and several themed evenings.

We went in September so there were lots of families with very young children. There's plenty for them to do and the complex is very child friendly. There are quieter spots for couples. Below the suites, which overlook the sea, are terraces which lead down to a pontoon (see photo). It's a really peaceful spot and ideal for swimming.

The hotel is a 5 minute taxi ride away from Agios Nikolaos which costs 7 euros. Due to the rocky terrain of Crete you can't walk from the hotel to Ag Nik via the beach which is a shame.

If you've booked your holiday with airport tranfers included be aware it can be 2hrs 30mins to the hotel by the time you've dropped off the other holiday makers! It may be worth booking a taxi which will take half the time.

All in all it's an excellent place to stay with everything you need for a brilliant holiday.

Of course, TripAdvisor was consulted prior to choosing our family holiday. Not having been away for a few years meant choosing a holiday which would suit all our needs. We were not disappointed.....

Having arrived at Heraklion Airport in the heat of the day, we chose to take a taxi to Agios Nikolaos and not wait for the transfer coach knowing that this would probably take 2.5 hours. The taxi took 40 minutes and cost 55 Euros, but was worth every penny. We were received very well, shown our room and the luggage followed 10 minutes later. All staff smiled on entering and displayed the utmost respect and friendliness one would want on holiday.

The extra cost for the seafront apartment was definately worth it. The complex is huge, clean and extremely well maintained. Flowers blossoming everywhere, no litter and always a maintenace chappie in view.

The complex has two beaches, one rocky which is great for adults and snorkelling (it has steps which lead straight into the sea) and the other beach is close to the miniclub and taverna restaurant. Clean and sandy, and watersports available. We spent most of our relaxing moments here just watching life go by. Both beaches are private to hotel residents only.

Having two children aged 5 and 6, the mini club is the best I have come across in my years of travelling. They had a diary of what they were going to do for the day, and it was open from 9am to 9pm. Staff extremely friendly, longserving employees. Eadie, Litza were absolutely fab with the kids. Nice playground on sand and so many different things to do all day. Come and go policy was great, kids came down to the beach or pool to see us every so often but refused to stay more than 10 minutes with us as they feared they would miss out on an exciting activity!!! Bottled water was also available in the mini club and children were encouraged to drink.

The restaurants on site were very good, choices from the taverna, the buffet and also the ala carte went down a treat. Not too steeply priced either.

We were on a bed and breakfast basis, and the breakfast was ok, nothing to scream about but satisfied our needs. All the staff were helpful and friendly.

The swimming pools were great, two freshwater and one salt water one which I thought was not appropriate for young children. Blue towels were obtainable by handing in vouchers and returning them at the end of the day.

The hotel room was cleaned every morning to a very good standard.

Evening entertainment was also ok. We ventured out to Agios town most nights by taxi (7 euros) each way and had a nice meal there. The reception desk were happy to order taxis for us every time. Restaurants to look out for: Du Lac, Le Strada, Pelagos Fish restaurant and Akratos was very nice. All near the lake.

Overall the holiday was fab, the hotel made it very relaxing and enjoyable. Would definately recommend it to everyone. Enjoy!!!

My wife and myself stayed in Candia Park Village for a week 30/7-6/8, for a family vacation together with our two sons, aged 18 and 22. We had stayed in the same place 10 years ago, with the children young, and we had the best of memories, so when we decided to go to this part of Crete again this year this hotel was our first choice. This year it was again a fantastic period for us since the hotel provided whatever we needed in order to relax and have time together. We had booked to sea front suites in the new block of the hotel, which were worth the extra money. But as we show walking around all apartments are very big (40-60 sqm), those in the ‘old’ premises being surrounded by lovely plants and trees and well preserved. The hotel is like a small village with apartment blocks spread into lovely gardens. The whole hotel, the apartment blocks, the facilities and the gardens, are very well serviced and extremely clean, so you get the impression that the whole establishment is brand new.
During the whole week we went out for a dinner just once; the hotel had all the facilities that we needed in order to stay inside. The hotel has a huge pool area and two lovely beaches, one sandy and one rocky, that can accommodate all the customers. Food in the taverna and the restaurant was lovely and reasonable priced, so you do not have to go out for lunch or dinner. There are also very good self-catering facilities in the apartments, so you can use them for a light meal. A super market provides all that you can need. The hotel has Internet café where adolescents gather in the afternoon and all the water sport facilities that somebody can need. A nice Cretan style ‘kafenion’ is overlooking the whole site and you can stay there until late in the night to have traditional food and drinks. The majority of the customers were well behaving European families, so there was a relaxing atmosphere, although the place was full of children. Every night there was a different entertainment scheduled and we loved a lot the jazz night.
If you like walking the distance to Agios Nikolaos is around 30-40 mins and then you can come back by taxi. Agios Nikolaos is a nice small town with a lovely lake connected to the sea and a lot of sea front bars and cafeterias. Also, if you hire a car there are a lot of nice excursions around the place in 1 hour driving time, since the whole of Crete is full of attractions.
Last bat not least is the personnel, which is very helpful and well trained, so the service is excellent in all the hotel areas, reception, restaurants, bar, kafenion, Internet café, sports facilities, e.t.c. The hotel manager and all the senior personnel are all over the place during the whole day, trying to make your stay enjoyable.
So we would definitely recommend this place as a truly 5 star vacation site and we would go back again.

Well as many of you probably already do, we looked at the reviews for this site prior to booking. Essentially we were after self catering with facilities such as a children's club. I can say that we were generally satisfied with the result although based on our observations continued attention to detail is needed if the Candia's high standards are to be maintained.

In terms of its location the Candia Park cannot be faulted. It sits on a natural bay around 3km north of Ag Nik. Getting to Ak Nik is best via taxi (7 euro) as the 'hike' up the hill to the top road to catch the bus is quite frankly not worth it. Elounda is around 5km north and is a quiter alternative to Ag Nik and costs around 10-11 euro each way - bus may be better here during the day.

The site is well laid out with clusters of accomodation in blocks each with its own terrace/balcony. It is largely flat aside from the top blocks at the back of the site. It seems to have been planned with disabled travellers in mind although within the apratments themselves there are small changes in level at entry/exit points that could be a problem for wheelchairs.

Apartments are generally in a good state of repair although our hot water boiler went during the first week - work on installing a new one commenced within 30 minutes of informing reception! Those apartments overlooking the sea are newer if you want to pay the premium.

We were on self catering although all inclusive is available in the restaurant. We went here on a couple of occassions, for example to a Cretan evening, and found the buffet of a very high quality - even the kids get their own buffet table.

As for facilities the site is certainly no Butlins (sorry all those who are not Brits who won't get this!). Entertainment is of a good quality and variable especially in the evenings. However, if you expect discos everynigh don't bother as the Candia appeals to well behaved European families and couples. The childrens' club is the best we've been to with lots to do and a freedom to come n go policy meaning that if kids want to come back to mum and dad or the pool for a bit then no problem.

Beyond the entertainment the pool is excellent with a shallow (max 1.7m) upper freshwater pool inc paddling pool for kids and a deeper (2.8m) seawater pool (more like the dead sea with regard to salt content) for adults. The pool bar is well stocked while the taverna and restaurant on the site are also good although somewhat pricey with better value for the taverna offered 1km towards Ag Nik where a number of establishments can be found. There is a very well stocked supermarket on site although again you can walk around 10 minutes off site to a cheaper one.

There is plenty going on at the watersports centre but thankfully none of the pool aerobics found at sme establishments. Car hire can also be obtained at the site although again if you can venture off-site on the Ag Nik road a much much betterf deal can be found.

Overall we were impressed. The site is well run with staff seeming to appear from nowhere to clean up leaves or indeed replace boilers. Reception can book tables at local restautants and even act as your surrogate rep - we found ours totally useless with the reception the lifesaver on a number of occassions. Yet as mentioned earlier this site needs to be on its toes to continue to remain a true 5 star destination.