The Syntopia Hotel

Honestly, a lot of all-inclusive hotels could learn a lot from this one! It runs like absolute clockwork. Every other all-inclusive I've been to, you regularly watch them wheeling large trolleys of food out the kitchen into the serving area, and staff can look quite stressed and over-worked despite their best efforts. I don't know how they do it, but you see none of that here. Everything behind the scenes, stays behind the scenes! There staff/guess ratio must be very high.

Their strap line is "Let us spoil you" and that's what they do; their staff are so highly trained, everything is done for you.

I will cover each of the areas I find important when looking for a hotel:

Reception Helpful and well organised. The only time I had to mention a problem with our room, it was efficiently fixed while we were out. They were knowledgeable about local buses etc and always happy to help.

Room We had a suite so I can only comment on that. The bed was probably the most comfortable hotel bed I've ever stayed in. I have hip pain and always have to request a topper, but this was issued as standard. No matter how much my husband bounced the bed when turning over in the night, my side did not move at all. It was a queen sized bed with a TV on the wall at the foot of the bed. We had a generously sized balcony with a rail and hooks for wet clothes. I would have liked more comfortable furniture but what was provided was perfectly suitable (and standard). There was ample hanging space and lots of 'long hanging'. The safe is free of charge and easy to use, situated inside the wardrobe. Only four drawers between us but a long shelf above the wardrobe gave us all the space we needed. We had a fridge in the room stocked with cans of beer and soft drinks which were replenished every day. Personally, I would have appreciated the provision of wine, but that's just personal preference. I could have taken a glass of wine up to the room at any time had I wished. The toilet was completely enclosed. So many re-designs mean the toilet has a glass door with large gaps around offering no privacy or containment. The sink was within the bedroom space, but for me that wasn't a problem. There was a hand held hose in the toilet which I assume was as a replacement for a bidet. I didn't try it knowing what the water pressure was on the hand held hose in the shower! The shower had a rainfall head which had a great water supply. The ceilings were so high, the shower head was really far away but the water pressure was such that it was very efficient. The hand held hose also provided had super high pressure - I'm sure I could have jet washed the car with it!! The shower door was mirrored on both sides. I was always grateful when it steamed up! My only problem with the shower was how dark it was in there. I require glasses for reading and was unable to read the bottles provided as it was so dark, I couldn't see! Not great for carrying out any personal maintenance either! My only problem with the room is where most hotels fall down these days and that's a failure to provide a table top with a well-let mirror and power outlet for getting ready. The general ambiance of the hotel has low lighting and the room follows suit. In the bedroom we had a mixture of low level lights and harsh down lighters which are no good for applying make up. I ended up sitting on the balcony to do this. The air con is not what we were used to. I had the temperature set to 16 with the fan on high and it never really felt cool in the room. However a ceiling fan really helped with this which we left on overnight which was absolutely fine was it was silent. Cleaning was carried out every day. They ask you to leave towels on the floor if you want them changed to help reduce waste. This was absolutely adhered to so if they weren't left on the floor, they weren't changed. I was quite happy with this arrangement as often there's a nominated day for a towel change and you might have only requested a change the day before. Pools There are three pools. If you want to have one of the fancy beds in the main pool, you have to be dedicated to the cause and get up very early. These beds didn't suit us very well as effectively all mattresses are at floor level and with non-working hips and knees between us, the level of moaning and groaning to get up and down was too embarrassing! We loved that the roof top pool and bar didn't open until 10:30. This is a much better arrangement in my opinion. It allows you the luxury of not setting your alarm, having a leisurely breakfast and then getting ready to go the pool without having to stand in a ridiculous queue. Also the roof top pool had a good number of standard beds with super comfortable mattresses. My only problem up there was the slightly crazy design of the umbrellas as they are effectively crocheted with huge holes in them! It can also be a three-handed job to put them up as all the holes in the covering gets caught in the wooden straps. We didn't use the third pool area at all. It is small and quiet if that's what you want. There is music played throughout the hotel, throughout the day. There are speakers everywhere so the sound doesn't have to be yanked up so high that you have to raise your voice to speak to each other. I had to ask my husband what the genre of music was they were playing and he thought a lot of it was 'deep house' but what they played was perfect and set a really cool, calm atmosphere. Bars I just loved that there is a bar with every pool and they come to your bed to serve you. It's all highly efficient! The area around the main pool is where the entertainment takes place, under the tented area. While we were there, there were two nights out of 10 where there was no live entertainment, but instead showed a film in their outdoor cinema area. We tended to go into town on these nights as there's loads to do just walking distance away. The live entertainment provided was all live music and it was excellent.

Food Unlike many all inclusive hotels, there are no restaurants in addition to the buffet. But the food provided in the buffet is of an extremely high standard. We did not tire of the food while we were there. Again, the staff were attentive and friendly and they all speak English. The whole area ran like clockwork. Whenever a table was vacated the team quietly attended clearing, wiping and re-laying. Each person had a different job to do and it was carried out with quiet efficiency. My only comment on the food provided at breakfast was it would have been nice to have fried eggs and omelette cooked to order rather than sitting out on hot surfaces. The yoghurt on offer was just amazing if that's your thing. It was my go-to breakfast every day.

Drinks The lager on offer was very drinkable. The cocktails were of a high standard and very well made. There was quite a few exclusions to the all inclusive such as Espresso Martini, Spiced Rum etc. Again, the bar was highly efficient and you never sat very long without someone taking your order.

Local Area As already mentioned, the is a town within walking distance to the hotel with all the usual shops, pharmacy, bars and restaurants. There is a half-hourly bus service which takes you into Rethymno. Tickets need to be pre-purchased from places like the local supermarket (there's on right by the bus stop) priced at 2 euros 20. Rethymno is definitely worth a visit; search out the Mexican Bars and check out the painted murals. They're brilliant!

Take bug spray, we got bitten to bits especially when the weather turned wet. I'm not sure what was biting us as mosquitos usually leave me alone, it could have been little black flies I saw plenty of. Stealthy little blighters!

We had a fantastic holiday at this hotel. Any faults I've highlighted are minor and we wouldn't hesitate to return. If you want to completely chill out and be spoilt, then this is a great place to do it.

We had the most amazing time. Hotel is exactly as described and as in the photos. Beds and pillows super comfy, spotlessly clean room. The food was great, lots of variety, always a selection of meat, fish and veggie dishes on offer along with a variety of salads, rice, pasta and a selection of potato dishes. Desserts were also lovely and a good selection of fresh fruit available at every meal. The pools are all lovely, you will struggle to get a bed by the main pool unless you're up at 7am, personally I preferred the Jungle Pool, played chilled music all day and never had an issue getting a sunbed there any time of day. The staff are amazing, so friendly and helpful, I went to reception to arrange a cake for my husbands birthday and they'd already realised it was his birthday and had a cake sent to the room. Loved the rooftop bar in the evening, fab cocktails although all the drinks were good. Worth a trip to the beach bar down the road for the sunset, it's spectacular. Rethymnon is only 10 mins in a taxi or a bus goes from outside the hotel around every 30 mins. There are lots of restaurants and supermarkets directly outside the hotel and a couple of bars. We went to the beach in front of the beach bar, 15 euros for 2 sunbeds all day and they give you 2 bottles of water. Edge of the beach/sea is pebbley but not too bad, although you may want beach shoes if walking on pebbles bothers you. We will definitely return and would highly recommend it.