Sensational Sani Beach Resort
It was a simple Easyjet flight from Manchester to Thessaloniki, landing around lunchtime and once we cleared immigration our transfer was waiting to take us the 50 minutes down the coast to the resort.
Upon arrival our room wasn’t ready so we sat on the terrace with a glass of bubbly and relaxed until we could get in. It is a big self-contained resort consisting of four different hotels and a marina. Each of the hotels is different, with their own atmosphere. We were staying in the main hotel which is the biggest and has a lovely freeform pool and 2 beaches to choose from. One of the highlights for us was the staff as they couldn’t be faulted. They are without doubt the resort’s biggest feature. Everyone is keen to chat with you and is happy to do as much or as little as you want.
The following day we took the five minute walk from the hotel to the marina. As we strolled through the gardens I was struck by how well kept they were, with colourful flowers and fresh herbs growing throughout. The marina is beautiful and has some expensive yachts and motor boats tied up. We strolled past the shops, cafes and restaurants, and there was a sense of calm throughout, making it a lovely place to sit, have a coffee or a glass of local wine and people watch. During our stay we ate at quite a few of the restaurants here and didn’t have a bad meal. Everything was fresh, simple and tasty and I highly recommend the lasagne at the Macaroni Trattatoria.
We made use of the resort’s dine-around program, which encompasses 17 restaurants, and on occasion when we didn’t use the dine-around; we were still able to get the cost of our meal charged back to the room.
In our second week, we celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary and went on a sunset cruise before having a lovely celebratory dinner at the Porto Sani Village Hotel. The staff had heard about our anniversary and had made a beautiful chocolate cake for us, which they brought out at the end of our meal.
Whilst in the resort I was lucky enough to have a look at all the hotels. The exclusive Asterias Suites are located on the marina and beach and have some lovely beach front rooms. The Porto Sani Village, directly behind the marina has a beautiful pool and bar area and I think that when we go back this is where we will stay. The Sani Beach Club is at the other end of the bay from the main hotel. There are some lovely junior suites here which have the only ‘private’ pools in the resort and there is a traditional and much photographed Ouzerie restaurant, where we ate on our last night.
I am a bit of a night owl and like evening entertainment on holiday. We were at the resort right at the start of the season and things were just starting to happen. There was live music in the hotels, weekly DJ parties at a couple of the beach bars and a show team who perform four live shows a week, so there was always something going on. I can also recommend the Mojito bar in the marina which has different things on, including a wonderful ‘Latin night’.
This is a beautiful, relaxing and very family friendly resort, which Karen and I would like to go back to. There is too much information on the resort and the hotels for me to give here, so for some personal experience and recommendations please give me a ring.