Pilot Beach Resort
A Story of Love and Success
Why You Should Go
This family-owned and operated hotel with its special Cretan charm is set among olive and avocado trees and lies right on its own private sandy beach. It is, in our opinion, one of the best family holiday destinations in Crete.
What We Loved Most
Pilot Beach Resort offers the comfort of a large resort with the privacy and intimacy of a boutique hotel. Its owners pay attention to every small detail and every guest's individual needs. Breakfasts include an amazing variety of dishes to please even the pickiest of visitors. Many of the fruit and vegetables used (including tomatoes, avocados and olives) are grown in the resort gardens.
THE MOST
special thing about the hotel
This is not simply the story of a beautiful hotel but a story of love between a Russian girl and a Cretan man. Their marriage gave life to four children and the Pilot Beach Hotel. The hotel today provides incredible holidays for families and couples. But let's start at the beggining.
Ksenia came to Crete about 20 years ago. As a part her trip she visited many hotels on the island, but found Pilot Beach the most enchanting. Then, as now, it was set in a lush garden in the very quiet, picturesque fishing village of Georgioupolis, among olive and avocado trees and right on its own private sandy beach. The hotel’s traditional Cretan architecture and its spectacular views of the Aegean Sea and the White Mountains stole Ksenia’s heart forever.
Three years later, Ksenia travelled to Crete again and this time she met her future husband Dimitris.
The original Pilot Beach Resort had been opened by Dimitris father in 1991, close to the beach in the beautiful shallow waters of Almyros Bay. This land traditionally belonged to the national park it was not possible to get permission to build new resorts there. It is a protected area in which careta-careta turtles lay eggs and migrating birds break their journeys.
The original hotel was built like a traditional Cretan village. Many new hotels at that time were built as high-rise blocks, with the intention of making a quick profit. The owner of Pilot Beach Resort was not in such a hurry. His dream was to create a real Cretan paradise where people could relax their body and soul. He wanted to build somewhere people would want to visit again and again. He knew it should have just two or three floors in order to be cozy and tranquil.
And he was right. The hotel gained recognition as one of the best places to stay in Crete in just in a couple of years. This family business grew and the building quickly became too small to accommodate all those who wanted to visit it and the new hotel was build just over the road, where family had huge gardens and fields by the mountains.
The new hotel was like a dream: spacious, cozy, child-friendly and peaceful. It was, naturally, built in the same traditional Cretan village style that his father had built the original hotel in. It is made up of elegant, colorful stone bungalows with large terraces, green lawns and lush gardens. Every group of rooms has its own swimming pool, so guests can relax and swim in peace and never feel as if the hotel is busy, even when fully booked. This provides the guests with a home-from-home feeling. Luxury facilities were also an important part of the design. These include a modern spa and wellness center with an indoor heated pool, tennis courts, a gym, a kids’ club and much more.
We visited the hotel in the middle of high season when it was full, but we were surprised how quiet and tranquil it was. After couple of days, we realized what a great idea the local architect had come up with when they decided to build bungalows in a U-shape around four swimming pools. The rooms never face walls or other windows.
Luxury family holidays are hard to find and child-friendly rarely means relaxing. But things are different at Pilot Beach Resort. The resort seamlessly combines luxury and, with comfortable and spacious rooms, green lawns, good food, a separate kids’ corner in the restaurant with lots of choice, relaxation areas and separate children’s facilities. At Pilot Beach Resort, guests can pre-book baby potties, step-up stools, cots, clothes dryers and baby monitors. The special baby menu is available in the restaurants at no extra cost.
All this child friendliness doesn’t mean that there are kids running around screaming. For example, evenings in the sea-side a la Carte restaurant Gialos, with its view of the Cretan archipelago, are majestic and relaxing. There is live piano music, lobster nights, Greek evenings, traditional dances, show cooking and a romantic atmosphere. It works perfectly for couples and for quiet family groups.
We love the Almyra fish and sushi restaurant, the best spot for sunset cocktails and evening relaxation. The restaurant invites guests to join them to celebrate special occasions or just to have a lovely evening enjoying incredible views over Almyros bay.
Our majestic and relaxing (even with one year old baby) holiday came to an end, but we will definitely return. We are now definitely in the club of Pilot Beach Hotel lovers.
HOW TO MAKE
the most of your stay
The best accommodation choice for families at the Pilot Beach Resort are the spacious Deluxe Panorama suites, located by the quiet swimming pool in the new part of the hotel. For couples, we recommend to the suites by the beach.
WHAT ELSE
is there to do and see
The hotel is located between the Venetian port of Chania city (40 km away) and the historic town of Rethymnon with its romantic harbor and cobbled streets (20 km away). We strongly recommend you visit both of them, as these are the most interesting and amazing places in Crete, packed with fascinating heritage and culture.
One more must-visit destination is just around the corner from the hotel. It is a Crete’s only freshwater lake, Lake Kournas. You can rent a catamaran with a slide and have a delicious lunch in one of the nearby traditional tavernas. Just one kilometer from the hotel you’ll find the fishing village of Georgioupolis, home to a great choice of restaurants and bars and a romantic lighthouse.
HOW TO
get here
Pilot Beach Hotel is located 45 km from Chania Airport and 90 km from Heraklion Airport. We had a comfortable 35-minute drive in a car provided by the hotel from Chania (transport is offered to all guests who book directly with Pilot beach resort).
