On the western side of the Gulf of Chania, just over a kilometre from the village of Kolympari, Giannoulis Cavo Spada Luxury Sports and Leisure Resort stretches along a long Blue Flag beach. It looks out over the gulf and towards Cape Spada, the rocky headland that gave the hotel its name, while the old Venetian town of Chania is a short drive away.
Space and Setting
The hotel occupies a private estate of 65,000 square metres and has 150 rooms, a ratio that leaves each guest ample space. There is a free-form, lagoon-like swimming pool, a large reception and lobby area, a mini club and a boutique store. By its own account, it belongs to one of the oldest hotel companies in Chania.
A Resort Built for Sport
In recent years Cavo Spada has operated as a "Sports, Activities and Leisure Resort", aimed at those who want an active holiday in calm surroundings. According to the hotel, it is the only one on Crete working to this concept, and one of fewer than half a dozen in Greece. The facilities are backed by professional instructors and a programme of organised activities that runs throughout the day.
- An indoor fitness centre of about 160 sq m with more than 30 machines, and a spinning room of about 70 sq m with 10 bikes
- A covered outdoor gym of about 350 sq m, with both hard and elastic surfaces
- A 60-metre tartan running track, a lit multi-court for five-a-side football, tennis and volleyball, a beach volleyball court and two boules courts
- A covered beachfront stage for group classes such as pilates, yoga and zumba
- Signed routes for walking, nordic walking and jogging from 1 to 7.1 km, an open-air obstacle course and a cycling station
The Rooms
Rooms are open plan, with a small sitting area with a sofa and a marble bathroom with both shower and bathtub. What sets them apart is mostly their relation to the outdoors: some face the garden or the sea, the Beach Front rooms have a private balcony facing the beach, and the Superior Sea View rooms, on the third floor, have balconies with their own sunbeds. On the ground floor, some rooms open through sliding doors onto a terrace that leads straight to the main pool.
The Shared Pool rooms have a terrace with private sunbeds and their own ladder down into a pool shared only by a few neighbouring rooms. The family categories separate the king-size bedroom from the living area with sliding wooden doors, while the Junior Suite adds an extra single bed and a desk.
Dining, Wellness and Families
The hotel has four restaurants, a main bar, a pool bar, a beach bar and a lobby lounge, and offers stays on a breakfast or all-inclusive basis. Alongside the Cavo Spada Spa, the facilities include a hammam, sauna, massage, an indoor heated pool and a jacuzzi pool. For children there is a mini club, a children's pool and both indoor and outdoor playgrounds.
In Essence
Cavo Spada does not ask its guests to stay still on a sunbed. It suggests a day divided between the gym, the trails and the sea, in a quiet corner of western Crete, with Chania close enough for an afternoon in the old town.
