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24th Sep 2009 | By Victoria Ollerton

Long have I dreamt about experiencing a luxury destination spa hotel. I like you reader have seen the articles in the glossy magazines and been seduced by the images of exotic locations and groups of men and women exercising tai chi.

So it was with these thoughts in mind that I searched the internet for the perfect spa retreat. I googled with a sense of anticipation. Wellbeingespaces.co.uk was on the first page and I opened. The site is very well designed and easy to use. There were many different types of holiday options to suit all budgets and tastes.

After much thought I chose upon the Six Senses Spa at the Porto Elounda De Luxe Resort on the island of Crete. I had previously read many articles on the award winning merits of the Six Senses Spas around the world. I also had long wished to visit Greece. Fate was taking a hand.

The flight was with easyjet. Easyjet is perfectly fine apart from the sense of sheer panic as you are about to board the plane and get a seat. I was travelling alone and only wanted an aisle seat around the middle of the plane and hopefully not near a crying baby, Why do people insist in taking babies abroad? I still cannot fathom the reasoning.

Baggage claim took ages, as is the custom but once out of the airport I was met with an air-conditioned Mercedes taxi to transfer me to the hotel. After an extremely pleasant journey of around 50 minutes along the coast I arrived at the hotel refreshed.

The Porto Elounda de Luxe Resort is one of three hotels/villas on the Elounda Peninsula, which includes the Elounda Peninsula All Suite Hotel, and the Elounda Mare Hotel set in beautifully landscaped gardens. The facilities are excellent and include a golf course along the front of the Porto Elounda, tennis courts, indoor pool, a water sports centre, yacht rental, childrens ark and of course the Six Senses Spa.

The Porto Elounda is positioned on various levels with the lobby being on the 4th floor. My room was also on the 4th floor not far from the Thermes indoor pool. I stayed in the Porto Deluxe Room, which offered a spectacular sea view from a furnished balcony, air conditioning, satellite TV, minibar and safety deposit box. When researching the hotel on the internet the impression was that the decor looked a little bit dated and its true the hotel rooms have seen better days but the location, sea views and amenities more than compensate.

Meals are served in the Nafsika Restaurant with sea views especially beautiful at 7.30 as the sunsets. I stayed half board and as is typical with this option the meals were perfectly adequate but nothing particularly special. As this was 5 stars I was optimistic that the food would be slightly better than the norm and more Greek options would have been welcome. Drinks in the hotel are of course expensive, Euros 5.50 for a latte. I recommend ordering breakfast in your room, as this is not an additional cost apart from drinks. If you turn right when leaving the hotel and follow the road, in about 5 minutes you will come to a mini market, which has all the supplies you'll need.

The Six Senses Spa is a truly wonderful experience. The spa's interior is designed in warm natural stone tones, browns, oranges and dark wood. The reception has low lighting with see through panels of aqua glass and a small fountain. Unfortunately the fountain is in the middle of a walk way and clients must have been walking into it by mistake as it now has a rather ugly yellow a board with caution written on. This is a shame. May be they should consider removing the fountain all together.

On the main floor there is the Thermal Suite consisting of the sauna, steam bath, plunge pool and the Thalasso salt-water pool with its therapeutic air jets. The main foyer area has a cascading fountain with the pool to the front and floor to ceiling windows. Half of the pool is indoors and the other stretches outdoors to become an infinite pool.

The treatment rooms are upstairs surrounding a relaxation area in the centre of which is a pool with 6 water fountains, large natural and aqua rocks are suspended above, and music plays gently in the background. The air is fragranced with essential oils. Before and after the treatment you are invited to sit, relax, and take a glass of water or ginger tea.

I had the Sense of Greece package, which included the Marine Salt Bath, Body Exfoliation with Cretan olive stones, Marine Seaweed Body Wrap, Zeus Power Massage, and Facial Therapy. Treatments were spread over four days so that I could use the other facilities afterwards. I fell in love with infinity pool and as the spa was quiet most of the time I had the pool completely to myself. That picture of the woman in the pool facing out towards to the sea was I at last. I also enjoyed three yoga lessons and three tai chi lessons throughout the week.

After the four days I was completely relaxed and my skin felt divine. I could have quite easily spend all day and every day at the spa but Crete has a wealth of culture and history to explore. It would be remiss not venture out of the resort.

8th May 2009 | By RW - London

Travelled June 07

I had a GREAT time. Sometimes pictures you see on a website dont live up to your expectations, but this was not the case with Porto Elounda and the Six Senses Spa. The staff in both the hotel and spa were excellent; very welcoming and accommodating at all times.

The only downside for me was that the room was not equipped with coffee-making facilities or an iron (something I consider to be standard); I was told that this was due to their health and safety regulations.Other than that, I have no complaints!
Ive had nothing but excellent comments about Well Being Escapes and my time in Crete since my return and would not hesitate to recommend your services in the future.
Thanks for providing me with a great break - I needed it!!!