The Greek holiday dream exists, and its name is Sani; a truly fantastic family resort in Greece
Yes, the Greek holiday dream exists, and the name is Sani. Sani Resort. And inside that Greek Sani Paradise, there are five different accommodation choices. That's where it gets complicated, or at least that's what we thought. Rest assured: once you've been there, it'll be as clear as day (and you'll never want to leave). So for everyone who, like us, is a little confused before departure (and before booking the holiday) about what divine Sani has to offer, some text and explanation. Don't mention it. And have fun in advance. We'll see you there. After all, once you've been there, you'll certainly never want to go anywhere else...
First of all: the Sani Resort can be found in Halkidiki, Greece. That is not an island but Greek mainland. Almost from the mainland to be precise. Or well: Halkidiki consists of a piece of mainland and two of a club of three islands. Are you still following it? In any case, it is important to remember that you are flying to Thessaloniki. If you do that, the party starts as soon as you get out. The Sani driver is already waiting for you there to take your suitcases from you and guide you to a lovely, cool car (with the necessary, suitable - that is unique - car seats for your offspring, if you have brought them with you, that is offspring, not the seats). 40 minutes in that car and you are there, at the main entrance of the place where you will not (or hardly) be able to leave in the coming days (or weeks if you are really lucky). If you don't want to, and you don't have to, trust us.
But first let's go back, because you haven't booked yet and you may still be a little confused about what to choose for your reservation. We get it, and so here we are to the rescue. The Sani Resort has five hotels (which are actually resorts within the resort): Sani Club, Sani Beach, Sani Dunes, Porto Sani and Sani Asterias. And then there's Sani Marina. You can't stay there, but it is certainly one of the nicest parts of the resort; it is the port of Sani and it is just as impressive as that of, say, St. Tropez. Here too, yachts and (sailing) ships to marvel at, here too a beach, here too numerous restaurants overlooking the harbor (much nicer and better restaurants than in St Tropez by the way - Ergon Deli, an authentic Greek restaurant with delicious food is a favorite here, although it is very difficult to choose because there is so much fun here) and here too there is a lovely boulevard to stroll along at sunset.
Yes, nice, but what are we going to book? Are you with kids? Can we then opt for Sani Club? This 'hotel' is made up of 'rooms' that are actually private cottages (and houses), and that offer sufficient privacy for your family. All rooms have their own garden/terrace, and some have their own plunge pool or complete swimming pool (the larger villas that is). We also liked the main swimming pool and the restaurants here best for our entire club.
From your room/house you walk down towards the sun and the sea. And if you have to go up again, golf carts are constantly driving back and forth to take you 'home', party of course!
But how do you get to the other hotels in the resort? Or at the Marina? Good question! Sani works together with Volvo, and at the entrance of every hotel (at every single resort, because you can hardly call the collection of houses a hotel of course, since you live outside these days), are the incredibly luxurious (always the latest model) cars waiting to take you to the resort (within the Sani Resort). But why do we want that? We are in a good place at Sani Club (with Cabana restaurant as our favorite)? Ha! Another excellent question! There are 28 (!) restaurants spread throughout the Sani Resort, each better than the last. From authentic Greek to classic French and easy going Italian. Almost all of these 28 restaurants participate in it Dine Around Program.
Dine Around Program? Yes. We thought it was one of the things that makes Sani so great. When you make a booking, you can choose from half of full-board. full board is really a very good plan because as mentioned: there is a small chance that you will want to go outside the open-air doors of Sani during your stay, and the choice is huge. Full board it is so, which means three meals a day. The participating restaurants (almost all 28) have a Dine Around menu within that full-board stay fits. Good to know: this menu is certainly not knee-jerk, but actually always contains the best of the entire menu a la carte menu. And if you still want something from it a la carte menu (and/or the wine list), you can just do that and it will appear on the bill at check-out (just like, for example, your massage at the spa – do that, book a massage; it was one of the best massages ever ). Also very good to know: every restaurant has a good, tasty and healthy/nutritious kids menu. 10 points!
Now you can also know that the Sani Resort on the Kassandra Peninsula is awarded year in, year out World's Leading Family & Beach Resort in the World Travel Awards. And that means something. The World Travel Awards has been recognized worldwide as the most prestigious award in the industry since 1993. The reason for winning this award (for four years in a row now) is of course:all of the above'. It is so wonderful to join Sani, because the people behind the resort understand that a real holiday is celebrated with the whole family, and occasionally separately. And so there are all kinds of facilities to do exactly that: everything is child- and parent-friendly (nice). ), the restaurants are good and delicious with and without kids (kids eat healthy, tasty and pleasant food there, but without it you can still have a nice Slash romantic evening or afternoon as Sani's babysitting service is TOP. There is a Kids Club (you can also visit the fantastic spa), there are sports academies (including collaborations with Chelsea FCF, Bear Grylls Survival Academy and Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar) for the slightly older kids, and there are spacious family suites and/or or villas for every family situation.
We stayed - with kids - at Sani Club, and now that we have seen all five hotels of the resort, I can also imagine that you (with the family) would go to Sani Beach goes: this is the largest hotel of the bunch and we especially thought the beach here was the most beautiful part of Sani. It also helps that the restaurant here on the beach is absolutely fantastic. And if you really have a hefty budget to smash, then... Sani Asterias truly the ultimate destination. For the Happy fewYes, but man oh man, then you have something. Porto Sani is perfect for slightly older kids who have a lot to do; it is a swimming pool paradise. Very nice, but we found it a little more relaxing at Club and Beach with our 1-year-old little one. Sani Dunes Finally, it is a lot quieter. Sophisticated. Children are welcome everywhere throughout the resort, also in the evenings, and that feels genuinely nice and welcoming. But if you are without, Dunes is the most suitable.
