Goat feeding, olive oil tasting, wine tasting and gong bathing…Greek isle has it all

But when the offer of a trip to 5-star TUI BLUE Sensatori Atlantica Caldera Palace Hotel on the beautiful Greek island of Crete came along, I decided to see what all the fuss was about and to find out if an all-inclusive trip really was as unadventurous as I thought.

First impressions have always been important to me, and I was bowled over by the incredible opulence of the three-storey grand foyer. Every guest was greeted with drinks and chilled towels to cool off after the short 20-min journey from the airport.

The view from the reception’s bar looks out over the 411 room hotel and the six swimming pools. One of the things that attracted me to this resort was the fact that it has a good mix of family space and adult-only areas.

Plus, if you don’t want to swim in any of the pools, there is direct access from the property to a quiet beach with complimentary loungers and parasols. Then there is the food. Just so much food.

The resort has six bars and six restaurants to choose from, plus there is a gorgeous cafe. I wish I had time to sample them all, but over the four days I ate in the Oregano Greek Tavern, Tex Mex and Mediterraneo Restaurant, each one as good as the last.

While the facilities were fantastic, I’m a girl who likes to keep busy and wanted to do some activities during my stay.

Guests can download the TUI BLUE app to view a full schedule of extra activities that can be enjoyed during their visit. These are all free of charge and the schedule can be found under the ‘daily programme’ section of the app.

The activities include archery, aqua aerobics, water polo, dance classes for families, football games, Pilates, sunset yoga, barbell workouts, HIIT classes and many more.

Scrolling through the app, I stumbled upon something called ‘gong bathing’ so I swiped right to get my name down. With absolutely no preconceptions about what it was, I soon discovered it was essentially a sound bath meditation session where we lay on floating aqua boards, while the instructor guided us through a meditation session and then began making soft noises and vibrations with a large, flat, metal percussion instrument known as a gong (below).

To be honest, I felt quite awkward at first but the lulling of the vibrations surprised me and I felt peaceful and relaxed once I got into it.

Feeling rejuvenated and in full holiday mode, it was time to enjoy some wine so I took part in a wine tasting session hosted by the hotel that focussed on local wines.

The ladies who hosted this were so knowledgeable and had some great stories about how each of the wines are made, giving me a whole new appreciation for every glass.

Filled with liquid courage, I then opted for a Greek dance lesson to try to emulate scenes from movies like My Big Fat Greek Wedding. We started with some basic steps accompanied by some traditional Greek music that got faster and faster. It got a bit chaotic but by the end we were able to pull off a full dance routine.

Having built up an appetite after all that dancing, it was time to drop into a Greek cooking class that was being hosted in the main restaurant of the hotel. The chef showed us how to make a number of different Greek dishes and salads using fresh, local ingredients.

We made tzatziki from scratch and served it on some fresh bread. It was so tasty I went back for second and third helpings.

Not only was I able to do all these amazing activities within the hotel, but the hotel has partnered with National Geographic to give guests the opportunity to head out on some day tours around the island.

The first was to spend the day at Kamihis Farm Experience (€120 per adult and €80 per child including guide, transfers and all food and drink), a traditional Cretan farm located up in the mountains and owned by husband and wife Valina and Michalis. Here we learned how to make some traditional bread from scratch in a ‘scafi’.

As we waited for the dough to rise we were invited to join in a number of other farm activities, and we milked goats, fed pigs, fed some chickens and collected freshly laid eggs.

It’s one thing to sit in a restaurant and order Cretan food but to actually go out to a real Cretan farm and make your own with some locals was a special experience. Magical.

The second excursion I took was The Millenary History of Olive Oil (€110 for adults including guide, transfers and all food and drink) to see how olive oil is produced.

This trip began with a walking tour through a beautiful olive grove, where our guide, Nikos explained how important olives are in Cretan culture. We sat under the trees and tasted some of the olives before heading off to the second part of the tour, which was in an olive oil factory. There we got to witness the intricate production process when the olives arrive from the groves.

Nikos poured different olive oils into shot glasses and taught us how to tell a good olive oil from a not so good one — by checking if the smell was fruity, taste was bitter and how spicy the oil felt in the throat. Since coming home, I’ve been showing off my olive oil tasting techniques to anyone that will humour me.

After the full day excursion it was so nice to return to the hotel for some down time.

I visited the Aegeo Spa where I tried out the sauna, steam room and a heated indoor pool.

On the spa menu, I saw an offering for a 70-min full body Cretan massage which looked too good to miss, so booked myself in.

The entire experience flew by and I left the spa with my muscles feeling relaxed and all my stresses melted away.

Access to the spa area, spa facilities and massages are an additional cost, but well worth the money.

So… my first all-inclusive holiday couldn’t have gone better. Hand on heart… did I have gong bathing and goat feeding on my Cretan holiday bingo card? Absolutely not.

But isn’t that the great thing about being on holidays and trying new things?

I did have ‘eat, drink, relax and enjoy’… and the above extras created the kind of memories that will last a lifetime.

There was such a variety of things to see and do at the TUI BLUE Sensatori Atlantica Caldera Palace Hotel, so much so that I wished I could have stayed for an extra few days.

It is the ideal sanctuary for anyone needing a stress-free, high-quality holiday, with the chance to avail of a wide range of activities and dining experiences. Both the resort itself and the staff working at the hotel made this an unforgettable getaway.

FACTFILE: CRETE

■ Anna was a guest of TUI and stayed at the Sensatori by TUI BLUE concept hotel operated by Atlantica Hotels & Resorts. There is still some availability this season (ends in October). ■ Everything on the programme, including the BLUEfit activities, wellness classes, wine tasting and cooking demonstration is free of charge and everything can be booked a day in advance on the TUI BLUE app. ■ Use of the spa facilities is €30, but included in any treatments booked.