Visit the Greek island that inspired a best-selling novel
Tui Blue Elounda Village Resort & Spa is well placed to explore Spinalonga, made famous by The Island. We visit the former leper colony off the coast of Crete
Sophie Griffiths joined Travel Trade Gazette in March 2010 as a news reporter before working her way up to the position of editor in J...more
Sophie Griffiths joined Travel Trade Gazette in March 2010 as a news reporter before working her way up to the position of editor in J...more
There was once an inscription on these bricks: abandon all hope,” the guide is cheery, but her words are chilling. We’re standing at the entrance of a dark winding tunnel on the island of Spinalonga. Less than 80 years ago children and adults walked here, knowing they would never return to the mainland.
The sun beats down, but I involuntarily shiver. The people exiled here were marred by a disease. And with the Covid pandemic still fresh in our memories, this island is a stark reminder of how lucky we are to live in modern times, when sickness doesn’t mean a lifetime banished from loved ones.
Spinalonga is a rocky outcrop a stone’s throw from the fishing village of Plaka on Crete’s north-eastern coast. Between 1903 and 1957, the tiny island was Europe’s last active leper colony. Once a cure was discovered, Spinalonga lay forgotten – until 2005, when it captured the imagination of author Victoria Hislop, whose book The Island propelled it to fame. Now, the island attracts 3,000 visitors a day in summer and is Crete’s second most popular tourist site after Knossos, home of the minotaur.
It’s a pleasant surprise when we emerge from the tunnel’s gloom to find quaint cobbled streets and brightly coloured shutters. Numerous houses lie in ruins, but plenty more are being slowly restored as the area capitalises on its tourism appeal, and the painted doorframes and remains of once carefully tended gardens hint to a life not of sadness, but of community. Here, there were shops, businesses, deaths, marriages.
A total of 39 babies were born on the island (although heartbreakingly, they were taken away to the mainland at the age of six if the child proved healthy). Our guide Maria points to an olive tree standing proud and alone. She explains how one former inhabitant told her how he planted that tree. “It was hard, but people made their lives here,” she smiles.
EXPLORING THE AREA
The island has taken on a new significance as the world recovers from the pandemic – a brutal reminder of how illness, and fear, can transform communities. It’s my wife and I’s first holiday abroad in two years, and like many Brits we opted to holiday in Greece, staying in the pretty Tui Blue Elounda Village Resort & Spa – one of Tui’s highest scoring hotels for customer satisfaction – set into a cliffside overlooking the sapphire waters of Mirabello Bay.
Tui organises day trips to Spinalonga, and it proves a fascinating – if thought-provoking – day out. From Spinalonga, we board a boat back to the small town of Elounda, zipping through turquoise waves arriving in time for lunch at a floating taverna.
We feast on hummus, pitta bread, chicken and salad before heading to the larger city of Agios Nikolaos. Here we explore shops filled with wooden crafts and olive oils and enjoy ice cream on the edge of the city’s (allegedly) bottomless lake. The day is a lovely interruption to a holiday largely spent eating, swimming and lazing on one of the many comfy sun loungers that dot the hotel’s stone jetty.
Elounda Village is adults-only, which adds to its peaceful charm and last year Tui Blue launched a new wellness menu. It’s a programme that focuses not just on fitness, but on experiences – from cookery classes to quizzes and even an escape room, all of which are inclusive.
“We wanted a balance of relaxation and people able to make the most of their time and space,” explains Louise Bates, managing director Tui Blue and Hotel Concepts. “It’s all about ‘real wellness’ – letting guests design their perfect holiday based on what makes them tick.”
What makes my wife and I tick, it turns out, is local spirit tasting, a whole lot of relaxing, and a 30-minute Pilates class. The spirit tasting is more entertaining for the faces we pull as we sample milky white shots of neat ouzo and raki, mixed in with Fanta and lemonade, which barmaid Marina swears is delicious (we beg to differ).
The Pilates class is set in an open-air bamboo-covered structure amid an olive grove dotted with fuchsia oleanders and carob trees. Song birds and cicadas provide the soundtrack to our gentle stretches.
FEAST FOR THE SOUL
Tui Blue’s wellness programme isn’t just confined to activities, it also includes a focus on fine dining. Elounda Village boasts two eateries – seafood restaurant Mirabello and Culinarium, which offers Mediterranean flavours – in addition to the hotel’s main buffet-style restaurant.
One night we head to Culinarium for Greek Night, complete with requisite Raki shot upon entrance and a feast of local food. Entertainers perform Greek dances as we eat – before we eventually bow to pressure and join them, whooping and kicking our feet as we giggle at our poor attempts to keep up with the professionals.
On our last evening we dine at Mirabello, with its panoramic views of the bay, sharing a paella packed with fresh fish. The moon rises slowly from the silhouetted mountains of the Cretan coast, casting a white shimmer across the water and we sigh contentedly. After two years of no travel, it’s good to be back on holiday again.
Book it: Tui offers seven nights’ half-board at the 5T Tui Blue Elounda Village from £914pp. Price is based on two adults sharing a double room with balcony, with flights from Gatwick on 22 September 2023 plus transfers. retailagents.tui.co.uk/retail/thirdparty/login
Tui Blue spotlight
Smarter: The Tui Blue app lets clients curate their own holiday programme, with an inclusive bookable wellness menu. It sends alerts to clients’ phones ahead of the wellness sessions taking place.
Better: Tui Blue Elounda Village Resort and Spa is one of Tui’s highest scoring hotels for customer satisfaction. While the results of 2022 have yet to be collated, in its last year of “normal operation” in 2019, the hotel received an overall score of 8.96/10. Meanwhile staff service scored 9.3/10 and food and drink was ranked 9/10 by Tui customers.
Fairer: In November Tui launched a new Green & Fair label, highlighting hotels certified as sustainable by an independent organisation. When a customer books a Green & Fair hotel, Tui will also donate £1 per adult and 50p per child to the TuiCare Foundation.
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