Velani Country Hotel - Crete

Judith who has been on 16 In The Saddle rides. Mountain retreat | I knew from previous comments about the terrain and heard from fellow guests doing the Lassithi trek about their experiences which were even more extreme. It was clear that these horses are used to this, cope extremely well and it's the humans who need to be brave! I would classify it as a "holiday with riding".
Valdimir was one of the most helpful and kind ride leaders, even if his hand signals needed interpretation sometimes!! He could not do enough to help us with tacking up etc and taking good care of us on the ride. I agree somewhat with previous comments about numnahs being clean.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback.

Do you have any comments about the accommodation and food?

Food was great. Maybe guests need to be reminded that meals start the evening they arrive and need to get lunch themselves. (My own fault!)

How could we improve the quality of pre-holiday information that we send?

Not your fault that the transfer fee was increased due to fuel prices. Need to clarify payment acceptable at hotel with card and/or cash.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for letting us know about this increase as soon as you returned. Also that payment for transfers must be made by cash. We were able to update our information and other guests in plenty of time. We are really pleased you enjoyed your time in Crete and managed to get some hiking in too.]

Do you have any other feedback for us?

Bike hire was mentioned on the hotel website but you would need to be very intrepid as you are up a mountain. I did a fair bit of hiking - everything is steep.