Velani Country Hotel - Crete

Jacci (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) mixed feelings | On our first day we came down to the yard to find the horses filthy dirty, and Jenny's was covered in horse manure. We were given brushes to clean and groom them. Their accommodation was a walk in stable, where there was no bedding for them in the inside part. Consequently, they had to roll in poo. This was further complicated by the need to save water. I believe there is some pasture available, but we didn't see them turned out to it at night. I realise that field accommodation may be difficult on a mountain, in which case, bedding for the stable should have been provided. The need to preserve water meant that instructions to clean the horses varied from using a hose, using a bucket and sponge, and once on Sabine's watch, using a bottle of water with a hole in the top. No clear instructions were given on the stable rules, no list on a notice board, etc. It became a standing joke when new people arrived and asked what the routine was, or where we were going the next day, and everyone would laugh and say 'nobody knows'!

There seemed to be a shortage of staff to get horses prepared for the rides. One rider was only there for a fortnight and the other had only been in situ for 3 weeks. Sabine did not communicate much with us (ie all riders) at all.There was no communication at breakfast about the day ahead, or indeed, at any time at all. I had the slowest horse for every ride and was always last. This meant that I could never hear what was being said by the lead rider. Also, I would have liked a variety of horses, rather than being given the slowest one.

Having said all of this, we enjoyed the rides, the scenery and the young women who led the rides were very friendly and helpful.

[Olwen from In The Saddle replies - We are glad that you enjoyed the rides overall. The horses are stabled on mats and normally this doesn't cause the problems you experienced so we need to follow up with the hotel to see what happened. Sabine has now told us that unfortunately she was ill that week with bronchitis and she apologises for not being around to brief you each day. She acknowledges that the guide did not prepare the horses as she should have and she is no longer working at the hotel. Sabine is glad you enjoyed the riding but is sorry that the stables and horses were not as she would have liked you to see them. Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback.]

Do you have any comments about the accommodation and food?

The accommodation was wonderful -just lovely, spacious, heating easy to use, outside sitting area, water was drinkable from the tap, decor was tasteful and everything was clean.

However, the standard of food was exquisite and Nicos, the waiter, was worth his weight in gold. The chef was Sabine's husband and everything was sublime. The eating altogether at one table was brilliant, as everyone bonded and newcomers were quickly made welcome. The Greek pattern of several small courses with reasonable spaces in between worked very well. We sipped wine and laughed a lot. It was joyous!

The pool was cold, but lovely to swim in if you were brave enough. We were! Gorgeous views and surroundings.

It's a shame that the things that were so frustrating could so easily be rectified and the things there were more difficult to be achieved (like the food) were fantastic.

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

To be fair, the fact that we didn't have all the info we needed whilst we were on holiday was nothing to do with 'In the Saddle's' communication, but rather the resort's admin.

How could we improve the way we handled your booking and payment?

Everything was fine.