We have now returned from Vritomartis Naturist Hotel, situated on the south coast of the Greek Island of Crete, close to the small town of Chora Sfakion.
This was our first visit to any naturist hotel, but it certainly won’t be our last and hopefully will be able to visit the Vritomartis again sometime in 2024.
Travelling to Vritomartis
We flew into Chania Airport and took our hire car on the road through the mountains. While the road was steep in many places and contained many hairpin bends, the road was wide and not busy and in 90 minutes we arrived at the turning for the hotel. The entrance to the hotel was not signposted, but we had studied the map beforehand and knew we had arrived.
First Impressions
A warm welcome awaited at the reception and it was clear that we were expected. Once the small amount of paperwork had been completed, we were directed to our room on the first floor.
Our room was spacious and spotlessly clean. The entrance corridor held a large wardrobe and a small bathroom to one side with the main bedroom beyond, leading out through patio doors onto a large terrace, containing two sun loungers, parasol and small table and chairs. The view from the terrace overlooked an outdoor seating area, the hotel grounds, swimming pool and the mediterranean sea beyond. From here we had an uninterrupted 180° view of the sea – Absolutely stunning.
There was now only one thing for it, time to get naked in public! We quickly gathered our books, sunglasses, suncream and towels and headed out to the pool area.
I am delighted to report that, despite being mid-afternoon, there were a plentiful supply of vacant sun-loungers, so we dropped everything, lay down and enjoyed a few hours of peace, all of course, completely naked.
Sometime later, as the sun began to disappear behind the trees, we headed back to our room, to shower and dress for dinner.
I will leave it to Rosie to tell more about the food (as that’s her thing), but during our meal we were able to make friends with guests at other tables all of whom made us feel very welcome and the hotel staff could not have been more friendly and helpful.
It being a Sunday evening, there was no entertainment, which after an early start, suited us just fine so after dinner we returned to our room for a well-earned sleep.
Waking up in a Naturist Resort
There were no tea or coffee making facilities in our room, so we headed down to the breakfast room downstairs in the hotel, and helped ourselves to coffee and a buffet style breakfast.
Once we had had our caffeine and something to eat, we grabbed our beach bag and headed to the pool. It was about 9am, but the sky was blue and the sun was out. Some other guests had started to swim or sunbathe around the pool. We chose our position and really started to chill out.
Throughout the day, the hotel staff arranged a variety of activities, with something to suit everybody, but were quite happy for guests to simply sunbathe. Daily activities included stretching / yoga, painting, aqua-aerobics, pétanque, table-tennis, pool, darts, volley-ball and waterpolo. Most were held away from the peace and quiet of the pool area, but for obvious reasons aqua-aerobics and water-polo sessions took place in the pool.
Lunch at the pool bar was not included in the cost of the hotel, but the cost of food and drinks were reasonable and the quality and variety great.
Filaki Naturist Beach
Approximately 1km from the hotel is Filaki Beach. This is a recognised naturist beach, but open to the public. It’s possible to walk there along the tarmac road, but the hotel provides a free shuttle bus leaving the hotel about 5 time a day.
The beach is stony, and so swimming shoes are recommended, but the sea was flat the entire time we were in Crete and so entering and leaving the water was relatively easy. The water was beautifully clear and fantastic for snorkelling. Also on the beach was a plentiful supply of sun loungers and parasols (subject to an extra charge), plus Viki’s Taverna (together with toilet facilities).
Returning to the hotel is a steep walk back along the road and so all but the fittest would be wise to take the shuttle bus.
Evening Entertainment
With the exception of Sundays, there’s always something going on in the evening. On separate evenings, we were treated to traditional Cretan Dancing, quizzes, karaoke, disco and live band – something for everyone.
If you are interested to find out more, feel free to get in touch or visit the hotel’s website www.vritomartis.com
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