*I won this holiday at a Jet2 blogging event. There was no obligation to post any content around the actual trip.

As someone who enjoys the finer things in life, I have stayed in some NICE places. I’m not saying this to show off. Actually I have stayed in some absolutely awful places as well, like the tent I lived in for 3 months when I worked in France or the Air BnB in Reykjavik that was basically a crack den. Up until now, I have always classed the Melia Marbella Banus as the best hotel I have ever stayed in, but this has been knocked off of the top spot by my recent trip to Porto Galini Hotel & Spa. Let’s face it, staying somewhere that will send you down a little golf buggy down to your room so that you do not have to walk up the massive hill to reception was always going to make a great impression on me.

What is it like going on holiday with Jet2?

Before this trip, I had never been on holiday with Jet2. Actually, because a lot of my trips are to see various friends and family dotted around the globe, it’s rare for me to book a package holiday at all. Whenever I go to the Philippines, I always try to get in as many things as possible, so going on a package holiday to a nice resort and doing nothing all week is something I haven’t done in forever.

The first thing that seriously impressed me about Jet2 was how incredible the flight attendant was to my Mum, who is terrified of flying. As we got settled into our seats, I called him and explained my Mum was terrified of flying and asked if he could let us know if there was any turbulence expected. He went to speak to the pilot and then came back to explain what the conditions would be like to my Mum. Throughout the course of the flight, he made an effort to check in with her, and he even sat next to her while I was in the toilet so that she wouldn’t be alone. Jet2 make a lot of effort to ensure their customers have a stress-free holiday. They have an app that you can use to check all of your transfer and flight details etc.

One of the simple things that really impressed me was how well the reps took care of us. On the way home, our Jet2 rep literally got off of the coach with us and walked us to our correct check in desk and made sure we had all of our paperwork sorted out.

Porto Galini Hotel and Spa Resort

When we arrived in Greece and met our rep before getting on our transfer, she asked us what resort we were going to and when I said “Porto Galini” she replied “oh you lucky things”.

How right she was.

When you arrive at Porto Galini and check in at reception, you are met with someone who kindly takes you luggage to your room, and ushered into the waiting area that has a gorgeous panoramic view of the sea and the mountains, where you will then wait for a club car (golf buggy) to drive you to your room. This really felt like the height of luxury. As we checked in, a little surprise was waiting for us in the form of a room upgrade. The rooms are absolutely gorgeous, and due to our upgrade we had a balcony that looked over the sea and the mountains.

A lot of things made Porto Galini one of my favourite ever resorts, but the main shout out really does need to go to the staff. As soon as you arrive, they make it clear they cannot do enough for you, and this is the attitude of all of them, and was through the whole holiday. We checked in and our bags were taken to our room before us, while we waited with a complimentary juice and looked at the mountain. Arriving at our room was one of my favourite holiday moments. The rooms are incredible. There is a mini-fridge you can keep your snacks in and you get towels, beach towels and slippers. The view from our balcony was a completely undisturbed view of the sea and the mountains, and a little of the pool bar which was good because we could gauge opening times.

Speaking of the pool, there were two. Going at the last week of the season afforded us the privilege of having either one to ourselves on any days we used it. The water wasn’t as hot as it would have been during the height of the Greek summer, but I think having the pool to yourself is a pretty good trade-off. The weather was wonderful all aside from the last two days so we couldn’t moan about that AT ALL. But seeing as my holiday was really for my Mum and I was so keen to give her a nice break, we ended up on the private beach most of the days it was nice. Yes, of COURSE Porto Galini have their own private beach, and they even have FREE water-sports. Included in the overall price of your stay, you can opt to paddle-board or kayak around the bay. One of the things I am truly gutted about is the fact we didn’t give this a go before the weather turned, because it looked so much fun.

I really can’t mention the beach and the pool without mentioning how Porto Gallini have the ultimate, five star experience for you on their tables in-between the sun loungers – a button that you can use to call the waiters for a menu and then you can order all sorts of drinks and delicious treats from the pool bar menu. We went to Porto Galini with Jet2 on a half-board basis so most days we just got lunch at the pool bar or in Nidiri or Lefkas. Seriously though, the little button was such good service, and it reminded me how good the service is whenever I travel to the Philippines. The food was GOOD as well. So you know how much of a foodie I am as I always write about food on my blog and Porto Galini did not disappoint.

Breakfast when you stay at Porto Galini half board is a buffet, and the selection is so varied I can honestly tell you that I had something different every day we were there. My favourite soon became two poached eggs (their poached eggs were PERFECT) on toast with bacon and a crepe after. Hey, lying in the sun all day takes it out of you and I had to eat a lot to keep up my energy levels. Dinner was also a buffet, and Port Galini put on themed nights like “Greek night” “Italian night” and “Seafood night”. Everything I ate from the restaurant was simply delicious.

Something that I am guessing will be added to every travel blog after the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, is what the hotels Covid protocols and cleanliness were like. Porto Galini was absolutely immaculate. They put so many things in place to ensure the guests were safe.

Nidiri (nearest town)

There are a lot of things I love about small Greek towns, the main thing being how well they’re contribute to the atmosphere of being on holiday. I’ve always said one of the main reasons I like to stay with my family in the Philippines is because then I get to live like a local, and get to experience the culture as it is, and not a sanitised version that has been invented for Westerners. Whenever I do go over to the Philippines, either for a long time (like the time I casually pitched up and lived there for 3 months) or a short stay (trust me, two weeks is short when the journey is 17 hours long), I always feel super grateful that I stay with family and I get to see the “real” Philippines. I felt the same when I worked a season in Greece as a kids club supervisor. Considering we worked on a five star resort you would think we lived somewhere amazing but we lived in basically a hotel in a town called Nea Fokea. HOwever, when you are on holiday, there is nothing like finding a little holiday town, with all of the gift shops and the bars that are right on the harbour. It’s only 10 euro to get to Nidiri by taxi from Porto Galini and it is worth every penny. We actually preferred it here to Lefkas.

Lefkas (nearest city)

Lefkas itself (the city) didn’t overly impress us. Maybe it was because it was the last week of the season. The first thing you should know about Lefkas is that it isn’t that big. If you are at Porto Galini, definitely don’t set aside an entire day to explore Lefkas, as there isn’t that much there. Saying that though, there were loads of cool bars and restaurants, so maybe our afternoon visit was just bad timing. It did look like it would be a pretty cool strip to visit at night if you were a drinker, which neither myself or my Mum are.

You can see more pictures on my Instagram.

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