We arrive to the Miramare hotel, just outside Agios Nikolaos, Crete at 12.30am, after a two and a half hour bus transfer from the airport at Heraklion. By this time we’re tired, hungry [having not eaten since midday] and desperate to pee.

We trundle into the lobby, where the hotel’s night manager sorts us out a room, points out the WC and tells us we can get a meal in the hotel restaurant. Phew! [but no thanks to TUI].

We’re taken out of the entrance and down four flights of stairs to our room, which is large but somehow undesirable. While it has a restricted sea view, its balcony is next to the road and it feels cavernous and empty. But we’re tired enough to sleep. We’ll sort it out in the morning.

In the event, after breakfast, we explain and are quickly taken via golf cart to an available room at the top of the hill with a stunning view, smaller than the first room but much more cosy. We’re happy. Two ticks to the hotel management-

We’ve arrived to Crete during a heat wave, a stark contrast to home temperatures, so it seems best to take things easy until we’ve acclimatised. Breakfast is the usual hotel, buffet-style bun fight but there’s a huge array of choices. Then we opt for one of the three [three!] pools, which is opposite our room and take our books, choosing shade.

The hotel occupies all of a substantial hill, a short walk from the town of Agios Nikolaos. Walking to and from the town is not for the infirm, since there is a steep climb up to the hotel entrance and now that we’re established in a hilltop room, steps from the lift, so it will give us enough exercise between lounging around.

In the early evening we stroll down past a couple of bars and restaurants, past the cemetary and a beach ‘club’, [which remains a mystery] and to a stretch of the bay where there is a tiny, town beach backed by a marina. Here there are myriad bars and tavernas and it feels luxurious to sit outside on a warm October evening and have a beer while watching tiny children playing in and out of the water. Outside one bar there are a number of tables where Backgammon is being played, a serious matter- judging by the intense concentration of the players.

Then we must choose from the many tavernas lining the streets, although we noticed one on the way here, not on the sea front, which boasts an interesting menu and a quirky decor. It’s narrow but stretches back some way. It also has a few people lined up waiting for a table- always a good sign.

A flamboyant waiter guides us to a table, exhibiting extravagant gestures and handshakes. Little snacks and dips are brought for us while we peruse the menu. The meals are delicious- giant prawns and pasta for me and a risotto for Husband, all too much as I fail to eat it all- but eating out here is not at all expensive. We’re brought complimentary dessert in the form of a miniature jar containing cheesecake and a shot glass of liqueur so strong it makes my eyes water to sniff it. I oblige by eating the cheesecake but make my excuses on the Raki…

Novels by Jane Deans [Grace]: The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend. Visit my website: janedeans.com