How this all-inclusive Greek island escape helped me rediscover how to holiday

The last of the day’s sun gently glinted across the dimpled Aegean Sea, the way the waning rays trickled across the water’s surface reminiscent of the drops of condensation working their way down my glass. I slowly sipped the dregs of a negroni, letting the bitter-sweet notes from the ruby-coloured cocktail linger in my mouth.

I was on my second drink, though I began to question whether I deserved it. The day had been far from backbreaking; instead, it was a languorous jumble of Greek coffee, laps of the pool, chapters of early John Le Carré, and dozing while the late summer sun warmed my skin.

But the answer was a resounding yes – because I was on holiday. Not on a city break, or an adventure, or an odyssey of self-discovery that would give me a chance to “learn something about myself” – but an honest-to-goodness holiday.

For the first time in more than four years, I’d plumped for a “flop and drop”, with actual time set aside from any work; all I wanted was a break. So I’d gone all-inclusive, something I tended to avoid. Was it snobbery? Not wanting to fight over towels on loungers at dawn? An urge to be a traveller not a tourist? Whatever the reason, I’d willfully shunned hotels offering the pure ease of a one-price package with all food and drink thrown in. Well, more fool me.

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On the northern coast of the Greek island of Crete, I rediscovered not what it means to travel, but to holiday – with a new-found appreciation of the all-inclusive getaway.

Creta Maris is a hefty resort, almost 700 rooms and suites in total, straddling either side of a road and linked by bridge. One side is home to a waterpark and hotel complex, as well as a preserved, centuries-old chapel. As the “Spray Action Zone” didn’t do it for me, I found the half fringed by coast more attractive; here, away from the main building, is a quiet “village” of white-washed accommodation, creeping bougainvillea and winding stone paths.

It’s much the same as when it first opened in the 1970s, and the resort is still owned by the same family; they managed to anticipate a 21st-century desire for authenticity when travelling. Having arrived from Santorini, where even the dingiest cafes tend to be extortionate, the sense of protection…