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Story and Photography by Manos Angelakis
Galaxy Hotel Iraklion
Economou Hotels
75 Dimokratias Ave.
71306 Heraklion, Crete
Greece
Tel: +30.2810.238812
Fax: +30.2810.211211
Email: yeconomou@economouhotels.com
Web Site: www.galaxy-hotel.com
Yannis Economou is an affable young man with an excellent understanding of what a Five Star property should be all about. For years, until his family asked him to return to Heraklion to take over the management of the family’s hotel, he was employed by the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, one of the top international luxury hotel management companies.
 In, Heraklion, a regional capital city on the Greek island of Crete, the Galaxy Hotel Iraklion is a true 5* property.
The Galaxy is located a few minutes walk from Venizelos Square; the city’s center. The beautiful 17th century Venetian fountain in the center of the square is decorated with stone relief figures from Greek mythology, Nymphs, Tritons, sea monsters and dolphins; four sitting lions, balancing the circular bowl atop their heads, support the main basin. These lions were already more than 300 years old when Francesco Morosini, the Venetian governor, expropriated them to decorate his fountain. The hotel is located on the main road leading to the Knossos Palace archeological site.
Another local feature worth visiting is also located near the hotel; another leftover of the over 400-year occupation of Crete by Venice. It is the formidable, fortified protective wall surrounding the city. Because of that wall, Heraklion enjoyed the reputation as one of the best-fortified cities in the Mediterranean. It is now possible to walk along the top of the wall and enjoy unequaled views of the harbor and the city. At the end of the walk, you will reach the grave of the great Cretan writer and philosopher Nikos Kazantzakis; on the tomb is carved what I believe to be one of his greatest statements: “I hope for nothing, I fear nothing; I am free”.
 Renovated in 2008, the hotel has 127 rooms and suites that are stylish, elegant, and very functional; all spaces are designed to accommodate the different needs of the guests. The guest rooms are characterized by graceful European design, each with fully independent climate control, spacious desks, complimentary Wi-Fi, and wired hi-speed Internet. Each room offers what one would expect from a 5* property i.e. double-glazed windows and balcony doors, mini bar, complimentary coffee making facilities, 24-hour room service, premium Egyptian cotton bed and bath linen, bathrobes, slippers, Anne Semonin of Paris bath toiletries in the spacious marble bathroom, and other amenities.
The hotel has two eating venues, Vetri Restaurant and the Per Se Lounge, both are overseen by chef de cuisine Kyriakos Lyras. Mr. Lyras is a proponent of using the freshest local produce from small producers that offer high, organic where possible, quality. He personally goes to the green market every morning in search of the best seasonal products; he also cultivates a small herb and aromatics kitchen garden in planters near the swimming pool. He is excellent with international dishes, but the evening we had a very traditional Cretan buffet he was happy to surrendered his kitchen to a local woman that excels in creating home-cooked specialties.
As a food and wine writer, I will attest that, that meal was truly memorable. There  were dishes that might not appeal to everyone’s palate, but everything was beautifully presented, freshly cooked and of the best quality. I should note that Cretan dishes are characterized by the abundant use of extra virgin olive oil, and the olive oil used in the Galaxy’s kitchen came from the Economou family’s own olive grove. In Crete, they almost never use animal fat or seed oil in cooking; pure olive oil is in use almost exclusively. Another characteristic of the healthy Cretan cooking is the minimal use of red meat. Traditionally, meat – either lamb or goat - is roasted or stewed for celebrations, otherwise it is eaten at most every third Sunday. Pork is consumed mostly during winter, especially near  Christmas and New Year. Another healthy habit is eating bread made with whole-meal flour. White bread is only eaten on major feast days i.e. Christmas, New Year, Easter, and August 15. Most Cretans still eat large quantities of “Dakos” a barley or rye rusk, dipped in olive oil or rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil, and covered with finely chopped tomatoes with a sprinkling of sea salt and oregano - it should be noted that Italians did not invent Bruschetta, it has been under a different name a traditional snack for Cretan shepherds since time immemorial. Salads, and pickled or brine-preserved vegetables, such as olives, carrots, cucumbers, wild onions and wild garlic, caper buds and caper fruit etc., are plentifully represented on a Cretan table. Fish and seafood are the major source of protein, along with some poultry and, of course, snails that are cooked in many different ways.
The restaurant’s wine list is quite remarkable. with an extensive collection of high quality Greek wines, including many that are organic/biodynamic. The better Cretan wines include the Manousakis vineyard’s Nostos, and Ekti Ekdosi (Sixth Edition) of the Tamiolakis winery. From the mainland, they have such viticultural luminaries as Kyr-Yannis from Naousa, Pavlidis from Drama, Ktima Alfa from Florina, and Ktima Hatzimichali from Atalanti, to name but a few. Their champagne and sparkling wine collection is all imported and includes full- and half- bottles of Veuve Clicquot and Moët et Chandon, Louis Roeder Cristal and Prosecco and Moscato d’ Asti from Italy.
In Crete, wine - one or two glasses - is always consumed with the meals. No meal is considered complete without a glass of wine. Children are often offered a spoonful of sweet wine at the beginning of the meal, as a tonic. Older persons will have a small shot of tsikoudia (raki) at the end of the meal. It is remarkable that during the entire time I had lived in Greece, 27 years, I had never seen or heard of an alcoholic. Yes, I had seen lots of drunks, but they were invariably tourists. I guess to Greeks alcohol is not a forbidden pleasure, therefore they are used to consuming it in moderation. But, I digress.
The Cretan buffet with traditional dishes was served al fresco, on the restaurant’s verandah overlooking the swimming pool.
Six kinds of bread were featured: farm bread, corn bread, rye bread, hunter’s bread, barley bread, Ftazymo (chickpea flour) bread and many rusks and other crisp breads.
Salads and vegetable appetizers included:
Steamed greens with steamed potatoes and zucchini; Village salad – tomatoes, shredded onion, a little cucumber, pickled caper buds, pickled wild onion bulbs, and sun dried tomatoes; Green salad with wild greens and gruyere flakes; Traditional eggplant salad with steamed cracked wheat (pligouri) and roasted pignoli nuts; Roasted red peppers (pimientos) marinated in vinegar; Small dakos with fresh tomato, feta cheese and mizithra (fresh white cheese made from a blend of sheep and goat’s milk); Yellow lentil purée (Fava) with fresh shredded onion; Palikaria (salad of cooked legumes and grains) flavored with finely chopped scallions and fresh dill, and a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil; Steamed beats with yoghurt and garlic.
The main courses included:
Sfouggato (egg omelet) with wild greens; Stuffed cabbage leaves with ground meat and egg-lemon sauce – a favorite of mine; Sofegatha (stewed vegetables in tomato sauce); Chochli (snails) with hondros (cracked wheat) and fresh tomato; Chochli boubouristi with fresh rosemary and homemade vinegar (see recipe in Cook’s Corner); Oven-roasted lamb with Cretan herbs and potatoes; Leg of pork stewed with celery in an egg-lemon sauce; Rabbit “stifado” (in onions and tomato sauce); Zygouri vrasto (boiled baby lamb with potatoes and greens); Gamopilafo (wedding rice) cooked in the broth from the baby lamb, with fresh homemade butter; Dried, salted, cod fish (bacalao) desalted and cooked with okra and red wine.
The spread of local cheeses included:
 Feta; Sweet Mizithra (reminiscent of a dry Ricotta); Sour Mizithra (sour version of Ricotta); Kefalograviera (a hard cheese made from a blend of sheep’s and goat’s milk left to dry out for six months to a year); Kefalotyri (hard cheese made from only sheep’s milk), Ladotyri (a very dry mizithra rubbed with olive oil and containing black pepper corns), Anthogalo (a very fresh, soft, white mizithra), Anthotyro (white mizithra that is starting to dry, reminds of a fresh Ricotta Salata); and Tyrozouli.
Desserts included:
Mizithropitakia (mini mizithra pies made with sweet mizithra and thyme honey), also known as Lichnaria (oil lamps) because they are shaped like ancient olive oil lamps; Kalitsounia (pastry nests with sour mizithra filling); Yoghurt from sheep’s milk drizzled with thyme honey; anthogatyro and candied fruits (cherries, grapefruit rind, bitter orange, green figs, and others) also known as spoon sweets, because a spoonful is offered to guests when they visit someone’s home. Also a variety of seasonal fresh fruit.
 Some other traditional desserts offered included:
Halvas me Karidi (Semolina halva cake with walnuts); Xerotygana (crisp fried dough rings sprinkled with honey and sesame seeds); Tiganites me petimezi (pancakes with sweet grape-must syrup); and of course the ubiquitous phylo pastry sweets i.e. baklava and kataifi.
The wines were all local, from the Miliarakis vineyards – that unfortunately means they are not available outside of Crete. The white was a blend of Viliana and Malvasia, and the red a blend of Kotsifali, Mandilari, and Mourvédre. Both were young but excellent. There were also two varieties of tsikoudia offered and I made sure to try both. I enjoyed the one made from Cabernet Sauvignon clusters, but the Meli Tsikoudia (tsikoudia with honey) was an unusual variation.
For the business traveler, the hotel offers a Business Center and nine conference rooms. Additionally, there is a complimentary Wellness Club with gym, hammam(steam room) and massage, and a large fresh-water swimming pool, very popular with guests during the summer months.
The multilingual staff is very well trained and eager to accommodate the needs of either business or leisure travelers.
I wish I had much more time to explore Heraklion, having the Galaxy as a base. Perhaps, I will do it in the near future.
© September 2009 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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