Hello,
This week I’m writing from the beautiful island of Crete. I’m here making a film about a truly special hotel.
For 30 years the Mistral Hotel has been open exclusively to single travellers who come here for companionship. From the moment they arrive at Chania Airport they are scooped up and brought to an oasis of calm where fears of being alone and eating alone dissolve away.
I’ve met first timers blossoming with newfound confidence and regulars who come again and again.
We arrived just before supper was served. From chatting in the cocktail bar everyone moved, drink in hand, to two beautifully laid long tables, sat down and carried on. No one looked or felt left out. Those who’d been many times protected the newcomers as if it was their spiritual calling.
When going through a divorce, I had never done something so simple yet scary as holidaying alone. I cried all the way to Gatwick Airport and in my fluster, nearly missed my flight. I had friends in the area I was visiting but the psychology of holidaying alone, and the pain in my heart, made me feel sick.
I’ve travelled the world alone for work, meeting film crews in far-flung places, but this was different. I was emotionally lonely.
The Mistral is privately owned; it’s clear the family care about their guests and the guests care about them. They know their first names – Adonis and Aura – their child,
