First-class restaurants, beautiful beaches and a wealth of on-site entertainment make Halkidiki's Sani Resort perfect, says LESLEY GRANT

WELCOME to our world was the message on the pillows as we entered our luxurious room. What it should have said was, "welcome to our perfect world".

My husband and I knew we were somewhere special as soon as we stepped out on to the balcony.

Magnificent yachts clustered below, their halyards clinking in the gentle breeze.

Click here for amazing Halkidiki deals

Beyond, miles of golden sand lapped by crystal-clear waters.

Later, we would sit here sipping a glass of chilled white wine as the sun set behind Mount Olympus; an idyllic way to start our break in the sun.

We were staying at the Sani Resort on Kassandra, one of the three "legs" of the trident-like Halkidiki peninsula in northern Greece.

Less than half-a-century ago, the site of this luxurious complex was little more than marshland.

Now it's a fabulous, 1,000-acre, family-owned paradise surrounded by pine forests and olive groves that cascade down to the Aegean.

The centre of the resort is the magnificent marina, a luxury private harbour billed a "five-star hotel for yachts".

Yet it is much more than that.

The traffic-free area is filled with award-winning restaurants and a shopping piazza with fashionable shops and fun bars, the perfect setting to round off idyllic days.

Guests have a choice of four places to stay that branch off from the marina: the newly renovated Sani Beach Hotel, the family-friendly Sani Beach Club, the luxury Porto Sani Village on the marina or the boutique Sani Asterias Suites.

We were in the latter, a stylish hotel with light, contemporary rooms and an opulent marble bathroom with a walk-in shower and Jacuzzi.

The service is as outstanding as the surroundings with great attention to detail.

Every day staff use a plumb line to straighten beach walkways, while all loungers must be set on the second rung first thing in the morning.

Standards hardly ever slip and if they do Kevin Kainz, the on-the-ball manager of the Sani Asterias Suites, is on hand to speedily rectify the situation.

So what did we do over the course of our week's stay? We started by simply lounging in the sunshine and recharging our batteries but it was not long before we were tempted by the hotel's numerous activities.

A short walk down the beach was the watersports centre with windsurfing, waterskiing and paragliding on offer, as well as scuba diving to explore the wreck Mytilini, which sank off the coast in 1961.

A shaded hike through the forested nature reserve and wetlands area behind the resort provided a pleasant contrast.

There was plenty to do at night, too: watching movies under the stars at the open-air cinema was an unforgettable experience; while the 600-seat, open-air Garden Theatre was a big hit, with nightly productions including We Will Rock You and a musical gala of West End and Broadway shows.

All the hotel restaurants are superb and you can sample these courtesy of the "dine around" programme, which allows half-board guests to eat in a selection.

We loved the French and Greek cuisine at the Water Restaurant at the Asterias Suites.

Tomata has been voted one of the 25 best restaurants in Europe, which was not a surprise after tasting its Greek cuisine, including a grilled sea bass with baked tomato and herb vinaigrette and beef skewers with roasted vegetables.

Sea You Up is a brilliant Japanese restaurant perched on the water's edge, which rivals London's famous Nobu restaurant.

The salmon teriyaki skewers were so good we had to make a return visit.

There are also plenty of good bars dotted across the resort.

We loved the whitewashed Bousoulas, sitting 50ft above the beach.

The waterside Ammos, which did a superb breakfast buffet, was another favourite.

Sani is also rightly proud of its spa facilities.

We spent many a lazy hour at MySpa at the Sani Beach Hotel which has a magnificent indoor pool and treatment rooms and specialises in local products and pure essential oils.

I had two of the finest deep-tissue massages ever with my brilliant therapist, Aspasia.

Venturing out of the resort was fun too.

We hired a car and explored the surrounding area.

For brilliant Halkidiki deals, click here

Olinthos, an ancient city spread over two hills that is now being restored by the Greek government, is well worth a visit for its elaborate mosaics and archaeological remains.

So is Petralona Cave on the western side of Katsika Mountain.

If you are in the mood for meditation and relaxation a visit to one of the monasteries at Mount Athos on Halkidiki's eastern peninsula is a must.

Note, though, that the peninsula is home to self-governing monks who live and work in the 20 monasteries and women are banned.

That said, most of the people we met were more

THE KNOWLEDGE

ITC Classics (01244 355527/ www.itcclassics.co.uk) offers seven nights at Sani Asterias Suites, Sani Resort, Greece, from £2,399pp (two sharing), B&B.

Price includes return flights with British Airways from Gatwick and private transfers. For departure July 2012.

Greek National Tourism Organisation: 0207 495 9300/ www.visitgreece.gr