That was in Barbados and was for work (I had to escort there the first winner of The Sun's Page 3 Idol contest) and I have to admit that at the time I was very pleasantly surprised ... by the quality of the food, I mean.
The food at the Fodele Beach Resort in Crete, which is where the Amateur Chess Organization held its postponed 2020 world senior and amateur championships, was even better.
And the choice at every meal was fantastic - you would have to be very finicky indeed not to find something to your taste (there was even vegan cheese).
The staff were, with very few exceptions, friendly and helpful - they seemed genuinely pleased to serve you (and even if they weren't, I would rather have insincere politeness than sincere rudeness).
There were some quirks.
At breakfast, only teaspoons were available, which is ridiculous, at least for someone like me wanting to eat yogurt and fruit, and even worse for cereal fans.
Every day I had to badger a member of staff to go and find a larger spoon; only one refused to do so.
Also at breakfast, the only orange juice and coffee available were out of machines, so I had to make do with a freshly-made smoothie and wait until almost 10am for the separate "all-day" restaurant to open and provide a decent espresso (I survived these thorns in my side).
I was not drinking alcohol until the last three days, which is why my weight, as measured by the electronic scales in my room, suddenly ballooned from 80.4kg at the start of the holiday to 81.7kg at the end (for those not used to 'new money', that is a rise of almost 3lb).
But when I did start drinking I was amazed to find the only red wine available in the main restaurant was so cold it almost had ice forming in it - indeed it was colder than a glass of rosé wine I had.
Now I know it is normal practice in Greece to serve cheap red wine chilled. But I had enjoyed a glass of red wine from the resort's Starlight bar that was served at a proper temperature and tasted absolutely fine.
There were other little things that grated, for example staff mainly choose the music at the bars, so there was more than I would have wished of the racist N-word and of references to MxxxxxFxxxxxs.
But I do not want to give the wrong impression - the faults were minor and there was so much to admire,
My room had a large and very comfortable double-bed, a great shower and a fridge.
It also had airconditioning and screens over the windows, which together form a great defence against mosquitos.
Crete is plagued by mosquitos, so the fact you can sleep at night in your room without fear of them should not be underestimated.
I did get one bite, on the back of my left leg, but that was when I lingered outside at dusk without having applied any repellent.
As for the seniors' tournament, entries were few, as was the case with the postponed 2020 world amateur championship, which was held by the Amateur Chess Organization at the same time.
What I can say is that the playing conditions seemed to me to be excellent.
Each game was played at an individual and spacious table. There was social distancing between the tables to the sides, although players were sat closely back-to-back.
The rule at the hotel is that facemasks must be worn in all internal and external areas.
However the only people wearing facemasks outdoors were staff - but not all of them all of the time - and newly arrived guests.
In the tournament room masks had to be worn when walking around, but not at the board.
Players were pretty scrupulous in donning a mask once on their feet, and sometimes would forget for a few minutes to remove it when sitting down again.
Only one player wore a mask consistently while seated at the board, and that was a junior in the amateur championship.
The tournaments were advertised as running from Friday June 11 to Sunday June 20, but this is misleading.
All that happened on day one were welcoming drinks, while the final day was purely for departure.
So the tournaments really ran from Saturday June 12 to Saturday June 19.
That is eight days, but since the Wednesday was a compulsory free day, it meant there were two double-round days - Sunday and Tuesday.
Fodele Beach Resort is in an isolated part of Crete - about 50km from Heraklion and the same distance from Rethymno, another popular tourist site.
Most of the players I spoke to were regulars at ACO events.
I did not see any of them using the swimming pools or the waterpark - they were there to enjoy the luxury of "five-star" food and accommodation while playing chess.
My 10 nights' stay - I arrived two days before the tournaments got underway - cost, including tourism tax, 1,705.55 euros.
According to my credit-card statement, that works out at £147 a night.
Yes, it is a lot, but remember this is all-inclusive - once you are at the hotel, there is no need to spend a penny if you have no wish to go elsewhere.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself, which is not surprising in that it was my first over-the-board chess since Belgrade in late-November/early-December.
Would I go again?
Well, before going I was fairly sure I would not unless, like this time, there was nowhere else easily available to play over-the-board chess.
However, if a group of friends decided to go I might well tag along.
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