Iberostar Mirabello Beach & Village

Reception/checkin; READ BELOW Food; Good standard of what was provided, but not much diversity throughout the week, it was almost the same everynight. The ala carte night that you get with all inlcuive was a set menu, no choice at all, the food was good but the service was not, we had to wait an hour between soup and salad courses. (thats an hour for a salad?) Drinks; At the start of the week the drinks were obviously watered down. White wine is horrible, drink the red or beer. Entertainment Aimed mainly at children. We booked our holiday through Thomas Cook, they book allmost the entire hotel. We arived by taxi from Heraklion airport which we thought was good as we didnt have to wait for the bus to stop at every other hotel along the way. We walked into the Hotel and it all started to go wrong. We had shared the taxi with another couple, who we did not know. Both of us spent some time standing at reception waiting for our rooms to be given to us. Eventually we started to ask what was happening, they would say anything but they were getting our rooms. Finally after asking them again a few minutes later they admitted they didn't have the room we had booked, and then came up with a solution, we could share a bungalow in the Village area across the road with the other couple. This was clearly not acceptable, there are no doors to bedrooms, just a open plan upstairs and downstairs. I asked to see the manager and was told that he would be with us in two minutes, about ten minutes later I asked were the manager was. We were then told we could have a drink in the bar and he would come to see us. We waited in the bar until we had been there for about an hour, and I then went back to the reception to ask were the manager was. The reception supervisor then came up with two rooms facing the sea in the village area and upgraded both of us to all inclusive from half board. He garunteed that the staff would move us to our booked room the next day by 1pm, we just had to pack ourbags and leave them in the room. At this stage we were quite happy with ourselves, getting allinclusive and it was only one night then we would have our room, or would we? Our first morning came and we met the Thomas cook rep in the lobby to tell her what was going on, she said she would speak to the hotel staff and ensure that we had a room, as there were now four couples without the rooms they had booked (We had all paid for seaview rooms at £70 each extra). She clearly didn't. After our all inclusive lunch, ;-) we made our way to reception to get our key for our new room, but that wasn't to happen. There was only a non seaview room on offer. I made it clear this was not acceptable as this was the same reception supervisor who had garunteed us we would not have a problem. Eventually after almost another hour of waiting and refusing rooms that stank and had a view of the rear of the hotel. We were offered room 701, the first in the line of bungalows at the front of the village area. It also had a private pool along the front that is shared only with the other residets of the front bungalows. We were happy with our room that we ended up with, and our allinclusive, but I wouldn't say it was worth the hassle that it caused. The reception staff admitted to me they had had to send a lot of geusts to compettitors as they were very overbooked. I would not recommend this hotel, especially now that I read there is a disco (apparentl started the day we left) every night on the beach. There was a wedding on our second night and this was very loud inside our room across the road in the village.

we stayed at mirabello hotel every thing about it was fantastic the food was good and varied they catered for every taste nothing waas too much trouble for the staff the rooms were spotless ours was cleaned by a very nice maid named maria,the beach & pool area is beautifull the views are breataking .the holiday brochures pics dont do it justice new beach bar opened on our last week there its realy lovely with hammocks & seating areas & barbecues. the village is also a realy nice place to stay with a very good pool area not as noisy as main pool as thats where some pool games are played at certain times of day hotel bar is very plush but entertainment is geared more for german & russian sense of humour but entertainment staff very friendly to everyone as are all the staff .we only had 1 or 2 drinks in bar as we chose to walk after dinner to wards the lake area stopping off along the way at the galley & the kri kri and also agreat little place called the obelix a dutch bar, we were half board but went the obelix for a sunday roast & snack at lunch times rob & martine are realy nice people ,rob does all different accents of whoever he,s serveing we had a few good nights there with them & met a lot of nice people,so dont take any notice of any negative views if youv booked or are thinking of it .ag nik is great we would definitely go back.

July 2006 Quiet Hotel? Not since they opened up the new beach disco every night from July 8th!! If you want to go to bed before 12.00/01.00, then don’t get a sea facing apartment/bungalow in the ‘Village’. You cannot drown out the disco with curtains and windows closed, it is just over the road and 000s of decibels. We had a bad start to the holiday The Mirabello scam – just like some of the other reports here, they didn’t have our room available (we arrived at midnight – the flight was three hours late). We had booked a twin with an adjoining room in the Hotel, and they offered us a single room with a double for a Father and teenage daughter! At first they refused to budge, but realised that as I was asking what other hotels were available, ‘found’ two rooms available they would have been about 100m apart with my daughter 13!! Finally and magically they found two rooms available side by side – it had taken an hour. You may say – This Happens? Well I emailed them before arriving to try and ensure this didn’t happen – I was fuming!! I think First Choice let us down here by not confirming that the rooms we were getting were the ones we had booked – won’t be using them again. We never did get our twin and adjoining in the Hotel, but an apartment with double and single, one room above the other – which was fine (single was a bit like a dungeon though), so the holiday was starting to be OK. I would add they say they were upgrading us – up the hill that is we were at the very top. And what about the beds – so hard… The positive side My daughter signed up for a course with the Crete Dive School attached to the Hotel on the beach – They were FANTASTIC – I cannot thank Gary and Pedros enough – fabulous school – if interested do give it a try. Food was varied and good – same bun fight as listed elsewhere in the evenings, but we had a great time until Then last Saturday they opened this disco – difficult to sleep now before 01.00! The good news is they don’t turn up the volume until 10.00 so at least my daughter got to sleep OK. The disco has spoiled a good hotel – would I come back – only if I was guaranteed a room in the hotel facing Aghios, or one on the far side (swimming pool side ) of the village – as they didn’t manage to give us the room they promised when we arrived – NO I WILL NOT BE COMING BACK!

Stayed at Mirabello in June 2006. We were placed in Mirabello Village opposite the main Hotel. The room was fantastic, loads of space didn't struggle to find a place to put the cases and actually managed to unpack all 3 suitcases with hanging space to spare! We stayed on a HB basis and overall the food was vey good with plenty of choice, only critism was the price of the drinks. It was a bit of a walk into Aghios Nikolaos, so we got taxis most nights whcih only cost 4 euros. We holidayed with friends and we all agreed that this is definately a hotel we would return to. Great holiday.

I have chosen this hotel using this site so I’d like to make my contribution. Sorry for language it’s not my native. This hotel has good location – just 15 minutes from Agios Nikolaos where you can find a lot of restraunts, shops, etc. I’ve visited some other city on Crete (including Iraklion) and I must say that AN is the cosiest one: it’s big enough but not so dirty and noisy as the capital. We spent one night in the village because they haven’t free rooms for us. We were two couples so it was not very convenient but it gave us the opportunity to test the village. Up to me it’s the good place with wonderful view on the sea. Very good if you travel with children. Every two apartments (approximately) have pool. Hotel rooms are clean and usual. We have rooms without sea view but our view to Agios and small gulfs was more interesting. We have the car parking below but it does not make a lot of noise. Staff is friendly and helpful. All (or almost) speak English, one or two speak Russian. Problem with the beach: the entry to sea is narrow so if anyone play (children) it may be difficult to entry without being splashed over. Another issue (the most unpleasant) is that they keep wave runners and motor boat. Because of it, after their (boats) arriving/departure you can find oil spots on the water :(( Sunbeds near the sea cost 3 euro per. Beds around the pool are free of charge but you need to wake up early and reserve it.

The hotel is excellent with great, friendly staff and in a beautiful and unique location. I visit the place every year and it has done a great job since it was rebuilt. It has a wonderful sea, it is near the city but at the same time remains a resort. Ofcousre it must be a litle bit more organized but this has never destroyed my vacation in Crete, since the staff there is wonderful. Mirabello is a very special place and I recommend to anyone that needs relaxing vacations with his family and friends to go there. Finally the animation team has changed and it is the best team in whole Europe!!

Stayed in the Mirabello for one week in late May 2006. Standard room (sea view with balcony) in the main block - 2nd floor (room 250). Booked an 'all inclusive' package through MyChoice Holidays. Excellent, well run hotel - clean, friendly staff, good food, excellent dinner buffets - (but could get a bit repetitive after 1 week). Could eat outside - terrace restaurants - for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Good bars - lobby bar and pool & beach bars. Evening entertainment in the hotel not so good - but only a short'ish 25 min walk to the town, plenty of bars/restaurants - with an easy 5 euro taxi ride back. Only small 'complaint' - the sunbeds around the pools were free - but they charged 3 euros a day if you chose to be on the private beach area (where there was a pleasant sea breeze). Would definitely recommend the hotel and location to friends. Would stay there again.

Just returned from a week All Inclusive at the Iberostar Mirabello Beach. The hotel management appear to have taken on board criticisms from last year. Reception. Professional and friendly. We arrived at midnight and following check-in a cold platter and drinks were delivered to the room. Room. Spacious and spotless. Cleaned every day. We requested sea view, low-level, non-smoking and quiet room and got all four, although nightime noise is not an issue at this hotel. Sea View. Some 1st floor rooms have restricted sea view due to a screen wall feature. Rooms 123-128 have unrestricted sea view. All sea facing rooms on 2nd-6th floors have unrestricted sea views. Breakfast Room/Dining Room. 6 food piers constantly patrolled and replenished. All meals are a feast. Terrific variety. The main dining room has a small balcony which is lovely for breakfast in the morning sunshine overlooking the bay. The larger outdoor terrace area is just perfect for outdoor dining in the evening. If evening temperatures dip - as they tend to in May - patio heaters are used. During our stay we were advised the hotel was 80% full - this equates to 400 guests. If you want to avoid the rush do not breakfast or dine at peak time. We took breakfast around 8:30am most mornings and had our choice of tables and excellent service. The peak is 9am to 9:30am. Similarly for dinner avoid 7pm to 8pm. Again we dined at 8.30pm most nights and had choice of tables and first class service. All Inclusive. Drinks lists throughout the hotel (main bar, dining room, pool bar, beach bar, and room) identify AI items with the * symbol. Wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks available. House wine is also included at lunch and dinner. Other wines from the wine list attract a premium but if you are a fan you do need to try local winery products. Very reasonably priced and waiters only too keen to recommend their regional favourites. Note, based on drink price lists, drinks are expensive and when you add in the soft-drinks, water, coffee etc during the day, All Inclusive is good value. Hotel Facilities. If you are watersports orientated you will not be disappointed. The in-house Crete Underwater Centre is THE dive centre in the area and also provides jet-ski, banana boats, pedallos etc. Tennis, beach-volleyball and football adjacent to the beach and across the road in the village area a new gym and indoor pool. The small beach area is spotless and very popular. The hotel includes rambling gardens to explore, a small church and cave. The hotel site overlooking the bay is spectacular. Sunset on the bar terrace is magnificent and it was noticeable how many guests with sea view rooms sit out on the balcony to enjoy the sunset. Animation Team - Entertainment. A small youthful team for organised activities (yoga, darts, archery, volleyball, tennis, football) during the day. After dinner bingo, quiz games and karaoke - yes all low budget - with the occasional guest cabaret act. The primary function of this "entertainment" is to facilitate interaction between guests and this is certainly achieved. We arrived as strangers and left on first name terms with a number of other guests. The team let their hair down in the bar after 11pm - a very sociable group. The children's entertainment appeared to be very popular, particularly the sand sculpting and art classes. Check-Out. Check out is noon. We were departing at 8pm and therefore requested in advance "day-use" of the room. This service attracts a Eur25 charge, which I thought reasonable. We had use of our room up to 6pm. Other guests were provided with a courtesy room. Quirks. Every hotel has them. Electronic safe deposit box in room attracts a charge of Eur3 per day. The minibar in the room is not replenished during your stay unless by request to reception. Reception provide large beach towels to guests. This service attracts a fully refundable deposit of Eur20 per towel. Towels are exchanged daily at reception. Sunbeds by the pool are free. Sunbeds on the small beach and beside the beach bar are charged at Eur3 per day.

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Mirabella hotel in late Sept 2005. We were looking for a holiday that had sun, relaxation and a bit of nightlife but no drunken louts. Agios Nikolaos delivered on all fronts. Being 25 we were probably at the younger end of the people staying in this area, but the town has a good selection of bars, from traditional to touristy to funky chill-out bars. Really enjoyed the nightlife as it was good fun without being too rowdy. We thought the Mirabella was great. We stayed in the 'village' part which was really peaceful. The rooms were really good (the shower was better than my one at home!!), clean, modern and with great air-con. We had a lovely view from our balcony and were right near the pool. We alternated as to which pool we sat around, although we often found it difficult to get a sunbed at the main pool, but there were always ones at the pool in the village. They hold water polo games every day there in the afternoon which the reps encourage you to join in, but they are never too pushy, just friendly and will leave you alone if you don't want to play. The game usually goes on for less than an hour and is good fun to watch without it being long enough to be irritating. The food was ok, the norm for buffet style food and some of it was really nice. The only bad thing I can say about the place was that it took ages to get a drink with dinner, but its not the sort of thing that would spoil your holiday!! Just sit back and soak up the atmosphere. The views from the bar (and main pool) are amazing and we always tried to have a drink there whilst watching the sun go down. It really was such an amazing place to relax - I still have a photo of it on my desk at work and stare at it longingly when it all gets too stressful! I would recommend it to anyone to stay in. I really enjoyed my stay here. It was relaxing and fun, with plenty of day trips to do (Spinolonga is really lovely and good value as is pretty cheap to go). I wouldn't go back, but only because I don't believe in holidaying in the same place twice - but if I had to go back to the area, I would definatley stay here.

What an immaculate hotel with so much potential, it's just such a shame about the staff 'etiquette' (moreover, the lack of). We encountered similar problems to those highlighted by other reviewers during our stay in September 05, i.e. had paid for a sea view room but were told hotel was fully booked, numerous unpleasant encounters with bar and reception staff, being charged for the facilities that we hadn't used...the list goes on! We did however, have a lovely holiday despite this - if anything we were more determined to make the most of our stay. The views were lovely, especially if you sat on the smaller balcony/terrace for breakfast, and the hotel and the room itself was immaculately clean. Despite what others have said, I was impressed with the meals (and we're a bit snobby when it comes to food so it must've been good!), although maybe thats because I'm a big fan of greek fare - there were a lot of great vegetarian options but I can understand why meat lovers could get a bit bored. If you've got the patience to deal with the awful and unwelcoming staff then dont be put off; we ended up having a week of rest and relaxation in an idyllic setting.