Grand Hotel Holiday Resort

I have recently returned from a weeks holiday at the Grand Hotel in Hersonissos with my family, which we enjoyed very much. We couldn't fault the cleanliness of the hotel or the staff, who were very friendly and eager to help. Previous reviews have suggested the food is a bit repetitive. Personally, I didn't find that to be the case as I made sure I only chose one or two things from the menu, which enabled me to have something different to eat each night. The only thing I was disappointed about was the swimming pool that was supposed to be for adults only. Families still let their children, together with their balls, frisbees and airbeds use this pool. Also, ignore any warnings about the reserving of sun beds being forbidden. If you don't reserve a bed by 9 0'clock you probably won't get one until late afternoon. Stalida is nearer to walk to than Hersonissos and has by far the better beach. It is also smaller and quieter, although there are still plenty of shops and bars and restaurants to choose from.

We have just returned from 2 brilliant weeks spent at the Grand Hotel. We were a party of six ranging in age from 16 to 74 and all had a fantastic relaxing time. We spent most of our first few days around the Relaxing Pool due to the very high temperatures (in the 40s) which were exceptional for this time of year and found the efficient air conditioning kept the room temps very comfortable. The hotel was spotlessly clean with towels changed every day.The rooms were basic but perfectly adequate for our stay with a fridge and hairdryer which both worked well. All of the staff were friendly, helpful, polite and worked very hard to make our stay enjoyable - nothing was too much trouble - always smiling and cheerful. The bar prices in the hotel were quite high as in most hotels, but we went out each evening to Stalis or Hersonissos by bus which stopped right outside the hotel, or on foot turn left outside the hotel, walk 200 metres to the subway under busy road and on to the Taverna Gorgona (behind Gordi's Supermarket), which is a friendly family run Taverna. Highly recommended bar in Stalis is Finikas on Stalis Beach Road (only 1.20 Eu by bus or 6 Eu by taxi) run by George and Katarina.We found them very welcoming with their free shots of raki, ouzo etc!! We would definitely recommend the Grand Hotel and are already thinking about returning there next year. Top marks to the Grand Hotel.

We went here with our daughter who was three at the time. We loved everything about this hotel. The kids club staff where fantastic with the kids. My daughter celebrated her birthday while here and the staff at the kids club gave her a part in one of the shows as baby simba in the Lion King. The fun pool is great if you have children and i think they have added more flumes since our visit. The snack bar at this pool served good snacks. We came as half board so had our lunch at the bar each day. We went on one trip to the water park which was fun However a bit of a long day for our daughter. Our room was spacious very clean and a maid visited each day. Loved it so much have booked up for next year!!

The Grand Resort was our home for 14 days and we had very little to gripe about. The rooms are exceptionally clean as is the rest of the hotel. The staff work extrememly hard in soaring temperatures (it was 48C on the day we left) to keep the place running smoothly. The rooms are a little basic, our air con was a bit pitiful and the beds are firm. However, more than made up for my the generous balcony and sea view. We spent a fair bit of time on it sheltering from the heat because it was invariably cooler indoors. True, no tea and coffee facilities but who wants hot drinks in the heat? We stocked up on water, beer and coke from the supermarket in our excellent fridge which kept us very happy. The pools are divine and are again spotlessly clean, a real pleasure to use with plenty of sunbeds to go round. Day and evening entertainment was provided by a clan of animators whose enthusiam was immense. They put on a show 6 nights a week to an audiance of brits, germans, italiens, french, dutch etc and its not easy appealing to so many nationalities. They did very well (even if the shows were sometimes commically incomprehensible!) The previous post is rather scathing of the resort, perhaps they were expecting a 4 star of british standards? At the end of the day Crete is not an extremely rich island and we saw little that could be described as chic anywhere. However, the food was really very good. How can you fault a breakfast buffet that consists of: Either scrambled eggs or omelette, two types of boiled eggs (4 mins or 8 mins), sausage, mushrooms, beans, fried eggs, bacon, 8 types of cereal and museli, something on the hot plate being cooked by the chef i.e. griddle cakes, fresh doughnuts or pancakes with chocolate sauce, red apples, green apples, water melon, melon, oranges, grapefruits, approx 10 types of cake, tapicoa/ rice pudding, croissants, danish pastries, approx 10 types of bread, 4 different juice flavours including tomato, ham, salami, 3 types of cheese, tomato, cucumber, fruit, herb and black tea, bottomless coffee, 3 types of yogurt, stewed and tinned fruits, toast, jam, marmalade and assorted preserves..... I'm sure I've missed some as well! Dinner was a similarly lavish banquet. Yes none of the food is haute cuisine but they are catering to the masses and for the most part was freshly prepared, tasty and imaginative. Yes, drinks are pricey in the hotel but aren't they always? I could go on but recommend that you check out our holidays snaps instead http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave-bullough I would recommend The Grand to friends and family (surely the highest accolade?).

Stayed at the Grand from 26/06/07-03/07/07 with my boyfriend and thought it was a brilliant hotel. We got there at 9pm,left suitcases at reception and had dinner in the buffet restaurant.After returned to reception and were driven to our room where our cases were waiting! Rooms-very clean and spacious,had pool and sea view which was lovely. Tv with 2 english channels. 20 euros for safety deposit box. Food-very good standard and plenty of choice. Breakfast fresh fruit,fry ups, cakes and freshly made panackes. Dinner, Soups,salads,fresh meats,pasta,veg etc. Pool snack bar was good,great service with reasonable prices. Pools- 1 main activity pool 1 kids pool with slide and quiet pool which we always used. The weather was nearing 40 degrees so the pool was great! All are saltwater so that for us was the only downside,would have been nice to have a freshwater 1.Never had a problem getting a sunbed. Indoor pool was a cold fresh water pool and lovely, i used this while my boyfriend worked out in the gym. Location- Around a 25min taxi ride from airport costing between 30 and 40 euros. Turn right outside hotel and it takes you to stalis(10-15min walk) or left takes you to Hersonissos(15-20min walk) a taxi there is around 7 euros. Stalis has restaurants and quieter bars,Hersonissos has lovely restaurants,lots of shops and more upmarket bars and clubs. Outside the hotel there are a few snack type bars,not great,ordered a greek salad,came with cheddar cheese and no olives! Nice bar to left called Romantika,started of here as cocktails were 2.80 and beer 2 euros! There are 2 water parks, we went to Aqua Plus(smaller but closer to hotel) and it was great fun-15euros in taxi and 18euros each entry. The Grand was a great hotel,all staff were very friendly and worked really hard and i would definitey recommend this hotel to everyone!!

Hotel The Grand Hotel is ok nothing flash it’s nice though. Rooms are basic no tea making facilities in the rooms. Small TV (who watches it though) the beds are really hard and so are the pillows. On a good point the hotel is spotless. The food was ok breakfast was fine nothing to rave about and dinners as some have said was mostly meat in a stew or fish in sauce. To be honest I would not go to this hotel full or HB as food in the resort is not expensive, B&B would be better as long as you can get about ok on foot! Hotel is a good half hour walk from Heranossis and 15 from Stallis it was 90 odd degreases so walking more than 5 mins was a killer. I did not see any buses but apparently they are about. The beach belongs to another hotel across a by pass!! You take your life in your hands crossing over. The pools are nice. I did go and have the pitta gyros in the snack bar as recommended but another report. Yuck my god if you’re a salt addict it will appeal to you it was awful and so was the cheese tostie I had another day how can you go wrong with that!!! Nope that was it for the hotel food for me thanks. The hotel is very dear for drinks 3.5 euro for a pint of beer and Euro for a short 11 euro for a half bottle of horrible wine. There are no signs or anything to sate you can’t drink your own pop or beer and most people sussed this and went to the on site shop under the reception. It was half the price of the bar and the beer was cooler! They have a BBQ on a Thursday don’t pay the 15 euro they ask for it as the BBQ is only done on a grill indoors. Best to have your meal then watch the show just sit on the wall behind the snack bar to view no ones bothered us. You can watch the Greek show free. The food is also al laid out outdoors I saw prawns out there in the heat for quite a few hours! Personally I would not touch the food that was outside. I would not go back to this hotel because of location to far from things and it felt a bit tying. If you want to stay in the hotel and not move (like the Germans) then this will be great for you there are things going on if you want them bingo etc or the odd show. But it was not for me, nothing bad just not my cup of tea. Not recommended if you want to be near the action or for kids nothing about and the busy rd would put me off taking them. Out and about There are 4 bars near to the Hotel but again they are not cheap at 3.5 euro a bottle of beer they have own pools and a sea view though we did eat ion Zorbas on day it was ok but my partner did have the trots the day after ! I didn’t. I only had the trots once in the week to much sun I think not the food. There was the Romantic bar, never saw anyone in there once. Also Zorbas then one at the top can’t remember what that was called. Then on the same side towards Stallis is another little place with a pool and a scraggy but friendly dog. The beach in Stallis was nice. We even went to Malia what a dump full of legless teenagers! Heranossis was better and not to bad. Beer was about 2 euro in the towns some places are dearer mainly the brit pubs !! Food was cheap in the resort I can recommend Jannis Heart Of Gold it was fab proper Greek taverna overlooking the sea. It looks naff from the front but go round the back ! I can recommend the Goat yes Goat they also do rabbit and a few different things like the chicken in pastry (it’s coated with toasted crispy cornflakes) every meal we had was excellent! The wine was good as was the service. We paid about 35 euro for 2 with starter’s mains wine and a few beers! I would go for long lunch or dinner we went 3 times. Catch snacks all over the palace cheap. Night time in Stallis is ok plenty of bars and lots of taverna some with live music and Greek plate smashing. After a week in the resort it was enough as it did get a bit boring. There are a lot of boat trips to go on and water parks but they are expensive. IE £100 each to go on the catamaran for the day to Santorini. I did go to Santorini on the OV cruise I went on the second week of my holiday and I am glad I did not pay as it’s not that fantastic. If you don’t like heights don’t do Santorini you have to walk up 2000 steps up a cliff or get a cable car or a mad donkey (very cruel! don’t do it) We went to Heranossis shopping its full of tat shops and clothes for teenagers its also again expensive don’t expect bargains on clothes or handbags (shoes ok) ie 15 euro for a fake DNKY strappy top size xl I am a 14 and it looked like a size 8 ! Beer and Fags if you partake are cheap in the shops. There are lots of shops selling the same things fake gear and olive soap. The landscape is rugged and the area the hotel was at was not nice it was a bit dirty over the road the beach view is nice with all the rocks etc.

My girlfriend and I spent a week at the Grand in May, and have nothing but praise for this property and it's staff. The weather wasn't great for our stay - very unusual for Crete - but we still had a great time and were impressed by the high standards of the hotel. It's modern, well managed, spotlessly clean, and very good value ( if you shop around ). We paid extra for a Superior room and would definitely recommend you do likewise - the standard rooms are fine but it only costs a little to upgrade. It's true that the rooms are spread over a wide area and up a steep hill - anyone with walking difficulties would have to either steer clear or request a room at the lower end of the hotel. The staff deserve a special mention; the hotel was completely full during our stay and yet they never failed to be friendly, and worked tirelessy around the clock. The other bonus is the food, buffet - style breakfasts and evening meals with something for everyone, and always fresh and well - cooked. Downsides? Well the bar prices are on the high side, but this is a 4* hotel after all. And the bar service at night could be a little slow - one poor barman in charge of hundreds of guests. With this in mind I'd recommend that you walk 10 minutes into Stalis for evening entertainment. Hersonissos is a short bus ride in the other direction, but apart from jewellery shops there's little to recommend it. It's worth hiring a car, we shopped around in Stalis and got a very good rate for 2 days rental. Highlights were a trip to Aghios Nikolaos, the Aquaplus water park just outside Hersonissos, and traditional Greek villages such as Kritsa and Mohos. Just a final word about our tour operator - we got a great price for the holiday booking through Eclipse, the direct - sell arm of First Choice. But we honestly thought we were going to miss our flight back as the clueless rep and equally clueless driver spent an eternity hunting for one of their hotels in the resort of Gouves. We made the check - in with minutes to spare, only to find that our flight was substantially delayed anyway. Reps would normally warn you about this but she was hopeless. All in all though, a great holiday and top marks to the Grand. We wouldn't hesitate to go back some day.

Grand Hotel is an excellent property. My husband and I loved everything about it. The location, service, food, facilities etc. It's true that people with walking difficulties should think about booking this hotel twice unless they know for sure their room is on the first level by the lobby. Otherwise don't even bother. For people in good health it's perfect. The hotel is built on a steep hill and this is it's beauty. Three pools on different levels surrounded by lush gardens, every room with sea view ( sometimes blocked by another building ), fantastic lobby with waterfall and lots of chairs on several patios to sit and soak up the cretan atmosphere with the drink or without it. The Grand is not a beachfront property but it has an access to the beach in Nana Beach Resort just across the street. Another beautiful beach is a short walk away in Stalis. You can also walk to Hersonissos and believe me it is so worth it. You just have to see a part of town called Creta Maris and shopping is good. If you're looking for nightlife on your holiday Hersonissos is perfect for it. And you don't have to walk if you don't want to because the bus will take you to town for 1.1 euro almost from the hotel entrance. And I have to mention the people who work hard everyday to make your stay so memorable. Big thank you to all of you and special hello to our waiter Jorgos ( George ) who in our opinion outdid himself and everybody else in the dining room. Thumbs up! We had a car the whole time and used it to drive east, west and south as there is so much to see. For us the highlights were Rethymnon, Agios Nikolaos, Matala and Agia Galini and Palace of Knossos. We also spent two days on Santorini and fell in love with the island. It's so magical and stunning, there are no words to describe it. All in all, if we were to go to Crete again we would choose the Grand Hotel for sure. I'm including some of our photos with this review. To see more of them visit http://community.webshots.com/user/tenia115

Came back from Grand Hotel a few weeks ago…this is quite a nice 4* hotel, went there with our 4 years old daughter who had a blast with the great animation team.. we were lucky to be updated to a family room with as separate bedroom for our little girl…nice big rooms, beds are not really comfortable (hard pillow) but OK…restaurant is very nice.. restaurant manager is very friendly… I read that long pants were mandatory but actually ¾ pants are OK.. food is wonderful.. great buffet with lots of choices: cold, warm and lots of desserts…there is a Greek evening once a week on Thursday night by the pool, you have to pay for it but it is quite nice also…good food & dancing. They are three pools , the main one, a quiet one (no kids allowed) and a fun one with slides for kids (but the tiles are very slippery there!)…we stayed at the main pool with a bunch of different activities: aqua gym - with Astrid, Veronica or Lucia a very dynamic team - waterpolo, volleyball, darts.. and a bunch of different games…at night there is the mini disco run by the clowns for the kids..which is just the best.. my little girl loved it so much and was in love with Frankie a Great Belgian animator who was wonderful with the kids ..then we saw four different shows during our stay: the lions’ King, Cats, Grease-Travolta show and some Broadway highlights…these guys are doing a great wonderful job.. thumbs up for the animation team run by a great chief animator and wonderful dancers. There is also a mini club open during the days run by Andrea & Martina.. who are so nice with the kids, my little girl went there to put some special make up and had a blast. Stallis is close by by foot and it is very easy to go to Hersonissos by bus and from there to take a boat trip . No need to say we had a blast and we might return!

This is a 4* rated hotel by the travel agent, but officially has a 5* rating. I would highly recommend this hotel if you are looking for a fairly quiet, relaxing hotel but not too far away to walk to the local resort centre. Rooms: We were upgraded to a family room, which was very spacious. I did not see the twin/double rooms. There was a TV, but it only had Euronews and CNN in english, the rest were german (as were many of the guests!). The radio was not tuned in. There were twin beds pushed together, plus two extra single beds in our family room, a bath with shower over, hairdryer, air-con, shaver point, safe and mini fridge. Cleanliness: The hotel was extremely clean and our towels were changed every day even if we didn't ask for them to be. Food: The choice and variety of food in the hotel was very good, with a few different options on the buffet style dinner each evening of our stay (1 week). We arrived at the hotel in the early hours of the morning, so were told we would be able to have the dinner we missed on our last day as we would not be going until nearly midnight, even though we would be checking out at noon. The only downside was that the breakfast tended to sit there for a while, so it is better to go for breakfast between 7.30 and 9.00 am to avoid a skin on your scrambled egg! Location and layout: The hotel is stated as being in Hersonissos, but is actually much closer to Stalis. It took us under 15 minutes to walk to Stalis, but the road is pretty dark and slopes (so slightly more effort required to get back up again!). Stalis has everything you need - mini markets, bars, restaurants, gift shops, etc - and is set along the coast (many bars overlook the sea) so we did not bother to go to Hersonissos. There is a half hourly cheap bus service to both towns, but it ends at 10.30 pm. There is also the 'Happy Train' that runs regularly along the strip - a 'train' on wheels that trundles back and forth! It is positioned on a hillside (the area is very mountainous) so there are a few steps between the hotel levels. The porter takes you and your luggage to your accommodation in a little van (not really necessary!) and collects it when you are ready to check out. The accommodation is laid out as small, three story white blocks all with either a balcony or front garden (!) enclosed by its own wall or hedge. These are on three (or four?) levels up the hill, each with a pool. The lower pool is the main one with all-day eentertainment, aerobics, pool aerobics, darts, etc. The next level pool is the relaxing pool which is quiet and where no children are allowed. The top pool is the childrens' pool, but I never went that high! Staff: Everyone was very friendly, polite and helpful. The reception was manned 24 hours a day by a minimum of 2-3 people at all times. Facilities: There are tennis courts at the very top of the grounds (I never got up there!) but I thought they were a bit pricey to use. The entertainments team organised regular volleyball matches on the court and football games on the pitch. There was also a games room I never went looking for! The pool bar was only open until 6.30 pm, but was lovely. The lobby bar got very busy later, but didn't have much atmosphere. The snack bar is by the pool but under a latticed roof overlooking the sea. The food is very good - I highly recommend the pitta gyros. Prices: In the hotel, a large draught beer cost 3.90 euros. A spirit was approximately 5 euros. The same prices were charged for drinks at dinner. A lunchtime meal at the snack bar was between 4 and 6 euros depending on what you had. The safety in the room cost 20 euros for 1 week. In Stalis prices were cheaper, but varied a bit. For a nice meal you should expect to pay about 7 euros per head for one course, but you can get set menus for between 8 to 12 euros. A draught beer cost around 2.50 euros.