Hotel Heliotrope

Me and a few of my friends stayed there in july 07. i would like to say its a nightmare of a hotel. the staff are surly the rooms are disgraceful and the amount of steps to the room is shambolic. we were staying in room 605 and we counted 150 plus steps to our floor level. the other option is a lift which works when it feels like. also it is at least at ten minuute walk in to stalis. not exactly a stones throw!!!!!!!!!! overall avoid avoid

Booked this hotel on a very last minute deal with less than twelve hours before departure. Very nervous about the fact that this was only a two star hotel,However on arrival we were quite pleased with first impressions.The pool and bar area are very clean and tidy with many sunbeds freely available throuhout the day, A good selection of music ranging from the 80s upto present day we are in our mid forties and found ourselves enjoying many good tunes. The breakfast was on a three day cycle of scambled eggs,boiled eggs and fried eggs with cold cheese and meats together with traditional bread and jams. The rooms were clean and tidy and maid service each day except sundays with clean sheets and towels three times a week,additional charge for aircon 75 euros for two weeks -fridge 20 euros for two weeks and room safe 20 euros for two weeks. The only draw back with this hotel is that its on a quite steep hill and 15/20 min walk into stalis beach road however this was sometimes quite nice of an evening to have a walk.The lift was a typical 1980s spanish type single metal door but always functional. The resort itself was full of restauants with many to chose ,we found Roma ,Muses and Georges the best but we could not try them all. All in all we found the Hotel to be clean tidy and all the staff very helpful,the recently refurbed dining and bar area being very good.The only fault all be it very small was that it was on a hill otherwise very good value for money for people looking for a peacefull break - not for those with breathing or walking difficulties

We too were slightly apprehensive after reading some mixed reviews but on arrival at the hotel we were very pleased with our bargain last minute break. When we arrived we were expecting the climb up the steps to the room, but were pleased to be on the 2nd floor which wasnt too high up. The views were amazing. The rooms were basic, but clean. It was dark with the shutters closed so you could get a good nights sleep. The airconditioning and fridge were well worth the extra expense and the a/c was efficient and quiet, especially in the 40 degree heat when we were there. The pool was lovely and looking at pictures from the hotel web site looks like the whole pool area has been refurbished recently and was clean and generally quiet. There were plenty of free sunbeds round the pool but a slight shortage of umbellas, but there seemed to be some available when you asked. We were bed and breakfast and the brekkie did get a bit repetitive. With bacon and beans and some eggie dish. I was slightly dissapointed at the lack of fruit and the general variety during our stay, but really that was a minor thing. Would agree with other reviews that the young women receptionist was miserable and she did spoil our last day. On the second to last day our rep told us we could keep our room if we asked on the morning of departure (for 20E til 6pm and 30E until you leave in the small hours of the morning). Unfortunately the rep gave us bad advice and our room had already been allocated (the grumpy receptionist barked at me that i should have asked her the day before) so we had to get out of our room at noon and spent the day by the pool before our 11pm pick up. The good thing was that there were some basic shower facilities in the toilets by the pool so you can have a shower and freshen up before the evening flight home. It was a short walk into Stalis and we found many nice places to eat and a great supermarket slightly further along near the cash point, which sold all sorts of things (included a plug multiplyer since there was only one socket in the toom and that was used for the fridge). We didnt book any of the rip off Thomas Cook trips but instead wandered into the town and booked independently via one of the shops. Due to the heat we only did one trip which was a boat trip to Dia island for 25Euro. It was well worth it and a nice chance to see some of the coast and get some sea air. Dia is very barren, but a nice spot to swim from the boat in the crystal blue sea. One other trip that we did was the Cretan night for 25 euros - quite a nice evening drive into the hills for an evening of dodgy costumes, dancing, nice food and lots of wine!! Overall a great holiday, just what we wanted!! Would definately go back.

We booked this holiday at the last minute but we could not have chosen a better hotel or area. We arrived as 6 in the morning & found we had been allocated a high room & my husband has asthma (which they had not been told about) within minutes with no fuss the night porter allocated a large lower floor room. The hotel was spotless the views magnificent & all the staff were efficient & friendly. I agree it is not an ideal spot if you have any disability but the taxi's were readily available & at only 6 euros to Stalis so did not present us with a problem. Also their air conditioning was (unlike many places we have stayed) efficient & silent!

After reading a few mediocre reviews about this hotel, we were quite apprehensive about our stay. However, when we arrived, our doubts were put to rest. The hotel itself was beautiful and set in a hillside, with sweet little features like a stone well surrounded by a seating area, lovely plants, super clean and tempting pool with pool bar. We were greeted by a lovely, kind receptionist - he was very polite and helpful even in the wee hours of the morning ( we arrived at 3 am!) Our room was on the 4th floor, a little bit of a climb as lifts did not go up to that floor, but we thought it was a good 30 second workout to counteract the afternoon ice creams and fresh doughnuts on the beach. The view was our favourite, after so many weeks of rain here in uk, I can't say how chuffed we were to wake up to amazing mountainous and sea views with clear blue skies and sunshine every morning. The room itself was basic, but comfortable and very clean, which was perfect for us. The location of the hotel was great, such close proximity to the town centre (about less than 10 mins walk) without the bustle of it - so relaxing. We loved our break so much, that we're planning another to the same hotel in september. Highly recommended!!! We miss it already!

After reading mostly negative reviews about the Heliotrope I was really worried about what we were letting ourselves in for. However, on arrival, the hotel was a lovely surprise! Our rooms were all on different floors but on request we managed to sort out rooms on the same floor so we could all be together and this was done without any hassle or complaint by the hotel staff. It is set in a hill so there is a LOT of stairs....this is no place for unfit people!!! Being on the fourth floor and having no lift was a pain at first especially dragging all the luggage up there, but when we woke up in the morning and saw the breathtaking view it was worth it. The rooms are simple with the essential minimums in. Air Con and the fridges had to be purchased separately but even this was fairly cheap. Dark shutters kept out all the light, even on waking up in the morning you couldn't actually tell if it was daylight until you opened the windows but it meant you could get a great nights sleep. The majority of the staff were lovely apart from a rather rude abrupt lady on reception who made you feel like she was interrogating you everytime you passed through reception. Other than that the staff made us feel welcome and are really friendly! The pool was lovely!!! I would say to grab a sunlounger as soon as you can if you want to laze by the pool as there aren't that many to go around and Crete is extremely hot! For half-board the food is quite basic and is mainly greek but there was always at least two english dishes and plenty of salad etc to live on! Overall our stay was extremely enjoyable and I would most definitely consider returning to the Heliotrope on future holidays!

On arrival,we were pleased to see a lovely hotel set on and later we saw into a hill. Our busload was dealt with very efficiently we located our room which was 105 above reception. Despite not eating meat I was glad to see I always had choices and enjoyed the food. If you must have chips etc. every day, you could walk down to Stallis or along to Malia. There was a small shop selling water,papers,juice.chocs. etc. just a few yards outside the hotel. We only paid for the airconditioning for a couple of nights and only had it on before we went to bed. (In summer you would probably need to use it regularly). Brown shutters were delightful and the room was basic but just what we needed. Beds were hard,room was small but windows/shutters opened onto balcony: If you are less then fit probably better on the first floor. Staff like anywhere else, different personalities but overall very pleasant and efficient. We have been to many Greek islands and Athens, adored Evia island but I personally have never seen such a beautiful island as Crete. Little village of Kritsa seemed idyllic and Spinalonga worth another visit. Just sorry we never bit the bullet and went to Santorini. Better using the bus and going on your own trips via local tour operators,varying prices as ever. From the many balconies and terraces of the hotel the view of the mountains and sea was absolutely spectacular. We felt very priviledged to have stayed in such a beautiful setting. K.D. Dundee Scotland

After reading the reviews i was very worried about my holiday to the Heliotrope hotel. Yes the rooms are dark but least you get a good night sleep and thats is solved by opening the shutters to allow light in. The maids were even lovely and tidied up for us, even lifting my boyfriends underwear and folding it neatly for him. The hotel is on a hill so maybe not ideal for people with walking difficulities but to be honest i cant see it being a big problem. The staff were very helpfull and the pool bar man was very entertaining and we were happy to drink there. The food is basic but i didnt expect the 'Ritz'. Take extra cash to eat out a few times and you wont mind the buffet style dinners, its still food after all and we just ended up having rolls and chips which i was happy with. Stalis is a really good localtion as you have all the bars, restraunts in Stalis, you can get a taxi into Malia for the night life (10euro in taxi to Malia or hersonissos)hersonissos is at the other end and is really nice for sea food restraunts, shops and the pubs and clubs are better that Malia. All in all i enjoyed my stay and after 2weeks didnt want to come home. We were happy to pay for the hair conditioning and knew it was payable locally. Dont be worried as it is nice and peaceful and you didnt have a war in the morning to get a space at the pool you can get up at your own leisure and you will get a space no bother, which from past holidays never happened

We went to Hotel Heliotrope a few years back and I must say it wasn't one of my favourite holidays I've been on. First we get to the airport which really could do with being renevated as it was so small, we waited absolutley ages for our cases and when our last one came it had been teared but we didn't bother claiming for it. By the time we got outside the rep was very vague at telling us where to go to find our transport. We was suprised when we found that we was going to the hotel by taxi- this was good as we got to the hotel quickly and didn't have to keep stopping at the other hotels. When we got to the hotel it was early hours of the morning and we went straight to the reception where we was given our keys, however we was disgusted to find out that we had to pay for the air conditioning each day we wanted to use it. When we booked the holiday we had the travel agents triple check that the air con was free otherwise we would have taken a fan. We spoke to the rep about this the next day who was useless you could clearly tell that he didn't want to be there and was very sarcastic to us. We was also told it would be a 5 minute walk into the town- this was a lie! It was more like 20 minutes even more if you were unable to walk much like one in my party. Also when walking to the town you have to go under a road tunnel only small but it can still be very dangerous if there is any traffic coming. The town was pretty lively but there wasn't much there at all. The best way to see all the local sites go on the Happy Train it goes to all the important sights- well worth it. The shop just down from the hotel is very friendly and has all you need and is very cheap. The hotel rooms were very basic you had to hire the fridge, the rooms were very dark, insects were able to get in and the bed were very uncomfortable. The hotel food was also basic and was clearly not catering for British people, there was plenty of food but not to a high quality standard I seem to remember melon as the dessert every night! The waitress is very intimidating and is scary at first but after a few days she starts to be more kind she copes really well on her own though! I didn't think much of the hotel pool it was a rectangle which needed to be cleaned a lot! There was green slipperly stuff around the edges which made it very dangerous, there wasn't any green carpet/mat type thing to make it safe. The water was low compared top the sides of the pool which made it very hard to get out. Also the pool had a lot of insects around which chased you around the pool and liked to hover around the exits where the green slippery stuff is. Day and night you constantly heard the crickets (I think they have another name) they were so so so loud it was deafening! Something else we didn't like was the trees by the pool, they had some sort of brown dried up banana sort of things on which kept falling on us I ended up getting 2 cuts from them. It was very boring and quiet around the pool there was nothing to do I got so bored one day I got the dried banana looking things and made faces with them. When I stayed at the hotel there was hardly any British 5 of us in total! The Germans are very full of themselves especially the one who thought he was David Beckham and constantly paraded around the body showing off his body (which was not that hot). The beach is better than the around the hotel however by the time you've walked to the beach in the heat you are really tired. I tried to go to the beach a lot- even though we have to pay for the beds and parasoles there was more action than at the hotel where you could hear a pindrop. I recommend that you go to the cake shop in Stalis they do some gorgeous doughnuts and I also recommend a chocolate crepe! As we didn't find the hotel much cop we nicknamed the hotel to HOTEL HELLTROLLOPE! hell being the worst we've been in and Trollope because of all the walking to and from the town. When we returned to Birmingham airport our suitcase was completley ripped on the back and it was new! We really couldn't be bothered to claim on it so we left it. The next day we phone up our tour operator and claimed our money from having to pay for the air conditioning. I don't think I'll be going back to Crete again in any hurry!

We set off from East Midlands airport, and whilst the flight was on time and everything went well, the late night flight was still a wearysome experience. However, as this was our first long trip together for more than 20 years, we were feeling both apprehensive and excited at the same time, and therefore didn't notice the intial feelings of fatigue. On arrival in Heraklion airport, and after the usual baggage reclaim, we were at a loss as to 'where' we were to go, for our resort transfer, so heading for the exit, we approached a 'rep' from a different tour operator, who politely told us were to go, literally !! After finding the coach we were transfered to the Helitrope within an hour. It was approximately 4:30 am now, and tiredness had kicked in big style, so we were less than impressed when the receptionist told us we had a booking for 'only one persons'. Eventually, he gave us a room, I had asked for a double bedded room, the receptionist then explained that all the rooms in Helitrope had twin beds, we were given a key and vague directions as to the rooms location. We headed off into the very ancient lift, and two floors later arrived, at the lifts final destination, which was two floors lower than our room, so had to walk a fairly steep and long flight of steps with our suitcases. On arrival into our room, I went into panic mode, this was nothing like the hotel pictures I had seen, it was small dark and the best way to describe it would be 'rustic' to say the least!! We decided to sleep and sort things later, as we were very tired by now. After a few hours sleep we went to see the receptionist, a different guy, much more helpful, who offered us another room, only this one was on the 7th floor, the previous expedition had only been to the 3rd !! We decided to look at the room anyway, and after two lifts and several flights of stairs, we arrived at our destination, and what a difference!! The room was bright and airy, simply furnished, granted, but it had a sofa and two armchairs, a fridge, air condition unit, decent sized bathroom, and a terrace with wonderful views of the mountains, and of course the much desired double bedded room!! We were delighted to move and did so, not really noticing the climbs up the stairs. We soon settled down and decided we had moved into the 'Penthouse Suite'. Meals at Helitrope can be an experience, not that there is anything wrong with the food, its all good homemade fare, although choice can be a bit sparse, the 'experience' is from the lady who runs the restaurant, as she does so with an iron rod!! We thought she was going to be horrid and even had a nickname for her, as she has a slight Germanic twang to her accent. To be fair, after getting used to her 'ways' and her getting used to ours, we changed our opinion of her and admired the way she coped almost single handed in there, however, not someone who I would care to cross !!! To sum up our experience of the Helitrope.... 'Its Rustic', there are no frills to the place at all, everything is basic, very basic to be honest, however, its clean and comfortable. The food is (again) basic, but, I would say I never got fed up with any meal, ( which I have done in other hotels with lots more choice) ! The staff were very friendly and helpful, ( apart from, in our experience, the night receptionist ) but, then, we all have bad days don't we ? The Heliotrope is a bit off the beaten track, approximately 15 mins to the beach and town area, so no good for people with walking difficulties, and whilst there is no Lager Lout wildlife to annoy you, there are some wildlife louts called Cicardas ( I believe) which are grasshoppper like bugs that can make an almost deafening noise when there all on form, the biggest 'bug' bear though has to be the amount of walking that has to be done within the hotel and to get anywhere. I think we can honestly say we quite enjoyed our stay in Stalis and the Helitrope, and would consider Crete as a holiday deatination in the future.