Hotel Mirabello

We stayed here for two nights - we arrived late evening after getting off the ferry, had one day looking around Herkalion then went to another part of Crete the following day. The hotel is in a residential area - when we arrived it was dark and we got lost when we went in search of food. The streets were badly lit and it is very close to a dodgy looking park. The hotel was clean but very basic. The staff were friendly and helpful. To be honest I wouldn't recommend going to Herklion at all but if you did I think that Mirabello is probably the best budget option in the town.

We opted for the absolute cheapest twin room on offer - and probably got what we deserved. The room itself was adequate (two beds plus a fan - no air conditioning), but the shared facilities left a little to be desired (e.g. one of the toilets had trouble flusing). In the end it did us well enough for our time in Heraklion, though its value for money compared poorly with our accommodation in other towns on the island. As many of the other reviews here seem very positive, I would recommend paying a little extra if you stay here, and getting one of the better rooms.

This hotel was absolutely perfect for our stay! Adorable, homy, very clean, and close to everyting we needed! Thank you so much for your hospitality, help, and wonderful stay!

We found this hotel on the website and were impresed with the service and help from the very start. On arrival we were greeted with friendly warm faces who spoke English very well. Nothing we asked was a problem, we planned to stay for one night and ended up here for 3. On the RARE occasion the staff weren't sure of the answer to our' tourist' questions they did all they could to find out. The room we stayed in was spotlessly clean, serviced daily and included a balcony which enabled us to look at the beautiful sunsets and the people of the city. This, the people and the central location made this hotel a pleasure to stay.

A bang for your buck . . . the rooms and bathrooms (shared or private) are simple but clean, the hotel owner is friendly and accomodating. The location couldn't be better. I'd stay here again.

We agree with Lonely Planet's review of this hotel. The Mirabello is very handy, clean and well priced. We always stay here when we come through Iraklion - this is our 5th stay here.

I stayed a couple different times here. It's relatively quiet in the evening, but you are in the heart of the city so it's not THAT quiet. The upper-floor rooms are definitely quieter than the ground floor. The beds are fairly hard, and the first room I stayed in had VERY lumpy pillows. Make sure you have the room type you want since the online reservation system is confusing - I wanted one room with two beds and ended up with two rooms with one bed in each. They changed it for me without problem. This hotel has shared bathrooms, but apparently some rooms have their own bathroom. No matter, since the shared bathrooms are separate from the shared washrooms (which have a tub and the typical handheld shower). You have your own sink in your room anyway. The shared rooms are usually empty especially if you bathe in the evening. This hotel now has one Internet terminal for 2 Euros per hour (1-hour minimum), in the 1st-floor common room where there are also a couple of couches, a coffee table, a small dining table for 4, and a television. No breakfast is provided. It's a short walk to lots of shopping and stores. Bring lots of cash, since I reserved with a credit-card deposit and expected to pay the remainder with the card; however, the manager said they accept only cash. If you reserve this way, print your receipt since the manager may ask for the full amount, forgetting that you already paid a deposit. Another thing - the first floor is usually smoky because the manager (owner?) smokes a lot. Amazingly, it does not get very far, even to the first-floor rooms or the common area. Still, if you're allergic to cigarette smoke you should be aware of this (though you should not go to Greece if you can't stand cigarette smoke - so many people smoke there).

The value for the price is lacking at this hotel. Granted, there are not too many budget options in Iraklio (and if your lucky, you should not have to spend the night in Iraklio since the only thing worth doing is the Archeological Museum and Knossos, but our ferry pulled in aroudn 8:00pm, so we had to stay), but I have had far better for the price. There are rooms with, and without bathrooms and as far as I could tell, none of the rooms have AC, only a small fan placed in the room. Also, you can't leave the window open becase of noise; thus, the rooms get very stuffy as the night progresses. In addition, on the floors with shared bathrooms, there is only one toilet and one shower each for men and women. If you have too spend the night in Iraklio, its not a bad place to stay, but its law value.

This hotel is in an excellent location close to the seafront, with very friendly staff. We found our room (twin beds with a shared bathroom) clean but basic. It was fine for a couple of nights when we arrived (being only about 15 mins from Heraklion airport) but I wouldn't have wanted to stay there longer than that.

Apon arrival at 7 am off the ferry, Hotel Mirabello gave us a room when no other hotels were open or available. We were able to sleep for the rest of the morning and have a shower in a clean, well maintained facility. The room rates were very reasonable and rooms very clean. The family operated hotel offers amazing help with all travel needs, local and off the island of Crete. They assisted us in arranging ferries, buses for local attractions, and staying in other towns around the island, as well as going to some of the other islands. There were arrangements made at other hotels that were able to pick us up for bus and ferry locations; such links to other hotels are (-) on Santorini. We very much enjoyed our stay and will be back!!!! Bon Voyage!!! Thank you for everything--Kostas!!!