Beach Club Aphrodite

1 reader found this review helpful

Oh my god this is the worst hotel i have ever stayed in, we booked this hotel and got put on the other side of the road when they put all the english. Our shower dripped with rust, my bed had three slats which caved in. The food was terriable and the staff was so rude if you paid me to stay here i wouldnt not even for one night. It says there is a gym, yeah that costs £10 per hour oh and the sauna for another £10 an hour.

1 reader found this review helpful

My husband, my parents and I were planning to just stay a week in this hotel with the Group France/Belgique Loisirs but the volcano eruption extended our stay for an extra week. Very lucky for us ! We always felt welcome and were well served by the restaurant staff, friendly cleaners, smiling receptionist and untired manager and his team. The hotel welcomed a sudden group of 260 extra people stranded in Crete and we never felt less served. There was always enougth food and the animation team kept entertaining to their best so we didn't stress one bit. It almost felt like home. I even had the chance to play on the grand piano. What a superb vacation ! ps: best rooms (refurnished) are on the 3rd floor and furthest from the fun & loud night activity (till 23.00)

5 readers found this review helpful

Had a great holiday .The hotel was well-run with friendly staff .The room was carpeted with a fridge , hairdryer and power shower, and was a good size.The food was lovely,with lots of choice and the restaurant was efficiently run .The hotel is in an excellent seafront location ,just a short walk from the main street. Can't find anything bad to say about it.
We will definitely be going back next year.

2 readers found this review helpful

I used to be a rep in Crete for many years so I knew not to expect much but even I was surprised at the standards of this so called 4*.
Main points
- Paint peeling all over the hotel
- Food definitely not 4* standard and no typically Greek choices. Even on the Greek night there was no Greek dishes!!
- 50% of sunbeds old and need replacing
- Rooms in two of the accomodation blocks old and in need of renovation
- Windows around indoor pool and on wall to the see in need of a good cleaning
- No table clothes on covered outside area, feeling a bit like a school canteen
- Only news channels CNN, BBC World and Euronews in English language. Plenty of choice of German channels though.
- Downstairs toilets and courtesy shower room very smelly, expecially the mens!!
- Games area underground and smell of mould even in September after the hotel had been open all summer
- Beach bar closed on 1 Oct.
We arrived at 4am and found the reception and adjacent bar to be done out to 4* standard, sadly this was the only part of the hotel that was. We were escorted to the block at the back of the hotel by the nigh****chman, no porters here even though porters are standard at other 4*s in Gouves. We arrived at a row of 5 rooms that can only be described as 1970s chalets you might have found at Butlins and only got worse when you got inside. The front was a large, very dirty window with a door to the side and on entering the door you were faced with a corridor the length of the bedroom at the front. Behind the bedroom at the front containing two beds was another area with another 3 beds and no natural light so it felt like a prison cell. Taking up the back wall was the bathroom and another door with a very small window and a bit of sheet tacked up to provide privacy!! While the furniture was new there was not a thing to liven up the walls and I counted 5 different types of floor tile in the room where it was mixed and matched. Hardly 4*.
The next morning I went to reception to request a room change only to be told to go back as 12.30. When I went back at 12.30 I waited behind another British older couple who were begging for a change of room as they were next to the disco and could not sleep. They wanted to be in the main block of accom and would not accept another block, funny thing was the receptionist told them there were no rooms available in the main block yet I witnessed a coach load of Greeks checking out the very same morning meaning that there were plenty of rooms available. Not wanting to jeapordise my room change I kept my mouth shut but I got the distinct impression that if you were not Greek or German you were not getting a room in the main block.
I got my room change but not to the main block either but I just wanted a decent room so we moved to the block over the road from the hotel. It is decorated in very old fashion and is certainly not 4* either. Our room was at the very end of the top corridor and had a sea view over a bit of waste ground. If you can get over the waste ground then it was definitely worth it as the balcony was not overlooked by other rooms, I liked it.
The food is definitely not 4* either, I stayed at the Lavris in Gouves last year and found the food at the Aphrodite to be exactly the same. I was mostly dissapointed at the lack of Greek dishes, it is such a shame to go to Greece where the food is so fantastic yet not get even one Greek dish on the menu every night. I also think that you may struggle if you have children because to me there did not seem to be any choice for them apart from chips.
All in all the experience was OK but defintely not 4*. I stayed at the Lavris last year and found the room and food standard exactly the same which are the main two factors of an all inclusive holiday in my opinion. The only difference is that there is a TV in every room at the Aphrodite but who goes on holiday to watch the telly! The animation team did a good job and are a benefit to the hotel.
As the old saying goes it's better to be a good 3* than a bad 4*. The Aphrodite is certainly a bad 4*.

1 reader found this review helpful

Just returned from Aphrodite Beach - it was great. The room was clean, the bathroom was huge, the restaurant was well run by Yannis & his staff. The bar staff were very good - especially Nik in the Blue Bar. The animation team were excellent, the boys (Bob & Dali)particularly, working their socks off into the wee small hours - & both very easy on th eye!!!
The buildlings could do with a lick of paint, the steps from the pool to the tunnel need new anti-slip strips, more public toilets are needed on the complex & some of the sunbeds need to be renewed. But these minor things did not detract from a smashing holiday.
Yes the owner could be a little overbearing - but i honestly believe its just his (weird) sense of humour..............

1 reader found this review helpful

wow what a great holiday we had, me and my partner stayed here from the 13th to the 28th june, we had two fantastic weeks at the hotel. The restaurant manager (janis) was very friendly and chatty always making you welcome, bar staff friendly too although sometimes it could take a while to get a drink at real busy times. The animaters are a kind of there own they were absolutely fantastic and very hardworking, they make great efforts to get you involved so you have a real good hols. Rooms were cleaned every day, towels changed every day and clean bedding at least twice a week. Food was spot on, i like to try different foods and found their greek yoghurt and honey was gorgeous at breakfast specially with peaches and bits thrown in, i got addicted to the figs and cherries soaked in honey at the lunch and evening meals. Gouves itself, nice views but nothing else to offer so book some trips to the waterpark or boat trips to other places. All in all a fantastic holiday. Big thanks to Dali, Bob, Booboo, and rest of animation team.

3 readers found this review helpful

Please! please! do not go to this hotel, apart from the owner being a total bully this hotel is no way a 4 star - 3 at best! This man made our holiday hell, he continuously bullied various members or our party and made a scene when ever he could. A purse went missing from one of our rooms after the maintenance man had been in to repair the fridge. We thoroughly searched the room and went and reported it to the receptionist, she told us to wait in reception until the owner turned up (we waited an hour he did not come). When we returned to the room the purse had mysteriously reappeared. My son accidently left bike hire keys by the pool and enquired at reception - the owner appeared with them in his pocket and taunted my son (aged 23) demanding 10 euros from him for the keys, (this man was not joking) when my son refused he told him to go back to the rental place as they would charge him much more and he raised his walking stick to hit him, my son had to snatch the keys from him, he is an evil man. Our holiday, like everyones should be a treasured memory (14 family members were in our party - 4 generations) this holiday was a horrendous nightmare!! The bar staff were rude, and ignorant, on one occasion one literally threw three empty plastic glasses on the floor in protest because I asked for a large coke. The maitrede is no better showing people up when he could, no manners what so ever telling people if they do not like his restaurant do not come here! The hotel inside is ok apart from 2 dangerously wobbly balconys in two of our rooms - the outside pool area is a death trap. The pool has 2 inches of scum around it and so many missing tiles they are uncountable, the ladders have no slip treads on them and my partner ripped his shorts on the underside they were that sharp. The animation team were great, Bob and Hannah were lovely they all worked so hard, so thanks to them they made some nice moments. The sunloungers have got to be from the 70's no joking, they are held together with rusty bolts my mother got a 5 inch scratch on her leg from one. Having a 15 month old grandaughter toddling around the pool area was a nighmare, and also there were no baby changing facilities for my 5 month old grandson - so it was up to the bedroom at every change. The pool floor area was not hosed down once during our week stay, and a carrier bag with a disposable nappy and what looked like fruit peelings was left for 5 days in the indoor pool area before it was removed. Do not go to this hotel it will spoil what precious time you have for your holidays, I feel I have not had a holiday and am still in shock and horror at how this man got away with what he did, he terrorised us to the point were we were terrified to say anything for fear of what he would do. DO NOT GO!!

1 reader found this review helpful

very quiet resort near very sleepy village where you can while away the hours great resturants nearby in the village and one even makes his own "baileys type drink."
great pool and bar which does snacks and nothing was too much trouble for the barman.
it bit out of the way but worth it and would recommend a car for at least some of the time

1 reader found this review helpful

My wife and I had a most enjoyable week in this hotel. Please be aware that this is a Greek run hotel which serves Greek food and the British holidaymaker is in the minority.
We found the food to be tasty and varied although a lot of English holidaymakers hated it, especially when they found out that they did not do fried breakfasts.
That aside you can meet all nationalities from Europe if you want and we made friends with Dutch, Latvian, German and Austrian couples just sitting in the bar at night.
The hotel is clean and well run although the service at the bar can be slow at times the bar staff try their best.
Entertainment goes on all day at the pool and is held in an amphitheatre next to the indoor pool at night. Because the entertainment is separate from the bar area it gives those of us who wish to sit and relax the perfect opportunity to do so.
The pool area can be very crowded and noisy during the day but the beach at the front of the hotel is quiet and relaxing but small. About 200 mtrs. To the left of the hotel on the beach road there is a large public beach which is run by the local council and is kept clean with a lifeguard on duty all day.
The hotel is situated at the end of the main shopping street with plenty of bars and restaurants all around.
Only minus point about the hotel were, no children’s pool. No depth of pool markings, no fire alarm tests, otherwise no problems.
Although the hotel is under the flight path of the planes landing at the airport. And you can hear, them the noise is not intrusive.

2 readers found this review helpful

The Aphrodite beach hotel was beautiful and clean. The pool area was nice although there is nowhere to escape to when the entertainment starts - which ended up getting a bit annoying.
We never saw any entertainment there. The first few nights we intended to however the shows were cancelled. By the time the third night came we found our feet in the local village and ended up staying away from the hotel.
The major down fall was the food. It was entirely catered towards the Germans but also was mainly cold and dry. We ended up eating out 6/7 nights.
We had an argument with the manager one evening with regards to drinks. We noticed that most people apart from the few English there had one coloured band and the English had another colour. When we arrived at the hotel we were given an information pack that advised we could drink until 12 o clock.
We arrived back at the hotel one night just after 11pm and went to get a drink. We were refused drinks and told that the colour of our band indicates we can only drink till 11. Advised our information pack does not state this and got into a row with the manager.
Not very accommodating to us Brits at all, but the surrounding area was lovely with fantastic restaurants and lovely people. The hotel and staff ruined it.