Grecotel Creta Palace

Booked a 7 day short notice get away through Sovereign at the Grecotel Certa Palace covering the last week in April 2007. I was apprehensive, knowing that the hotel was about 20 years old.Would it be a little tired and not quite able to maintain the 5 star rating it still aspires to?. First impressions, arriving after 11p.m., that we were the only guests in the place. Very quiet. We prefer it that way rather than the bar be over run with loud artists of one kind or another. Our luggage was taken to our room on the third floor. (Other accomadotions consisted of Block Bungalows in well kept grounds which looked O.K.) Room was very good. Bathroom very modern with new fittings and swish bath with brillient shower. Large mirrors and a hair dryer that had power enough to really dry whats left on top. Beds were large and hanging space was more than adiquate. A safe was in the room, free of charge. An empty fridge was also available with invitation to use it as we required. Balcony with easy chairs overlooked the pool and beach. Food was the BEST. Fresh, well cooked, exellent variety, well served. Resteraunt was the place to visit when the rush had gone. This didnt detract from the choice of the menu. Beakfast , we always had in the very charming open courtyard area. All the staff throughout the hotel were very obliging and trying very hard to maintain standards. As always, your fellow guests have a great deal of imput as to your enjoyment of your surroundings.For the first four days the hotel was pleasently paeceful, with a mainly Tutonic magority. However, the remaining days saw an infux of more eastern europen visitors and the hotel became, as I`m sure is it`s goal, more of a paying concern. We played tennis most days but it cost 9 euro an hour for the use of the court. I complained to both the hotel and to our rep. Each blamed the other for imposing the charge for using existing hotel facilities. The bar prices were `minty` as was the wine at table. They are gready in that regard. Would make more with a sensable price structure. The hotel was well placed adjacent to a vast expance of beach. The sand was the type that is diffiicult to walk on. Very soft. Decking was layed out to get you easily to the vast array of sunbeds and sun shades. Hotel is in easy reach of Rethymnon (taxi 6 euro) which is well worth a visit if you stick to the `old town`.

We have just spent 2 weeks at the Creta Palace 2st Sept - 5th Oct 2006 Got off to a bad start - arrived 4 pm the room allocated to us would not be available until 12 noon the following day. The reception staff were very apologetic and we were given a bungalow suite with private pool, wine, fruit etc, all very nice but we just wanted to get unpacked and start to enjoy our holiday. Every help was given in the actual move but by the time we settled in the first day of our break had been lost. We were now in 202 on second floor, it overlooked the pool and the sea had a generous balcony, good bathroom, all very clean but a little tired The beds and pillows would have been fine in institution of incarceration. Let’s put all that behind us and have a nice drink in the Talos Bar before dinner. Ouch! 15 euros for 2 gin & tonics and not very large measures. We didn’t get upset about it for less than that sum we repaired each evening to our balcony with a litre of Tanqueray and 7 cans of very nice Tuborg tonic from the complex shop which lasted almost a week. Grecotel could have a further 70 or 80 euros a week in bar sales but greed killed the goose. The choice of restaurants was not as advertised. The Labyrinth Restaurant, with garden section and very basic internal decor, was on 4 evenings each week the only option unless you splashed out the 58 euros surcharge for the Lobster dinner and Greece floorshow in King Minos Restaurant. As stated in other reviews evening main courses were only 3, mostly white meat, a vegetarian and Greek special. The buffet for starters, sweets and at breakfast time were excellent always a good choice, well replenished and kept tidy. On a few occasions at breakfast and dinner when due to the inclement weather the outside section (where smoking is permitted and do they take advantage) was not used a wait of 10 - 15 minutes for a table was the norm. Despite being very busy the restaurant staff were always friendly, helpful and cheerful. The pool and beach area were all adequate, plenty of sun beds, good, service without being pushy at the pool side and everything you would want at the beach bar. My wife particularly enjoyed the daily water aerobics session. All in all we had a pleasant break enjoyed Rethymnon and the West of Crete. In our opinion the Creta Palace is basic 4 stars, does not live up of the Thomson a la carte hype and is not particularly good value for money.

We spent 6 days in this hotel at the end of August 2006.8 2ad&2children) It's not more than a resort hotel. Fortunately enough you can eat outisde for breakfast & dinner, but this is the smooking area.People do smoke a lot. The non smooking area is located inside the restaurant , and has the charme of a youth hostel . Cheap lights , extremely poor decoration in the dining hall . Staff is friendly. Food is nothing special. Pork is the runner. Extra nights are expensive ( 53€ for a lobster dinner , 43 € to visit a farm.. . Spaghetti at the italian restaurant : +- 20.00€. . Buffet credit is 11€ for HB . Wine is about 20€ . The hotel beach is clean , but the beach next to the hotel is very dirty. Pools are ok. Unfortunately the photos of the entrance do not match with the rest of the place.( see dining room ) . We would not return to the place and look for something else. by the way, they could not get rid of the ants in our bathroom for the whole week, " its nature" we have been told...

My family,wife and two kids (11,16 years old) spent one week in August at this hotel. We found it to be overall very nice and the service was very good. The hotel area is nicely situated with the pool area just 50 mtrs from the beach. The food was not top-class but better than average except for the lunch at the main restaurant Labyrinth which was average. We had fullboard so we could choose to eat at the Ariadne pool brasserie which we preferred. The rooms were ok but nothing special ( we had a room in a bungalow with part sea-view). The poolarea was ok but we were a little bit disappointed that the main pool was sea-water instead of fresh-water. Watch out for the security-guy who came every morning at 10:00 sharp to take notes if you had reserved a sunbed with a towel. At 11:00 (sharp) he returned and if you were not sitting at your sunbed he immediately removed not only your towel but also other belongings too ! We found it a little bit strange. Our overall opinion is that this hotel is not up to its 5-star rating. But we will consider visiting another Grecotel in the future.

A lovely hotel. We were treated with courtesy from the moment we arrived at reception. The room was large and airy with a great view over the sea. The bathroom was fully tiled, large with a shower over the bath. The food was excellent, with 5 courses each night, i.e. soup, cold buffet, hot buffet, dish of the day and a very good selection of desserts (not good for the waistline). The swimming pool, although salt water, was large, there was also a small indoor pool and a freshwater pool, just a little away from the complex. Being a de luxe category, the drinks were expensive at the hotel, but a 10-15 minute walk takes you to Platania where there are lots of cheap tavernas. Entertainment was not to our liking - Snchronized swimming on Wednesday of each of our weeks there! Lots of Russians, Germans, Dutch, with a small spattering of Brits. The only hotel I have been to recently where management actually check that the sunbeds with towels on are being used, and if they are empty for an hour, they remove the towels. That has to be a first! If you go into Platanias, beware of the Club Greece touts. We got caught, it was quite interesting, but not just the 60 minute tour we were assured would take place - more like 4 hours!

Just returned from Crete. Stayed in Room 106. Highest point: Staff very friendly. Everyone spoke English well enough. Lowest point: There was not really. In-room movies would have been nice though. Room: Quite spacious, with extremely large balcony. Housekeeping very good, with even turn-down service. Pool: Unfortunately saltwater. Enough sunbeds. No poolbar, but service at poolside, athough not too frequent. Beach: Large, plenty of sunbeds. Not sandy, o.k., but not perfect for kids. Main restaurant: Nice setting, very good staff. Always ready to help you. No problem with sitting, they move tables without hassle. Food: Above average. Breakfast bores you after the 5th day though. Dinner buffet good. Dinner a la carte is rather weak, selection is only 3 (greek, vegetarian, international), quality is not up to that of the hotel. Wine list is limited. Bars: Beach bar staff excellent, drinks o.k., food quality very good but not enough variety. Talos Lounge bar good. Entertainment: Weak. Would return but not keen on it.

My wife,my 11 year old daughter and I,stayed at Creta Palace in July last year! after reading certain reviews,I felt that I must defend this hotel. We travelled with Thomson A La Carte(more on that later). We arrived at the airport and after some confusion found our Taxi. with A LA Carte,you are allocated extra baggage allowance (and boy can my wife use it!) We travelled with 3 large suitcasea and a small one and minimal hand baggage.We clearly needed an estate car or similar.After much shrugging of shoulders,hand waving and trying to cram my expensive luggage into an impossible space,I went back to the rep and was allocated 2 taxis Hooray! On arrival at the hotel,11.30 at night,our check in was fast,efficient and courteous. Our room was clean,spacious,with a view to die for!The usual Grecotel Privelege 'goodies' were in the room,we were very happy after a lousy journey and airport experience! We found the food throughout our holiday to be excellent(remember we are talking 'mass catering' here).One thing that really stuck out to me,were how imaginative the breakfasts were.Not only the usual bacon,sausage and eggfest,but things like fried aubergines and courgettes,just breaking the breakfast monotony! We found all of the staff courteous,helpful,immaculate in appearance.No complaints! I highly recommend the Beach Party.It was one of those magical nights.We ate,drank,danced and partied,to a Cretian sunset and well into the night Magical! Unfortunately,my wife lost her Gucci watch at the party(too much partying).The staff,and even the guests combed the beach for two days unsuccessfully. We contacted the Thomson rep.She was hopeless.In the end,reception wrote us out a full loss report,put us in a cab to the Police station in Rethymnon,rang the Police and translated.They were superb! Now the negative points and they all lie with Thomson! Paying A La Carte prices,they boast of superior service,top treatment,basically they tout it (and charge for)a top grade service!Pathetic! Apart from the extra baggage allowance,there was no difference between their Platinum service and this! In fact Platinum is better! The rep was never there,our 2 return taxis we sorted out with the 24hr helpline.Thomson were pathetic!A la Carte? More like Horse and Cart! On my return, I complained to Thomson,after recieving the standard letter,I wrote again as it was obvious that they had not even read my letter or answered any of the points in it.The reply was equally dismissive! I gave up. Has anyone else noticed the decline in standards since Tui took over Thomson? In summary Creta Palace?Great.Thomson a La Carte ? It aint worth the money,try one of the other 'Prestige' brands,they're far better!

The official rating of this hotel is five star, but some of the characteristics of this hotel did not match the standards of other five star hotels that I have stayed in. The room that we were originally given was very small and the decoration/fittings in both the bedroom and en-suite was rather tired. After making our representative from the holiday company aware of this, she inspected our room , agreed with us that it was very small and managed to negotiate with the hotel to move us to a room that was a bit bigger. However the decoration/fittings were of the same standard as in the original room. Although it was advertised that the hotel had a range of different restaurants, on the first night of our stay (a Wednesday) only one of them was open and as a result of this we had to wait ten minutes to be seated at a table. We later found out that it was only on Wednesday nights that there was only one restaurant open. The situation was better on other nights but we still found it irritating when we had to queue again to be seated for dinner on the following Wednesday night. The staff were generally helpful and courteous, but this was not the case as far as the gym attendant was concerned. The fact that he just sat at his desk either reading or chatting to other staff with no effort made to help or assist the hotel guests with the use of the gym equipment did not really concern us. However, the fact that he was positively rude to both myself and my wife on a couple of occasions did. One of which was when I took a towel from a pile of clean towels that I assumed were for the use of guestsas there was no sign or indication that they were not. He made it clear to me in a vey unpleasant manner that I should not be using that towel. This guy could certainly benefit from a crash course at charm school - not what you really expect from a member of staff in a five star hotel. All in all it was not a dreadful experiance but in my view this hotel was in my view of four star and not five star quality.

its a great hotel ...great location...friendly staff...good trips out to be had...rent a car and explore....we love crete and especially chania and the area around . We return this year!

We stayed in the Creta Palace hotel end May early June 2004. Excellent hotel, very helpful and friendly staff. The 1st floor bungalow room was roomy with a very large balcony. If you want a holiday on the beach with excellent accommodation, food and entertainment then look no further. However, if you want to swim in the sea - it shelves and has pebbles - we bought speedo type footwear that fully enclosed the feet and had rubber soles - no more problems. Looking forward to trying more Grecotels or returning to the Creta Palace.