“August 2023 stay”

Stayed here in August 2023, myself, my wife and 18 year old son Room: Quite quirky, smallish but suitable. Cleaned regularly and to a reasonable standard. Not a great deal of storage space. Air con was good (can’t remember if there was a charge). We were quite high up the hill, it was a struggle i… more

Stayed here in August 2023, myself, my wife and 18 year old son Room: Quite quirky, smallish but suitable. Cleaned regularly and to a reasonable standard. Not a great deal of storage space. Air con was good (can’t remember if there was a charge). We were quite high up the hill, it was a struggle in the heat and even more so in the evenings after the main meal! Restaurant: Again this was clean. Plenty of choice and warm at all times. Different menu each night. Pool areas: Obvious selling point of this hotel is the water park. Me and my son spent several hours on the slides. Lazy river doesn’t have any flow to it so you are pretty much motionless. Stayed round the main pool once but we found this too loud for us. Spent most of our time at the relax pool at the top of the hill. On occasions it wasn’t too relaxing with people jumping or diving in. There was one member of staff who did stick to these rules by regularly telling guests not to jump or dive in. However, when her shift finished it turned into a free for all Reception area: Reception staff helpful. Reception are wasn’t particularly comfortable or clean. The fabric sofas had seen better days. Location: It wasn’t great for us. Nowhere really to walk to and when we did we felt we were walking on a busy main road. Overall: Great for families. Would consider going again but would probably go out of main season or hire a car to get around and discover.

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“Family holiday”

Zeus hotels After travelling for 8 hours and arriving at 9pm we were told our block had ‘no electricity’.’ Our family and a few others were told we could not stay and were taken to their other 5* hotel Blue Sea Beach (Stalis) by taxi. We were offered food before we left. We are given all inclusive … more

Zeus hotels After travelling for 8 hours and arriving at 9pm we were told our block had ‘no electricity’.’ Our family and a few others were told we could not stay and were taken to their other 5* hotel Blue Sea Beach (Stalis) by taxi. We were offered food before we left. We are given all inclusive at the new place which was very nice. Reading other reviews, this is not uncommon, but we weren’t expecting it, we just wanted to relax and unpack. Overbooking seems to be a common issue here and the other hotel is used regularly- our room (362) was ready the following morning (as check out is at 11) but we spent a while waiting at Stalis for our taxi (supplied by the hotel). The story about no electricity didn’t stack up as the other people we came back with were put in other blocks and there were people already in the other rooms. We would have preferred honesty. When we did finally arrive at Zeus, as a sweetener, we were given 2 x 30mins massages in the spa, which we used. There was a push to spend more but I declined as we hadn’t had the best start. The massages however, were lovely. Room Room 362 was half way up the hill overlooking the sea and also the main pool/childrens pool, there was loud music all day so no chance of a siesta and the towels were out very early. The room had sun in the afternoon and early evening . Typical Greek basic style but clean and adequate for a two week holiday. Room cleaned daily. Good air con - thank you! However, the Wifi wasn’t good at all! The suite had two rooms, with adjoining door giving some privacy to our daughter, and two balconies. Very hard single bed though - our daughter found it very uncomfortable and had to put a duvet under her, which didn’t really improve things. When we first used the shower it flooded the bathroom as the drain was bunged up. Also, the hairdryer started smoking but a call to reception got things sorted very quickly. Maintenance are very prompt in their golf buggies and will also take you up the hill if needed. It’s very steep and tough in 30 degree heat! The hotel has a mix of nationalities- including lots of Germans and French. Beautiful Gardens- well maintained. An abundance of noisy crickets! A lovely spot, it does feel like a liitle bit of paradise. Pools No lifeguard at pools (apart from 2 in the waterpark) although all signs at the pools mention a life guard! No enforcement of towels on sun beds, no chance of a bed at all unless you got up very early, no spare beds that could be used when it gets busy. Unsupervised children were left for hours on end, presumably it would be up to the other guests to help/save them! The soft drinks/slush tasted sickly sweet. However the coffees were good. We spent all our days at the relax pool. Joanna was amazing there - keeping everyone in check. She made our holiday and helped us to relax! Thank you Joanna! She ensured there were no ball throwing and asked people to be respectful and quiet - she was sometimes ignored. Signs need to be at both entrances to the relax pool bigger and clear on the rules. I think it’s unfair to expect one member of staff to serve and ensure quiet. It was really noticeable when Joanna wasn’t there. We think that the relax pool should really be for older teenagers and adults only. It’s hard for children to stay quiet in a pool! Shop - extortionate prices, but there is little choice unless you want to hike to the supermarket. Food Only one restaurant, making it quite monotonous after 2 weeks- very busy particularly mid August high season. Excellent salads and puddings-particularly the baclava (delicious!) Main meals- good selection- always something we liked. Lots of unsupervised children (particularly in the restaurant) running around and messing and mauling with food on display. Staff work hard- always replenishing food/clearing and prepping tables. Some areas of the restaurant were very hot- particularly the area that looked out onto the ocean, so we stopped sitting there. Guests were queuing at the restaurant door every evening waiting for a table for tea. We ensured we were there for just after 7 as it was quieter before the rush! We didn’t use the other snack areas apart from popcorn and slushes (which were not pleasant) at the paradise play area for kids. The staff member there was rather unpleasant and didn’t seem happy working in the children’s area. Not what you’d expect. Location Stunning views but isolated- if you walk out of the grounds of the village there’s no path and it’s a very busy road. It’s situated in a very hilly spot. Drinks 3 euros for fresh orange juice 5 euros for a milkshake Soft drinks seemed to have a synthetic taste and the dispensers were often dirty. Cocktails v strong and not a good taste I’m afraid. We were quite disappointed with the drinks Suggestions The village would benefit from a range of evening eateries - instead of just the one restaurant - everyone feels squashed in. I feel the management are missing opportunities by using other buildings on site, other pool bar areas for drinks/snacks etc. Entertainment is poor compared to other places we have visited for All Inclusive, including those in Greece.

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“Honest review”

We just came back from this hotel. Have mix feelings because hotel has great potential to be 4* . For people who complain about standards, please check with your 3rd party booker how much you paid for hotel, because usually Hotels don't cost much but flights cost fortune. We paid £552 for family … more

We just came back from this hotel. Have mix feelings because hotel has great potential to be 4* . For people who complain about standards, please check with your 3rd party booker how much you paid for hotel, because usually Hotels don't cost much but flights cost fortune. We paid £552 for family of 4 for a week all incl. Its really cheap as staying in UK usually cost £100-£200 per night room only (3* or less) Hotel is really nice, beautiful buildings, gardens and trees but It's really hilly and steep so if you have walking difficulties don't book it. Water pools and slides are really nice. Main pool is loud but most entertainment happens there during day so if you looking for relax place, go to Relax pool at the top of the resort (great views)! I really like Children's Paradise splash park and bar. Really relaxing and quiet as most Kids use slides during day so this place is fairly quiet. Bar serves popcorn, toast, slushes,ice creams, fries, burgers and mini hot dogs. All freshly prepared so my kids loved it. Main restaurant.. I am not big fan.Food is pretty much the same every day and not much choice for me. Not the best quality unfortunately. Desserts were ok. ALL inclusive stops at 11pm. It didnt bother me as most evenings we were dining outside to avoide seeing hungry Germans fighting for food! Honestly food dissapears within seconds 🙈🙈 but restaurant team do quick top ups so I dont get it 😂 Rooms are Basic but huge. We had family room with 2 balconies and great view,but getting to the room was really good excercise as again whole Resort lays at the mountainside. Bathrooms needs refurb! Not sure if it is Cretan thing as not mamy places we visited had Bathrooms well maintened. There is a shuttle bus every hour going to the beach, but I recommended to hire a car and explore as surroundings and towns around are gorgeous.(St George Chapel in Hersonissos , Heraklion, Melia beach. Staff is really nice. Really helpful. So thank you so much for all your help lovely people! So only downside for us food in Main restaurant and bathrooms. Would I recommended - for price we paid Yes... For more... Hmm...

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