Almyrida Village & Waterpark

We booked Almyrida Village Waterpark Hotel through Thomas Cook for our anniversary trip from 12–19 May, arriving early hours of 13 May due to delayed transport. Sadly, the experience was extremely disappointing and we checked out the same morning. These are only a few of the photos taken on arrival because we were genuinely shocked by the condition of the property and simply wanted to leave. The facilities at night had virtually no lighting, and the gentleman who checked us in did not escort us to the room despite it being dark, so we had to use our phone flashlights to find our way around ourselves. From arrival, we raised concerns about cleanliness, maintenance, and safety, including exposed wires, damp bedding, dirty facilities, faulty equipment, excessive noise, and overall poor room standards. We were not expecting luxury, simply a clean, safe, hygienic, and properly maintained room matching what was advertised online. The breakfast was poor quality, and the small hotel shop had barely any stock. The property itself has potential, but the reality did not reflect the photos shown online. Reception staff member Dido openly told us they have had previous guests leave for similar reasons and confirmed many of the online images are around four years old. This felt extremely misleading as the rooms and facilities do not resemble the advertised standard. The hotel also falsely informed Thomas Cook that we had been upgraded to a superior room, which was completely untrue. Instead of addressing the actual concerns raised, it felt like every effort was made to avoid accountability and withhold any refund. What further reinforced our concerns were conversations we later had with local restaurant staff, bar owners, shop workers, and even the alternative hotel we moved to. Multiple people independently told us this establishment has a very poor reputation locally and that they had seen several guests leave this property for the exact same reasons. Even the hotel we relocated to confirmed they had previously received guests who had walked out of this accommodation due to similar complaints. At this stage, we honestly do not know what more evidence or justification could reasonably be required to demonstrate that we had valid grounds to leave early and request a refund. We provided photographic evidence, raised concerns immediately upon arrival, attempted to resolve matters respectfully, and still continue battling this issue with Thomas Cook. Overall, this caused unnecessary stress and disappointment during what was meant to be a special anniversary holiday.

This hotel is very basic, I’m going to list the good and bad things about it as there’s a lot of mixed reviews. For context I would normally book 4/5 star which this hotel claims to be on some website, but it definitely isn’t. We also got a really great deal when booking this hotel which I think also needs to be stated when giving a review. We were B&B. Okay so… Good: Scenery at the hotel is lovely and quaint, very quiet and peaceful Rooms are basic but fine for a base, I found the bed and pillows to be comfy and had no issues sleeping Balconies in the rooms are big and the view from our balconies were lovely as we were right at the top of the resort (note I wouldn’t recommend this hotel if you have mobility issues as it’s at the top of a hill and not very accessible) Pool is clean Bad: Service at the pool bar is virtually non existent- we felt sorry for the lady on the bar (Maria I believe) as she was having to keep going between the bar and other jobs indoors and thus it was hard to get a drink a lot of the time - I’d of been annoyed if I had paid for all inclusive Towels only get replaced every 3 days which I struggled with a little as by day 3 they felt pretty gross Breakfast is also quite restricted, it has your unusual basics but seems like they put one portion out and then that’s it so if you go later it’s usually cold - this could be due to it being May however the hotel was quite busy! Maids clean the room daily however it’s strictly changing bins and making your bed, I didn’t notice much else being done The shower is not the best, it’s quite hard to use without getting water everywhere and we were missing a plug for our bath and when we requested one at reception were told no as it’s a health and safety issue? Few other things to note is the town is very quiet, If thats what you want its great. Nice swimming sea. About 10 restaurants to choose from a 5 min walk down the hill. Couple of shops/pharmacy in the town also. Can get water bottles etc in the reception for reasonable price (cash only). Chania is 35 min bus ride away and there’s a bus stop at the bottom of the hill. If you want peace and quiet it is a good place to come. If you want party and entertainment not so much. Overall it was fine for us, however, key thing to note would be that I wouldn’t bother with the all inclusive option based on what we saw, save your money and get some nice meals in the town. Every meal we had was lovely.

Read the other reviews, the comments about a lack of cleanliness and poor breakfast are all true, instead one night and checked out the next day.

Food was awful. Room was awful. Cockroaches in bathroom. Wires and loose plugs are dangerous. Left the hotel who refused refund.

It was a good hotel with tasty food and plenty of variety. All the staff were also very friendly and helpful, especially Kiki and Maria. A nice hotel for short trips or a holiday.