Aulus Chania, Curio Collection by Hilton (ex. Isla Brown Chania)

Great staff and loved the location

Beautiful First Impression – Unfortunately, Very Disappointing Stay At first, the hotel made a wonderful impression. Unfortunately, over time we became increasingly disappointed and frustrated with our stay. For me and my family, this is definitely not a five-star experience. We were told we received a complimentary upgrade, yet our original booking already included two rooms with sea view. In our room, the balcony glass was broken, the balcony door could not be closed properly, and we were even told we would be charged €200 for a damaged sink. Only after complaining and showing a photo we had taken at check-in was this amount removed from our bill after speaking with the manager. I’ve never experienced anything like that before – and I travel frequently, often staying at Hilton properties – but this will certainly be my last time here. As a Hilton Gold Member, I usually receive consistent F&B discounts at every Hilton hotel. Here, however, they seemed to be applied randomly – one staff member gave me 50%, another only 10%, and at the bar I was told no discount would be given because “Hilton Gold isn’t anything special.” On the first day, we also had to complain about expired coffee creamer in our room. The receptionist tried to convince us that it was the production date, which was clearly not true. We never received a replacement for it during our entire stay. In most areas, guests don’t really feel welcome. Many employees seem more focused on their phones than on the guests, which is not what you expect from a property of this category. Additionally, there’s a very pushy sales approach. Access to the spa (even the sauna) apparently costs extra, which no one mentioned beforehand. Massages are overpriced and were constantly being pushed on us with so-called “special offers.” Overall, we were extremely disappointed. In other hotels, I would have at least expected an apology for such a series of issues.

I didn't like the hotel at all. Our room was overlooking the car park. The hotel is very isolated, and there are no restaurants nearby . The hotel only has a buffet restaurant ala carte restaurant was shut. We had to take a taxi each night to go restaurants miles away or take the shuttle bus into Chania town, returning late at night. It was expensive and exhausting. The pool snak bar served tasteless food, and I also got an eye infection from the saltwater pool. There weren't enough parasols near the pool for all the guests. I asked the pool attendant for a sun umbrella only to be told, sorry, we are busy and don't have any available. Terrible customer service. The rooms were not cleaned properly and had mold in the shower . Breakfast was very basic. It had only limited options, hard tried pancakes, no smoked salmon or proseco. The breakfast restaurant was very small, busy, and disorganized. I wouldn't stay at this Hilton resort again despite being a loyal hilton honors member.

Hotel is nice but holiday ruined on last day. Staff 6/10 not very helpful. Reception staff rude. Theft of trainers by staff or cleaner!!! On the last day we went to checkout of our room my partner left he’s trainers in the room but didn’t realise till a couple hours later as we went down to the pool. My partner went over to reception the first member of staff said there’s nothing we can do. I then approached the same person and explained we know for a fact we left them in the room and exactly where they was, he had no interest and the lady who was the manager came over as she could see I was not happy and I explained it again. She was more understanding and went on saying she will ring the cleaner as she hasn’t handed anything in. We waited 20mins and then the lady approached us and said the cleaner leaves at 3pm and that she has the trainers but is in a locked room that only the cleaner has a key to and she takes the key home with her. (Can’t understand how a manager of a hotel doesn’t have the keys to locked room with missing items of guests). The manager then apologised and said leave me your details etc email and address and we will delivery them back to you, as now our taxi was waiting for us to take us to the airport. We heard nothing back, so I told my partner to email them and firstly they made my partner organise a courier which he found and paid for it, which was fine we didn’t mind paying but now probably won’t get he’s money back. The courier went to attempt pick at hotel up and then was turned away as there was no package to hand over. So my partner emailed for them to the come out with the another excuse. Second excuse is when the staff went to get the trainers they didn’t match the shoe size and colour we told them. Which again doesn’t make sense as the manager told us she has the trainers from our room. No one had checked in our room yet either. Someone is lying somewhere. Now they are ignoring our emails. Disgusting behaviour from staff , the cleaner is either a thief or lied to the staff. Completely ruined our week’s holiday over trainers. Don’t recommend staying at a hotel where your things get stolen. Not a good reputation!!

The resort - previously branded as part of the Mr & Mrs Smith boutique chain prior to that brand’s acquisition by Hyatt - is set on a spectacular and dramatic, north-west facing rocky outcrop, a mile or so’s drive from the famed Stavros beach (immortalised in the film ‘Zorba the Greek’) a lovely soft -sand lagoon, framed with a few Cretan tavernas. The resort is more extensive than one might first think, occupying a significant footprint. Our quiet, Seaview King room had magnificent views, a very comfortable bed with fine linens, a large private terrace. Plenty of large, salt water swimming pools, more than ample poolside recliners and loungers. The pools were never crowded. No need to get up at five in the morning to unroll your proprietary towels. A huge first floor bar terrace alongside and above the pools as well as a pool bar. A gym, well- equipped, and little used. ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’, or possibly the owner prior to that, was clearly enamoured with gold. There is a LOT of gold (cutlery, taps, room fittings, colour accents….). The foyer was suffused with a ‘signature fragrance’. The breakfast buffet was extensive, with a large variety of fruit, breads, freshly-cooked eggs to order. Decent coffee from one of the machines ( bean to cup). The other machines being those branded coffee machines that whip up instant coffee into all manner of ‘milky’ frothings. Plenty of cheerful serving staff, plenty of tables. There was an outside dining terrace, but that revealed itself rapidly as wasp hell, and we retreated indoors! Dinner was less good. No menu choices, only the set buffet, which had predictable, mass catering-quality offerings, and would not reward more than one visit. (Half or full board, we thought, would disappoint.) The catering team had gone to great lengths in presentation, but the restaurant had no atmosphere, few staff circulating. It felt like a fuelling stop, a canteen experience. No one provided any drinks/ wine list, no sense of experience, which given the well-proportioned space was a wasted opportunity. A great welcome from the reception staff when we checked - in, and the oft- praised Mary, who provided lots of useful dining options easily accessible by car. It was striking that the resort ( at least at this time of year) attracted mostly a tight demographic of mid-market Gen Ys and older Gen Zs. Fit bearded men, and women with carefully- managed BMIs. Mostly couples, a few with infants. Diverse nationalities: from Europe (German , French, Brits, Irish), Australia & North America. Luckily, the bars appeared well-stocked with Aperol Spritzers and Prosecco.