Creteco Hotel & Suites

I had a lovely six nights in a sea view room with balcony, and am puzzled by some of the reviews. The room was clean and comfortable, the bathroom modern and well-designed. And the view was spectacular. The pool area is relaxed and surrounded by greenery. with a lovely beach a couple minutes away. But what made my stay as a solo traveller was the 'heart' of the place which is the people. The owner was to hand and always welcoming and helpful, and Panos at the bar was a star. I felt so comfortable sitting at the bar working my way through the excellent cocktails and chatting about all sorts of random stuff. It made my holiday. The food available is good value but if you fancy a change, there are other tavernas in easy distance. I hope to come back!

Definitely a 2 star hotel, no more. Pillows and the balcony are good, anything else is really outdated, room is slightly dirty on arrival. Lots of ants roaming around on the first floor. No room cleaning, AC is from last century (at least it makes so much noise it cannot be used during night). Near the airport so all the landing planes fly over, really noisy, but they stop around 23.30. Not suitable for small children who need more sleep. We had BB, but the breakfast was poor. It has a kitchenette so if (for whatever reason) you decide to come here, choose the bungalows facing the sea and make your on food. Quite far from everything, bus stop is ca 700m.

We deliberately chose this hotel for the last two nights of our trip – as a small luxury to end the journey. It was the only 4-star hotel we booked during our entire stay, having stayed in simpler accommodations before. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the most disappointing stay of the whole trip. The room (No. 17) was fine and the overall equipment was okay – except for the showerhead, which was so loosely attached that we were genuinely afraid it might fall on our heads while showering. For a 4-star hotel, a bit more attention to detail would be expected. The biggest issue, however, was the so-called private terrace. It was regularly used by other hotel guests as a shortcut to the pool – basically a public walkway. When we were sitting outside, most guests turned around when they saw us. But as soon as we weren’t there, people walked through freely. Even the clothes rack we placed in the middle as a barrier was simply moved aside. One guest even said: “Why do we have to take the long way around?” – which says it all. We asked at reception if we could change rooms. We were told they would check and get back to us in 30 minutes. After 1.5 hours of waiting, we went back ourselves. After a short phone call with the manager, we were told no other rooms were available – although we could still see one available on Booking.com. It may have been more expensive, but it was only for one night. A small upgrade would have made a big difference – instead, we were left feeling ignored. Room 17 should not be offered to guests, in our opinion. It’s completely exposed and located in a busy walkway. All other terraces in the hotel seemed side-protected and private – ours was the only one that clearly wasn’t. And since we enjoy sitting outside on vacation, this was a real disappointment. Conclusion: Apart from the showerhead, the equipment was fine – but the overall experience did not match a 4-star standard. No privacy, no gesture of goodwill, and unfortunately a poor ending to an otherwise great trip.

We were really disappointed with our stay at this hotel. What we got was nothing like what we saw on Booking. They said they had ironing facilities – they don’t. Not even a single iron in the whole building. The room felt old and definitely not 4-star. The TV is hung on the wall with a visible cable hanging down like in a dorm room. The room itself looked nothing like the pictures – it’s outdated, basic and just sad. The worst part was the cleanliness. The sponge in the kitchen was gross – old, used, and dirty. We couldn’t even wash a cup with that. The toilet was also dirty when we arrived, with a yellow-stained seat and marks inside the bowl. It was obvious the room wasn’t properly cleaned or sanitized before we got there. That’s not just disappointing – it’s unacceptable. Honestly, this is not a four-star hotel. It’s more like a two-star place that hasn’t been updated in years. If you care about hygiene and comfort, look elsewhere. We’ve attached photos to show what it really looks like, because the listing is completely misleading. They also advertise free Wi-Fi, but when we arrived, we couldn’t get even one bar of signal. When we asked about it, they said there were “issues in the area” – but that’s not our problem. If you advertise Wi-Fi, it should work. Another thing we noticed is that the hotel has an old side (on the left) and a newer side (on the right). All the photos on Booking are clearly from the new side, but they put us in the old, outdated building without mentioning this anywhere. That feels dishonest.

The hotel is right on the sea front. There's a rocky beach opposite the entrance and it's very close to sandy beaches. The rooms are laid out around the gardens and pool area. The gardens are beautifully manicured and the pool is well maintained. The pool has umbrellas and loungers. There's a bar/restaurant by the pool. The rooms are in need of some major TLC. The entrance door to the rooms do not lock properly and we had two occasions when we were in the room and found staff already in the room (there aren't 'Do Not Disturb' signs). The waste pipe of the toilet had a leak (which wasn't fixed before we left). The bedroom door was warped and would not close. Only the bedroom has air conditioning, so the kitchenette/lounge was very hot. The furniture is old and tired looking. The safe is small and has a key! It's also right on the flight path for Heraklion airport, with planes arriving early and as late as 2:30am! The reception is staffed by a very friendly woman, but it is only manned from around 9am until 5:30pm. There is no service from reception outside of these hours. The hotel has the facilities and location to be a 5 star hotel, but it needs work. They claim it's 4 star, but I wouldn't give it more than 3 stars.