Nalu Resort & Spa

I’ve just returned from a fantastic 3-night stay at Nalu Resort & Spa and honestly couldn’t fault a thing! The hotel itself is beautiful, but what really made our stay special was the staff. Everyone was so friendly, welcoming and helpful. A special mention to the lovely girl at breakfast who remembered our coffee orders every morning, and to Giannis at the pool who not only kept us topped up with drinks but even remembered our names. It’s those little personal touches that make such a difference! Our room was gorgeous, with our own private pool, a super comfortable bed and beautiful Rituals toiletries, which were a lovely touch. The food was excellent too! Breakfast had a great variety every morning, the penne carbonara at lunch was a firm favourite, and we really enjoyed our half-board dinners. Everything was fresh and tasty. It really was the perfect way to end the summer. I left feeling relaxed, spoiled and already talking about coming back! Thank you to everyone at Nalu for such a wonderful stay. We can’t wait to return! ❤️

This was our third stay at the hotel, and once again we had an amazing time. A huge part of what made this particular trip so special was Ioli, the Guest Experience Manager. She genuinely went above and beyond for us throughout our stay and made us feel incredibly looked after. She was attentive, thoughtful and so generous with her time, and nothing ever felt like too much trouble. She arranged some lovely touches for us and made our final few days extra special by moving us from our sharing swim-up room into one of the Deluxe Private Pool rooms. We are so grateful for everything she did and she really deserves a special mention. Having stayed here three times now, I can honestly say that the people genuinely are a huge part of what keeps bringing us back. Our first room was the Sharing Pool Side Sea View room, which we had specifically requested as we had stayed in the same room on previous visits. It was lovely to be back in it. The shower was great, the bed was really comfortable and housekeeping were excellent as always - just remember to turn the light red if you do not want a wake-up call! Storage space is perhaps a little limited, but we always manage to make it work. The sharing pool was definitely on the cold side, although I imagine it would be amazing in the height of summer. During the shoulder season, it is definitely more of a refreshing experience! 😂 Our second room on the newer side of the hotel, was also beautiful and noticeably bigger. There was perhaps a little bit of unused space, but overall it was a lovely room. There were a couple of lights that we could not seem to turn off, so the room was quite bright at night. The glass door to the toilet also means that light comes through, particularly as there is a window in there. There was also no cover on the air vent, which made it look slightly unfinished, and the private pool itself looked like it could have done with a little more finishing. There was grout in places and some discolouration on the tiles, which was slightly surprising for a pool that had only opened in July. You are definitely paying a premium for the private pool, but it was truly incredible. Having your own private space with a pool hammock and day bed was just so good, particularly in the afternoon when the sun was on the pool. Reading, having a little snooze, eating and drinking in our own private space was honestly one of my favourite parts of the stay. The pool was cold, but again, I imagine it would be perfect in the height of summer. The beach is pebbly, but once you get past the rocks the seabed becomes sandy and it is lovely to swim in. The sea can be a little rough and cold when it is windy, but on a calm day it is beautiful. There are plenty of local shops nearby; supermarkets, bakeries, cafes, a pharmacy, somewhere to buy pool inflatables and bats and balls, and a place selling bus tickets into town etc. There are also the usual tourist shops, so you have everything you need within easy reach. We ate locally at places including Coffee Lab and Mr Gyros and had some lovely food. We also had lunch by the pool a couple of times. The pool bar food is really good, freshly cooked, very tasty and the portions are massive. We were also told that a new snack-style hut is being introduced, with smaller Greek dishes available for anyone who does not want a full-sized meal - this sounds like a great addition and one we would have gone for if it was open when we stayed. Breakfast has definitely improved since our last visit and we really enjoyed it. We only wish we had taken advantage of sitting outside, which is something we would definitely do if we return. We didn’t have dinner in the hotel so I can’t comment on this. Cocktails are around €10 to €12 and soft drinks/iced coffees around €5, which we thought was reasonable. We had no complaints about the food or drinks during our stay. There is still some renovation work taking place, and there were moments when it could be a little noisy, but we are not the sort of people who are bothered by this. Renovation work has to be done, and given how much the hotel has already improved, we think it is absolutely worth it. Unfortunately, our final moments at the hotel were slightly spoiled by an interaction with Nikos at reception when I queried the final bill. The city tax is not included in the accommodation cost, which is absolutely fine, but we felt that this could have been made much clearer at check-in. The amount presented as the “total cost to pay” when paying for the stay is effectively the accommodation subtotal, with the city tax being added separately at check-out. Because we were paying across different currencies, I had assumed that the total presented included the city tax. We therefore ended up being surprised by an additional €120 at check-out, on top of our room service and other charges. Of course, we were more than happy to pay for the room service and anything else we had charged to the room, but the additional city tax came as a surprise. When I simply asked whether the city tax had not already been included in what we paid on arrival, I was asked why I was “making problems” and questioned about whether I could do the maths. I found this quite shocking, particularly as I was only trying to clarify what had been included in the amount we had been told was the total. At no point did I refuse to pay or anything like that, I just queried it as I thought I had paid everything I needed to. Despite that one unfortunate interaction, we absolutely loved our stay. The staff are generally fantastic, attentive and super helpful, the hotel has improved so much since our first visit, and there is a real sense that it is continuing to get better and better. We made some amazing memories on this holiday and genuinely loved every minute. This hotel has become somewhere very special to us, and we will absolutely be returning next year. We cannot wait to see how much better it gets. ❤️

We had such an unforgettable experience at Nalu Resort & Spa on Crete. The resort is absolutely stunning, peaceful and very well maintained. Our room was super stylish, clean and comfortable, and the whole atmosphere made it so easy to relax and enjoy our time there. We had a deluxe swim up room with an amazing view. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming, and the food was outstanding with a great selection. I specifically wanted to mention two guys from the staff, one who was working at the breakfast buffet every morning, bringing us fresh orange juice as soon as we sat down and even remembered our coffee order, i think his name was (Giorgos). He also served us on our last day at the Taverna on the beach. Also another waiter who took our lunch order daily was also super sweet (you know who you are) we sadly can’t remember your name. We had a few nice chats and he had a really positive personality especially towards us. Overall, Nalu Resort & Spa was the perfect place for a relaxing getaway on Crete. We are definitely coming back and can only highly recommend it.

Not a 5 star resort. Extremely poor service with the exception of 1 or 2 members of staff. Breakfast also very poor. Seems to be a favouritism towards social media influencers staying at the hotel, had to listen to construction work during the day from our swim up room. When you look past the aesthetic of the hotel which is clearly carrying the 5 star reputation, the construction work is extremely poor especially in the pools, unfinished grouting, sharp edges, stacked tiles in concealed places the list goes on. After multiple bad experiences we were promised a partial refund from the relations manager Lilo, since leaving the hotel they have done a U turn and now refusing to provide any kid of refund and were actually very rude and unprofessional. Would not recommended or return. Also added photo of an email from sales director claiming we are not aloud to post the conversations where we were promised the refund and that if we did they would use there legal rights. Appalling. Anyone who thinks this is a 5 star resort has clearly not stayed at many 5 star hotels as the service could not be further from.

We stayed at Nalu in August 2026 and unfortunately left deeply disappointed. We chose this hotel specifically because of its 5-star positioning and were expecting a relaxing, high-quality holiday. Sadly, the experience did not live up to those expectations. Our first room, 103, was extremely dark, cramped and offered very little storage space. There was also an unpleasant smell which, given the high humidity, made us wonder whether there might be a moisture or mould issue. The layout was impractical, with very little usable storage or surface space. The swim-up pool directly in front of the room was extremely narrow and offered almost no privacy, as guests were constantly walking past our terrace and could look directly into our private area. We were particularly surprised by the significant difference between these rooms and the more desirable swim-up rooms in the front section of the hotel. We requested a room change immediately after arrival. The process was initially rather unhelpful and we were told that the responsible person was not at the hotel that day. The Front Desk eventually managed to move us to room 110 on the second day, which we appreciated. However, clearer and more proactive communication would have made a significant difference. Unfortunately, room 110 also had several issues. The terrace was missing the facility for hanging swimwear to dry, and the bathroom tap was extremely loose. On our final night, we also experienced a water leak underneath the sink. Almost all of our shoes got wet, which we immediately reported to the Front Desk. What disappointed us most was not simply the leak itself, but the lack of an appropriate response afterwards. We would have expected a 5-star hotel to immediately take care of the situation, check whether anything had been damaged and show genuine concern. Instead, we were met with little more than surprised looks at the Front Desk. We also experienced inconsistent communication regarding the swim-up pool. One employee told us that guests from other room categories were allowed to use it, while another explicitly told us that they were not. Yet we repeatedly saw guests from other areas using the pool. This is something that could easily be avoided with clear information at check-in. Another particularly unpleasant experience involved the lifeguard and the beach towels. We were spoken to in an extremely aggressive manner, to the point where the employee was almost shouting at us. We were genuinely shocked by the way we were addressed. A staff member later apologised and offered each of us a drink, which we appreciated as a gesture. The breakfast service also did not feel like the level of service we would expect from a 5-star hotel. Staff were often inattentive, and we regularly had to actively get someone’s attention simply to order a coffee. Some of the staff in the beach restaurant came across as rather unfriendly and not particularly welcoming. However, the biggest disappointment was the way our concerns were handled by Guest Relations. After several issues had already occurred, we expected someone from management or Guest Relations to proactively approach us, listen to our concerns and genuinely try to find a solution. Instead, we were merely offered the possibility of speaking to the Guest Relations Manager towards the end of our stay. From our perspective, this was never a confirmed appointment, but simply an offer to have a conversation. By that point, we were already very disappointed and exhausted and ultimately did not pursue the conversation. We were therefore particularly surprised when the hotel later suggested that we had failed to attend an agreed appointment. From our perspective, no binding appointment had ever been made. Even more disappointing was the impression that responsibility for the situation was subsequently being shifted onto us. We did not expect a completely flawless holiday. Problems can happen in any hotel. What we expected was professional communication, genuine hospitality and a solution-oriented response when we raised legitimate concerns. Unfortunately, communication was one of the biggest weaknesses throughout our stay. Information regarding towels, breakfast restaurants, swim-up pool access and who to contact when problems arose was often inconsistent or unclear. Even more disappointing was the email correspondence after our stay, which we experienced as dismissive, condescending and unnecessarily defensive. Instead of feeling that our feedback was being taken seriously, we felt that our criticism was being rejected and that we were being portrayed negatively. For a hotel positioning itself as a 5-star property, we expected considerably more — particularly when it comes to guest relations, communication and how problems are handled. Our overall impression is therefore unfortunately one of significant disappointment. The hotel has potential, but the level of service, communication and guest care we experienced did not match what we expected from a 5-star resort.