Paralos Venus Suites

This hotel is absolutely a five-star experience and is worth every penny. The staff, the service, and the food are what make Paralos Venus Suites just exceptional. Where to start? Unfortunately, as my partner and I’s holiday neared (one week, mid-June), we were informed that our room would be unavailable for the first night of the stay. This was an inconvenience; however, the hotel was incredibly communicative and offered us a free transfer to and from Heraklion airport and late checkout. They also put us up in their sister hotel nearby for the first night/breakfast and sorted a free transfer to Paralos Venus Suites. All in all, the hotel handled the transfer well, making the whole experience feel smooth despite the issue. Upon arrival, we were offered a cold flannel and an iced tea, and the staff kindly talked us through, in detail, about the hotel’s bars, its Bio Restaurant, and free wine tasting (the Bio restaurant was booked for us the night after we arrived). We were also able to check into our room early, which was great. Once our room was ready, we were shown to it by the incredibly helpful Manus. The room was spotless, had ample space as well as a sea view/balcony, and we were pleased to have a welcome gift upon arrival. The shower and bathroom were excellent, and the bed was comfy. There is free conditioner, shampoo, and shower gel, which were all lovely, as well as shower caps. More broadly, the hotel itself is built in such a way to feel very private, and the surrounding area is nice and quiet. The staff are what make this hotel exceptional. Special mentions to: Aliona and Emmanuel at reception, who were incredibly helpful and informative about the hotel; Chryssa at the bar and at breakfast/lunch was great; Katerina’s knowledge of wine was superb, as was her dinner service; Karolina and Bhesh were fantastic during dinner service, but what to say about Giorgio? He was so welcoming every morning with a delightful “kalimera” and brought us iced tea by the pool even when we didn’t ask! His service was incredible, so thank you to him and all the staff! From seeing how your meal went to continuously asking guests by the pool if they want drinks, they are all clearly so well-trained in what they do. Elsewhere, the massage was good value, and Ivanka did a great back and face massage, and Katerina’s wine tasting session was really insightful. If I can mention a minor drawback, it would be the rooftop bar. While this is marketed as a bar, at the time of writing, there is nowhere to order drinks there, meaning guests must get drinks from the pool bar and bring them upstairs. Installing a dedicated bar on the rooftop would be a clear improvement. This is not within the hotel’s control, clearly, but the area being quiet also means you are not pressured to leave the hotel and explore much, but for us that wasn’t a problem (there is easy access to the beach too!). The hotel offered excursions through Greek Holidays. We did one to Knossos, which was a holiday highlight. From breakfast to dinner, the food at the hotel is great. Every meal being à la carte means you do not get the typical ‘all-inclusive’ feel at the hotel (even though it is), and the experience feels much more refined. The Bio restaurant was a highlight, and the options at dinner were more than enough. The addition of a deli at breakfast and lunch is a nice touch. While the beef, chicken, pastries, and desserts were all great, the fish was a weakness, though this is not a surprise given how this will need to be kept on such a small island. Overall, the food was excellent. Staff during breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all attentive and offered to fill up drinks as you went. Overall, if you are looking for a hotel to just relax in the sun, I cannot recommend this enough. The staff, the food, and the overall experience were second to none, and great value given what we paid.

From the moment we arrived, we felt genuinely welcomed. The hotel was spotless, well-maintained, and had a great atmosphere throughout our stay. What made the biggest difference, however, was the staff. Everyone was friendly, approachable, and always greeted us with a smile. It was clear that the team enjoyed what they do, which created a relaxed and enjoyable environment for guests. A special thank you to Maria and the breakfast team. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and warm hospitality made every morning a highlight of our stay. We truly looked forward to breakfast each day, not only because of the food but because of the wonderful service and welcoming atmosphere they provided. Thank you for making our stay such a memorable experience. We hope to be back again soon! With Love Amanda Paleologou & Gabriel

Having stayed at a number of 5-star hotels, I would describe this as a generous 4-star experience rather than a genuine 5-star one. There are definitely positives. The housekeeping team were faultless throughout our stay, keeping the room spotless every day. The reception staff were also excellent – always friendly, welcoming and helpful, whether ordering taxis, recommending places to visit or even helping with the pronunciation of local destinations. The hotel is also a good base for exploring the area, with plenty of car rental options nearby and some lovely bars along the seafront. However, there were several issues that prevented this from feeling like a 5-star experience. The biggest problem was the lack of sunbeds. While I cannot comment on the exact number available, there were clearly insufficient sunbeds for the number of guests staying at the hotel. By 8am every morning, all available sunbeds had been reserved, often by guests who then disappeared for several hours, sometimes leaving the hotel altogether. This became a daily frustration and is not what I would expect from a hotel marketed as 5-star. It created a frustrating atmosphere around the pool and meant there was often nowhere to relax during the day. Unfortunately, our balcony remained in the shade 24 hours a day, so retreating to the room wasn’t really an alternative if all the sunbeds had already gone. The room itself was comfortable, but the balcony design left a lot to be desired. The balconies are built so close together, and at such an angle, that guests in neighbouring corner rooms can look directly onto adjacent balconies. Ours was separated from the next balcony by a wooden divider with large gaps throughout it, offering virtually no privacy at all. In addition, our balcony and patio doors were directly facing the pool area. Although this is not a particularly large hotel, it often felt like we were on display, with people around the pool able to look straight towards our room. For a hotel positioning itself as a luxury 5-star property, the lack of privacy was disappointing and made it difficult to fully relax in the room or on the balcony. Staffing levels also appeared insufficient, particularly at breakfast. Every member of staff worked incredibly hard and remained pleasant despite being constantly busy, but there simply weren’t enough of them. Waiting 25 minutes or more just to receive a menu is not what I would expect from a hotel marketed as 5-star. The breakfast itself was decent, but as we stayed on a bed and breakfast basis, I can only comment on that meal. More variety on the breakfast menu would certainly be welcome, especially for guests staying a week or longer. The hotel also misses opportunities in some of its facilities. The so-called rooftop bar doesn’t actually have a bar. Drinks either have to be carried up by guests themselves or brought up from downstairs by a member of staff. This feels inefficient and makes the “rooftop bar” designation somewhat misleading. With such a nice setting, it feels like a missed opportunity. Some live music in the evenings or occasional entertainment on the rooftop could help create an atmosphere, encourage guests to socialise and make better use of the space. More generally, the hotel lacked atmosphere throughout our stay. The larger pool was often almost silent, and better music choices, along with music throughout the pool areas, would help create more of a holiday feel. Despite staying for a full week, we barely interacted with any other guests. The configuration of the pool areas, combined with the very subdued atmosphere, didn’t naturally encourage conversation or socialising. While some guests may enjoy this level of tranquillity, we found it left the hotel feeling quite flat and lacking in character. Overall, this is a nice hotel with some excellent staff members who genuinely do their best. However, the combination of insufficient sunbeds, understaffing at breakfast, limited breakfast variety, lack of a genuine rooftop bar, poor balcony privacy and a generally underwhelming atmosphere means it falls noticeably short of the 5-star standard it advertises. We enjoyed our holiday, but based on our experience, this is a very good 4-star hotel rather than a true 5-star one. While we appreciated the efforts of the staff and enjoyed exploring the local area, the hotel itself lacked the atmosphere and ambience we would expect from a luxury resort. Combined with the privacy concerns and the ongoing battle for sunbeds each morning, it simply didn’t provide the relaxing, premium experience we were expecting. For that reason, despite having a pleasant stay overall, it is not somewhere we would choose to return to.

The hotel is lovely, nice and relaxed but with excellent service. The food is a particular highlight, probably one of the best hotels for food we have been to. We also had massages which were excellent, Ivana and Melisa really looked after us.

The hotel is outstanding. The location is in a cozy, quiet neighborhood not far from the sea. The hotel employees are friendly and welcoming. Our room was great. It’s clean, bright with all needed for a good stay. We had a great time at this place, having good food and other fun activities.