Heraklion, Athina Palace Hotel

On arrival at the Athina Palace Hotel (at 4am) we found the rooms to be awful - no double beds as advertised & grim peeling paint on walls. No drinks in the fridge & we were informed that bottled water was not all inclusive & if we wanted water we would have to pay!

1st day missed breakfast because of late night - found snack bar which consisted of dry cheese & spam sandwiches, sponge cake & pots of jam!! Uncovered & a haven for flies! Oh & if you want to eat them you have to do so at the bottom pool or you will be reported to the police!

We Complained & were threatened with the police!

Food buffet was awful - the same every night & what was over served for breakfast! MMmmm nice - Brussels sprouts for breaky!

the two bar staff were unable to cope so be prepared for a long wait for a drink!

no entertainment!

Top tip - Don't go near this place!!

The best holidays I ever had! I would definitely recommend Athina Palace Hotel! We went there on August after our wedding and when we arrived in the room we found there a bottle of champagne and fruits as a gift for our wedding!

I would not go back to here Athina Palace Hotel I won't be recommending it either. This holiday was booked at the last minute, but nevertheless it was still very expensive. The snack bars were a disgrace with everyone's holiday money they could have supplied us with a banquet. Brussel sprouts, carrots, green beans and sweetcorn were always on offer for The American Style Breakfast!!!

The bars were understaffed and it took ages to get your all inclusive drinks - every night.

Anyone who thinks this is a paradise on earth was either related to the hotel owners or they drank far too much "OUZO"

Do not stay here at the Athina Palace Hotel EVER!!!

This place was booked and advertised as a 4.5 star hotel. We visited August 2004.

These are the "features" which many others and I found by stopping here.

Meals

Every meal, every night is pasta or chips and basic meat.

Flies are everywhere in restaurant, on one occasion 6 at once on my table. I accept that you get flies but no attempts are made to reduce them.

The Italian restaurant is open 3 nights a week and serves the same food as the one below but this one offers small slices of cold bland pizza and first goes at the stuff before it gets dropped into the trays in the standard restaurant.

Water is not free so prepare to pay for it.

They even serve Brussels and chips for breakfast. One morning my wife was told to go away when she asked her pancake to be cooked on both sides, as she didn't want to eat the raw runny mixture.

Sports Facilities

There is no Gym.

The indoor pool is closed and is never open.

Sports Facilities consists of a locked empty office with a few cables on the floor.

The Bar

It takes on average 20 minutes to get served at the bar in the evening.

All Inclusive Snacks etc

All snacks (ice creams, sandwiches etc), are not all inclusive despite whatever info you have to the contrary. One guy argued with them and took some sandwiches, which he said were all-inclusive as per the brochure specified Good for him and we all cheered. Until he was arrested by police for stealing sandwiches. He showed them to an Internet console and showed them the advertised info and charges were dropped.

Entertainment

There is nothing for children/teenagers to do apart from play around the pool in the dark and dangerous slippery steps.

We entertained ourselves by queuing at the bar, attempting to find somewhere to sit or going back to our room and having an early night.

The Rooms

The bungalows are at best between 2-3 star.

One couple we talked to had not had clean towels or sheets at all during the holiday and indeed on the last evening had nothing and were waiting until after midnight to get sheets so they could sleep.

We booked a honeymoon 5 star suite and ended up with 2 single beds in an awful apartment with mismatching furniture, door that hung by 1 hinge and a shower that's electrical switch dangled near the shower head as it was not screwed to the wall. It was the sort of room you'd expect by paying £200 and waiting to see where you were going to end up.

Standards do differ from country to country but this room didn't even come close to anything more than 3 star.

Getting About

There are steps everywhere and you need to be a hardened walker to get anywhere here. One man with arthritis was given a room with over 100 steps up to complex, he complained and they said tough. He had to hire a car to take him to the restaurant at 40 Euros a day 40 Euros a day to eat cold chips, brussel sprouts and covered in flies.

Taxis

Fees are expensive and vary depending how much they want to rip you off.

On site shop.

Not a bad shop but the shopkeeper maths were not the greatest, many occasions we had to point out that the change was wrong and he had charged too much.

Summary

Go here if you are a sadist and enjoy misery and wasting money.

This is not a bitter review, this is how it was and how it compares to many places I have visited and travelled to.

From when we arrived in the early hours of the morning right to the end of our holiday the staff couldn't do enough for us. The Athina Palace Hotel is incredibly clean, modern, quiet and comfortable. I think every apartment on the resort has an incredible view. The 6 pools, the beach bar on the private beach, the cocktail lounge. This place really is a palace!!!!! No expense spared the whole place is immaculate and is largely made of marble. It is so spick and span it is untrue!!! CHECK THIS PLACE OUT!!!! IT'S PARADISE!!!!!