Almare Beach Hotel

The staff were consistently friendly and welcoming. I never saw anyone looking grumpy, and I can’t fault their service. Sunsets and sunrises here are spectacular, there are shops and restaurants nearby, and the beach is easy to reach from several points. The hotel is also directly under the flight path, though, so planes are a constant and noisy presence, even at night. That’s why I’ve given the location three stars. We spent nine nights in room 10, which had a balcony with a sea view. It was basic but pleasant and clean enough. There are local stray cats that hang around and follow you. On the seventh night, we found a live cockroach in the room, and there were ants too. We also saw lots of dead cockroaches outside the apartment building. I didn’t raise it with the hotel because we had only two nights left, and in my experience cockroaches are a problem in many hot countries. We weren’t overrun, and I’m just describing what the stay was like. Getting checked in was confusing. Our transfer dropped us outside a sign for shotels almare beach. We followed a path to the building but couldn’t find reception or any instructions, so I called a number. They contacted the hotel and sent someone to meet us. It turned out check-in was at Shotels Sunset Beach Hotel, a short walk downhill. There was a small A4-sized sign on a box with a map saying to check in there, but I only noticed it when someone was walking us back up the path. It should be much bigger and clearer, and perhaps repeated further down the path. After checking in, we were escorted back to our building and room. Meals are served at Sunset Beach at set times, so you have to walk over for breakfast and dinner, and lunch too if you paid for it. I’m coeliac, and there was no support for my medical dietary needs. Nothing was labelled for gluten, so I had to ask each day and was always told I couldn’t eat it. Although I’d paid for breakfast and dinner, I managed only bits of salad, chips, rice, carrot and broccoli, on different nights. Breakfast was much the same each day, with very few safe options and no labels. There weren’t enough serving tongs, one for each dish, so cross-contamination was a real concern. They had no gluten-free bread or separate toaster either. I bought food at the supermarket and had cheese sandwiches, orange juice and Alpro each morning. Nearby shops had very little gluten-free choice: some bread, a couple of crisp packets, some Alpro and one box of biscuits. Local buses are cheap, especially for a trip to Heraklion, but we found the timetable unreliable. Sometimes a coach arrived, sometimes a regular bus, and they could be crowded. We used the Freenow taxi app advertised at the airport quite a bit. It was easy to use and taxis came quickly, so we didn’t have to wait around 30-45 minutes wondering if a bus would turn up. A one-way taxi to Heraklion cost about €27, compared with €2.10 per person on the bus.

Breakfast is advertised as starting at 7:30, but when I arrived at the restaurant at 7:35, the coffee and juice machines were still off. Only the basic options were out: bread, cheese, salami, tomato salad, cucumbers and spreads. The Greek cheese people are famous for arrived just a few minutes before 8. Groups heading out on excursions leave early, so the kitchen should take that into account. Best regards.

The staff were so, so friendly, and the woman who cleaned our apartment every day clearly put her heart into it. Breakfast was very good. Dinner could use more choices, though we should remember this is a three-star place. It’s the best three-star hotel I’ve stayed in, and we’ll be back. Our apartment was beautiful and spacious, with two bedrooms, a big dining room and kitchen, and three balconies. One small thing: I wish the pool stayed open until at least 7 pm. Thanks for a great stay, Almare ❤️

We had room 12 in a separate complex, with three balconies and a fantastic sea view from one of them. The room was very clean, and we could get straight to the beach, supermarket and bus station. Service and food were both very nice. We had an amazing stay at this lovely hotel!