Blue Beach Villas Apartments

We enjoyed the varied, tasty breakfast, and found the staff kind and helpful. The grounds are a little old but very clean, and the location is good. We asked about having dinner, but were told we'd need to order the day before. We didn't understand the reason, so we chose to eat elsewhere.

We were glad to end up at Blue Beach when Zorbas Beach Village was fully booked. The staff were so friendly and the tavern food was really tasty, so we're already looking forward to coming back next year for a longer stay. While we were at Zorbas Beach Village, its new pool staff were rude and told us our 7 year old daughter couldn't use the pool. Blue Beach, see you next year! We can't wait.

The best thing about Blue Beach is the view. Walk about five minutes along the shore and there's a sandy stretch with signs warning that baby turtles may hatch from buried eggs and head for the sea. But the surrounding area is shabby and the roads badly need repair, much like the apartments themselves. The price is high for the basic rooms and facilities. Our bathroom had mold around the bath, and the shower didn't work properly. I had asked when booking if the restaurant would be open and was told yes. On our last night before flying out, most of the menu wasn't available, and we were handed a shorter list. They'd run out of beer, and there was no house wine either. My moussaka arrived, then the chicken dish came half an hour later. At nine, we asked for coffee, but the waitress said she'd turned off the machine. At a nearby table, a stray cat was eating leftovers from a guest's meal. Breakfast cost 24€ for the two of us. The coffee machine was off again, with only an earlier flask of coffee, and although eggs were listed, they didn't seem freshly made. I ended up with two slices of toast and cold coffee. It felt like the season was ending and nobody cared. This was the one bad experience of our holiday. Crete deserves better, and so do paying guests. Avoid.

The location was good, the food was good, and the guy at reception was nice. That's what kept me from giving it one star. Everything else was awful. The Wi-Fi didn't work, and my room was full of mosquitoes because someone had left the window open. There was literally a nest in the toilet, plus hair and dirt on one of the beds. The mattress was rock hard and left me waking up in pain. The first room they offered, which I refused, smelled like durian fruit, which is awful if you don't know it. This was one of the most expensive rooms I've had in two weeks of traveling around Greece, and also the worst. You could get somewhere better for half the price.