Grand Hotel Holiday Resort

When staying at the Grand Hotel in Crete during October of last year I was fortunate enough to receive a massage from a practitioner in the hotel Spa called Pavlos. The standard and quality of this massage was absolutely of the best quality I have ever received . I had a lot of adverse tension in my muscles on multiple sites and Pavlos found all of them and dealt with them leaving me feeling very relaxed and much more comfortable. Thank you so much Pavlos!

Our great Greek vacation is over :) Before we chose the Grand Hotel, we read a lot of positive opinions about the hotel, which turned out to be true. On the second day (the first day of cleaning the room) we were robbed. A lot of cash disappeared from our wallets. Yes, we know, the hotel is not responsible for items left outside the safe. But we felt so safe that we left the issue of the safe for later (after lunch) and that was a mistake. It's a pity that the lady at the reception didn't mention that the key to the safe should be purchased from her. The theft case was reported wherever possible. but the police probably won't do anything. The hotel manager did not want to talk to us. It was very sad for us. The hotel management tolerates theft. So, if you are going to the Grand Hotel, be sure to buy a safe immediately upon check-in. The rooms are clean, the food is delicious, the hotel is beautifully situated on a hill. People working in restaurants and bars, as well as gentlemen driving a car as a hotel shuttle deserve the greatest recognition. They create the unique a**osphere of this place and it is for them that it receives 5 stars. We also recommend the car rental service located at the hotel.

When arriving at 1am we were given a ham & cheese baguette, an apple, raisins & a bottle of water each which we thought was a lovely touch then we got taken(driven) to our room. We are here now and we absolutely love it. Unsure why there are any BAD BAD reviews. Yes the complex is on a hill but it states ‘Hillside’. They have transport up and down the hill not that the hill is that bad. Rooms - Are clean and to a good standard. Everything you need. Let’s face it, you don’t come on holiday to sit in your room. Food/staff - Staff really friendly, always happy and smiley and will always chat with you. George is the best!!! We as a family adore George & will miss him alot. Everyone loves George. Breakfast - great selection - Full fry up, pancakes, fruit, yogurts, muffins, cakes, cereals. Juices, cappuccino, hot chocolate etc. Lunch & Dinner - Always a good selection, a different meat all the time, (spit roast chicken, pork, beef, chops, kebabs) rices, salads, pastas, soups, rolls, chips, vegetables etc. Drinks are also served to you during lunch and dinner. Staff come to your table and ask what you would like to drink & scan your wristbands. Desserts - different cakes, profiteroles, ice creams, fruits, alot of choices. Entertainment - day time - Pool games, music & water aerobics. Daily kids club. Night time - Shows on at 9.15 in the theatre - Some random shows but they are funny. The circus show was our fav & a must watch! Also, Live music in the main building Various pools: Main pool gets really busy, people reserving Sun beds from 6am but we never had a problem getting one. They have a relaxing adult pool, kids pool with 2 small water slides (near games room & park) & a water park. Water slides were great & open from 11-6pm. Snacks - kids pool snack bar (burgers, chips, pizza, fish fingers, all drinks etc) main snack bar - Drinks, ice cream and slushies. Water slide snack bar - drinks, doughnuts & pizza pastry thing. The hotel run a free shuttle to stalis beach/shops everyday from 10-6pm. We also got a taxi into Malia (pleasure beach) which was absolutely beautiful. (Was 17 euros though each way) my son & partner went parasailing & we also hired a pedalo with a slide which was fun! We bargained and got the parasailing for 2 & the pedalo for an hour for 100euros. You also get a free jet ski ride when you book parasailing. (Booked through dolphin when down the beach) Such a great experience! Overall, we would deffo come back. Great food, lovely location, great for families, friendly and welcoming staff. The complex is extremely clean and the cleaners do a great job.

We had a fabulous holiday at the Grand. The food was brilliant - we loved all the Greek options, and the freshly carved meats and fish. They also had plenty of options for children who can be fussier and want chips and pasta. We also had one evening in the a la carte Greek restaurant was lovely and the food was fab. They had an all inclusive drinks menu too. The entertainment was great for us with a 6 year old. The amphitheatre was a lovely setting and my daughter loved the mini discos and the entertainment after that which tended to be family focussed like magicians and acrobats. She also loved the kids club and the lovely ladies that ran it. There was also entertainment around the main pool during the day if you wanted it. The pools were great. The main pool was fun. The adults pool was quiet and relaxing. The top pool had a couple of small slides and a snack bar and lovely views of the coast. The inside pool looked nice but we didn’t use it. The water slides were fantastic fun and many happy hours were spent there. The drinks were good and the white wine was very drinkable. The cocktails were pretty good too. The rooms were basic but fine. The air con worked well. We had a balcony with a partial sea view which was lovely to wake up to every morning. We rented a car for a day from the man who has a desk in reception. It was €60 for the day and included full insurance and a child’s car seat. All the staff were excellent. The people in the restaurant were friendly and efficient. The reception staff were friendly and helpful. The kids club staff and the entertainment staff were fun and hard working. Rooms were cleaned well every day and toiletries were always stocked up. There’s a shop a few minutes walk away from the hotel where we bought inflatables for the pool and it also has lots of reasonably priced souvenirs. There’s a cash point in the hotel opposite which is only a couple of minutes away. The hotel car to the beach is a great service. We never waited more than 5 minutes either outside the hotel or at the beach to be picked up. We arrived late at night and got a snack and some water given to us. On our last day we had a late pick up and we were allowed to have the all inclusive food and drink until 6pm. We didn’t need a late check out as we could use the hotel’s facilities before we left and had a shower and change of clothes on the second floor above reception. The only negative is the WiFi. It was awful but didn’t matter as we had such a lovely time. It’s also worth noting that some rooms are up a hill. If you have mobility issues ask for a room on a lower level part of the hotel. It wasn’t a problem for us and there’s a car that can take you to or from your room if you need help. We didn’t need it as the walk wasn’t far at all.

Absolutely superb hotel, high standard of drinks, great facilities, brilliant A.I. service and restaurants. Lovely visit to both al a cartes that is included in the all inclusive. The pool bar up the top is brilliant, burgers and pizza cooked to order, really friendly staff also. The staff are superb, so friendly and kind. The shuttle to the beach is fantastic if it gets really hot, but it is a lovely walk also. Stalis has lots of lovely restaurants also.

A smooth and easy late night check in was accompanied by a snack of a baguette, apple and a bottle of water then we were transported to our room with our luggage by a hotel driver and vehicle. As previously mentioned the hotel is on a hill, blocks 1,2 and 3 overlook the main pool and back onto the quiet pool and are the nearest to reception however there is a vehicle on call to carry you further up the hill to your accommodation or the childrens pool, simply press the call button and it appears! The rooms are plain but comfortable, the air con works well if slightly noisy and the bathrooms have a bar of soap, shampoo and body wash but no body lotion, there is a hairdryer attached to the wall. One thing that I found totally unnecessary was the towels being changed every day - this needs addressed to be more "green". The grounds are immaculate, staff were lovely and all extremely hard working ( a couple of the older ladies on reception were a bit brusque, maybe having a bad day....? ) The food was very good with plenty of choice and was constantly being replenished, drinks were brought to your table. French made up at least 80% of the guests during our stay. The dress code of long trousers for men was non existent with some dressed as though they had come straight from the pool. Sadly the quality of the alcohol on all inclusive was very poor but the cocktails, wine and beer were perfectly acceptable. All inclusive finished at 10.30pm and the cost of a gin and tonic is just under 8 euro after this. Overall we had a good holiday and really liked the hotel but found Hersonissos too commercialised however Stallis was better.

Beautiful location, many swimming options at the hotel with beach at walkable distance. The resort has both quieter spots as well as activities for children. Meals cater for various needs including vegetarian. Eating both on terrace or inside possible. Very friendly staff. I booked myself a wellness treatment, both facial as well as body massage and it was fabulous. Very professional! Good starting point for all kinds of sightseeing trips, car hire available at hotel for good prices.

Spent a week at the Grand Hotel & Resort. We arrived very late on the Saturday night and they had a small buffet to have some food which after a long journey was a really nice touch. After food we then got a lift up to our accommodation. We were in the 1500s up a large hill. Daily transfers were always available to get up the hill when needed, the drivers were also really friendly. Accomodation wise it was always clean, good shower and comfy beds with a maid that made up the room daily if you choose. Great views of the sea and mountains! We were half board, so we had the breakfast buffet and dinner buffet daily. Overall there was a wide variety of food available where this was changed on a daily basis. There was always something to eat that you would like. The food I found was always hot, you just needed to pay for your drinks on your room tab which was fine (via a wristband). The service was great, special shout to George always attentive and making sure you were ok. The resort complex there was plenty, there was the big slides which were awesome. A main pool we just used the once, lots of entertainment was happening throughout the day. There was a quiet pool which we didnt use and a fun pool which we used daily. The fun pool was up by our accomodation so was good for us, there was a couple of slides (one unfortunately closed off for repair). The pool was also quiet, with lovely views of the sea and mountains it was great. The fun pool had a snack bar which we used daily, it was the usual burgers, chips, kebabs. We did get abit bored of this, it would be nice if they had any wraps, sandwiches etc but otherwise all good. The service from the gentleman there was always great daily and also allowed us to store our daughters medicine in the fridge on departure day. My wife offered a Spa treatment of 75 mins for body massage and facial with 15 mins in the jacuzzi at the Wellness centre this was at a cost of 100 euros which we thought was good. Overall she was happy and myself and daughter got to use the indoor pool and jacuzzi which was a nice touch aswell. Unfortunately when we were away my daughter had an ear infection, there was a doctor available daily between 11-1130am. To get diagnosis etc was at a cost of 100 Euros, we were due to fly the next day so had no choice really. Once prescribed medicines I took a walk to the pharmacy in Stalis. This wasn't overally expensive I'd say about 7 Euros per medicine. Entertainment wise we attended the kids Mini Disco daily in the evening at the theatre this was often lead by the entertainers. Following this was saw a Mama Mia show, Greek Dancing, Magician and a quiz. All good fun, lots of laughs and special shout to Luca who was very funny and entertaining each night. The team behind him were also great aswell! This was one of those holidays where we were quite happy being by the pool and relaxing. We did wonder in to Stalis which was about 20 mins walk away, we spoke to someone at the beach for 7 Euros

I have just returned from Crete and have absolutely no hesitation in recommending this resort. The weather in October was perfect apart from two hours of rain on our first morning. Within an hour of being at the pool my 13 year old girl and 12 year old boy had met another family from Scotland which meant that they spent a lot of their time with kids their same age which minimised the amount of time that they needed anything from me. By the end of the week there were eight kids enjoying what I can only describe as the holiday of a lifetime for them. They made some really good friendships, which social media platforms will allow them to stay in touch. The two slides at the fun pool were pretty poor with one of them closed and the other sticky when sliding down and as such meant that it was more or less avoided by the kids although I used it regularly for relaxing and catching the sun. The main water park was great. The six slides were all usable and they were just the right height as the walk up the slope was neither too far nor too steep, which allowed hours of fun without experiencing the dread of the walking to the top. My two children are very fussy eaters and they both found the selection in the restaurant more than adequate and neither of them ever complained about what they were eating. I would give a special mention to the life guards at the water park as they used a good balance of common sense and tolerance to ensure that the young people had a good time without endangering themselves or others. The only negative that I could mention in the week long stay was that the entertainment could at times prove a little bit on the adult side which I found inappropriate for a venue that was basically for children. I would hope that the management would address this for future seasons. Overall, the staff were friendly and helpful, the room was cleaned daily, the food was good and the pools were clean and the water park was safe. I am already thinking of booking the same resort for next scool break in October.