Amira Luxury Resort & Spa

Location is good , there’s a small village a ten minute walk away and there’s a bus to the town which takes about 20 minutes. Worth the visit but the return can be chaotic as there’s one bus stop for all bus routes so be prepared for a jumble of people all queuing for multiple buses. Point to note this is where there is the only public toilet in town. Hotel and rooms. - immaculately clean throughout Swimming pools - again immaculately clean but freezing cold, lots of sun beds. Restaurants- Buffet main restaurant for Breakfast and dinner Buffet breakfast - good selection of hot and cold but query why there is not fresh pineapple. Only serves tinned ( is that 5 star?) Buffet lunch - not open Buffet evening - seems like they cook all the food for when the restaurant opens and then leave it warming in/on hot plates for the remainder of the service which means after 8.15 there’s a lot of mushy overcooked food which gets worse as the evening goes on. Also although the restaurant says it stays open til 9.30 that’s the time it closes for food so don’t expect to arrive at 9.15 and enjoy a relaxing meal as everything is hurriedly packed away at 9.30. Credit though to the cold starters and deserts both were totally edible and enjoyable. A la carte restaurant - evening meal - you have to pay more for but well worth the expense. Good food that’s cooked fresh when you order it (as it should be) And, it’s open till 11 pm . Poolside eatery - good quality food freshly cooked. Wines are of good quality and reasonably priced. Water expensive in the buffet restaurant and even more so for branded Italian water in the a la carte. Entertainment - non existent, the hotel do have guest musicians attend a few nights a week but there’s no atmosphere so nobody stays to listen to them. SO WHY ONLY 4 STARS ? The buffet evening restaurant is a massive let down this is a best 3 star food, by 9 pm it could drop a further star some nights. Serving overcooked either dried out or mushy food is unacceptable. I would recommend budgeting for paying the extra cost of eating in the a la Carte every night if you want a quality experience . Overall a peaceful and relaxing experience pity about the food.

Booked Amira with my partner, and we are still here, check out this Friday. Upon arrival at 1am, we were told that we are probably hungry, everywhere is closed, so 2 freshly made and plated chicken wraps have been put in our fridge, that was the friendliest welcome we have had. All the staff here are of very high standard and very friendly, they come across very genuine and friendly. The resort does an excellent job at putting different cuisines on every night, and I would recommend booking half board. I honestly can't say enough good stuff about Amira and would come here again and would recommend to all. I was very proud after visiting rethymno and chania to come back to this hotel, very proud to walk through the doors everyday and say I am staying here. So thanks again to all Amira staff, an excellent memorable experience.

We have just returned from a girls family holiday at this fantastic hotel. We were thrilled to get an upgrade and have sea front rooms which were stunning. We had an incredible week and I can honestly say the staff, without exception, were the best I have ever come across. Every staff member went the extra mile to ensure the guests are given the best experience. The food offer was fantastic - both the breakfast and dinner buffet were excellent and the A La Carte restaurants were extremely good. The Italian Pasta evening food at Kritamo was exceptional. Eleni, our housekeeper, was really kind and did a great job. The resort was spotless. We loved the beach and spent most days there apart from a couple of visits to Rethymno which is a lovely town. All in all we had a wonderful week and will definitely return. Thank you.

Just to be clear -this is an exceptionally high-quality hotel. Three years since they opened, the service level is excellent with attentative staff happy to help without being ”fake-nice”. Clean and modern rooms, great pool and beach services and all together a highly recommendable place to visit. Only positives

The staff at the hotel without exception were friendly and helpful. Our room was beautiful with a large terrace and jacuzzi. No problems with the air conditioning as in other reviews but the wi fi connection could be improved. Every part of the hotel was immaculate. There were more sunbeds on the beach than the pool. Definitely need beach shoes as there are rocks and stones on the sea bed. There were inflatables on the beach for guests to borrow. Choice at breakfast was excellent. The dinner buffet although extensive was not 5 star in my opinion. If you want a calm environment and low key entertainment then this is the place to go. There were very few guests around after 10pm. Too quiet for us.

Booked this hotel for my son's honeymoon. They had a brilliant time. Staff could not have been more helpful and attentive. Food delicious including the a la carte restaurants. Excellent service. Plenty of space even in August. Lovely beach and sea. Scrupulously clean. Sea view room was virtually overlooking the sea. Order drinks via QR code and they come to you on the beach within minutes. Brilliant communication with the hotel. Perfect. Thank you.