Hydramis Palace — Hotel in Municipality of Apokoronas

This is the third time we visited Hydramis Palace (of the 6 times we visited Crete in a time span of 10 years), we've visited many hotels and also a lot of places. Practically visited the entire island north-east-south-west, we've seen pretty much all. This hotel in particular left a very good impression on us the first time we visited and then during corona was our second time that we stayed. That stay was also very good. In september 2023 we returned to Hydramis Palace by booking via phone with Maria. The price-quality ratio is very good, we've also noticed that the hotel has undergone some changes during the course of these years.||There's a renovated pool bar, the entire sunbeds location is renewed and increased in size. The restaurant (buffet style) has improved bain-maries so the food stays warm for a longer period and preserves it's quality better. The gardens are still very lush and full of colors, well maintained. The brushes that were trimmed in the shape of faces are gone though, it was a nice touch but probably the work to keep them in very good state wasn't worth it. We didn't miss them to be honest, it was a nice thing to see but if you didn't know they were there to begin with, then it was a non factor. Instead there are beautiful flowers there now, etc.||This time we had a room on ground floor (totally different place than what we had before) , we had a private pool which was a nice addition. The room and all it's facilities were very clean. I've been told that the rooms will be receiving a renovation somewhere soon (if not already). Honestly the rooms were still good but I understand the move to make it more modern and update the style to be more in line with the new pool bar and main bar. Overall they are improving the hotel to be a tier higher that it used to be so far. Which is good, progress is always good but I have to mention that it might come at an increased price in the future. Not sure though, this is something that we'll have to discover in the future and update in a future review.||There were still plenty of events and there was animation even in september (almost all the way till closing time if I recall correctly). This hotel also has a very good location in terms of reachability of certain places on the east and south side of Crete. Georgioupoli is a beautiful small town, this hotel is located in Kavros though. A very small touristic hub, it used to be very very small, now there's more shops and other stuff organized near and in Kavros. ||Kavros is an ideal place to stay and use as your 'main base' to start from with the car. You can go towards Rethymno and from there on scout the entire south side or stay near Rethymno. You can opt to go to Chania and enjoy Chania or drive a little bit further to Falassarna beach or to the port in Kissamos to take the 'cruise' to Gramvousa island and Balos beach. This is definitely a must if you're in the neighbourhood. Falassarna also. You can drive towards Chania and go further towards the south for Elafonisi, which has become more touristic once again but still worth the visit. In short, it is a very good and central positioned hotel that gives a lot of possibilities. ||Hydramis also works with Oscar car rental which is definitely a good thing, Maria managed to get me in touch with Oscar car rental. It is a family run business and they had a very good price-quality service also. We rented an automatic and asked for a newer model, as we are used to quite a luxury car at home. At first we received a little bit older car, not exactly what I described via mail (but I booked 1+ year in advance). After a quick WhatsApp message (call would've sufficed also) , the daughter of Oscar came to swap the car and we had an almost brand new car for our entire stay. Just like Hydramis Palace, Oscar car rental is very responsive and will do everything in their power to make your stay feel like paradise. Which it truly is!! ;-)||Lastly, Hydramis is a very good hotel for people who want to stay the entire holiday in the hotel and enjoy but it also a very good hotel for those who want to travel a bit more and see the East + East South side of Crete. Even the center; like Heraklio is a possibility (we did it twice) in the trip of 2023. It takes a bit longer but definitely possible to go shop there and such, just expect a night drive back. What makes Hydramis truly special is it's employees, majority of the employees have remained the same as since our first visit to this hotel and that is a charm. We've definitely created a bond with the people there and every single day one or more of the employees really took the time to have a little chat with us. Even if we were limited on time, they would make your day already by greeting you with the biggest smile and small joke or compliment.||To those looking for a great introduction to Crete or just searching for a very good hotel in this region. Make sure you take Hydramis Palace into consideration. Call Maria, ask questions, she will reply to them asap and go for it. Enjoy your holidays. To Hydramis Palace and employees: A big thank you from Belgium and see you next time!!||-Mauro, Aziza and Ezio|(Note, our son was not born yet the first and second trip and the third trip we went alone as a couple, he stayed with his grandmother - though the hotel is very friendly for children as we've seen them have the time of...

I can't fault the location, and the hotel was, on the whole, well provisioned. I feel compelled to write a review after we experienced an issue only mentioned in a few reviews:||||The noise. ||||The first room we were given appeared to be a later addition to the hotel (rooms beginning with a 0XX) which may have been added when the hotel was semi-refurbished. We paid extra for a double garden room. The bed was two singles pushed together with single sheets and thin duvets. The room also had an internal door that adjoined the next room. And the noise through the door was horrendous. Without wishing to sound hyperbolic, we could literally hear the guest next door breaking wind and all of his conversations/arguments. The doors slamming in the corridor ALL throughout the night made it impossible to sleep properly, and we felt compelled to whisper to avoid disturbing the neighbours.||||After a poor sleep, we asked to move rooms to somewhere quieter and were told there was nowhere available, but they would have a word with the guest next door about the noise. Our neighbour countered that we were being loud, which we absolutely were not. After three days of persisting, we were given a second room near the main foyer, which was admittedly quieter but we could still hear the lady next door on the phone very clearly. I am not a light sleeper, but even I found it incredibly frustrating. ||||The food was a reasonable standard, but fairly repetitive in a standard buffet format. The restaurant got very busy, so don't expect a relaxing dining experience. After a few days, we ate out at local restaurants for the main. ||||The beach was stoney, however on the rare occasion the sea was calm the snorkeling was great. The pool was od a decent standard. ||||All-inclusive drinks were fairly poor quality as expected and for some reason only available from the pool bar. It seems in the past that the hotel had a bar and seating in the foyer, which is pleasant but no longer used. The restaurant only served beer and wine with soft drinks. ||||The hotel seems quite tired in a lot of ways and is, in my opinion, not 4-Star-worthy. The rooms are Travel Lodge level, except with peeling paint in places, dirty glass and tired fixtures and fittings. There is no water available in the fridge and you have to purchase over-priced bottles from the on-site shop if you can't make it to the market. ||||Sadly, we spent most of our time out of the hotel as there was plenty to do in the surrounding area, and I strongly recommend having a hire car which was a life-saver for us.||||Staff were a mixture of exceptionally polite (mainly the cleaners and general staff) and borderline-rude (some of the bar staff and desk staff). ||||I have no doubt that if this review receives a reply, the hotel will say that their other reviews are outstanding, and that so many good reviews cannot be wrong, however I do feel that I have to emphasise the noisiness of the rooms so that others may be spared the sleeplessness we experienced (even with earplugs). In high season, this hotel is not cheap and for the money, I expected much more. ||||Overall, some positives, some negatives but if you want a peaceful, relaxing holiday, this hotel probably...

This is an honest review with no axe to grind. ||In the interest of fairness let's start by saying what the hotel does well. Nice grounds, great wifi and they clean your room daily. That's it I'm afraid.||Let's start with the rooms. The rooms are extremely dated. You have no complementary robe, trouser press, iron, mini bar and the safe, which I have never come across, you have to pay for. 10 days will cost you just over 33 Euro. The curtains didn't fit the window properly, so when the sun which came up directly opposite my window around 6am, the light flooded in. The standard in the rooms really is not good as are other areas of the hotel and I will upload images.||Activities and entertainment. None and little. So the weather took a turn and there was five days of rain and storms. Obviously not the hotels fault but if you don't have a vehicle to get out then what are you going to do? No indoor pool, sauna, steam, massages didn't start until May 1st, which by the way looked like it was an outside company from my enquires, no yoga/pilates, zero kids clubs, literally no activity coordinator. As for entertainment this was about 2/3 times a week at the pool bar. The only bar. Maybe further into the season they have entertainment nightly.||I could forgive all of this but not the standard and choice of the food. This was below average. Everyday the fruit was the same. Apple and oranges at breakfast, apple, oranges and pineapple with banana at lunch and dinner. Never any berries, kiwi, melon, grapes, nothing. They had a meat stand where they cooked 2 meats a night. Every night one was liver and the other chicken or lamb chump chops. I'm working class and brought up on liver but I don't expect it at a hotel purporting to be 5. The other meats were always tough and over cooked. I love seafood and they often had calamari in various forms but then I spotted the crab sticks. Yes, the ones which have no crab in and we get in the UK. 5? I don't think so. There are no other restaurants or themed nights like a bbq night. Therefore, you eat here or eat out. I was all inclusive and started to eat out in the evenings which added to my holiday expense. Oh btw, as did the 15 Euro nightly tourist charge for a 5* hotel which I wouldn't have minded if this was actually a 5* hotel. On another note the red wine is like vinegar. I tried it once. I did come away with a gift of a small bottle of the red bearing the hotel name. I gave to to my friend who promptly messaged me with expletives. Just wanted a second opinion. ||This could be a nice hotel if they invested in better quality and choice of food, had a spa fitted, update the rooms as well as an activity coordinator for adults and kids alike. Honestly, I get the feeling they just want the money and couldn't really care. Shame because some of the best holidays I've ever had have been on...