Harmony E Rock Hotel — Hotel in Municipality of Ierapetra

Starting this review by being clear that I’m reviewing this as an ‘All-Inclusive’ experience. If you are looking at this hotel as a room-only deal, I would give it 5 stars.

THE ROOM: We booked a standard side sea view double room. It was immaculate, spacious and beautifully designed. The view from our balcony was stunning, looking out to sea and the pool area below. The balcony is spacious enough for socialising and has a clear glass barrier for uninterrupted views when seated. The bathroom was clean and luxurious - the only criticism would be that the shower leaks water very badly due to the poor design of the floor sloping. We were mopping up water with towels every morning. The television in the bedroom has lots of local digital channels (which I personally love) and a few other channels in German, English and French. It’s possible to use screen Mirroring to watch your apps on the TV too.

THE HOTEL: Immaculate. Very relaxing environment and wheelchair accessible too. The hotel itself is on a very steep slope and unless you are planning to spend your entire holiday at the hotel and the beach down the hill, a car is essential. It’s location does not allow easy access to nearby towns on foot, not even to go to a supermarket or a restaurant. There are two levels for parking that were sufficient for the number of guests. The pool area is relaxing and has lots of loungers and seating areas, including beds. There was never any issue finding a space to sunbathe.

THE STAFF All excellent. Kind, hardworking and welcoming. The receptionist, the bar men, the chefs, the cleaning staff and the waiters were always smiling and accommodating. They are an asset to the hotel.

THE FOOD This is where the hotel scores negatively for me. We booked as all-inclusive guests and based on our experience wouldn’t recommend it to others. The options for the all-inclusive buffet were limited and repetitive, and definitely geared towards their German clientele. I stuck with the grilled meats and salads, and was a little disappointed that there weren’t many Greek options for the main hot meals. If you are vegetarian it’s definitely not a good option for you, unless you like spaghetti with tomato sauce, dry pizza or salad. We ended up eating outside of the hotel most of the time, which defeated the purpose of booking an all-inclusive break.

At breakfast a lot of the food was over complicated - omelettes with things mixed in, grilled tomatoes with herbs and cheese on them. It’s difficult if you prefer plain options that you can customise yourself afterwards. The bread basket for breakfast, lunch and dinner was just added onto and as a result a lot of the bread was stale by the time we left.

The beer was very weak and tasted watered down and the wine was on tap which felt very budget for a 4 star hotel. The white wine was great, the red wine came out freezing cold and fizzy. I only had that once. The rose was okay.

THE BAR Once again, commenting as an all-inclusive guest. It’s very off-putting to look at a menu and have to calculate what you can and cannot have. I have posted the bar menu with this review for potential guests to look at before booking.

Cocktails are served in colourful plastic cups that are better placed in a school. The cups are small which means constantly getting up if you are lounging by the pool for a top up. There is no sparkling wine as part of the all-inclusive offering which I think is a huge oversight - the hotel was full of couples and no doubt some of them will be celebrating something. Not having a sparkling option at an all-inclusive is not good!

All-Inclusive drinks finish at 11pm, at which point you have to pay. Again, not appropriate for a 4 star hotel. This hotel should invest in proper clear plastic (which is needed for safety around the pool) vessels that resemble their glass equivalents. All cocktails should be included too if they are truly marketing themselves as a 4 star hotel.

CONCLUSION Book on a room-only basis for a 4...

Overall my wife and I had a great stay and we would come here again.

Positive Some of the staff were extremely friendly, especially Stavros from the Ala Carte restaurant and buffet and George at the front desk, he took extra special care of us during our 3:00 in the morning checkout, driving us to the bottom of the drive way to catch our bus, getting our breakfast prepared for us. Thank you Stavros and George for your hospitality!!! They both made our stay extra memorable and were so nice and helpful. The beds were extremely comfortable Guests staying for several days get a special five course dinner in the Ala Carte restaurant. This is a cool experience, but be aware it is a 2 hour dinner, but it is well worth it and a nice way to end a long day. While the hotel itself does not have it's own beach, that was fine, as a short 10 minute walk down the hill along a paved local road (you need to be fit enough to walk down the hill but it is not a difficult walk at all, it's just a little steep), there is a very nice and private beach, it is smaller, but it's the perfect size as there are not alot of people there. There is a beach club you can rent 2 chairs and umbrella for 12 EUR. The owner Manos was friendly and helpful. We ordered cold drinks there. Alot of people say you need to rent a car here, but if you only plan to stay at the hotel and walk down to the beach, you do not need a car at all, it depends what kind of vacation you are looking for. We came on a TUI trip (which I highly recommend) so they arranged a bus from the airport to the hotel, and if we wanted to stay at the hotel and beach the entire time it was perfect. BUT if you want to drive, the hotel offered rental cars there, or I found a company called Drivers Club that is near by and they were cheaper and had alot of options available, we used them and I highly recommend it. I really liked the food. It was a little repetitive, but what else do you expected from a buffet. I enjoyed it. Everything was fresh.

Negative Extremely limited All Inclusive drink selection. They have only 1 beer (draft) that is free, while a Corona or other beer is paid extra. Same with vodka, rum, red wine, white wine, etc, 1 kind is free while the other brands of it are paid extra. Cocktails are extremely limited, for example a pina colada is a paid extra drink, while a virgin pina colada is free, but it's kind of weird because technically you can order a virgin pina colada, and separately a shot of rum that both of those are free, but if you order a regular pina colada that is paid extra. Some staff not friendly at all. Particularly the pool bar staff, and one girl in the buffet restaurant Wifi is spotty, it cuts out from time to time so you could probably not rely on it for video meetings. My data network also cut out, so it’s likely due to the remote area and not much the hotel can...

From the moment we arrived at the harmony e rock hotel during the night, we had a fantastic experience. We were treated with love and care throughout our stay. The hotel itself is a peaceful paradise. The rooms are fantastic and we had chosen a room with a jacuzzi. Waking up every morning and taking a dip with a view of the beautiful surroundings is absolutely magical.

We have loved the staff at the hotel! We have the guys in the bar Nikos and Nikos and then the lovely Jenny who always makes you laugh when she makes such strong drinks. The lovely girls who work at the buffet and our dear Stavros who gives a feeling of family. The food during our all inclusive was super! always lots to choose from and you can tell the variety and it tastes like the food is prepared with love.

We also booked a massage in the hotel spa and we highly recommend visiting it! Not only do you get a lovely relaxing time but the staff who work there are also absolutely wonderful. The girl who sits at the reception inside the spa gives such good service that you feel the luxury right through.

But the person we want to give our gold stars to is our dear Katerina! She is the right person in the right place. She sits at the reception with a smile on her face and every day she does everything to ensure that her guests have the best experience and vacation. She helped us easily rent a car that we could also leave directly at the airport when our charter organizer could not give us that option. She gave us tips on the best beaches to visit, restaurants and even dishes we should try during our stay. She also made sure that we could enjoy our last hours in peace and quiet with a late check-out. Her warmness is incredible and we have so much love for this girl 🩷

We will definitely return to this magical place. We strongly recommend everyone who wants to visit Crete to book their stay at harmony e rock hotel. Thank you everyone at the hotel for making our stay here in Crete an unforgettable holiday. The best thing is that you all feel like a big family and the love you give to your guests is noticeable.

Many hugs from your...