Myrion Beach Resort & Spa - Adults Only — Hotel in Municipality of Platanias

We stayed for about a week at the beginning of August. Overall, the stay was pleasant and the property was beautiful. However, there were a few areas of service, design, and experience that could be improved.||We let the hotel know we would be arriving late (midnight) and they very thoughtfully had a snack and bottle of wine waiting for us in the room. Definitely a much appreciated detail.||The core of the property is absolutely beautiful, from the approach down to the pool area and then the great lawn before you get to the beach. It does feel like they have a lot of underutilized space. Even some furniture or really anything on the various patio levels coming down from main building would be good. It just feels very empty in certain spaces.||The room itself was fine but felt designed by someone who has never stayed in a hotel. It was clean and the air-conditioning worked perfectly. One of the biggest issues is that there’s no counter in the bathroom area so there’s no area for a person let alone two to put toiletries. The shower is poorly designed such that the entire bathroom floods when you shower. It doesn’t seem to be a drainage issue, but instead grading. You have to use a towel to keep the water from getting into the room, so then you end up with a soaking wet towel. There's also not anywhere to hang more than one towel. There’s a towel hook next to the shower, but if you’re more than one person, we had to rig up one of the hangers in the closet to hang the other towel. Housekeeping was great every day, promptly cleaning while we were out. We normally wouldn’t have the room serviced every day on vacation, but were kind of forced to due to the shower situation and the lack of places to hang towels.||The room felt like a regular hotel room, fine, but nothing special. We were at least facing the pool side of the hotel. I can’t imagine how miserable it would be to be facing out of the property. One downside was that the grounds crew liked to have their morning chat/cigarette right outside our window, waking us up on the one morning we wanted to sleep in as they hung out there from about 7AM-8AM. We also originally debated getting the next level room, but are glad we didn’t. It seems that the ground level rooms in the first two buildings facing in are some of the better rooms. The more expensive rooms with the long shared pool are overlooked by the main pool area, so we noticed none of those rooms even really used their private pool much. Just something to know if you’re considering booking that for privacy.||Service: back to that bottle of wine we were very nicely gifted, we didn’t finish it the first night, so the next day we called and asked for fresh glasses. They said it would be a room service charge if they brought us clean glasses (have never encountered this before) but that we could go ask at the pool bar. One person at the pool bar said they’re not supposed to give out glasses, but they could give out plastic cups. Another person said they’d “make an exception.” It’s just very little details like these that should be easily manageable and not an issue that dragged down the quality of the property a little. Most properties at this level would have just brought the glasses the first time no questions asked.||Ambiance: when we arrived on Saturday night, we expected at least a little activity in the lobby. Part of the reason to stay at a resort rather than a rental is for the vibe. The lobby was an absolute ghost town, beautiful, but a ghost town. It also seemed a bit odd that the lobby bar was closed at that time, in fact we never saw it open. There also seemed to be next to no one on the property. Yes it was around midnight, but it was a Saturday night. Maybe at least a little music in the lobby would give it a slight vibe. We walked through again the next day at 7pm and it was the same and again on our last full day before going to dinner and same thing.||Pool: The pool area was nice. We were usually able to find two chairs, but there were a couple days that there was no space. This was due in large part to people seemingly leaving their towels or belongings and going off to do other things. The pool towels are on lockdown, again something I see as the sign of a lower grade hotel. You get them from the lifeguard, so the one day the lifeguard wasn’t there, it was self serve and when they were out, they were out. There was also inconsisentcy in terms of if there was someone there to hand out towels, they’d ask your room number; they’d sometimes ask your room number when you return; if no one was there, people would just walk up and take them from the lifeguard stand or throw them in the bucket to return, so it didn’t seem to make any sense to keep track of the room number.||Parking: we did not have an issue parking at the resort. We were very happy to have a car because it felt like you really needed one given the location to be able to fully enjoy the area. It seems like the originally intended parking is along one side of the resort, but that filled up by the evening, so you drive down to another little annex. Again, just a detail, but didn’t really fit with the caliber of hotel. There is a guard house that has to open the gate to enter the property and to exit on the other side. You just pull up and wait. We were never really sure of the correct procedure, and no one ever told us. On our FIFTH day, the guard flagged us down for the first time during our stay after letting us in, to ask our room number, which we gave him. He then FOLLOWED US AROUND THE BUILDING to the parking lot and just watched us. Very off putting. If you’re supposed to stop and provide your room number every time you enter (which would be inconvenient), they should at least tell you this at some point. Or maybe just have it so you buzz yourself in with your key, or issue parking passes. A few hours later when we returned from dinner in the evening, the same guard stopped us, asked our room number, which we gave him, and asked if we were checking in, in that order. The next day, when we came back from our activity during the day, a different guard let us in, came out of the guardhouse, but then waved us on without asking anything. So we’re still not clear on what exactly you’re supposed to do. It’s just that little lack of consistency and clarity that you don’t really want to deal with on vacation.||The gym: I generally try to seek out a hotel like this with a gym. If that’s important to you, this one will be just adequate, but not great. The indoor gym itself along with the spa is in the basement of one of the buildings. You have this beautiful property and then go into a depressing basement for the spa and gym. There were two treadmills (of not great quality) and one elliptical, single cable station, a single adjustable bench and a set of free weights up to 25kg. I was able to get in a few workouts, but once more than two people are in the gym it’s definitely a bit crowded. It would also be great to have a TV or at least a mirror in front of the treadmills so you’re not staring at the wall. The spa attendant confirmed the gym is 24 hours but there’s conflicting information in the hotel’s own materials. On our second day we discovered an outdoor gym area behind the pool bar (would’ve been nice to have been informed about this in some way). It’s a great idea but again poorly executed. They need more equipment because the way it’s arranged if there are multiple people, you’re constantly in each other's way. They should have an attendant, too, or at the very least water along with towels.||Beach: the beach area could definitely use some work to make it a bit nicer. It was fine, but again seemed like a bit of an afterthought.||Most of the issues seem easily fixable, matters of design and training. The actual property did at least seem nicer than other properties in this general area. I would still recommend but with a...

This review is going to be 100% honest and our experience.

TL;DR - 3 stars. Breakfast could have been much better, Room descriptions and beach pictures are deceptive (explanation below), staff are amazing and the best check in process I ever seen.

The check in - The hotel check in process is amazing. Keep it up! I don't want spoilers, but instead of standing in line, waiting for the check in sign up and everything, you sit on comfortable sofas, the staff come to you and help you through the process. I wish every hotel did it that way!

The hotel looks great and kept very clean. There are a few cats but they didn't bother us and didn't get on chairs or tables. Great sized pool, most of the time we had sunbeds available even with what seemed full capacity of the hotel (only one day we had a problem since there was black flag at the sea).

Food - Breakfast was a real bummer. Every day it was exactly the same. The lady working on the omeletes couldn't keep up as she only had one small pan instead of two. There weren't any non-hard cheeses like Greek yogurt/Tzisiki, Cream Cheese, Cottage, or anything other then butter to put on breads. Generally it just doesn't stand to the standard of the hotel, probably because no one is paying extra for it. If I could, I would not pay for breakfast and take it in the A La Carte restaurant. And, please please tell your staff to stop asking non stop if we are done with our plate. Every 3 minutes, even if I'm in the middle of a bite, they would come and want to take the plates. I understand that it's good intentions, but it's super annoying (relevant for dinner as well).

Dinner buffet was much much better, but for the price you pay, it should be. Every day it's different, suddenly there are a lot more exotic fruits like Pineapple. Suddenly there are 5 different soft cheeses + Tzisiki, 8 salads, 5 different proteins to choose from, amazing desserts. If breakfast was even 15% of what we had in dinner, it would have been much better. One critisim there is that they intentionally disable the water tap that you have in the morning to make you pay for water bottles (having said that, you get 2 free every day from room service).

But, the highlight of food in the hotel is the A La carte restaurant. Amazing food, different menu for breakfast lunch and dinner, everything was fresh and big. My honest opinion, don't pay for evening buffet even though it's good, just go to the restaurant and order what you want! For the price of the buffet, you can easily order 2 main courses, 2 starters + dessert and have change for drinks that anyway are not included in the buffet.

Now the biggest disappointment - the room. The room itself is nicely furnished, and clean. But we paid a lot extra for a sea view room which we didn't get! Since the hotel is not built towards the sea, one the last room of the hotel is actually a sea view room. This room has a 2-sides balcony + windows, one of them to the sea and one to the pool. But, we got the one next to it. Which only has 1 window and balcony towards the pool, even though we paid for sea view! The pictures on the site are from the first room, obviously. When we contacted the staff, they said that it's still considered sea view, since if we stand on the edge of the balcony, look THROUGH the balcony of the real sea view room that is next to you, you can see a glimpse of sea while harassing your neighbors (picture attached, while the phone was over the edge of our actual balcony. From the room you can't see the sea at all). They wouldn't do anything about that and wouldn't give the difference in money back. That is very very wrong. DO NOT BUY THE SEA VIEW ROOM AS IT'S A ROLLETE IF YOU GET A REAL SEA VIEW OR JUST A SIDE SEA VIEW.

Finally - the beach. Sunbeds are included in the price, which is a very good thing as other hotels charge 5euro per bed. But, in the pictures of the hotel the beach is sandy. In reality - it is FILLED WITH PEBBLES and it's very hurtful to walk into the sea without sea shoes.

I wish the hotel would fix the...

A modern, very clean hotel.||Access available for all as there are ramps and lifts and side access points.||Ideal for those wanting to just get away from it all and relax for a few days.||Refreshments are available on site but this complex is not designed for serious drinkers. A refreshment with lunch is available, though I would urge guests to get out to other local establishments for that more traditional Cretan feel and welcome when chasing a serious drink as well as eating out on an evening. There are plenty restaurants in easy walking distance.||Rooms cleaned daily and all staff are polite. My wife liked the manager very much but I felt he liked me more 😎.||Beautiful Spa area and gym inside and outide. as well as small indoor pool.||One large swimming pool which looked amazing but is not heated so I was not trying it out myself this time of year despite our luck with excellent weather.||Beach is simply nature’s production, made up of course sand and pebble. This is not man made Dubai, it’s natures very own creation and I enjoyed watching the swifts chasing insects, the butterflies dancing, large beetles buzzing by, lots of ladybirds, the waves gently breaking, as well as watching the odd military exercise and occasional top gun pilot just showing off.||Breakfast - no complaint. Hit and cold - it’s all on offer.||Buffet meal - no complaint. If we visited again I would not include this preferring our nights out and a few days eating outside the resort.||Ala carte restaurant (extra charge)- we did not sample so no comment.||Criticism is that the lobby bar was not open on our visit. What a shame as it’s a beautiful area in the hotel , simply wasted and would create more buzz I feel. It’s just lacking a bit of buzz. Nit too much buzz, just a bit more buzz. Lobby bars are meeting places, mixing places, passing points, drop in points. This hotel lacks that single attribute.||Bus stops right outside for Platanias and Chania or top road to Kolimvari. 8 euro return to Chania. Good transport but hold out your hand or he’ll be gone just as anywhere else in the world and it’s not always clear as some coaches double as busses. Flag them all!||The Grand canyon tour on the little fun train is well worth the money and lasts 3.5 hours and only 22 euros. Our friends said the other trip taking in the brewery was very good too. The seven villages needs something more but it’s a couple hours to see the area I suppose but not as good.||Taxi is quite expensive. 12 euro to Platanias compared to 4 euro for a couple on the bus which is equally as quick and often as convenient. But there’s times you need a taxi and they are very nice taxis .||We caught a bus to Kolimvari and walked to the monastery. It’s only 1km and very pleasant but I understand a little train might go there as well. Beautifully kept ancient buildings and excellent museum in the crypt. Monastery access 3 euro entry. Then a nice bite to eat and a couple of beers near the new harbour was very relaxing before catching the bus back.||Hope this review helps but as far as Myrion Beach?……what’s not to...