Miramare Villas

Our first time in Crete, and overall we had a lovely, very relaxed holiday , myself, my husband and our 14-year-old daughter , such a beautiful place.

The hotel itself was lovely and comfortable, with the most beautiful views. Wherever you looked, you were greeted with gorgeous scenery, which really added to the experience.Our room had a sea view , and we could basically see the majority of the beautiful island.

We were half board and found the food to be very nice. There wasn't a huge amount of choice, but luckily we're not fussy eaters and certainly aren't "beige food" people, so this wasn't an issue for us. The restaurant and bar staff were fantastic , very attentive, friendly and approachable, and we really couldn't fault them.

One area we did find disappointing was the pool area. The pools themselves were lovely and very clean, but there were surprisingly few sunbeds. I don't mean that we couldn't get one because the hotel was overcrowded , there simply weren't many beds available, despite there being plenty of empty and baron space around the pools where more beds could easily have been placed. We also didn't see any lifeguards around any of the three outdoor pools during our stay, which we found quite strange.

The onsite shop was a disappointing experience. On the morning we arrived, 8th August 2026, we accidentally purchased two low-calorie beers when we thought we'd bought non-alcoholic drinks. We realised our mistake almost immediately and simply asked if we could swap them.

Unfortunately, the lady serving us made us feel extremely uncomfortable and awkward. She tutted, shook her head, rolled her eyes and told us that we'd caused her a "big problem" and that her boss wouldn't be happy with her. This was all done in front of other guests. We completely acknowledged that we'd made a mistake and were more than happy to rectify it, but the way we were spoken to was unnecessary and embarrassing. Needless to say, we didn't spend another penny in the shop for the remainder of our stay but went to the little shop a few minutes down the road who were so appreciative of our regular daily visits and our custom.

The majority of the reception team and other staff, however, were absolutely fabulous. A special mention has to go to Eleni, who clearly loves her job. She was so helpful, kind, approachable and genuinely couldn't do enough for us. Thank you so much, Eleni, for simply being such a lovely person , you really made a difference.

Unfortunately, our experience with one particular member of reception was the complete opposite. She had short red hair (we did'nt manage to get her name) and appeared to be in her late 50s. I have to be honest and say that she was, to put it politely, rude, condescending and unnecessarily unkind.

As we had a very late flight home at 2:40am, we had pre-arranged to keep our room/or another room until later on our final day , 7.00pm to be precise. Despite having discussed and arranged this the day before with another member of reception , she told us that we couldn't have the room and appeared to suggest that we were lying about the arrangement , although when she looked in the diary it was all there written down. She also told us that we definitely wouldn't be allowed to dine at the hotel once we had checked out at 11am, essentially making it clear that after checkout, we were no longer their problem.

To make matters worse, (the same woman with the short red hair) when our private transfer arrived , slightly earlier than expected , she told the driver that she wasn't aware of us, despite having seen us waiting with our luggage. She even appeared to offer our privately paid-for transfer to another guest.

We found the whole interaction incredibly unpleasant and completely unnecessary. Customer service is such an important part of a hotel experience, and unfortunately this particular member of staff left a very negative impression on what had otherwise been a lovely stay.

Overall, we really enjoyed our first trip to Crete and had a relaxing holiday. The hotel has a lot going for it , beautiful surroundings,amazing views throughout , comfortable accommodation, good food and some genuinely wonderful staff. However, the lack of sunbeds and, most importantly, the way we were treated by two members of staff did take the shine off what could otherwise have been an excellent experience.

A special thank you again to Eleni and the restaurant and bar teams , you were brilliant and are a real credit to the hotel.

Lovely massage, felt less tense and very relaxed once finished. Would recommend. Smaragda was fantastic