Phāea Cretan Malia, a Member of Design Hotels

atmosphere was great! nice fruniture & design, landscaping was great with sun and shadow options and gave a very good vibe all over. kids club was perfect, restaurants good & nicely done! staff was super friendly but maybe a bit slow due to end of season…

I thought most was fantastic! staff could have been more on their toes with table service, and speed of things was sometimes not as speedy as in northern europe ;)

- In general hotel is trying to meet 5* resort requirements, however there are certain gaps that need to be addressed. - Very nice and green territory. You feel like in botanic garden. Especially comparing to the other hotels in this area. - They have 4 restaurants and couple of cafes/bars. Especially we liked Mourie Greek restaurant for the dinner. Food and wine was very good. Interiors and atmosphere as well. Italian restaurant was also nice. Staff was very good in both. We didn’t visit Meze restaurant, because it is adults only for the dinner. Breakfast was good in the main restaurant, however there is only one station where they actually cook food in front of you. - Staff was good and professional in general. Especially in the restaurants. - Beach was nice in general, however part of the beach is rocky, so there are really only few places with nice sandy entry. - They have plenty of parking places. - Bed in the room was quite comfortable, however lining/bedding could be of better quality.

- The most annoying thing was a noise and loud music from the neighbor hotel almost till 11pm each day. - I think that hotel is a bit overpriced. Prices in the restaurants are also much higher than in similar level and quality restaurants in the towns across Crete. - We didn’t use gym but IMHO it’s a little bit small and crowdy. - They have nice pools, but the water was a bit cold for us late September. I would suggest to turn on at least minimal heating. - Waiter button didn’t work on the beach for us. We tried few times but nobody came to us so we had to go to the bar ourselves. - Cocktails could be better IMHO. They are quite expensive, but we really liked only few cocktails made by one barman on the beach bar. - Cleaning in the rooms could be better tbh. There were certain gaps and missing things, but in general it was OK. I liked that they do cleaning in the morning while you are on the beach. They could provide at least drinking water for free. - We really missed some carpets on the floor at least near the bed. And also they could have provided mini Nespresso coffee machine in each room tbh. - Water pressure was quite poor in the shower.

.This Place is amazing especially for families with little children (under 5) If you are looking for unrivaled luxury, tranquility, and high-end amenities (especially a pristine private beach), and do not mind being secluded from local towns and main routes, this hotel is an excellent choice. However, future guests should be aware of the isolated location and the premium charged for the accommodation compared to the size of the rooms.

Far from the main city and main road. The prices are high for end season in my perspective. The rooms from outside looks really old and fancy from the inside only.

Reception on arrival, friendly, prompt check in, lovely drink. The Food at Mezze. Proximity to the Sea. The Design elements, furniture, plants etc.. Staff - some staff were friendly, helpful and gorgeous! In particular the guys around reception :) However this is not a widespread culture throughout the hotel, see below. The air con in the rooms is heavenly! so needed in the hotter days. The beach bar setting is amazing to watch the sunset..

Cleanliness - patio furniture dirty and covered in ants, tables around pool side sunbeds sticky, Daily room clean so appalling my teenage sons took to hiding peanuts to see if they got cleaned up...they didnt :( Attitude of cleaning staff who even scared the pants off my teenage boys shouting 'out' when they arrived in the morning...nice! The 'militarian' attitude of staff at Mezze. Hello..we are on holiday..lighten up..you are a posh pool cafe..!! The inflexibility of hotel restaurants..you just arrived...long day travelling.. you have 2 teenage sons..and everywhere is 'reservation only' or closing early..apart from the expensive restaurant..interestingly. No chilled water on tap for guests (These days a given in most decent hotels), meaning you purchase more plastic bottles..super eco friendly. Staff - some amazing..some miserable and rude, for instance the gentleman at breakfast who not once said 'good morning' and whisked away chairs from my table without asking first if anyone was sitting there. Towels & belongings whisked away off your sunbed should you 'linger' at the Ice cream hut. Teenage areas, outside cinema etc are dead. No kids in sight. Equipment hit and miss. QR codes for EVERYTHING! annoying, some prices I noticed changed (more expensive not less) ..Leave your phone? forget your secret code..? oh dear. Pools - whilst gorgeous in design are not for adults at all. There is no pool for actually swimming in. The lazy river pool is surrounded by empty 'reserved' sun beds whilst guests visiting it put their belongings on the floor. The charge for in room coffee :( Nespresso pods are not such a luxury anymore..surely one per day is not too much to ask. Wine by the glass.I love to support local produce etc..but having in most places only Cretan wines for sale by the glass is not great. That no one was laughing and having a good time..very strained..no buzz, no vibe and no atmosphere.