The Royal Blue Resort & Spa Crete

The room

It was perfect

Friendly staff, nice rooms, superb amenities. Great location

Nothing

A beautiful and peaceful hotel. The location is quite remote, but with a car, it’s easy to explore Rethymno, nearby villages, hiking trails and other sights. We had a room with a shared pool, which was great. There’s some privacy, while still being close to the beach and other facilities. The rooms are beautiful and clean, with very comfortable beds. Breakfast was good quality, with plenty of choice. The reception staff were friendly and helpful and genuinely did their best to resolve the issues we experienced with our rooms.

There seems to be quite a bit of variation in room quality and overall experience. We ended up changing rooms twice. The first room was very noisy, as it was close to a maintenance entrance. The second had a terrible sewage smell coming into the room from somewhere. We also tried all the à la carte restaurants for lunch and dinner, but found them a bit pricey and the food somewhat uninspiring.

The beach and the swimming pools

We received a 2-Star Room at 5-Star Prices This was not a 5-star room but barely two stars. I arrived disappointed, and unfortunately, the experience only got worse. The room was very small (definetely not 30 m2 we booked) outdated, and looked nothing like the pictures online (no sofa bed plus double bed - there was no space for both in the room - which had max 16 m2). There was no iron, the phone couldn’t even contact reception, and the entire space felt neglected. I had to wait a full day and a night just to be moved to a room that actually fit what I booked. I lost valuable vacation time packing, following up, and solving problems that shouldn’t exist at this big price. The Kids Club was poorly managed, and at the children’s pool, they had no towels available. Staff told me to go to another pool to get one. Why set up sunbeds and a kids’ pool if you can’t provide something as basic as towels? Worse, the elevators weren’t working, and reception rarely answers calls. I had an incident in the room and was told someone from cleaning would come — they apeared after 4 hours. I had to chase them down myself, repeatedly. On top of it all, the hotel charges for water in the restaurants even if you book half board - there is practically no available drinkable water there - you have to order it at 5 euro/bottle. At breakfast they serve some in tiny glass vases - clearly limiting access to something as essential as water. Depending on family, prepare yourself to spend just on water about 25 -35 eur per day for 5 - 7 bottles (750 ml). This stay has been a constant frustration. Outdated rooms, poor service, lack of communication, and disorganization. Definitely not five stars! We will never return, and I strongly suggest you think twice before booking.