Guest User
September 27, 2023
After we visited the Hara Ilios apartments back in august 2022, we couldn’t wait to turn back to this beautiful hotel. I’ll be writing about our first time here (august 2022). We had an amazing warm welcome at the reception with a cool lemon drink when we waited for the key to our room. We got a room upgrade, where we surprisingly had a suite with a private pool! We didn’t book this suite in the first place, but ofcourse we didn’t mind! The second time we came around, we booked a normal room. Obviously it was not as luxurious as the first time, but it was great anyway! The room is being cleaned every morning. The hotel is also very eco friendly giving that they only put clean towels in the room, if you’ve thrown your dirty towels on the bathroom floor. They mention this when you first come into your room as well, to strive for a green environment. We thought this is a very big step to sustainability coming from a hotel! The public pool was also great and very clean. The bar next to the pool area is provided with tropical cocktails, delicious bites and friendly staff. The hotel is near the coast, so if you rather bathe in the sea, it’s only 2 minutes away from where you are staying! There are a few restaurants close to the hotel, but if you’d rather stay in for the night, you can also dine at the hotels restaurant. The buffet here has a broad range of food, and also has a delicious choice of desserts. As the hotel is not too far located from the Heraklion airport, there are many planes that fly over. We found it really awesome to see these arrive throughout the entire day, but I quite understand it to be annoying to some people. There are multiple ways to explore the island. To go from Gouves, where the hotel is, you can take the bus at bus stop 13 to Heraklion, the capital city of the island. The hotel also has connections with tour guides that provide excursions to multiple areas of Crete. Not only do you visit the beautiful landmarks of the isle, but you also see the magnificent landscapes during the bus ride. The third way to get to know the island better, is to rent a car that the hotel provides. We didn’t do this, but it’s a great opportunity to discover the area yourself! Last but not least, the staff was incredibly friendly. The second time we visited, they remembered us. It was truly amazing to see how well the hotel is treating their guests! They are an ultimate factor in the experience of our time here! An amazing thank you to the crew! Both of our stays were excellent!