The Royal Senses Resort Crete, Curio Collection by Hilton

Lovely hotel. And had a great stay, but encountered various isues, which were dealt with. Firstly the Pro's: -Amazing facilities, espcially for kids as well. The highlight was the heated main pool and adjacent kids pool. Stayed in some luxury hotels before but not with heated pools. -Generally great staff, and mostly good service. -Some lovely rooms, although a bit bland. We had a Villa with private pool and sunbeds. Con's: -The diagonal lift can be slow, waiting upto 5 mins if busy. Not really an alternative. -We were missing an umbrella on our patio, but just had a stand. I had to ask 3 seperate days, on the 3rd day eventually spoke to the Guest Relation mananger - Ivita (very helpful) who arranged it. -Had to call maintanace 4 times to our room, who were usually very prompt. Faulty TV needed replacing, Bedside lights did not work, and bathroom plug got stuck down twice. Needs a proper fix really. -Room had an intermittant smell of sewerage. Reported it but told them dont worry about looking into until we had gone as wasnt that bad. -Service in Gea buffet restaurant below par: Twice we were not asked for drinks after sitting down at all. Once we asked for a high chair which didnt arrive. Once my drink order wasnt taken correctly One day We asked the buffet supervisor for some speically made baby food if possible, she said io problem it would be 6-7 mins, and it never came. The next day we spoke to the Food and beverage mananger who was very helpful and arranged this going forward. -One day the shuttle bus from the Royal blue beach didnt come, we had to ring to request it urgently as we had a crying baby. Eventually waited 20 minutes after it was due We were given a complimentary meal in Mitato to make up for the issues which was great. -The service and food was slow in Mitato. We spent just over 2.5 hours in there for a 2 course meal. Our main meal took 45 mins to come and we had to ask for the bill twice. I know some other tables waited over 1 hour for the main meal. Overall I really do like this hotel, but I think perhaps we were unlucky with all the issues we had. Hopefully if we stay again it would all be resolved. Special mention to Refela and Jenny in the main resturant. Eva on Concierge, and The previously mentioned Guest Relations manager and Food and Beverage manager for trying to solve our issues.

The most incredible stay! Me and my partner stayed here for a week, first time in both Crete and this hotel; and we were not disappointed. Firstly, we stayed at the suite with private pool, steep price but worth every penny. The room was big and bright and the pool and terrace was just amazing. Secondly, the service, smile and genuine warmth of every employee - from the cleaning staff to restaurants, breakfast, bar, reception, concierge and pool areas was beyond what we have experienced anywhere else. This was the absolute highlight of our stay. Thirdly, the attention to details and attentiveness from the hotel, from sending a bottle of bubbles and note to our room without notice, to a good bye gift and fruit platters and accommodation to our requests was a really nice touch. Some things we would have liked to see be different, there were a lot of families with very small kids which we did not expect and it did affect the experience from time to time. We also did not manage to get a table at the fine dining restaurant which was a little disappointing, and there was only one other choice as we did not half board. The food there was however really good, but it did not beat the pop up lunch restaurant (wow, the food and service there was so good that we went there for four days, we wished this was open at night time!). The wine selection available at the hotel overall was unfortunately not great for wine lovers as most were Cretan and not really any other options which I would expect at a high end place like this. The few things we would change however, is nothing compared to how wonderful our experience was. Truly thank you to all the staff for making it that way.

Just returned from a 3-night couples' stay here and had a great time overall. We did experience some maintenance and service inconsistencies and some strange management decisions (kids in spa pool?) which prevent us from leaving 5 stars. Based on our experience with other resorts, this is probably closer to a 4.0-star property than a 4.5 or 5-star property. Pros: -As Diamond members, we were upgraded from a private pool room to a duplex Royal Senses Villa, which was gigantic and lovely and was much appreciated. The beautiful, light-filled marble shower on the second floor was a treat as was the 2nd floor balcony w/ daybed and the huge 1st floor patio and pool -The facilities are new & clean, and the common spaces are beautifully designed -Panoramic views of the ocean from what seemed like most rooms' balconies. Ironically, you may end up with a better view from the lower-elevation rooms, because our top-end, highest-elevation Royal Senses Villa balcony was high enough to see the busy road and tops of other buildings which somewhat detracts from the otherwise gorgeous view of the ocean. The surrounding area (to the left and right of the resort) is largely empty lots which are not particularly picturesque. -Large breakfast buffet with lots of high-quality options -Unique glass funicular elevator/lift with beautiful views. As some reviewers noted it's slow, but that didn't bother us as we weren't rushing around and loved taking in the view -Staff we interacted with were for the most part super friendly and welcoming, in particular the check-in staff and those at the spa -Location is a nice jumping-off point to explore the middle of Crete (a few beautiful beaches are within an hours' drive, great restaurants in Rethymno within 30 mins) Cons: Cold private pool & outdoor shower temps -Many rooms here have private pools (amazing!), but they are not heated (with the exception of a minority of the top-end rooms which can be heated for 150 EUR). If you go in the shoulder season, just be aware that this essentially renders the private pools unusable / a cold plunge if the weather isn't super hot. We could only reasonably use the private pool for a portion of one day of our 3-night stay in late May and even then only briefly due to the cold water temp. Similarly, the outdoor showers do not have a hot water tap which leads to the same issue :( Lack of hot tubs -Although the adults-only outdoor pool near the spa has sectioned-off areas which look like they would be hot tubs, and they do have jets, they are not actually a different temp than the rest of the pool (at least during our visit). It would be nice to have a hot tub available during the shoulder seasons. Spa --Allows anyone (including children!) into the indoor 'spa pool' area. Typically spas only allow guests with same-day treatments in order to maintain a serene / uncrowded environment; this was not the case here which is a big mistake in my opinion (imagine paying a few hundred euros for a t

We chose Creta, and The Royal Senses Resort & Spa almost by coincidence as the destination to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, and sort of a second honeymoon... and we couldn't have asked for anything better. The island is beautiful and the atmosphere of both the island and the hotel are exactly what we look for when going on holidays. The whole property and all the facilities are amazing, very tastefully decorated. Our room, having our own private pool, such wonderful views, and such peaceful, relaxing, and healing ambiance was dreamy. We would like to acknowledge and appreciate all the staff and the exceptional service each and every one of them provide, that really makes the difference. But above all, the outstanding profesionalism, amazing work, the closeness, friendliness, and always-there-smile from Rafaella, Anna, Eirini (making us feel at home at the restaurant), and Niki (spotlessly preparing our room everybody). we would like to appreciate, Our stay would have not be the same without them. We have just returned and can only wait for our next stay there, and that this happen as soon as possible. Thanks for everything!

Me and my partner stayed here the last week in June for her 40th birthday. The transfer from the airport is around 50 mins but it goes really fast. First impressions of the hotel is wow…. The hotel is set back from the main road and its sister hotel which is directly on the beach. The beach is around a 10 minute walk if that. The location is spectacular, the sunsets are some of the best I have ever experienced. As you arrive at the hotel you are greeted with a refreshing ice cold face towel and an amazing cocktail. On our arrival there was some confusion at the reception over the booking details but this was the tour operators fault and not the hotels. I can’t emphasise enough the cleanliness of the hotel and how pleasant the staff are. They all engage with you and you are greeted daily with a smile. You are literally treated like royalty. We were staying in a deluxe king room with our own pool which was amazing. The room is stocked with all sorts of complimentary items including toothbrush, sewing kit, soaps etc… I know that everyone brings there own but it’s just those little extras that makes the hotel stand out from the rest. The food is outstanding… we had originally planned to explore and eat out a few nights but the location is a little remote but this was perfect as we wanted a no hassle holiday. As I said the variety of food was excellent. This is a family resort so there was children about, this wasn’t a problem for us but if you are looking for adults only you may want to look elsewhere. Having said that it wasn’t overrun with children and it was a lovely atmosphere. Your room is cleaned daily, fresh towels if you want and there’s also a turn down service we found after returning to our room at night, our curtains were drawn, pool lights on, bins emptied and the room left at a nice temperature. One thing I will say is that it can be expensive, there is a supermarket on site which is more expensive than any other resorts we have stayed at. I would suggest walking to the supermarket which is about a 6-8 minute walk down the hill. Even this was expensive, more like UK prices but I think this is because they are the only supermarket in the immediate area. Example a bottle of wine is around 10 - 15 euros, soft drinks per can are 2 euros, Box of Pringles 3.50 euros. This didn’t pose a problem but I guess it’s good to know before you travel. Sunbeds wise, there are loads. There is no need to be up and out to reserve a sunbed and there are fresh poolside towels daily around the main pool. Entertainment. If you are luckily enough to be here on a Saturday morning there is a live saxophonist at breakfast which is a very nice touch. Evening entertainment is varied, they have live singers from local music to world music. There’s also a DJ on some nights which was good and played a variety of songs. I note the hotel went the extra mile, they brought an ice bucket with prosecco, fresh fruit and a birthday cake to celebrate my par