THE ROYAL BLUE RESORT & SPA CRETE

Upon our arrival in the afternoon, greeted by concierge and sat for awhile waiting for directions around the place, room#, etc. so I asked where the breakfast would be in the morning(told by TA it was included but was not clearly written in itinerary just entitled a “Bed & Breakfast”) and was told they did not have complimentary breakfasts. Asked again in a different way, showed them our itinerary, and was told absolutely not & we could pay for the breakfast at the restaurant if we head towards to pools. We could have been reimbursed for the cost for this mistake but the Royal Hotel in Rethymno LIED and told our agent they never said there was no breakfast. So waited until we took off for the day to get a meal. It is also a fairly long walk to get water, food, etc. and because pathways are not lit well (no directions either) I tripped on the rasied stone (not flat) pathway several times and jarred my back which got worse each time. Need clear directions on the pathways to lobby, store, boutique, restaurants, etc as the maps had no ‘pathway names’ so I ended up in a maze (no lighting) & went through buildings to find my way or some help. No one would help navigate around the place except the nice employee at the little store & the young lady @ boutique when they were there during the day. Delos Travel (TA) charged 2X the price of Expedia and the hotel would not give me a receipt for what we paid for the room during our stay and told us they were not allowed to give that to us…..??

Who was travelling? Family, 4 adults How long was our stay? 10 days We had an excellent experience in the Royal Blue Resort in September 2024!!! More Details: Rooms: We stayed the first days for full relaxation in the Azure Blue Residence and it was amazing. Two bed rooms with ensuite bath room, living room, separate bathroom, kitchenette, living and dining room, own private pool, own parking lot. Space, space, space; privacy, privacy, privacy - believe me, we all loved it. Afterwards we moved to the Superior Suites Sea View to be as close as possible to the sea. What should I say other than: another excellent experience I can only recommend as well! Service Staff: If anybody asks where to find super friendly, real and authentic hospitality in Crete, my clear answer is: visit The Royal Blue Resort. Thank you very much to each and every single one on the team, it was a pleasure to stay with you. Food: Excellent, nothing more to be added. Beach: Sandy beach in artificial bay, enabling swimming independently from the tides. We loved it! Gym: well equiped, clean, air conditioned - nice experience SPA: Variety of services, I chose a relaxing massage - amazing experience Summary: We can highly recommend a stay at The Royal Blue Resort in Crete. TRY IT!

Well the hotel service was lovely and nothing was too much, everyone was competent at there jobs and a jewel in the crown if the hotel. The hotel was clean and with a private beach. I will visit again. We enjoyed the breakfast and dinner buffet. I love my desserts to more the menu but on the whole the food was great.

This was our second visit to The Royal Blue, having spent a week there at the start of the season. I’m pleased to say that our stay was even better this time around. Starting with the slight negatives, we still felt that the weak spot in the hotel is the reception staff. They are the face of the hotel - your first point of contact- and we just felt that some staff members were slightly lacking in providing information. They were very quick to refer you to the hotel app - all well and good, but we’d selected this spot for its quiet location with the intention of switching off our phones for a week! We chose HB as a dining option - food was plentiful and hot each evening but we’d have liked to see more Greek dishes each day. These were very minor niggles though as the positives far outweighed the negatives. The location is just idyllic - close to Panormos for an evening out if needed and hiring a car gets you to other places easily . This is not the place for you if you want a lively nightlife but is absolute paradise for those that just want to relax and unwind . The staff in the restaurant were all young and many had been away from their families for months but were full of smiles . Special mentions to the wonderfully elegant Maria who showed us to our table each day with a smile and a chat , little Katherine who served us with a smile and the very smiley Roka (apologies for spelling these wrong) who recommended wines to us . The beach was just beautiful and , due to its construction, we were able to swim even on stormy days. The cabanas were an added touch of luxury. I am however saving the best until last . The person that makes this place a standout 5 * resort is the beach supervisor , Vassilis. In fact he is the sole reason we returned to this resort this year . This man knows how to provide a full 5* service , treating guests like royalty . Nothing was ever too much trouble for him and his small staff . Despite it being the end of the season and his staff had been reduced to just two , his level of service was impeccable. There were times when he was absolutely flat out but he never stopped smiling . On two days he was also manning the bar - he was a jack of all trades and needs special recognition for the great ambassador he is for the hotel . Vassilis we thank you for making our stays so memorable and incredibly special! We were able to chat to the hotel manager on our last morning . He seems genuinely proud of his hotel and was very open to our suggestions for small improvements which was refreshing! Royal Blue you have a small piece of our hearts and we’ll hopefully be back - if only to see Vassilis ! :)

A really wonderful 7 night stay with my husband. Such a gloriously relaxing atmosphere. The best wonderfully serene and polite reception staff. Generally the staff cannot do enough for you, always smiling and ready to help and answer questions. Too many of them to give a special mention - but a 'big Thank you!' Even at the end of the season everything spotlessly clean and tidy. Great staff to guest ratio. You have a fantastic choice of adult pool (where we spent a lot of time), a larger sea water pool and the beach with areas to walk and explore. All the sunbed umbrella's have call buttons so you can be lazy and request someone comes a takes your drink order - mine was a Mojito! Also a choice of other restaurants. We went half board which we found enough as we don't eat much so were happy with no lunch. Food in main restaurant varied and tasty. The hotel was fairly full but it always felt like you had plenty of space around you. Good cocktail bar as well. We got a private transfer from the airport and back which was well worth it. We would definitely like to return next year for a longer stay.