Minos Palace Hotel & Suites

We stayed at this lovely adults-only hotel in September after a very busy summer looking after family, and it was exactly the relaxing break we needed. The location is peaceful, scenic, and within walking distance of Agios Nikolaos, which made visits into town accessible, we did get a taxi back though! |The hotel itself is modern, spotless, and wonderfully chilled. The pool area is gorgeous, with comfy sunbeds and a constant supply of clean beach towels. |The hotel sits right on the coastline, with plenty of platforms for sunbathing and direct access to the sea, as well as a small beach area if you prefer sand. |There can be an issue with people reserving sunbeds early in the morning, but despite this we always managed to find a spot, no matter what time of day we came down.|We stayed half board and found the buffet small but varied, with a fantastic selection of fresh salads and delicious desserts each evening. The staff were all lovel, friendly, welcoming, and always happy to help, while also giving guests the space to truly unwind.|We had such a wonderful time that we’ve already re-booked for June next year!

First of all, I’m really sorry! I’ve been meaning to write this review for months. We visited Minos Palace Hotel, as our last holiday before becoming parents last October. It was beyond perfect. You’ll see from the images the views, the decor and the opportunities that make it. However, it really is the hotel team, I couldn’t think more highly of them. A special shoutout to Katarina, me and my partner fondly bring up her name. I look forward to us coming back. Thanks Asher

Cannot fault this hotel. From the minute I arrived it was the most relaxing place I have ever been. It’s like being given a big hug!||The service was next level, the staff were amazing especially Despoina, Marta and Martina. Every staff member was incredibly friendly and helpful. This was a truly exceptional level of service. ||Everything was perfect, the pool, beach, bars all beautiful, clean and well maintained. The food was exceptional and healthy. ||This hotel is a true gem. I have already booked for next year!

An excellent splurge for couples! We stayed here for three nights at the end of our trip and absolutely loved it. The service was outstanding, and the breakfast was delicious—made even better by the spectacular views. The location is perfect for getting out and exploring the surrounding area. A small caveat: I recommend having dinner elsewhere, as the on-site Mom restaurant didn’t offer great value. We paid twice as much here as at Peskesi in Heraklion (which I consider the best restaurant in Crete) for a similar meal. Overall, a wonderful place to stay, but look for dining options outside the hotel for dinner.

We had a wonderful stay! The atmosphere of the hotel is perfect for relaxation, especially the NAO Longevity Hub, which offers a variety of wellness and relaxation programs for overall wellbeing. The staff were exceptionally helpful and polite. The facilities are of a high standard, and the food was delicious!

We truly loved the hotel itself - the design is minimal, and beautifully executed. The private beach is stunning, with crystal blue water and a lovely setting. Dinner was a real highlight, with an impressive food selection (and especially delicious desserts). Service at both the beach bar and the main bar also stood out - the girls there were friendly and helpful. Housekeeping was fantastic as well, with our room refreshed twice a day (!!) which we really appreciated. Also, we absolutely loved yoga sessions. That said, there are a few areas where the experience fell short of a true 5-star resort: - Outside of the bars mentioned, service felt… average. It wasn’t terrible, but it lacked the attentiveness and professionalism expected at this level. Waiters and reception often seemed disorganized, slow, and at times even a bit unfriendly. - The pricing in the hotel restaurants is excessive. For example, €18 for a chicken sandwich on the beach that looked worse than a gas station sandwich is unacceptable for a luxury property, in my opinion. - Breakfast was fine, but the selection was repetitive day after day. More variety, similar to what’s offered at dinner, would definitely improve the experience. - Charging for water at dinner feels weird, especially since water is complimentary at breakfast and dinner is part of the package. Charging for water during lunch could make sense to me since it isn’t included, but not dinner. - Finally, the air conditioning in the room was too weak and did not properly cool the space. Overall, the hotel has incredible potential, but a few details need improvement.

Crete is beautiful; the views from our hotel were really wonderful, as we look out to the Aegean Sea from our room, from the restaurant, from the umbrellas on the beach and on the cliffside.||The staff are all extremely friendly and helpful; we've had a great time here and have enjoyed being at the hotel.||HOWEVER... there are some things that would make the hotel 5-star to us instead of 4, and I'll explain below.||LIGHTING - The rooms are nice and very modern; however, there are only 2 bed reading lights on each side of the bed, some dim lights at the curtains, and even with all available lights on in the room (sink area, shower/toilet room), the room is dim at best. The onlyl way to light the room even a little bit is to aim the reading lights across the room, and this still leaves it fairly dark.||SHOWER - it's a modern shower, with no shower door. Even when I just turned on the shower without being under it, the floor of the room outside the shower started getting wet. By the time I finish a shower, taking care not to splash outside the shower, the floor gets drenched and a towel gets completely soaked. Bad design.||FOOD - The food is good but not great; the 2nd restaurant is better than the one where buffet and breakfast are served, but we'd give the food a 4 and not a 5. ||SERVICE IN BUFFET/BREAKFAST - It seemed like the routine was for servers to serve you once and then not return. Refills of anything are difficult to obtain; I had a breakfast where nobody showed up to pour me coffee or offer me orange juice. Needless to say, that didn't make me happy. In a good restaurant, a server returns to the table at least once to see if you need anything--coffee refill, water, etc. Sadly, this didn't appear to be the procedure. I will say though that the servers are very friendly, so I put this on management and not the servers.||SERVICE FROM THE ROOM - On our last night, we discovered a wooden cube, on which there are QR codes for ordering room service. Nobody told us this; we assume it's how you make reservations for dinner, but again, nobody explained this to us. Plus, we can't seem to get through to the front desk on the phone, no matter how often we try.||MAINTENANCE WORKERS - This morning, as we settled on the cliffside for some time looking out over the water, 2 workers arrived with a pressure washer to wash the rocks just below our umbrella. Having a noisy pressure washer going for at least 45 minutes while we sat there made for a less than pleasing experience. It seemed to us that they could have chosen any time to do this other than when their guests are trying to relax on beach chairs.||Minos Palace Resort is beautiful, the staff are very friendly, the site is spectacular; with a few tweaks here and there, this would be a 5-star resort to us. If we return, we hope they will have addressed these issues.

Breathtaking! Recommend without a doubt. Gorgeous scenes, amazing food, attentive and friendly staff. Every minor issue (not many) was dealt with swiftly and with full attention. 5 days of pure bliss, restoration and relaxation. Absolutely would come again! Excellent breakfast and dinner options. Feels like an island within an island. Unbeatable pool and private beach. Also great fitness and yoga classes.