Malena Hotel & Suites - Adults Only by Omilos Hotels

I have a difficulty rating our stay because it started with a disaster: upon arrival, WE COULD NOT HAVE OUR ROOM. The staff claimed the room has not been freed in time for emergency reasons. So for the first night, with no choice, we were put in a 3star hotel nearby, in a little, smelly and hot room which is not at all a substitute for the one booked, even with a free dinner offered with it (in the same 3star place). Not speaking of the trouble of moving in the evening and the next morning, instead of all our plans. Despite this obvious and forced downgrade, we have been charged by Trip.com as originally booked, that is, as if we stayed the first night in Malena. Something is not right here.

We stayed for a week in mid June when the temperatures were in the 40s for four days. This was our first stay in an adults only hotel and overall we enjoyed the experience. Our welcome was good and we had a small problem with our safe that was quickly sorted. The gardens and pool area was well kept with plenty of sunbeds and some double four posters. The pool was clean although it would benefit from some proper steps into it. The accomodation was good with a large seating area and bathroom however the bedroom was a bit tight. The air con was good. The room was cleaned on a daily basis to a high standard. We were in a ground floor room at the front near the main road however road noise wasn't an issue. We were on a B&B basis although we did eat in one evening. The breakfast was a bit hit and miss with the hot drinks machine and orange juice machine often not working. We were happy to take this in our stride but some guests found this a catastrophe! The evening meal we had was reasonable and there was a singer on that night who was good but strangely the hotel didn't advertise this. We didn't have any poolside snacks as again these wern't promoted. There is an excellent bakery and ice cream shop opposite the hotel so we tended to pop down there for lunch. There are also a couple of small supermarkets so you can top up your fridge easily. We enjoy eating out and there are plenty of excellent restaurants within walking distance Thigaterra was fantastic with Kritika Spiti, Blanco's and Taverna Mitato all worth a mention. Blanco's is on the beach and the sunsets are superb. There is a bus stop on the main road outside the hotel and we used these to visit the city. The cost was very reasonable. We did have coach excursion to Chiania, Rethymno and Lake Kournas and the bus collected us from the nearby petrol station (opposide the bakery) This was an excellent day out. We wanted a chilled out holiday and the Malena fit the bill. The staff were helpful and friendly and we would certainly reccommend the Malena.

Overall this is a nice hotel. Few slight issues- we had to change rooms after one night due to original room being unavailable upon our arrival. This isn't ideal, but the staff were friendly. Breakfast is mixed in quality. Fresh omelettes and daily bakery specials are nice, but some parts of breakfast looked dry and of poor quality. Coffee is from a machine and isn't great. Some food runs out if you come to breakfast near the end. However, the hotel grounds and pool and lovely. Never over crowed and a lovely place to chill. Room was fine. Had to ask for pool towels and shower over flowed onto bathroom floor but bed was comfy and it was never noisy. The area is nice, near to the beach and some nice restaurants, plus a fab supermarket. Don't book if you want to be in the center of a busy resort area because this is not what it is, but there are regular buses into Heraklion.

We spent one dinner at the restaurant: the dishes are good and the service as well. The waitresses are very very kind. I recommend this restaurant and I thank them for the hospitality. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..,,,,,