Avra Imperial Hotel

The hotel it self is fabulous. Pools are fantastic and super clean - but as we were there in October the water temp was very cold 17-18C which too cold for kids. I would recommend the Restaurant Manager to teach or hire waitress who are educated as such. Being a 5 * and a guest there, we never experienced a more rude and arrogant service. A service level so low that we had to stand up and go straight to the waitresses to ask for coffee ( which wasn’t available as Self-service). We been traveling all over and stayed in many hotels world wide, but never experienced this arrogance ever before. Reception was very nice and helpful. Everyone else, no greetings, no welcoming feeling from anyone there. That’s sad when you as 7 family members spends 11.000€ and meets this disrespect. One advice, do not use the Traffic car rental - he charges double up as the ones just 300meter up next to the big Supermarket. Up to you

Modern. Small rooms. Not enough space for your clothes. No room for suitcases. No room at all in the bathroom for your own toiletries. Had deluxe room with direct access to unheated pool. Can´t use pool in September. Too cold. No glasses in the rooms. Tiny, tiny fridge. Not possible to make icecubes. Wifi signals was not strong enough to use at the private terrace. All in all poor value for money.

My 2nd time at Avra was booked directly with the hotel. I also booked my airport transfer through the hotel. I had a couple of questions and tried both e-mailing and WhatsApping but didn't get a response to either at first, but tried again later and my questions were answered. When I mentioned it was my 2nd stay at Avra they told me they'd bring me a cake and sparkling wine in appreciation! - but more on that later. My flight was a bit delayed, but as I arrived at Chania Airport my taxi was waiting, and the driver brought me very! speedily to the hotel. I was checked in and informed of meals etc. As I got to my room there was a plate with a few varieties of bread rolls - a nice gesture as I was too late for room service which now ends at midnight in stead of being 24/7. For more details, please see my review from last year. My room was exactly (?) like the one last year, but this time was in the other building with shared pools (building no 12, room 111) . My room was spotless at arrival and was kept this way throughout my stay. I had given my preference of a king bed (as opposed to 2 twins together), and my bed was two twins made up as a king, this worked very well. You can opt out of having your bedlinen changed with a card on the bed, which is a nice touch and good for the environment. My first day I went to breakfast and then back to my balcony for sun and some pool time - my balcony had direct sun from ca 08 to 13.30. As I came out of the pool the staff had been to clean my room - - and locked the balcony door so I couldn't get inside. Of course I realise they didn't see me in the pool and it was an unfortunate accident :D I didn't see any way to get out of the pool and go around the building (fences/hedges) but luckily I had my phone and after some WhatsApping and a couple of misunderstandings I rang reception and they came by to open my door and let me inside. The rest of my stay I had a note on my balcony door to tell housekeeping I was on the balcony/in the pool :D I spent all my time on my balcony and in the shared pool. It was very quiet and comfortable, so private, and the pool nice and clean, I did not feel the need to use the main pool even if it's a beautiful area. I was very happy to find the AC up to par in my room, which was a bit of an issue for me last year (that was easily solved with buying a fan in an electric/electronics shop close by). I see some reviews not happy with the food, and I can simply not understand this. A buffet isn't the same as a la carte and you can't expect everything to be piping hot at all times. The breakfast has everything you could want (except for maybe the bacon to be cooked a bit more/a bit more crispy). I had lunch either at Al Fresco, Seaside or Aura Pool Bar, so I didn't try the lunch buffet. The dinner buffet had some variations from day to day, and *everything* I tried tasted good. I took advantage of my all inclusive to eat at all 3 a la carte restaurants 2 times, and

We stayed at the Avra Imperial Hotel in Crete for a week and had a mixed experience. The food was plentiful but repetitive and far from 5-star quality, with the Asian restaurant being the only standout. We ended up eating out twice for a more authentic experience. On the positive side, the hotel is very clean, with excellent pools, a good gym, and generally friendly staff. However, service at the adult pool bar was consistently rude and unprofessional, and we were wrongly charged extra at checkout. Overall, while the facilities impress, poor food and service left our stay feeling average.

My husband and I went for 10 nights and it was amazing from start to finish..Reception staff really welcoming .Elena especially on concierge was fabulous an absolute delight and very helpful..Rooms were amazing as well as housekeepers..Everything was very clean food was amazing. Definitely worth a visit .