Amirandes, Grecotel Boutique Resort

We stayed at the Amirantes Hotel in Crete at the end of the season, and it was a fantastic choice! The hotel is beautiful, with a relaxed atmosphere that made us feel right at home. Costas was amazing, inviting us to join sports activities and making our stay so much fun – playing padel with him was a highlight! The morning yoga with Niki was also perfect; she adapted to our level and made every session enjoyable. Our room was lovely, especially being close to the sea where we could listen to the waves. The breakfast was great, and the entire team was incredibly welcoming. Highly recommend!

A truly relaxing hotel from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave. The staff strive to make your stay perfect in every way and ask for live feedback meaning anything which isn't quite right can be tweaked. Beautiful setting, incredible food and perfect for couples and families, including multi generational families. I would return in a heartbeat! 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 We received a warm welcome from the staff on the steps of the hotel which was lovely. We were then taken to a quiet spot for a personalised check in with Georgia and given a selection of three drinks plus water and iced tea, and a couple of snacks. The views from this area are stunning and it set the perfect tone for what was to come. 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺 We stayed in a premium bungalow which is just 60 steps to the sea. It was relaxing listening to the sea before dozing off. Really nice room proportions and the bed is incredibly comfortable, we slept so well. We had a shower and bath which is not all that common these days but all the hotel rooms have both. Really easy to use shower with great pressure and it was nice and warm. There are also two sinks (be careful of the stiff taps), toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion) and amenities. There is a reasonable sized wardrobe with enough hangers for the week if you double up, a laptop-sized safe, coffee machine (2 pods per day), a mini bar which you can fill for a charge, a powerful hairdryer (the cord is very short which means drying the back of your hair is tricky if looking into the mirror!), dressing gown and slippers. There was no full length mirror in these rooms (they do have them in others) and when sitting down on the pouffe by the dressing table, I could only see my eyes upwards. Lots of storage in the rooms but the unit has no handles (it's a push system) and they're not the easiest to access. The bungalows have a little porch area with two chairs and a table plus a drying rack and then there is a small grass area before you reach your two private loungers and parasol. We stayed in room 504 and had the sun on our loungers until mid afternoon. Then we headed to the communal loungers on the grass area in front of our room. If you like privacy, be mindful that these rooms do have people walking past, but it's not heavy traffic and you do have that space between your room and the pathway. We loved being so close to the sea. 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱/𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 Really good food! The buffet area is compact given the size of the hotel and when it's busy, it's a bit of a squeeze but it’s a pleasant atmosphere and unlike any other buffet I’ve been to. If you hate buffets, it’s probably because of the mass produced food and canteen like atmosphere; this is not like that. We're vegetarian and found options at dinner were a little limited. If you enjoy salad you'll love it here and we did enjoy the variety of salads made every day. However, the vegetarian options really need a little more thought. The salads/starters are great as are the desserts. We tried the Greek restaurant (Xasteria) and the Asian Restaurant (Blue Monkey) both of which were included in the comfort package (2 free a la cartes for a 7 night stay). You receive a set menu but you can also pick from the a la carte options and pay for those although it's not inexpensive. The options for starters and desserts were excellent as usual, but there was no vegetarian main on any set menu. However, they did adapt upon asking but you always feel a little bit of a nuisance having to ask all the time. On our first night, a pasta dish appeared to be a vegetable pasta dish and had no mention of fish or meat on the card by it. Unfortunately, it had meat in. There were no vegetarian labels used and so the only way to confirm if something was vegetarian was to ask a member of staff to walk you through the dishes. Often they were busy and so we felt a bit awkward. There are no vegetarian snacks at the beach bar and the options at the pool bar are limited to a green salad or several pizzas (although these are extra). We loved the nut selection at the bars with drinks. On our penultimate night we spoke with Konstantina to ask what dishes were vegetarian. She mentioned us to a manager, Salia, who then spoke with us at our table. I think there had been a little miscommunication between reception and the restaurant, and we should have been spoken with on our first night to talk about our food choices for the week. We said we didn't want to have to pre-order every day and didn't know what was possible but we named a few dishes we liked. On our final night, we found the choices so much better. We really felt like our points were taken on board and the staff were so keen to get things in order. This is a very good sign of an excellent hotel. It wasn't just lip service but genuine care and keenness to get things right. Great breakfast and Eliza on the omelette stand makes the best omelettes I have ever had. It's hard to single out any single staff member as they are all wonderful. Every single one deserves a big thank you! Some of those who we were more familiar with: Elefthera who welcomed us every meal time and Chrysa, Eleni, Ioannis and Konstantinos. All staff across the hotel do a brilliant job! It would be lovely to see a more casual beach/pool option for lunch which is included in the comfort package as we had to use the buffet restaurant every day. Never any issue with service in the bars, restaurants, beach or pool. Always very prompt and excellent. Good selection of included drinks. Ask for the menu to see what's included in the comfort package, indicated by a "CP" next to those items. Zenon at the beach bar makes amazing cocktails and Stella always served our drinks with a smile. Do try the Greek cocktails…..we’re missing these already! Go here for the beautiful sunsets. There are a lot of plastic water bottles at all meals and around the pool and beach. You can't drink tap water here, but it seems a shame to have so much plastic where glass would seem a viable, more recyclable alternative. 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 The hotel is spotless and there are people cleaning and maintaining the property all the time. There are fresh flowers in reception and the rooms have a lovely scent. The olympic-sized pool is cool but not freezing. I'm terrible at getting into cold water and it really wasn't that bad and warmed up so quickly. I totally forgot it was sea water and it was a lovely swim. The kids pool nearby is freshwater and has a shade over it. Pool towels are in the room with a beach bag and flip flops. You'll also find pool towels on each lounger every morning and others will be available by the pool and beach. Yoga every morning at 8am by the beach looking out to sea was brilliant. Great yoga teacher and a good way to start the day. The yoga teacher runs a lot of the classes and is brilliant! We loved our first ever TRX class with her too. The gym is quite small, surprisingly so for the size of the hotel. When we arrived, there were just three people there and it felt busy and so we left and went for a jog outside the hotel which was nice and not too hot. There is an outdoor gym which is brilliant and feels much larger. They run some free classes each week you can sign up to on the app. The indoor pool is quite small but nice to have. There is also a tennis court, paddle court, basketball court and five aside. Some are payable. I believe tennis was 25 euros per hour for instance. There is an on-site shop and you can buy Agrecofarm products here. We were there for olive harvesting and got involved in collecting olives. It was a brilliant experience and lots of guests and staff got involved. The staff also put on a tasty selection of snacks and drinks and it was a really lovely, unique experience. There are two beaches. The main one by the buffet restaurant and villas is nice and sandy and has plenty of loungers. The Greek government changed laws in April 2024 meaning the space the hotel can use for beach beds is restricted, but we didn't have issues during our stay and the hotel was full. The first two rows are reserved for villa guests which is fine by us as they have paid for this in their package. The second beach on the other side isn't quite as nice, but still fine, and attracts more adults and this is where you'll find the beach volleyball and water sports. There is a good kids club which is by the pool and is outdoors. They have cinema nights looking out to sea and by the main pool. Other evening entertainment is low key (trumpet, saxophonist, DJ). 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 The hotel is about 20 minutes to the airport and we paid 30 euros for a taxi each way. We visited Knossos and paid 45 euros for a taxi there (it's a busy route and took 40 minutes due to traffic). On the way back we got a bus to Heraklion (2 euros each) and then explored the town before getting a bus back to the hotel (2 euros 40) and bus stop 15 is just at the top of the road and then it's a 10 minute walk back. At the top of the road there is a car hire/tour shop with money exchange (not the best rates) and a little supermarket. There is also a small cafe by the bus stop. There is not a lot around the hotel. One way there is a little duck pond just off the beach and the other way has a promenade with a few hotels and restaurants. It's also on the flight path (planes coming into land) but it doesn't bother us as we have the same at home. It's not all day, it’s not that loud and you get used to it. 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘀 We did attempt to organise a trip to the Agrecofarm but it was a little tricky. We made about 6 visits to reception and were then booked in for something not quite as first advised and found this out by asking more questions as we felt something wasn't quite right. It's 60 euros per person plus a 250 euro return taxi trip and you can only do the tour in the evening. In the end we decided not to go. It's a shame that they don't run a weekly trip here. Koutouloufari and Hersonissos are 15 minutes away by bus (2 euros per person each way). Nice to have a walk around. Busy with a different feel. Koutouloufari is a pretty Greek village and would be a nice place to visit in the evening perhaps getting a bus there and a taxi back. Thank you Grecotel Amirandes for the most relaxing holiday ever!

From the minute we walked in the Hotel was an oasis of calm..all the staff were so helpful and polite. It never felt crowded, breakfast was one of the best I ever had, broke my rule and had beautiful pastries every morning. Great selection of activists, which is why I chose it. Particularly memorable was yoga/pilates outdoors with Niki and classes with George. Room and balcony were big ...would definitely return.