"Location ….location …location .We chose this hotel for the view over Mirabello Bay looking over to Spinalonga .It’s worth upgrading to a sea view room and sitting on the balcony for dawn or at night when all the lights of the nearby hillside properties are magical .I was very impressed at the general upkeep and appearance of this modern and stylish hotel which was impeccably clean .Our room was kept spotless by the lovely Esmeralda .Every day fresh towels , bed linen changed and the room left pristine with supplies of tea , milk , water and Nespresso pods .The bathroom like the bedroom was just a little too small so it’s good job you don’t spend a lot of time there .The hotel scores with the most luxurious sheets , fluffy towels , two bathrobes and top class Olivia Thinks toiletries supplied .Tissues ,a sewing kit and a razor are also provided in case you need them .I do think a toothbrush would be more useful for forgetful guests though .The room was pleasant and the bed was very comfortable .There was a small issue with the plumbing which was dealt with swiftly , very impressive , no complaints about the diligence of the staff .The bathroom was actually a shower and more of a small wet room as the half shower screen did not prevent the floor getting soaked .Luckily there were plenty of towels to soak up the water but it meant every day almost every towel had to be replaced which isn’t good for the environment .There was sufficient space to hang clothes and drawers , but only one easy chair and not enough space to access two suitcases on the stand and a tight squeeze past the bed also .Apparently this Sapphire sea view upgrade room was bigger than the Tropical Nest room but overall we were happy with the quality despite the lack of space . I do suggest you always wear footwear when you get up at night in the dark as I had a terrible shock standing on some millipedes.Luckily it was not an invasion and just for the first two days .The aircon worked perfectly as did the tv .Lots of foreign channels but at least BBC news and CNN for a quick view. To get to the main restaurant you have to negotiate some quite steep slopes and there are there aren’t sufficient handrails to cling on to .If you are more mature the terrain is quite a challenge and I dread to think how lethal it would be in the rain .Utmost care is needed when walking and ladies should leave heels at home .The trolley carts we didn’t need most of the time as we were only half way up the hill but if you do use them hang on for dear life . It is a shame that the food did not prove a match for the surroundings .Breakfast at the Island Buffet was probably the best meal of the day although for a 5 star hotel in general the bakery goods /croissants were only just passable .The coffee was not great from the machines but the freshly squeezed orange machine was a joy .In general breakfast was good .Lunch and dinner from the 22nd to 25th was not great .There was a great paucity of local dishes , the only dip available for a few days was cucumber yoghurt and the Greek cheese and spinach mini pastries were so bad as to be inedible .I saw bakery goods being delivered to the hotel but there were some disastrous items for the first few days where where the pastry was raw , hard , and fatty .Not sure what or who was cooking for the first half of the week. especially because the quality of cooking left much to be desired .Some meat items were bland , cold , overcooked and burnt .It certainly wasn’t the gastronomy mentioned in the hotel description that guests were promised .However we didn’t pay for Cool Living which maybe was worth the extra £500 to 600 per week then ? Maybe they had a chef .I felt the Island buffet food was the worst I’ve encountered in a 5 star Greek hotel in 50 years of visiting Greece and no match for any taverna .No creativity or flair but the salads and fruit were okay .No moussaka , no use of lemon or garlic or herbs on meats generally . No hummus until day 4 .Olives were not top class .Baklava once and tiny .The desserts bought in were edible , but there was a variety of vanilla bland mousse or flan cakes . You could have ice cream but it was so hard you’d need a chisel to extricate it .Service for water and wine at lunch or dinner was generally good provided you didn’t get the non Greek with attitude who seemed to begrudge serving a second inch of wine Don’t ask the female supercilious suited member of the restaurant staff anything .at all .The red wine ( rationed to under 2inches in a watch glass ) was vinegary and rough , the white was acidic so I think they nailed limiting consumption as it was dire .I think the premium alcohol was spirits in the main bar but there was only ever one bartender so the queues were off putting .There was Prosecco available but that too was extremely acidic .The restaurant wine was exceedingly poor in quality compared to the Oriental restaurant wine that we managed to get one booking for and were offered seconds ! .The sushi was fabulous and the service and wine excellent .The food was prepared in sight and was a great contrast to most of the other offerings in the buffet .It was an exception to find you enjoyed any dishes at all at the hotel buffet but one night there was some beef stew which was lovely , and barbecue ribs another night .Lamb was served up once and was bony and incinerated .The only seafood served was calamari in curry sauce, farmed overcooked tail salmon fillets and another occasion white fish swimming in water , previously frozen obviously .Generally I wondered what had happened to the chef but it did improve slightly after four days until we left on Oct 28 th .I would suggest that management view what other hotels are providing at 5 star level or even in village tavernas because lessons need to be leant .The food was generally only just adequate and odd dishes diabolical .I do hope it was a temporary end of season blip , because a five star hotel which has such a fabulous location , with such lovely staff ( except for two with attitude ! ) shouldn’t be serving up two star food .In fact the beach bar grab and go food was far superior so it was no hardship to stay on the beach for lunch.Incidentally the grab and go facilities for soft drinks and water are a great idea .All in all a lovely hotel but the food is nowhere near what is promised .If you like wine you won’t be drinking much at all , we didn’t .The staff and hotel itself are great but the food is not ."
