"I stayed at Avra Imperial in September with my 10-month-old son, travelling alone with him. This is absolutely not a terrible hotel. In fact, it has all the foundations of a really good family resort: beautiful grounds, lots of facilities, good stroller accessibility and plenty provided for babies.
But too many small — and a few not-so-small — things brought the experience down. If this were positioned as a good 4-star family resort, I might judge some of them differently. For a hotel presenting itself as 5-star, I expected better service and much more attention to detail.
THE GOOD
Arrival and check-in were quick and smooth. Our room was a decent size for one adult and a baby, although storage and space could be tight for a family with an older child. The room and furniture felt quite dated and the mattress was extremely hard.
For babies, however, the room was very well equipped. We were provided with a cot, baby bathtub, bottle steriliser, kettle and fridge, plus lovely toiletries including a separate baby range.
The grounds are beautiful and, importantly for me, very stroller-friendly. Almost everywhere is accessible, sometimes with a small detour. Travelling alone with a baby, this made a huge difference: I could move around while my son slept in the stroller, get water, use the toilet, etc. without constantly encountering stairs.
Our particular room was extremely quiet, although it faced the abandoned/unused building on the left side of the hotel. The trade-off was a permanently shaded balcony with virtually no sun.
I never struggled to find a sunbed, although we visited in September and are early risers, so I can’t say what it’s like during peak season.
Breakfast and the buffet were okay. Breakfast had plenty of fruit, which was great with a baby. Variety wasn’t exceptional and some buffet food could have been warmer, but overall we ate perfectly well. The restaurant staff were also among the better service experiences we had.
A special mention goes to Al Fresco — easily my favourite à-la-carte restaurant at the resort. Really good food, a lovely setting and three extremely efficient women providing some of the best service of our stay. Definitely recommended.
SERVICE & THE POOL AREA
This is where Avra Imperial lost the most points for me. Service was very inconsistent and often didn’t feel like 5-star hospitality.
At the pool bar in particular, I sometimes felt uncomfortable ordering. Being greeted with “What do you want?” and then “Is that it?” after each item isn’t the interaction I expect at a 5-star resort. Too often the service felt disengaged rather than warm and welcoming.
The all-inclusive system is also unnecessarily tedious. Despite wearing an all-inclusive wristband, we repeatedly had to give our room number and sign receipts. At the pool bar, you order through a waiter, give your room number, and then collect the drink from the bar yourself. Why not simply order directly from the bartender? I overheard other guests questioning the system too.
There was no actual poolside drinks service during our stay, despite this being something I expected when choosing a resort of this category.
There wasn’t much practical assistance around the pool either. The umbrellas are surprisingly difficult to open, particularly when you’re alone with a baby, yet nobody seemed available to help. Lifeguards frequently appeared more occupied with phones or conversations with colleagues.
The main pool also became noticeably dirty, with sand/soil collecting in the water. Some loungers are on grass that has worn down to bare soil, yet there isn’t a convenient place to rinse your feet before entering.
The pool water felt cold throughout our stay. Staff told me it was heated, but no temperature was displayed, so I have no idea what “heated” meant in practice. The children’s pool felt even colder.
For parents wondering about depth, the main pool is around 1.40 m through much of it, apart from the sloping entrance area, which is roughly 40–50 cm at the shallow end.
WITH A BABY / YOUNG CHILD
This is where I have mixed feelings. Avra Imperial clearly wants to be family-friendly and offers a lot on paper, but some practical details haven’t been thought through particularly well.
High chairs are readily available, but some were missing safety straps and several hadn’t been cleaned properly between children.
The baby/children’s pool was disappointing: cold, dated-looking and almost always deserted during our stay, with no sunbeds directly around it. Its sloping surface also wasn’t particularly easy for my 10-month-old to navigate.
There was no baby-changing station in the pool toilets closest to the children’s area, which seems an odd omission.
The playground is small and extremely exposed to the sun. With no proper roof or shade, on hot days it became so hot that we simply couldn’t use it. I really missed a freely accessible indoor space where parents and babies/toddlers could play and escape the Cretan heat.
CRÈCHE & KIDS’ CLUB
Alpha Crèche for babies and toddlers operates as structured drop-off childcare rather than a parent-and-child playroom. With a 10-month-old who had never been left in childcare, I wasn’t comfortable dropping him off for several hours simply so he could play.
The staff kindly made an exception and allowed us to stay for a while, and I had a very positive impression of them. They were friendly and engaged with my son. For us, though, the fixed sessions felt restrictive because they can easily clash with naps, bottles and meals.
The Alpha Kids club for older children was different. Despite plenty of children being at the resort, I repeatedly saw it completely empty. There didn’t seem to be much happening to attract children in, and staff were often on their phones when nobody was there. It felt like a missed opportunity for a resort marketing itself strongly to families.
Entertainment overall is very subtle. That may suit guests looking for peace and quiet, but I wouldn’t choose Avra Imperial if lively family entertainment is important to you.
THE BEACH
The beach was probably my biggest disappointment in terms of facilities. If a beautiful, child-friendly beach matters to you, I personally wouldn’t choose Avra Imperial.
It’s small and pebbly, and during our stay the sea was very rough with strong waves. Taking my 10-month-old into the water wasn’t realistically an option.
The Seaside bar isn’t particularly stroller-friendly either. The ramp is very steep, and on one visit closed windshields/layout meant I couldn’t properly access the area with the stroller. Staff wouldn’t open them for me, which was disappointing.
I gave the bar another chance later and the service was much better, so I want to be fair about that. Unfortunately, I found the food very poor.
SMALL THINGS THAT ADD UP
There is virtually no directional signage around this large resort. You’re given a paper map at check-in, but there are no useful signs showing where the restaurants, bars, pools, beach or children’s facilities are. You eventually learn the layout, but the first few days involve unnecessary wandering.
Housekeeping was okay, but our room was often cleaned after 13:00, exactly when I wanted to return for my baby’s nap.
Pool towels are collected from the minimarket rather than a normal towel station. One morning we arrived before 10:00 and couldn’t get towels because the shop wasn’t open yet — inconvenient for families with small children who often start their days early.
The village outside the hotel is very quiet with little to do, although there is an excellent supermarket nearby with pretty much everything you might need.
Finally, at checkout nobody asked how our stay had been. A tiny detail, perhaps, but one that summed up my overall impression of the service.
OVERALL – WHY 3/5?
We did not have a terrible holiday. Avra Imperial is a beautiful resort, the stroller accessibility is excellent, the amount of baby equipment provided is impressive, we slept peacefully, ate reasonably well and had an excellent experience at Al Fresco.
That’s actually what makes the shortcomings frustrating: the hotel already has most of what it needs to be a fantastic family resort.
What’s missing is the final layer of execution — warmer and more consistent service, better maintenance and cleanliness in some areas, more thought about how families actually use the facilities, simpler all-inclusive procedures, better information/signage and the small touches that separate a nice resort from a genuine 5-star experience.
I wouldn’t tell families not to come, but I would tell them to adjust their expectations. Based purely on my experience travelling alone with a 10-month-old, Avra Imperial simply didn’t feel like a 5-star resort.
And while our holiday wasn’t bad, the overall experience wasn’t good enough to make me want to return. There are too many other family resorts to choose from, and next time I would rather try somewhere that delivers the level of service and attention to detail I expected here.
3/5 — plenty of potential and some genuinely lovely aspects, but they need to try harder to deliver a true 5-star family experience. I personally wouldn’t return."
