Das Syntopia Hotel

"This is a review of 2 extremes. The staff are absolutely outstanding. They are courteous, polite, respectful and efficient. It’s a young team who are clearly very well trained and are very professional. I’d like to mention them all by name but that would almost impossible. The 3 stand out members of the team for us are Tollis, and the 2 Anastasia’s. All 3 had a huge impact on us with their performance, kindness and enthusiasm, excellent service and the seriousness with which they took their jobs. The hotel is stunningly beautiful. It’s attractively and aesthetically designed, very comfortable with gentle cool colours and beautiful lighting. It’s very bohemian and chic. The plants and garden areas are just so unbelievably unique and so well cared for. They really make it all so special The hotel is immaculately clean throughout. The cleaning team work tirelessly to keep it perfect. Possibly one of the cleanest hotels we’ve ever stayed in. The cleaning team are always present, especially in the toilets, and quietly, respectfully go about their tasks with a high level of attention and professionalism. The food is excellent quality and plentiful. The chef clearly sources fresh ingredients which are used to provide a wonderful healthy choice to the guests. The staff efficiently refresh all the dishes on the buffet so whatever time you choose to eat there’s always so much choice. One negative is that the hot choices are rarely hot unless it’s being cooked by the 2 chefs on the grill. We were also gifted a delicious cake for our wedding anniversary which was a kind and thoughtful treat- thank you. The manager and her team are visibly around and about the hotel supporting their team and checking quality of service and food etc. The rooms are beautiful and well designed. On the small side and with little storage but this is minor. The pools are cleverly designed giving guests variety and options. The water always clean with staff always around checking quality, removing leaves etc. Whilst there I was overjoyed and delighted to be offered an outdoor movie night! Set up beautifully in a small area outside the hotel, with efficient drinks service and a huge and fresh bag of popcorn! A really lovely experience and with what’s undoubtedly one of my favourite movies ever! The entertainment each evening is varied, live and eclectic. We enjoyed all of them. On the other extreme and to confirm comments that have regularly been made by others are that the music that is played is absolutely consistent and continual. From first thing to the end of the day. It never stops. And depending on where you sit can be extremely loud, making a usual level of conversation almost impossible. There is a DJ who plays similar type of music, loudly all day on Saturday. Sadly this is impacted further by the fact that there aren’t enough sunbeds for all of the guests, making the choice of where to sit and trying to get away from the loud consistent music virtually impossible. The sunbed ‘war’ starts as early as 6am with guests rushing to secure their bed finishing their nights sleep on them. By 7.30-8am there are none left by the 2 main pools leaving the only other option to join the queue up the stairs at 10.30am to run across the rooftop to secure one of the beds up there. It’s difficult to find shade and of course there’s still the loud music. We raised both these huge problems with the staff at the bar to no effect so then so sadly then had to involve the reception manager and finally the general manager. She did finally prove that there is the facility to turn down or off individual speakers which happened occasionally and only when we asked. We also asked about the sunbed policy which doesn’t seem to work. Apparently the policy is to remove towels placed on unused beds. We didn’t see this being implemented at any stage. It’s a terrible shame as this hotel, its staff and management try so hard and are committed to their business. It really wouldn’t take much to put these issues right and therefore have a near perfect atmosphere for their guests. We do thank you for trying to address our issues. Would we return, sadly not. It’s a major part of a summer holiday being able to sit outside and use the facilities that should be on offer for all to ensure a peaceful and relaxing holiday."

"We are currently staying at The Syntopia Hotel in Crete, and it has exceeded our expectations. The hotel is spotless, well maintained, and finished to a very high standard. The overall atmosphere is stylish, relaxing, and perfect for a couples’ getaway. The hotel is adults-only and promotes a laid-back, bohemian vibe rather than a party atmosphere. Some reviews describe this as a “party hotel”, but we honestly don’t understand those comments. We’d love to see the parties they’ve been to because our experience has been the complete opposite. The atmosphere is calm, relaxing, and easy-going. We were also concerned about the sunbed situation after reading previous reviews. However, there is no need to get up at 5:30 a.m. We have been heading down around 7:30 a.m. each day and have always managed to find sunbeds. That’s not an unreasonable time to get up on holiday, and naturally you can’t expect beds to remain available all day. The staff have been outstanding throughout our stay. Nothing is too much trouble, and everyone seems genuinely happy to work here. A special mention goes to the gentleman working at the Catch Bar with the mullet and piercings. He is professional, friendly, and incredibly attentive to guests around the smaller pool area. Overall, The Syntopia has been one of the most relaxing holidays we’ve had, and we would happily return in the future. I’d rate this as a strong 5-star review."

"This hotel is sensational. I have seen some negative reviews and it has genuinely shocked me. We arrived late to our hotel and were genuinely so stressed, but when we walked in the smell of the hotel was unexplainable. It instantly relaxed us, and after telling the receptionist my partner was diabetic they kept the buffet open for us to eat. We were so surprised at how amazing the food was which included a Ferrero Rocher geatau and the food was cooked fresh infront of you and was piping hot. A member of staff took us to our room which was a jungle suite. That same incredible smell that hit us on arrival, was now within our living area. Each room has a plug in with that same beautiful scent. The room was so spacious, the only concern I had was that when closing the shower door it wouldn’t open from the inside, my partner had to open it from the outside. The Jacuzzi was lovely and warm as well which we used every evening to detox and talk about the day. It did back onto the main road but in all honesty we didn’t notice the noise and we were able to connect to Netflix via their TV which came in handy before bed. The fridge was stocked every morning and the room was spotless. They even had a Marshall Bluetooth stereo which I had been wanting for a while so ended up actually buying one when I landed back home after realising how good they were. The bed was also massive, and having the fan directly over the bed came in so handy during the night for my partners diabetic sweats (he didnt sweat at all) and we had excellent nights sleeps. The do not disturb and clean room signs are all electric which was great. We didn’t hear any noise of neighbouring rooms either! The hotel is very aesthetically pleasing and great for photo ops as well. We did go when it was coming to the end of the season so the pools were definitely colder than we would’ve liked but we couldn’t complain about that given the time of year (we still ended up in them). Pool beds would get filled fast but there was always space at another pool if you couldn’t get one at the main. They do play music throughout the day but it’s more of background music on a higher volume than blasting music for a party it’s very boho themed so have that in mind for the type of sounds you will hear throughout the day - if anything it was really relaxing and uplifting. On the evenings you could have live music including saxophones, outdoor movie nights with popcorn and blankets provided, and the food was always on. The snack bar wasn’t amazing but the buffet for breakfast lunch and dinner was mouth watering from a full English breakfast to dinners including lasagne, spaghetti, pizza, fried chicken, curry etc the options were endless and I even tried things I had never heard of because the options were change for every meal. Whether you were at the pool or a table waitress service was always provided and everyone was always so polite addressing us as sir and madam. Shisha was always available as well. There was a fantastic variety of tastes/flavours and drink options. reception were great at organising taxis and helping with excursions also. Would highly recommend visiting Rethymnon which is a 10 minute drive, Agreco Farm, Old Town Chania and maybe skip Heraklion (this was more of a modern town but having gone there after the more authentic towns I wasn’t too keen on it and noticed some restaurant owners being mean to dogs). The beach is literally over the road down a side walk with beach bars approximately 5 mins from the hotel. If you fancy a beach club check out Baja in Rethymnon! We also went for Asian Cuisine at Yuzu which also played international sports/football and had drinks in Living Room both in Rethymnon and highly recommend both. The hotel smelt so beautiful that before we departed we also bought a candle and room spray for home. I would say it depends on who you fly with/transfer etc on where you get dropped off due to being in a coach we did get dropped off at the hotel opposite and in the dark we were a little unsure on where to go but it was literally a 30 second walk. On the day of departure due to it coming up to closing of the hotel as it was out of season, the receptionist called us up and informed us we could have our room until our transfer would pick us up which was late in the evening which was an enormous help. We returned to Crete 2 weeks ago for a wedding and really did wish we stayed back at Syntopia, for all of the above reasons. The only time I have ever eaten that good was when travelling long haul to locations such as Dominican Republic. We rate it so highly and believe it’s the best hotel we have stayed in for a nice relaxing break. We did visit to pick up more spray etc and can say although more active than when we stayed in October the vibes were the same. I do believe this is a relaxing hotel, but if you want something with zero sound or atmosphere this is not for you but if you’re not sure on whether to book it this is how I spent my time in Syntopia in October: around the pool reading, in our jacuzzi, having Shisha, sipping drinks and eating fantastic food, watching movies under the stars on the evening, attending yoga outdoors, and watching live music under the gazebo/canapé with drinks being bought to me. I also spent my trip exploring around the island. I believe the hotel is what you make it. It may have been expensive given we booked the best room in the hotel - but given it’s had such an impact and we talk so highly about it I truly believe you get what you pay for and it was out of this world. I have even recommended it to others who have gone and said it’s amazing. Do not disregard this hotel for a few negative comments because I completely disagree with the comments made and would pack a suitcase and go back right now!"