"Disappointing stay – useful things to know before booking
Unfortunately, our experience at City Green Hotel in Crete was disappointing and, in our opinion, fell well short of the 4-star all-inclusive standard we expected.
Room
When we arrived, there was no room available, so we were moved to an apartment block away from the hotel. Our actual room still wasn’t ready the following morning, despite check-out being at 11am. This was frustrating and felt like poor organisation.
Once we finally got into our room, however, it was clean, comfortable and had a very good air-conditioning system. The beds were also comfortable, although the room was on the smaller side.
Food
The food was one of the biggest disappointments. There was very little variety, with many of the same basic dishes appearing every day — chips, pizza, pasta, nuggets, sausages and similar food. For a 4-star hotel in Crete, we expected much more Greek and local cuisine.
I noticed several previous reviews praising the food and even rating it 5/5, which I personally found difficult to understand based on our experience. The food was edible, but very basic and repetitive.
The desserts were probably the best-looking part of the buffet. They were nicely presented and some tasted good, although I do wonder whether the attractive presentation gives a better impression of the overall food than is actually deserved.
One of us is vegetarian, and the vegetarian choices were particularly limited. The local area also seemed to have limited vegetarian options, so I would recommend researching this carefully before booking if you’re vegetarian.
Drinks
There is a decent selection of all-inclusive drinks on paper, including local beer, spirits and plenty of cocktails. However, the cocktails were machine-made and, in our experience, tasted very weak.
The all-inclusive drinks service finishes at 11pm, although the bar stays open until around 1am. On the positive side, the bar staff were very quick and queues moved efficiently.
4-star standard & facilities
This is probably our biggest issue. Based on our overall experience, we would rate the hotel around 2.5–3 stars rather than 4.
There was also very limited evening seating — around 10 tables for roughly 100 guests, with extra tables only brought out for the occasional evening entertainment. Most evenings, you’ll likely end up sitting on the sun loungers.
The pool table also badly needs refurbishment and costs €2 to use, which doesn’t feel worthwhile given its condition.
There were also cats around the hotel, which was lovely for animal lovers, although having cat food/treats around the restaurant and on the floor didn’t feel particularly hygienic.
Location
The location is one of the hotel’s positives. It is close to the local area, making it easy to explore.
For that reason, we actually think half board may be a better option than all-inclusive, as you can go out and experience better-quality Greek food and drinks locally. However, vegetarians should still research nearby restaurants beforehand.
Positives
There were some good aspects: friendly staff, quick bar service, comfortable beds, effective air conditioning, good daytime music, friendly cats and a clean, comfortable room once we finally received it.
Overall
Overall, the hotel simply didn’t live up to the 4-star all-inclusive experience we were expecting. The biggest issues were the room situation, basic and repetitive food, limited vegetarian options, weak cocktails, lack of evening seating and poorly maintained facilities.
The location and some of the staff were definite positives, but based on our experience, we would rate the stay around 2.5–3 stars. If a genuine 4-star experience, good food and variety are important to you, I would recommend researching carefully before booking."
