King Minos Retreat Resort and Spa

"This was my second stay at King Minos, and there is a reason I decided to come back: I absolutely love this place. The resort is beautifully located, with an amazing view over the sea. The entire resort has a modern and stylish Japandi design: calm, warm and luxurious, combining Japanese simplicity with Scandinavian design. Everything is incredibly clean, well maintained and taken care of, from the public areas and pool to the rooms. Our room with a private jacuzzi and sea view was definitely one of the highlights. Sitting in your own jacuzzi while looking out over the sea gives you such a peaceful and almost freeing feeling. For me, King Minos is truly a place where I can completely relax, enjoy myself and instantly get that holiday feeling. Another thing I really appreciate about King Minos is the quality of the all-inclusive concept. Compared to many other all-inclusive resorts, everything here feels much more refined and luxurious. The food is beautifully presented, fresh and constantly replenished and looked after. Cocktails are freshly prepared for you at the bar or terrace, served in proper glasses, and made with good-quality, genuine spirits. You can tell that quality really matters here, which I think is a huge plus, especially for an all-inclusive resort. The pool area is also beautiful, with stylish, sturdy and, most importantly, incredibly comfortable sunbeds. It can get quite busy around the pool at certain times, but in the end there is enough space for everyone to enjoy themselves. Another big plus for me is the gym. It is not huge, but it has pretty much everything you need to continue your normal workout routine while on holiday, especially when it comes to strength training. There is a great outdoor gym as well as an air-conditioned indoor area. For anyone who likes to keep training while on holiday, it is ideal. But what truly makes King Minos special to me is the staff. Everyone works incredibly hard while remaining friendly, professional and welcoming. The staff connect with you, take the time to have a conversation and genuinely make you feel appreciated as a guest. Of course, respect goes both ways, but when you treat the people here with respect, you receive so much warmth and kindness in return. Especially considering the temperatures and how busy it can sometimes get, I have a lot of respect for how hard everyone works. Even when it gets extremely busy or when they have to deal with guests who are not always as respectful as they should be, the staff remain calm, friendly and professional and do their best to handle everything properly. I especially want to give a huge shout-out to Giorgos, Dionisis and Erol. Dionisis and Giorgos are two of the bartenders, and they are absolutely fantastic. They make a real personal connection with you, know you by name, joke and chat with you, and genuinely make you feel welcome. Dionisis was actually the first person to recognise me from last year. That little moment of, “Hey, you were here last year!” immediately gave me such a great and familiar feeling. Not long after, Giorgos recognised me again as well. Erol deserves just as much appreciation. Every morning he greets you enthusiastically, takes a moment for a handshake and a chat, remembers things you have told him and simply makes you feel seen and welcome. It is exactly this kind of personal attention that makes such a difference. These three made our holiday even more enjoyable and special, for the second year in a row. And although I want to mention these three personally, the entire team deserves a huge compliment. From the bartenders shaking cocktails all day long, to the chefs cooking with a smile on their faces, the waiting staff and everyone working hard both in front of and behind the scenes: they truly add so much value to this resort. King Minos is beautiful, stylish and luxurious, but for me it is the combination of the surroundings, the atmosphere, the quality and, above all, the people that makes this place feel so special. Last year was my first time here. This year, I deliberately chose to come back for a second stay. And there will absolutely be a third. Thank you, King Minos and the entire team, for another amazing holiday. ❤️"

"We’d very nearly cancelled our stay after reading some of the recent reviews, and I’m so glad we didn’t. It genuinely made me wonder if some people had stayed at a completely different hotel. The location is excellent. It’s around a five-minute walk to the beach and only a few minutes from Star Beach, which has a great water park. Tickets were €15 each and we thought it was excellent value. Don’t be put off by reviews complaining about the little tunnel to the beach. It’s really not an issue and takes seconds to walk through. The hotel itself is modern, spotless and very well maintained. We arrived just before midnight after a long journey and found sandwiches and coleslaw waiting for us in the fridge. It was a thoughtful touch that was very much appreciated. One of the biggest surprises was the food. We’d seen several reviews giving it average scores, but we honestly couldn’t understand why. There was a wide variety every evening and everything we tried was fresh and tasty. Yes, you’re only allowed one booking in the à la carte restaurant during your stay, but given the quality and choice in the main restaurant, it really wasn’t something we felt disappointed by. The service deserves special mention. Every member of staff we encountered was friendly and helpful, and nothing ever seemed too much trouble. The bar staff were brilliant, often taking drinks orders at the loungers and bringing them over without you having to queue. We’d also read reviews saying drinks orders were forgotten, but that certainly wasn’t our experience. Giorgios and Dionisis, in particular, were exceptional. They regularly checked whether we needed anything and consistently went above and beyond to make sure everyone was looked after. Sunbeds were another pleasant surprise. We’d booked a room with a private pool but, if I’m honest, we hardly used it because the main pool area was so good. There were plenty of loungers available when we headed down at around 7.30 each morning, so there was none of the usual holiday stress of hunting for a bed before breakfast. The entertainment was generally very enjoyable, with the Wednesday evening DJ being a particular highlight. A few of the complaints we’d read beforehand turned out to be complete non-issues for us. The minibar being replenished only once during the stay didn’t bother us in the slightest because bottled water, tea and coffee were topped up daily anyway. Likewise, the poolside snacks were perfectly adequate, although after the generous breakfast and lunch, we rarely had room for them! The gym facilities were also excellent - modern, clean and far better equipped than many hotel gyms. Overall, we had a fantastic stay and wouldn’t hesitate to return. King Minos Resort & Spa exceeded our expectations in almost every way. No hotel is perfect, but this one comes very close. If, like us, you’re questioning your booking because of some recent reviews, I’d say ignore the noise, pack your suitcase and enjoy your holiday."

"Stayed for one week end of July start of August with husband & 16 yr old girl. Beautiful, aesthetically looking hotel which is clean and comfortable. Arrived mid afternoon and was greeted with the lovely news that we had been upgraded to a private pool room as it was my husbands birthday. This was such a wonderful surprise and we can’t thank the hotel enough! My 16 yr old spent the whole time in our beautiful pool posting her Instagram pictures and videos whilst we checked out the lovely hotel pool and bar area. Sunbeds are plentiful (ignore some of the negative comments made); cabanas, sunbeds, beanbags scattered over surrounding pool and garden areas; furthest away is no more then 30 feet from the pool so doesn’t matter where you situated yourself you are near pool & bar. Lovely chilled out music played; sometimes accompanied by beautiful sax or trumpet musician. This is NOT a children’s hotel. No pool games, loud party music, entertainment staff trying to get u to join in with waterpolo or other games;no kids clubs or play parks; this is very much an adult hotel with a beaufull high end chilled out atmosphere which was perfect for us but if u have younger children be warned that u will need to entertain them yourself. Our 16 year old loved it so good for teens too. Evening entertainment mainly with DJ playing chilled out dance music again accompanied with a sax, trumpet or electric violinist. Lovely seating areas lit by fire pits and comfortable seating but again not kid friendly. Room was well equipped, comfortable and clean. We went HB; food was lovely and we were able to swap our evening meal for lunch if needed. Food & drinks are expensive so u will need to take this into account when choosing HB or AI. Soft drinks were €5 for small coke etc..beer €7 and cocktails start at €10. We found that the resort in general charged the same so be warned that Crete is not a cheap place to visit. Nice meal out with drinks for the 3 of us came to around €100. Me & my husband had a massage at the spa and I also had a facial. Very pricey and to be honest it wasn’t the best I’ve had so felt a bit cheated. I would have preferred to spend the money paid for maybe an excursion day out to see another part of the island. Although not the hotels fault the resort was a bit of a let down. I have always wanted to visit Crete but the resort did not give me the ‘Greek’ experience I craved. Just typical tourist shops, bars & restaurants down a sometimes dirty rd and sea front. Beach clubs take up most of the sea front that u pay to visit but most looked a bit ‘Butlins’ ish. Hotel is on a bit of a hill, steps down to sea front but be warned u either have to duck down a very dirty tunnel under the rd or try and cross a sometimes busy rd which takes u to yet again a bit of a beach club area not very appealing. U can also walk down the main rd to the shops etc which isn’t far but again a bit dirty and not very aesthetically pleasing on the eye. Only a couple of issues we experienced which I would like to bring to hotel’s attention; WiFi was poor & kept loosing connection. This was very difficult for my husband to keep track with work emails etc..and had to go to a bar in town on some occasions just to complete some important work commitments. Also my daughter was served at dinner with what we thought was an apple juice…wasn’t until we got the bill and found we had been charged €7 and then noticed she hadn’t finished the drink; we found that they had in fact given her a alcoholic cider! Staff just laughed but still charged us for the drink which was a little concerning. In general we had a lovely holiday (although a little expensive due to cost of food & drink) and hotel was by far one of the top places we have stayed and would highly recommend for an adults chilled out stay!"