The Royal Senses Resort & Spa Crete, Curio Collection By Hilton

“Great Resort Facilities, Great Food, Exceptional Kids Club”

We returned after first staying at this resort a year ago, and once again had an excellent experience. The family room was spacious and perfectly set up for a family of four, with plenty of facilities for younger children — including a heated pool, a fun water park, and a shuttle to the beach at t… more

We returned after first staying at this resort a year ago, and once again had an excellent experience. The family room was spacious and perfectly set up for a family of four, with plenty of facilities for younger children — including a heated pool, a fun water park, and a shuttle to the beach at the neighbouring resort (handy given the busy road). The food was consistently excellent, both at breakfast and the evening buffets. But the main reason for our return was the outstanding Topi Kids Club, led once again by Stella and her brilliant team. Our children specifically asked to come back because of them — and we’re glad we did. It made for a fantastic short holiday.

less

“Family holiday Royal Senses Crete”

Honest review - Royal Senses Villa with Sea View and Private infinity pool. We stayed here over half term for ten nights as a family of four. Our party had eight people in total with other family members residing in a Family suite with a sea view. Our board was bed and breakfast. This is a four sta… more

Honest review - Royal Senses Villa with Sea View and Private infinity pool. We stayed here over half term for ten nights as a family of four. Our party had eight people in total with other family members residing in a Family suite with a sea view. Our board was bed and breakfast. This is a four star hotel. Not a five star hotel. You cannot upgrade to half board for Lunch only Dinner. Our Villa was well proportioned and clean. The view stunning. The pool was €180 a day to be heated, it was very cold. There was an odor of drain in the accommodation at the end of everyday. Our children slept on the sofa. This was not even a sofa bed with a mattress. This was a little disappointing considering the price. Only a handful of plug sockets worked in the villa and this made use of electrical items difficult. On our second to last day there was a flood in the external corridor that leaked into our room and soaked all of our shoes. There are safety catchs on the doors to prevent small people having access to the pool without supervision. The breakfast area got extremely busy. Eleni Gavla provided exceptional service throughout our stay remembering our made to order beverage requests on a daily basis. Breakfast options were vast and well prepared. There was no option for a jug of water on the table. The pool areas are clean. The lifeguard’s vigilant. The aqua park was fabulous and the children loved it. We ate formal sit down lunch in the restaurant and by the pool. This service was terrible. On the occasions we ate in the restaurant the staff got our order vastly wrong both times. It is expensive. The staff around the pool are aggressive in requesting payment for food. I was asked to pay on three occasions before the food even arrived. We had three meals where we had other items added to our bill. If I had not requested a summary of the order before paying would have paid for things we did not have. The staff found it odd I asked for a breakdown before paying. The portions by the pool are smaller than the restaurant. The beach is lovely, however, sadly the sand was littered with rubbish at the shoreline. There are regular shuttles throughout the day. The service at the beach was reflective of a five star experience. The prices at the beach are smaller more expensive than by the pool €12 for fries for example. We misplaced our towel cards one day leaving them at the pool. The pool staff said this was a reception issue. Reception tried to charge me €20 Per card (€80) to replace (plastic credit card es que). I have never stayed anywhere “five”star where this is the case. The reception staff replaced the towel after I said I was not prepared to pay this. Another guest I spoke had just paid to have her cards replaced. Vasillis in the gym works really hard. He runs classes daily. We really enjoyed using the fitness centre. Vasillis ensures all the clients are safe and engages with gym users. The kids club staff were great and our girls attended for a few hours on two days when it was over 25 degrees. This hotel is in a lovely location. Panormo village is €8 taxi cab fare away. There are lots of lovely restaurants. It is very family friendly. The hotel has a five star price for a four star experience.

less

“Not really good enough in comparison to competition”

I had high hopes for this hotel — on paper it ticked all the boxes: heated pool, spacious family rooms and reasonable pricing. The reality, however, was a mixed experience that left me feeling it falls well short of its five-star billing, particularly at over £300 a night in peak season. Arrival … more

I had high hopes for this hotel — on paper it ticked all the boxes: heated pool, spacious family rooms and reasonable pricing. The reality, however, was a mixed experience that left me feeling it falls well short of its five-star billing, particularly at over £300 a night in peak season. Arrival & Check-In Our arrival set an unfortunate tone. Despite a member of staff standing outside chatting with our taxi driver, no one offered to help with our luggage — I had to prompt reception myself. That said, the check-in team were warm and thoughtful, kindly arranging food from the buffet as we’d just missed service. The Room We stayed in a family suite which was a decent size, but basic maintenance had clearly been neglected. Issues included: an exposed toilet ceiling, a shower door seal coming away, no hot water, a broken iron, broken sliding doors between the adult and children’s sleeping areas, and stained robes in the wardrobe. I’m not an unreasonable guest — I understand that no hotel is perfect — but stained linens, no hot water and broken appliances are entirely avoidable. When I raised these with reception, some issues were addressed while we were at dinner, which I appreciated. The following morning the room manager called to apologise and offered a lunch voucher and sparkling wine, which was a kind gesture. However, the hot water failed again the very next shower, which rather undermined the goodwill. It’s hard to escape the sense that the hotel isn’t receiving adequate support from its owner-operator, as so many of these problems should be straightforward to resolve. Food & Dining Breakfast was fine but unremarkable. Dinner was a disappointment, particularly for families — the children’s options amounted to two types of pasta, nuggets and ice cream. A more varied offering for younger guests would go a long way. The pool food, by contrast, was a genuine highlight: generous portions, good quality and reasonably priced for a resort. At breakfast the staff really seem to struggle at a basic level taking coffee orders - a simple printed coffee menu would help bridge the language gap when ordering drinks. Pool & Service Pool service was poor. Staff spent most of their time gathered at the bar rather than attending to guests — a problem that’s common in parts of Europe, but one that’s easily fixed with a bit of management focus. The female lifeguard attendant — responsible for towel collection — was notably rude and, frankly, a real detriment to the atmosphere. The sun loungers themselves, however, are very comfortable. Staff Highlights The housekeeping team deserve a special mention — they were excellent throughout, consistently attentive with water, towels and room cleanliness. Maria, who makes smoothies at breakfast, was also a standout: genuinely warm and went out of her way to engage with our daughter. Katerina in the restaurants was also superb. Practical Notes The lifts and funicular were not always operational, and with only one funicular serving the property, this caused real inconvenience — especially when both were out at the same time. Better signage or staff guidance on alternative routes to rooms would help. The hotel is also around 30 minutes from Rethymno with little nearby, which didn’t bother us but is worth knowing. The restaurant has one of the most stupidly thought out designs I’ve seen in a long time - unless you want to eat extremely late there are very few tables inside meaning unless you want to wear Factor 50 after showering for dinner, you can look forward to being sat in the direct sun. They could easily install some outdoor blinds or similar to help shield customers from the excessive heat and light at dinner. Evening Entertainment A pleasant surprise — live singers and a DJ created a lovely atmosphere at the bar, and children were welcome in the space, which our family enjoyed. In Summary There is a genuinely good hotel here trying to get out. The setting is good, the pool is relaxing, some staff are excellent and the evening entertainment is a nice touch. But for a five-star property at this price point, the volume and nature of the issues — maintenance failures, inconsistent service and a rude lifeguard/towel attendant - are simply not acceptable. With stronger operational management and owner investment, this could be a truly impressive resort. Right now, it isn’t quite there.

less