Amazing place- we visited woth our 8 months baby and enjoyed. The staff was caring, thoughtful and smiling. great food, really enjoyed the spa and pools. beautiful view. wish I could come back every year. I highly recommend.
We have just checked out after 7 blissful days at the Royal Senses. This was exactly the break we needed, beautiful surroundings, exceptional staff and a relaxed, chic resort. I wish I could award 6 stars. Check in Smooth and seamless, we arrived at 2am and were greeted with welcome juices and a selection of pastries and were swiftly whisked to our room by golf buggy. The 5 star treatment started, despite the late check in time. The hotel had left a plate of baklava in our room. Room We stayed in room 1320, a deluxe sea view room. Beautifully appointed with a spectacular view over the pool, Royal Blue resort and the vast sea. Sunsets were spectacular. All amenities taken care of, robes and slippers, iron and ironing board, safe, Nespresso machine and fridge. Housekeeping were great, we accidentally left our do not disturb on all day while we were out. One call to reception and the room was cleaned and water and chocolates left for us. As we arrived, the weather was stormy and our room was very warm in the evening. We were told the AC was switched off due to it being out of season, some nights were uncomfortable and we did sleep with the balcony doors open. On our last few nights the AC was switched back on (perhaps due to temperatures of 24+) and we enjoyed very restful sleep. The bed was very comfortable, it would be great to have a pillow menu and turndown service - not essential but always lovely. The resort is very quiet at night, which was perfect for us. One evening the fire alarm went off for around an hour in our block, staff were quick to sort this out and the next day we arrived back to our room to find a note and a bottle of red wine to apologise for the inconvenience. A very thoughtful touch. Pool and Beach There are 2 beautiful pools at the front of the hotel, one heated and one saltwater. Another pool is located outside the spa and one heated pool inside/outside the spa. Sun loungers are plentiful and there seems to be a strict no reservation policy, which is great. Guests have access to the Royal Blue beach and pool, highly recommended a walk here at sunset. Drinks can be charged to your Royal Senses room from the Royal Blue. Spa We loved the spa, it’s the largest in Crete and beautiful. There is a sauna, hammam and steam room and lots of seating to relax with a hot drink. We had the Global Facial, 90 minutes of bliss. Therapists are welcoming and experts. Spa is worth the additional charge, especially when the weather is unpredictable. We used the gym everyday, it’s small but has 3 treadmills, a cross trainer and a bike. There are free weights and machines too. Download the app when you arrive to see the fitness classes. Water and gym towels are available at the gym. Food Out of this world good. We love Greek food and every meal we had was excellent, from breakfast to lunch and the buffet in the evening. Highlights were the Traditional Dakos and Pork Gyros. If you can go half board, do, you will not be disappointed. The dessert chef is a genius. Wines were excellent too, we recommend the Klado (the winery is about 15 mins from the hotel!) and Open Book are both excellent white wines. All of the waiting staff are excellent, super friendly and care that you have a lovely experience. The staff are honestly some of the best we have experienced in a 5 star resort. Welcome Raki at dinner and complimentary fizz at breakfast were lovely touches. Dining outside is wonderful, pack a jacket for October evenings as it can drop a little chilly. Location The resort is in a remote location, so perfect for people wanting to relax and unwind. It’s around an hour from Heraklion airport. Panormos is about a 40 minute walk, there is also a little train you can catch in the afternoon, which returns hourly. Panormos is worth a walk around, there are some lovely little restaurants. We hired a car at the hotel and visited Chania and Rethymno, both well worth a visit and have lovely Venetian ports as well as beautiful streets. The hotel is spread over the hillside which means you need to catch the funicular to get up and down (this could be slow when it got busy at breakfast and dinner times). Amenities There is a store on site and a supermarket located across the road. There are also a few boutiques, clothes and jewellery and a hair salon on site. The Lobby bar has live music, we didn’t use this as we prefer to eat dinner and then relax. There are 4 restaurants - worth downloading the app to see the menus. At the pool, every lounger/umbrella has a call button for when you wish to have drinks. Clientele There are a variety of nationalities at the hotel, a mixture of age ranges and some families with young children and babies. All children we encountered were well supervised by their parents and well behaved. Check out We have a super late flight and requested a late checkout, which the hotel were able to oblige. We were so grateful as it meant our last day was spent by the pool relaxing before getting packed and ready to go. Checkout was super slick, we were given water for our onward journey and offered juice and pastries. We could not have asked for better service or a more relaxing, chic stay. We will definitely return to the Royal Senses.…
This resort was so great that we changed our flight just to stay another night. I got an upgrade as a Hilton Diamond member as well as some nice welcome amenities such as fruit and wine. We had a Royal Senses villa our last night. I have stayed in hotels all over the world and this may be the nicest room I've ever had. Pools were nice, one of which was heated. Pool bar has affordable cocktails. Breakfast was one of the best of my trip. I'd happily stay here again if I find myself back in Crete.
The experience was unspeakable. Though we had a couple of misunderstandings at first but thanks to dear Anastasia who took care of us and made sure that we get the best experience while our stay, We enjoyed the spa and massage that we had the gluten free menu was astonishingly good. We couldn’t ask for anything else. Thanks team Royal Senses!! Keep up your good work.. we will visit next year
After a couple of minor issues in the beginning, which were quickly addressed by wonderful Anastasia from guest relations, we had a throughly enjoyable stay. We took the ‘standard’ room which was really lovely - lots of space and magnificent sea views. We were initially disappointed that the mini bar didn’t come as standard - the hotel offer to fill it as you wish but since we arrived very late, it came as a shock to find it empty. We were on half board and availed of the buffet breakfast & dinner (the latter we took 3 nights). Breakfast is excellent, everything you could ask for. Only negative was the self serve toasters which just weren’t very effective! Suggest someone ‘man’ these to avoid burnt toast & queues! Dinner in the buffet was good - it’s mainly Cretan. We aren’t really buffet fans - but personally I’d have liked more international offerings. Wine service was a bit slow & confusing ‘due to shortage of glasses’. Also the food is hotter & fresher early in the evening so I’d recommend you arrive early. We ate in the Mitato restaurant which specialises in meat one night. It was absolutely delicious, reasonable priced for a hotel this standard. The service was excellent there too. Anastasia arranged a surprise cake and Prosecco for us as it was my birthday. That was a massive surprise, thoroughly enjoyed it and just exceptional customer service. The pool area is sublime. We had no problems securing a Bali bed each day. My only issue was the rather chaotic service!? Seems the staff couldn’t find the correct sunbeds. The wine always arrived 30 minutes after lunch. Hopefully they will get this sorted!! Our flight was very late on the last day and we were thrilled to be granted a late checkout. Again, exceptional service. It’s a fairly remote hotel. We took a taxi to the closest village one night (about £10) - just 10 minute drive. We also took a taxi to Rethymno for the day - it’s 30 minutes away and about €25 each way (taxis seemed to arrive quite quickly to the hotel) All up, I’d highly recommend this hotel for a poolside stay. I would strongly suggest you contact guest relations if you’ve any issues whatsoever - Anastasia is absolutely fantastic. She totally made our stay.…
We spent 6 days at the resort with my family (couple + 5yr old + 1 year old) and honestly had the best experience. From the warm greeting and all the arrangements that were made to make our stay not only nice but memorable, to the beauty of the place, the amazing infrastructure to the food, everything was spot on. I didn’t think it was possible to feel that level of family-friendly while enjoying incredible food everyday, an awesome HEATED !! Outdoor pool as well as the fun but non heated secondary pool with slides and games for kids. There is also a kids club which my 5 year old enjoyed. The rooms were spacious and the staff caring and extremely nice. Once of the best vacations we had as a family.
New and modern hotel whit an eye for detail. The room had a beautiful design, and a very comfortable bed. We had a room on the first floor, and needed the take the elevator to get to the room, there were no stairs. There are 5 restaurants in the hotel but only 2 were open because of the bad weather, still the food was very nice and the service perfect. all the staff was very friendly and very helpful. I can imagine that it must be very beautiful whit blue sky and sunshine, dinning outside . We were unlucky to have 3 days of rain the 2 nights we stayed there. We spend time in the indoor heated pool in the spa and visited the nearby town.
Everything was perfect, from relaxing spa to the amazing beach to the pools and to the astonishing room with private pool! They also had enough gluten-free options on the menu. Thanks team Royal Senses!!
Amazing and memorable stay. A perfect way to enjoy the last weeks of warm weather in Europe. We had the most lovely and relaxing stay. The staff was adorable, always smiling and accommodating the children. The hotel design is beautiful and the view so peaceful. The kids loved the pool, the pool slides and the amenities. Also enjoyed a lovely time in the spa. Warmly recommended and we look forward to be back.
This was our first time in Greece and our third Island. The Royal Senses was outstanding, Their attention to detail and caring staff made this stay stand out for us. Several employees went out of their way to make sure we were taken care of and our needs were met to our satisfaction and beyond. Comfortable accommodations, the best breakfast buffet I have ever seen, many pools offered to satisfy anyone’s needs, and great family play areas for children.
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