The Royal Senses Resort Crete, Curio Collection by Hilton

Just returned from a 3-night couples' stay here and had a great time overall. We did experience some maintenance and service inconsistencies and some strange management decisions (kids in spa pool?) which prevent us from leaving 5 stars. Based on our experience with other resorts, this is probably closer to a 4.0-star property than a 4.5 or 5-star property. Pros: -As Diamond members, we were upgraded from a private pool room to a duplex Royal Senses Villa, which was gigantic and lovely and was much appreciated. The beautiful, light-filled marble shower on the second floor was a treat as was the 2nd floor balcony w/ daybed and the huge 1st floor patio and pool -The facilities are new & clean, and the common spaces are beautifully designed -Panoramic views of the ocean from what seemed like most rooms' balconies. Ironically, you may end up with a better view from the lower-elevation rooms, because our top-end, highest-elevation Royal Senses Villa balcony was high enough to see the busy road and tops of other buildings which somewhat detracts from the otherwise gorgeous view of the ocean. The surrounding area (to the left and right of the resort) is largely empty lots which are not particularly picturesque. -Large breakfast buffet with lots of high-quality options -Unique glass funicular elevator/lift with beautiful views. As some reviewers noted it's slow, but that didn't bother us as we weren't rushing around and loved taking in the view -Staff we interacted with were for the most part super friendly and welcoming, in particular the check-in staff and those at the spa -Location is a nice jumping-off point to explore the middle of Crete (a few beautiful beaches are within an hours' drive, great restaurants in Rethymno within 30 mins) Cons: Cold private pool & outdoor shower temps -Many rooms here have private pools (amazing!), but they are not heated (with the exception of a minority of the top-end rooms which can be heated for 150 EUR). If you go in the shoulder season, just be aware that this essentially renders the private pools unusable / a cold plunge if the weather isn't super hot. We could only reasonably use the private pool for a portion of one day of our 3-night stay in late May and even then only briefly due to the cold water temp. Similarly, the outdoor showers do not have a hot water tap which leads to the same issue :( Lack of hot tubs -Although the adults-only outdoor pool near the spa has sectioned-off areas which look like they would be hot tubs, and they do have jets, they are not actually a different temp than the rest of the pool (at least during our visit). It would be nice to have a hot tub available during the shoulder seasons. Spa --Allows anyone (including children!) into the indoor 'spa pool' area. Typically spas only allow guests with same-day treatments in order to maintain a serene / uncrowded environment; this was not the case here which is a big mistake in my opinion (imagine paying a few hundred euros for a t

The most incredible stay! Me and my partner stayed here for a week, first time in both Crete and this hotel; and we were not disappointed. Firstly, we stayed at the suite with private pool, steep price but worth every penny. The room was big and bright and the pool and terrace was just amazing. Secondly, the service, smile and genuine warmth of every employee - from the cleaning staff to restaurants, breakfast, bar, reception, concierge and pool areas was beyond what we have experienced anywhere else. This was the absolute highlight of our stay. Thirdly, the attention to details and attentiveness from the hotel, from sending a bottle of bubbles and note to our room without notice, to a good bye gift and fruit platters and accommodation to our requests was a really nice touch. Some things we would have liked to see be different, there were a lot of families with very small kids which we did not expect and it did affect the experience from time to time. We also did not manage to get a table at the fine dining restaurant which was a little disappointing, and there was only one other choice as we did not half board. The food there was however really good, but it did not beat the pop up lunch restaurant (wow, the food and service there was so good that we went there for four days, we wished this was open at night time!). The wine selection available at the hotel overall was unfortunately not great for wine lovers as most were Cretan and not really any other options which I would expect at a high end place like this. The few things we would change however, is nothing compared to how wonderful our experience was. Truly thank you to all the staff for making it that way.

Having stayed at the Royal Senses in May 2024 i had mixed opinions whether to write this review but after a few weeks of reflection decided now is the time. So Five stars ? definitely not in our opinion a Greek five star in reality Four at best. Our room with private pool simply did not represent the images on the website We did have concerns over the room and food in the restaurants especially the Buffet. The first impressions were truly awful we came to dine around 2030 with an hour to go before closing to find most dishes to be empty . After a quick chat we moved next door to there A La Carte restaurant where we ordered and quickly sent back the Beef and Lamb some of the toughest ever. The restaurant only charged for the drinks which i would expect. Having said this an amazing attempt to rectify these problems was made by Ivita from the hotel offering different rooms which did have better views but we did not want to waste anymore of the holiday so stayed put. Also a complimentary massage for my wife. So believe me they are there to help if you have a problem The little village of Panormos offered some great restaurants, and we eat there most nights not cheap but good. A good tip we substituted our evening meal for a lunch in the taverna by the pool which was great, amazing grilled Octopus where they offer a 15 Euro voucher for this. Would we return ? sorry no .

Lovely hotel. And had a great stay, but encountered various isues, which were dealt with. Firstly the Pro's: -Amazing facilities, espcially for kids as well. The highlight was the heated main pool and adjacent kids pool. Stayed in some luxury hotels before but not with heated pools. -Generally great staff, and mostly good service. -Some lovely rooms, although a bit bland. We had a Villa with private pool and sunbeds. Con's: -The diagonal lift can be slow, waiting upto 5 mins if busy. Not really an alternative. -We were missing an umbrella on our patio, but just had a stand. I had to ask 3 seperate days, on the 3rd day eventually spoke to the Guest Relation mananger - Ivita (very helpful) who arranged it. -Had to call maintanace 4 times to our room, who were usually very prompt. Faulty TV needed replacing, Bedside lights did not work, and bathroom plug got stuck down twice. Needs a proper fix really. -Room had an intermittant smell of sewerage. Reported it but told them dont worry about looking into until we had gone as wasnt that bad. -Service in Gea buffet restaurant below par: Twice we were not asked for drinks after sitting down at all. Once we asked for a high chair which didnt arrive. Once my drink order wasnt taken correctly One day We asked the buffet supervisor for some speically made baby food if possible, she said io problem it would be 6-7 mins, and it never came. The next day we spoke to the Food and beverage mananger who was very helpful and arranged this going forward. -One day the shuttle bus from the Royal blue beach didnt come, we had to ring to request it urgently as we had a crying baby. Eventually waited 20 minutes after it was due We were given a complimentary meal in Mitato to make up for the issues which was great. -The service and food was slow in Mitato. We spent just over 2.5 hours in there for a 2 course meal. Our main meal took 45 mins to come and we had to ask for the bill twice. I know some other tables waited over 1 hour for the main meal. Overall I really do like this hotel, but I think perhaps we were unlucky with all the issues we had. Hopefully if we stay again it would all be resolved. Special mention to Refela and Jenny in the main resturant. Eva on Concierge, and The previously mentioned Guest Relations manager and Food and Beverage manager for trying to solve our issues.

We are loyal to Curio Collection all over the world and long time Hilton Honor members but this place exceeds in service, professionalism, cleanliness and hospitality. We received an upgrade to beautiful, two level, private pool villa. What a treat! Beautiful location with great views and spa. Although, we didn't travel with children there is plenty of fun for little ones too. We'll be back! Highly recommended!