Grecotel Meli Palace

The hotel is in a fantastic location with its own private beach. If you are looking for total relaxation and wanting to stay in one place this is the hotel for you. The grounds and surrounding areas of hotel are well maintained and clean. The beach area is lovely,plenty of sunbeds and enough space for everyone,pool area is nice too. If you need to leave the hotel you can walk to sissi in about 20 minutes or a taxi is 7 euros,its a lovely little village with plenty of bars and restaurants. I'd also recommend a visit to Taverna Kalyva which you can get to by walking over the rocks towards potomas beach,about a 10 min walk. The staff were all extremely friendly and hardworking,a real credit to the hotel. Rooms were fine,maybe need a little attention to the bathroom but very clean. If we had any slight negatives, it would be the food,whilst plentiful and varied it was probably not the finest however you will not go hungry. Also the wi-fi was not great in the room but was fine in lobby area and(surprisingly) at the beach. We would definitely come back.

I really enjoyed staying at this hotel. The room was fresh and felt clean. The hotel itself was so lovely, and the staff were too. It’s right on the beach and there were always plenty of sun loungers you could move onto the sand, grass or by the pool. The pool was also nice and warm. There were plenty of snacks, food and drinks always available!

The hotel is clean and tidy throughout. The staff make this hotel as they are all very friendly and helpful and cannot do enough for you. Food was great with variety and all freshly prepared and rooms are clean if a little bare. The beds are very hard and the air con was a bit hit and miss. The engineer came straight over to sort which made it better as we were there when it was 38 degrees. Reception also sorted extra pillows for us straight away as well. Maids come daily and we’re all lovely. Lovely welcome to the room with wine, Prosecco, food and cheesecake as our flight arrived late. Great sea view with balcony. Gym is 4 euros to use daily which I had thought was included. Pool is lovely and beach is nice a breezy for the change. Not many sun-loungers around the pool area so had to get there early to get one. Lots on beach which plenty of shade. Entertainment crew were all lovely and really made you feel welcome. Loved the volleyball and water polo best. Lifeguard was a great bloke as well. Always happy and smiling. Shop downstairs good and the spa was lovely. very nice massage had. We hired a car for the day to see the area which was lovely. Popped into Sissi for dinner and did some shopping in Malia. All in all a lovely hotel just needs a little upgrade in beds and air con. We would deffo stay again for the friendly relaxed atmosphere.

From the moment we arrived to the moment we left, all the staff were friendly and couldn’t do enough for you. We arrived late, we were welcomed from the moment we got off the coach, offered a drink and taken to our room, where we had some food waiting. As the week went on, there where certain people who made our holiday and went the extra mile… All of the entertainment team, but who stood out for us was Kestutis and Nick, we did the activities that they were running and they always stopped to talk to you when they passed you or came to find you to take park in the activity. Also Micheal who greeted us on every meal breakfast, lunch and dinner with a positive attitude and made us feel at home with his funny jokes and remembered conversations we had the days before, so we felt more than just another guest. The whole team are a credit to the hotel but as I said these guys really went above and beyond in our experience. So there is only a couple of downsides to this hotel one is that the bathrooms are quite out dated and are in need of refurbishment, but this didn’t overly matter as the whole hotel including the landscaping was kept spotless. Also the evening entertainment that we saw wasn’t the best but this is just our opinion. The location is great, only 10 minute taxi to either Sisi or Malia. Also stunning views from every point of the hotel. All in all one of the best holidays we have been on 👌

Arriving late at the hotel, which is around an hour from Heraklion airport, I was only able to fully appreciate the hotel and its surroundings the next day, when I did I was pleasantly surprised given how competitive the pricing was. Communal areas are spotless and well presented. Staff are impeccably courteous and speak many languages, with guests from UK, Germany, France and Russia during my stay at the end of April 2023. Food was plentiful and varied, the drinks menu also showed a food amount of variety (if non-premium brands are accepted) . As a first-time solo traveller I was made to feel very welcome by all staff (special thanks to Ioanna who was polite and friendly all the time) which made my week at Grecotel Malia a very relaxing and enjoyable one. The hotel is located within short-ish walking distance along the coast to Sissi, which is a pretty fishing village, and Malia in the other direction, though there’s no reason to go to either apart from if looking for a change of scenery. A coach pick-up will take residents either to Heriaklion, which is a very busy city given airport and port but also has interesting Venetion-era architecture and a busy centre within the city walls. A coach will also take you to Agios Nicolaos, which is a picturesque, relaxed port. Your tour operator can also organise trips to Knossos, Samaras Gorge from there, Crete is a large island and there are many car hire opportunities in Sissi or Malia if looking to travel further and under your own direction. Minor downsides of Grecotel Meli are the patchy WiFi, not a strong signal except in the main area, the lounge music also wasn’t quite to my taste, basically anything popular from the 80‘s to the present day but re-recorded at half-speed, perhaps to generate a chilled-out Ibiza vibe, it didn’t quite match the more family-friendly atmosphere of the hotel. I’d 100% recommend the hotel to a friend looking for a relaxed stay on Crete (I.e not the 24-hour party experience available at nearby resorts), I’d also consider coming back one day myself.

We visited as a couple for 2 weeks at the end of May and chose the hotel as it looked so laid back . It was definitely a lovely, quiet and well run hotel . Lets start with the best parts .. the staff are fantastic friendly and they work so hard , especially the young girl who runs the beach bar (vivi i think) and the young man who runs the lobby bar a credit to the hotel . Nice pool , beach and gardens all kept spotless . The food was always nice and well cooked (although slightly same same after 2weeks) but there was always a good choice The room was comfortable, bathroom ok but certainly not a wow (room 136) always kept spotless by the hard working cleaners .not sure the A/C worked it just made a blowing noise and blew warm air . So sorry now the bad bits (why you got 4* not 5 ) Service for drinks can be slow in the restaurant, there needs to be some self service machines in the restaurant. From breakfast you have till 1030 before the beach bar opens , theres no water dispensers anywhere so getting waters always a battle . The lobby bar opens at 1730 , so the only place for drinks are beach bar and there self service machines are often broke , so again long queues And finally if it rains your in trouble no cover , no dry areas outside the lobby. Minor gripes , the hotel is fab , but will need some TLC soon , i hope it gets some as it is a fabulous place . Thanks to everyone

We stayed for 8 nights during October half term. We absolutely loved it however just to note.... - end of season...packing things away for closure - not much for the children to do in kids club, as all packed up!! - housekeeping a bit ropey - evening entertainment was very limited as hotel was closing on the Sunday, we left on the Friday - very limited space for clothing - no drawers. We kept most items on the ledges around the room Everything else was great, especially the staff & food. Our girls cried when we left to come home!!

Lovely secluded beach and relaxing atmosphere. Very friendly and genuine staff on the pool side bar/ restaurant/ reception. Quality cocktails on the all inclusive. Very tasty food including stifado on the lunch buffet. To make the hotel even better would suggest having more lighting by the seating area in the evenings and provide guests with a pot of coffee on the table at breakfast which always gets a big plus.

Honest review!! Just got back from a weeks stay at the Meli Palace as a family of three (2 adults, 1 teenager!) I will start with the positives - location is lovely and peaceful surrounded by mountains but overlooking the sea and the private beach. Hotel lobby and seating area outside is modern and clean. Check in / out was easy and relatively quick. We unfortunately had a problem with our room on the first night and after a quick trip to reception in the morning the manager sorted us a new room within an hour which we really appreciated. The food was lovely and all three of us found something to eat whenever we ate in the main restaurant. Having some named branded spirits at the bar was good and the juices didn’t seem to be the super fake “made from concentrate” ones which was nice. Always found a sun-lounger either down on the beach or by the pool, it was hit and miss how quickly the beds would be taken! There was a husband and wife duo working in the main restaurant and they were fantastic (I can’t remember their names) they were always smiling amongst the chaos and stopped to chat…the lady also made the best lattes which was great! She gave us all a hug goodbye on our last evening 🙂 Unfortunately we thought there were a few negatives. The main one - the beds….genuinely never slept on a mattress so uncomfortable and we all had very minimal sleep throughout our stay. The bedrooms and bathrooms are in desperate need of refurbishment- hotel is marketed as 4 star and the accommodation is definitely is not that level. The only bar that’s open during the day is the one by the kids pool and if you want a quiet coffee up in the lobby area you have to go down to the beach to have a coffee in a paper cup as we were told we couldn’t take “real cups” away from the seating area which is next to the kids pool….not very quiet and relaxing! For the size of the hotel I really think the lobby bar should be open all day for people who want to stay at the top end of the hotel away from the beach / pool. Breakfast - was unorganised chaos!! I’m not sure if the hotel thinks table service for drinks makes the hotel 4 star but it just creates frustration for staff and guests. Being seated then having to wait for a waitress to take your order then bring your drink (in a tiny shot glass size glass!) was VERY frustrating. Many days we waited 20 minutes plus just to have our drinks order taken. Staff are running back and forth trying to fill drinks orders (that unfortunately often came wrong as they were trying to serve so many tables at once) A lot of the staff looked fed up and and there was clear tension many days when they were snapping at each other and a few guests. It seems the hotel do this to stem the amount of drinks guests have at meal times - not what I would expect from a 4 star resort! Having self serve drinks for breakfast would immediately alleviate the stress and chaos meaning staff could focus on clearing tables and seating guests an