Atlantica Caldera Palace

The spa was great for a rainy day in Crete. Dionysia was lovely and fantastic at giving me my massage. I felt very relaxed afterwards.

Me and my friends have just returned from our stay at the Tui Blue sensatori Atlantica Caldera palace hotel. This was our first Tui Blue hotel so our expectations of the hotel were high. The hotel was great in terms of Food, hotel staff service and facilities like the 7 Saltwater pools, mainly at 1.5m depth. The water was cold as in late September but we braved it anyway. I saw some reviews saying loungers were never available but we had no problems. Each lounger had its own umbrella and there was drinks service poolside. The beach is sandy but has some shingle within. So swim shoes are useful. Sea is a bit choppy and would be better for people who'd surf. The promenade area has a few nice bars and restaurants. But the area is quite quiet. Room was clean, modern decor, and a good size in the form of a lounge and bedroom for my group of 3. The sofa bed was ready made for our arrival and was very comfortable and spacious. Wifi in the rooms was good. And we had 2 smart tvs. A lack english channels though. So used the radio and you tube through it. There was a specific Tui blue app we had to use for a okish map of the hotel and daily activity schedule and for booking onto classes. A special shout out to Alice and Ethan who ran the Fitness and wellness classes. Also Agus for the great Archery range they have but we only found it at the end of our break. Often we were the only ones in the classes and I think this is because of an over reliance on the app to share information. It could be possible that as we were not in peak season. The fitness classes were great. Ethan put me through my paces and I did leave with some muscle ache but this is the Good Ache I have to stress, showing my quads really got a work out and got a bit stronger! There were small things I think could have better or improved at the hotel. DECOR: Outer hotel sign looked a bit tired. The Lobby main building had this traditional dark mahogany walls decor that looked a little dated and didn't match with the main restaurant decor which was more brighter, elegant and modern. FOOD: Food was great and we enjoyed the a la carte restaurants. What was not clear before the holiday was that you can only book into 3 of the 7 a la cartes as part of the all inclusive package. The main restaurant did have a great range of food and some themed days but would have like more chicken and Fish options. We also missed Tea and Cakes in the afternoon. You had the food court that did chips, salads and pizza in the afternoon but you can't get a tea or coffee there. So you either had to go to the lounge bar or the guru bar to get a tea. But the lounge bar didn't allow food to be eaten there and no where served cakes at tea time. Yet there were some nice cakes available at breakfast in the main restaurant. I missed my tea and cake time. ROOMS: The room was good but could do with a full length mirror! There was definitely space for one even if its on the inside of the door of 1 of the wardrobes. The bathroom sink had no towel rail and only one hook which we had to use to hang the hand towel. It would be more practical for a towel rail And then the hook on the wall can be used for your clothes or used bath towels. There were some signs of wear and tear around our bathroom window which is right next to the shower head. And we would sometimes see water leak out from the window hinge outside on the balcony when the window was closed and someone was using the shower. The ventilation in the bathroom was not great. Never heard the fan go on. The room would steam up quickly being reliant on the window to ventilate. Our shower screen door seemed to be quite small, until we realised is was half a screen door as we noticed a hinge at top. I seemed to have lost my hair turban towel which was a different colour to the towels but I think the cleaner may have picked up by accident with the bath towels. SPA: the sensatori website gave an impression that potentially the steam room and sauna was available as a tui blue customer. And as its a tui blue hotel I thought this type of thing would be a perk. But the sauna, steam room and indoor pool part of the 3rd party spa and therefore is all at extra charge. ENTERTAINMENT: Hotel entertainment is very much theatrical stage singing shows by the same 4 staff and 2 dancers. And a elton john singer at the piano lounge bar. There were times through the week it felt the same. But I have to say the entertainment team did outdo themselves with their Disney theatre show called Ever After. Their singing and performance was on point! The silent disco was good too but if the staff helped with showing some dance moves, more people would have danced. HOTEL: i had a total of 3 apps to download for this holiday. The TUI Blue app gave details about the restaurants, but you couldn't use that for booking the a la carte restaurants. Then there was another app we were told to download when on the coach at the airport for doing a pre check-in. The number of apps was a bit cumbersome and not a seamless user journey. We felt there was too much reliance on guests getting to know the hotel layout via just the map in the app. There could be more info about daily activities and where the archery is in the lobby so its more visible and more people take advantage. There was a fire pit area on the grounds that looked great but was not used at all whilst we were there. It seemed like a missed opportunity. Overall we enjoyed our stay, we had a good time.

Came here in September after looking at the hotel for a couple of years. Probably more positives than negatives as the room with sea view was amazing so a great start,arrived at the room by golf card by a very nice member of staff. Pools are genuinely good though never any sunbeds by the adult section. Food and spa was a let down for a 5 star rating. Buffet food was very samey and usually cold with rude staff. Queued 20 deep one night which was a dissapointment but got seated eventually. Italian was ok for the limited menu but didn't try the others. We had a spa massage while there and this was our big let down one massage great one very poor so be careful who you get, Alot of the spa was out of order ie the plunge pool and one of the saunas so didn't stay and left,Be aware they want a review before you go through to the amenities. Never the less we had a nice break in great weather but sadly won't return to this hotel.

Thank you to Sunita for an amazing Cretan massage with aloe treatment and facial. I feel so relaxed and pampered! Highly recommend booking a treatment at the spa during a stay at Caldera Palace.

To say we where disappointed is an understatement. Definitely not 5 Star! We arrived at 2.40am to a place that was like the black hole reception was poorly lit and 1 receptionists checking in 18 customers no welcome drink after travelling all day and given a map and told where to roughly find your room. Food constantly cold and I mean cold, the breakfast was a nice setting in adult area but was warm at best when I asked if they had a microwave to warm it I was told no ? No mention of the usual Sensatori branding as in all of the other hotels that we have stayed in and we have stayed in 3 others so we would know, If a very badly played saxophone is entertainment at least 4 times a day you will be happy here. Some of the staff where lovely George at the Adult Bar and George at adults breakfast where so kind and welcoming but definitely lost on this place and I would not recommend you book to stay here if your use to 5 star luxury hotels. Safe to say we will not being returning.