Esperides Resort Crete

Our stay at this so-called 5-star resort was a major disappointment, especially as it was meant to be our honeymoon. The “Elite Suite” we were given was dark, outdated, and smelled musty, with absolutely no privacy. The supposed sea view consisted of walls, an electrical pole, and later even a construction site. Guests could look directly into our room and jacuzzi area from walkways, neighboring rooms, and the rooftop bar. On top of that, the room was extremely noisy from early morning onwards, and there was a persistent sewer-like smell throughout our stay. The lowest point, however, was a large cockroach in our room, actually in the bed. The staff’s reaction was shocking. There was no apology whatsoever — instead, the incident was joked about and dismissed with comments like “we are in the middle of nature.” Despite complaints, no immediate room change, meaningful support, or compensation was offered. This is completely unacceptable for a hotel claiming to be 5-star. The all-inclusive restaurant experience was equally disappointing. The atmosphere was anything but romantic: loud rap music playing from a phone in the open kitchen while a saxophonist performed at the same time. The food did not match what we had ordered — vegetarian dishes and desserts were replaced without notice, and menu changes were never communicated. Only on the day before our departure did we receive a half-hearted apology: a letter with our name misspelled, along with generic gestures that showed little understanding of our situation. This perfectly summed up the lack of attention and care throughout our stay. In summary: poor cleanliness, no privacy, a misleading room descriptions and an inadequate handling of guest complaints. This property does not meet 5-star standards in any way and we cannot recommended it — especially not for special occasions like a honeymoon. We are very disappointed by this experience. We normally never complain, especially since we both work in this industry and understand the challenges of hospitality, but this stay was genuinely unpleasant for us and far from what we expected.

We spent our honeymoon at Esperides Resort, and our experience was beyond anything we expected. The team surprised us in the most thoughtful way, leaving us truly speechless. The staff is incredibly friendly. The food selection was fantastic, the room was spotless and beautifully designed, and the service was exceptional from start to finish. Wonderful people, excellent location, and a perfect place for a honeymoon. We couldn’t have chosen better!

Very good experience of quality, politeness, professionalism and serviceability of the staff. The buffets are excellent. The hôtel and its private spa is very clean, massage are exceptionnal. All the spa staff (feminin) is very professional and full or delicate attention. Modern hotel, with piscines and gym space.

I tired the spa today and Vasiliki did to me a verry Good massage, she unblocked my neck with her stretching massage. The spa is verry clean and they are adorable. Thank you so much.

We had such an amazing time at Esperides and this was mainly down to the fantastic staff. We've never come across such hardworking, friendly and efficient people and the company should up their wages! Nothing was too much for them and some of the restaurant staff seemed to be on duty all day every day. The lady who cleaned our room did an amazing job and was so friendly. Food was excellent throughout - we had a meal in a local taverna one night and it wasn't on the same level as what was served up at Esperides. A couple of annoying things: storage is a bit lacking in the room, especially hangers! Too many people putting towels on the sunbeds first thing (mainly English people) and hogging them all day - there are notices up about this but not once did we see anyone monitoring it. We had an amazing room - Premium with sea view and jaccuzzi (Room 620!) - but some of the rooms looked very overlooked, even those with private pools and jacuzzis. Kouloutoufari is lovely but we used the local buses to visit the wider area - cheap and very efficient, despite the grumpy bus staff! Amoss beach is a little hidden treasure. The pirate boat trip from Hersonissos was great fun too (bit pricy though). I would definitely recomment this hotel but only if you have a sea view (ensure you book room 620!) - its also not ideal for kids over the age of 5 I'd say as the pool is fairly small.