GRECOTEL Meli Palace

I paid a lot of money for this holiday to be stared at and laughed at by other guests in the hotel. I have spent most of the time in my room as I don’t feel safe or comfortable. If you are transgender and considering this hotel please think again. Being surrounded by ignorant and rude hotel guests is no fun. I don’t think I am allowed to mention the nationality of the guests on this review. Such a bad experience if I wasn’t with a group of friends I would go home.

If you're looking for a quiet, sun-drenched escape where you can forget your everyday life, this is the place—mainly because there's literally nothing else around. This hotel is about 40 minutes from Heraklion airport, nestled in what can only be described as "aggressively nowhere." We stumbled in during the early wee hours of the morning to be greeted by impossibly cheerful reception staff who clearly run on some kind of magical hospitality fuel. Check-in was lightning fast, and they'd left us a delightful little plate of sandwiches in our room—because apparently even at 1 AM, someone thought we might be peckish. The staff at this resort are 100% amazing. Seriously, I'm convinced they're all secretly related or part of some elite friendliness training program. From the porters to reception to wait staff to bar staff to the spa ladies—everyone was so relentlessly pleasant I started wondering what they put in the employee water cooler. The common areas are clean and modern, but the rooms? Let's just say they're giving "vintage" vibes whether they meant to or not. Still, I really appreciated that the drinks were all name-brand—no "Mystery Cola" or "Definitely Not Gin" here. The food was good, though not quite my cup of tea. But hey, I never went hungry, which is more than I can say for my Wi-Fi connection. Internet was basically playing hide-and-seek the entire time. But as I mentioned, if you want to escape real life, congratulations—you'll be escaping Instagram too.

Wonderful hotel staff amazing food great would highly recommend I am here till tomorrow read some bad reviews don't listen greatxxxxx

I stayed at this hotel in the summer of 2025 and had a bad experience. Although it was very expensive and supposedly a 4-star hotel, the rooms were really basic and needed refurbishing. The shower was mouldy and the furniture rusty, and the shower door wouldn't close. Also, there was no WiFi in the rooms, which for a 4-star hotel in 2025 is unacceptable! They also charged €4 for a basic gym. Furthermore the location of the hotel isn't the best to explore the island, it sits quite isolated close to Heraklion, it is way better to stay around Chania.

Location good Atmosphere good Rooms clean but needs to be refurbished Value good Food not good quality but plenty food Great hospitality