Heronissos Hotel

A lovely modern hotel with a great location and very clean, comfortable rooms. The staff were welcoming and professional, and the atmosphere was fantastic. Everything was just right for a relaxing holiday. Highly recommended!

Extremely disappointed with TUI and our holiday experience I am extremely disappointed with TUI following our recent family holiday at the 4* Heronissos Hotel in Crete. I organised this holiday for my whole family — seven brothers and sisters and their partners — for what was our first holiday together. Our eldest family member is 75, so I put a lot of thought into choosing a hotel that would be suitable for everyone. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a huge disappointment, and I now feel that I let my family down by trusting the information provided by TUI. One of our family members is a wheelchair user, and TUI and the hotel were informed well in advance. I specifically requested ground-floor rooms, yet two of the rooms were allocated on the 3rd and 4th floors, with the wheelchair user being placed on the 4th floor. We had to spend time sorting out the rooms as soon as we arrived instead of being able to start our holiday. The hotel was also advertised as having a gym, indoor swimming pool, tennis and a golf course. We discovered that these facilities were no longer available, and I understand the hotel had stopped having access to them through its sister hotel around seven years ago. I find it extremely concerning that these facilities were still being advertised by TUI. The photographs used to advertise the hotel also did not reflect what we found when we arrived. The pool area looked very different, including the windows, patio doors and sun loungers. The accommodation itself certainly did not feel like a 4* standard. We ended up accepting a standard room so that other members of our family could at least have more suitable rooms. When I complained through the TUI app, as there was no TUI representative available, we were told we could pay an additional €100 to upgrade. After everything we had already experienced, we simply decided to put up with the room and try to enjoy our holiday. The food was another disappointment. There were very limited choices for a family, with unusual dishes such as rabbit and repeated meals. Spaghetti seemed to be served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and there were often no normal fries available. We ended up eating out on many occasions, adding extra expense to the holiday. I have provided TUI with photographs, emails and other evidence of the problems we experienced. Despite this, TUI has refused to offer any compensation. I have also contacted ABTA, but unfortunately this has not resolved the matter. What disappoints me most is that I trusted TUI when organising such an important family holiday. Instead of enjoying our first holiday together, I spent a considerable amount of time dealing with accommodation problems and worrying that I had chosen the wrong holiday for everyone. We did our best to put the problems aside and enjoy our time together, but I cannot ignore the fact that the holiday we received was very different from the holiday I believed I was booking. I am extremely disappointed with TUI's response and, more importantly, with the way my complaint has been handled. After providing evidence of the issues, I expected TUI to take my concerns seriously and offer a reasonable resolution. I would strongly recommend that anyone booking this hotel through TUI checks very carefully that the facilities being advertised are actually available before booking. TUI — I genuinely hope you reconsider your decision and acknowledge the problems we experienced.

Unfortunately, our 10-night stay at this hotel was extremely disappointing and fell a long way short of what we expected from a 4-star property. Firstly, the pool area and rooms look nothing like the photographs advertised on the website. We also incurred additional costs for a room upgrade through Love Holidays, followed by a further €200 payment directly to the hotel, which they insisted on taking in cash. The room we were given was in such poor condition that it was barely suitable for a dog to sleep in, let alone what you would expect from a 4-star hotel. Housekeeping was virtually non-existent. During our entire 10-night stay, the room was not cleaned and the sheets were never changed. Towels were changed, but that was the extent of the housekeeping service. The Love Holidays listing states that there is a pool snack bar, but there were no snacks available during our stay. The hotel also seemed to have very little understanding of food allergies. When we asked staff about ingredients or allergens, the response was often simply a shrug. Food was not properly labelled, leaving us with no idea what many dishes contained. This is particularly concerning for anyone with a genuine allergy. The attitude of the hotel manager was especially disappointing. We regularly witnessed the manager shouting at members of staff within earshot of guests. When we experienced an issue with the hot water one day, we were simply told, “Yes, 30 mins,” rather than being given any useful explanation or assistance. We also had problems when asking for receipts for additional charges. Staff were extremely rude and unhelpful when we requested them. We were particularly uncomfortable with being asked to make a €200 cash payment and not being provided with a satisfactory receipt. I don’t want to make an accusation I cannot substantiate, but the whole situation was concerning and lacked transparency. The hotel’s sunbed policy was also inconsistently enforced. The hotel states that reserving sunbeds with towels is not allowed, which is perfectly reasonable. However, during our 10-day stay, the manager removed reserved towels on only one occasion and was seen shouting at people around the pool, while the policy otherwise appeared to be inconsistently applied. We chose not to make a formal complaint during the holiday because the manager came across as hostile and unapproachable, and we did not want to make an already uncomfortable stay even more awkward. We were on holiday and simply wanted to avoid a confrontation. Sadly, not one person we spoke to during our stay had anything positive to say about the hotel. The poor quality of the food and drinks also meant that we ended up spending a considerable amount eating and drinking elsewhere, adding significantly to the overall cost of the holiday. Overall, this hotel does not come close to the standard we would expect from a 4-star property. Based on our experience, we would struggle to give it more than 2 stars. We would strongly recommend that anyone considering booking here looks beyond the photographs and carefully reads recent reviews before making a decision.

The staff were always friendly and helpful, and the whole place had a lovely atmosphere. Everything was well organised and clean. We had a great time and would happily stay here again!

4 star hotel but charges same tourist tax for 2 star rooms. Single mum arrived at 3am , met with a very curt receptionist and wasn't allowed to access the rooms until I found a cash machine (one next to hotel not working) to pay £210 in tourist tax. Only to find out rooms were in an older part of the building, which had the same room numbers as other parts, so daily confusion trying to get back to the room.. I have visited and lived for some time on greek islands so happy to be in a a 2 star room. But being made to pay and especially being denied entry at such early hours to a room that does not represent the actual hotel is a bit of a joke. Why are people in the very basic rooms expected to pay the same tax as those in the card key rooms. Not to mention the 3 cocktails are all out of a machine and the snack bar, is a cake tray at 4 on a first come first served basis. I'm not one to post negative reviews, but this experience currently and unfortunately doesn't represent what is advertised.