Stella Island Luxury Resort & Spa

fantastic resort , everything about this place is amazing . The rooms /service /food /value and staff. I would definitely be going back and it was a perfect family break for myself my partner and older children. The resort oozes class and has to be the best resort in Crete.

Beautiful resort, but sadly didn’t live up to the hype We booked Stella Island because we wanted a really special luxury holiday, particularly as we were celebrating my partner’s 50th birthday. Having read so many fantastic reviews, our expectations were understandably very high. The resort itself is beautiful. There are stunning pools, lovely restaurants and the whole place looks gorgeous. We also have to be fair and say that when we complained about the noise from our original room, 116, the hotel did eventually move us to room 318, which was much better and we appreciated that. Unfortunately, though, it was the overall lack of personal service and attention that left us disappointed. It felt as though every time we asked for something, the answer was “sorry, we can’t help”. For a special occasion, we expected somebody to make a little effort to make us feel genuinely looked after. For Paul’s 50th birthday, I contacted the hotel and asked if they could make our restaurant table special and give us a nice table. We were really looking forward to it. Instead, there were simply a few petals scattered on the table. It felt like a box being ticked rather than a genuine attempt to make a milestone birthday memorable. There was no special touch in the room either, which we had hoped for. On our final day, our transfer isn’t until later in the afternoon, so we asked if we could pay to keep our room for a few extra hours. We were happy to pay because it would have allowed us to enjoy the pool, return to our room, shower, wash abd dry my hair and get ready properly before travelling home. Again, we were told this wasn’t possible and were offered the use of a shower in the reception area instead. That really wasn’t what we had in mind for the final afternoon of a luxury holiday. None of these things individually would have ruined our holiday. It was the constant feeling of being told no and the lack of anyone going the extra mile that made the experience disappointing. We weren’t expecting everything for free. We were more than happy to pay for an upgrade or late checkout where available. We simply wanted to feel that the hotel cared about making a 50th birthday special. Stella Island is undeniably beautiful, but for us, the service didn’t match the luxury image or the price we paid. We’ve stayed at plenty of lovely hotels and know that things don’t always go perfectly. What makes the difference is how a hotel responds when something isn’t right. Unfortunately, we didn’t feel that Stella Island did enough to turn our disappointments around. We leave tomorrow, and although we’ve enjoyed parts of our stay — especially after being moved to room 318 — we won’t be leaving with the feeling that this was the special 50th birthday holiday we had hoped for. Beautiful hotel. Disappointing personal service.

We were lucky enough to stay in the signature, Villa, of which there is only one of. The room itself is lovely and spacious having its own Gym with various other relaxation equipment provided by.Therabody.. we ate breakfast each morning at Isla which could sometimes be frustrating that they couldn’t get simple coffee orders correct, but the food selection provided was good enough and you could select from à la carte should you wish. Isla and Paraiso were our favourite places to eat. The filet steak at Isla was perfection and the sashimi equally delicious. Paraiso provided great entertainment alongside the food which gave a great atmosphere. The gym( not our room one), was sufficiently equipped, although like many hotel gyms outside of America, an extra treadmill would not go amiss. We would most definitely return to Stella.

My husband and I stayed at Stella Island for 5 nights. What can I say from start to finish we were made to feel like royalty. A late check in 11.20pm, we were met with a friendly smile and a welcome drink. Everything was explained to us there, in a respectful manner he didn't rush us, was happy to answer all questions. We were told we could still order food and get it served to our room, due to how late we arrived. The Room was incredible we had an over water bungalow, bed was soft and comfortable, the shower was powerful and the view of the pool was outstanding. The pool was warm, and where our bungalow was it seemed like a private pool the foot fall was very quiet, we got lost in our own bubble. The breakfast was amazing, they had a bit of everything, the A la carte restaurants I couldn't fault them, even if I tried. The food was cooked to perfection in everyone. And we tried all of them, steak, Chinese, pasta/pizza, and fish. The buffet restaurant was lovely too they tried to cater for everyone. The ladies ans gentlemen at the help desk (for a better word) went above and beyond to help with all our questions we had. They even got our room decorated for the celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary. The beach os just a five minute walk over the road and the loungers are for the use of those staying at the stella resorts further up the road they have a few mini markets, that have many items if you want to buy family or friends gifts. There is also a train on thw beach front that is about 17 euros, which does a massive loop of the area its a total of a 50 min journey, but you can get off at the nearby town and jump back on again when it comes back around to get dropped off. If you want about 5/7 nights to celebrate a birthday, engagement, honeymoon or even just a break from family stress. This is a place I would recommend, we loved every minute. Its beautiful, tranquil and you are the guest of honour everyday. It may seem expensive but what you get for your money is well worth it. We will be back Stella Island

We have just returned from Stella island and WOW WHAT AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE. We had an amazing 10 nights at this resort and all I can say that it has been the best resort we have ever been to. Last year we went to King Jason and we feel that it beat that hands down. The staff - were wonderful, polite & very helpful. The boys who drove the club cars were always ready to pick you up and take you to wherever you wanted to go. Lef I think his name was was very lovely and was always around when you needed something. We had a premium swim up room and the sun beds were to low for myself & partner as we both suffer from arthritis, Lef did no more but delivered higher sun beds to our room so we could enjoy time in the sun by our swim up room. Thank you Lef. Maria worked at the umbrel bar who was always so cheerful and pleasant and always at hand to bring us our ice coffees. The rooms - very comfortable beds and changed everyday clean and plenty of room. The shower was amazing & the products were lovely although we needed to ask for them to be filled as the body lotion was empty when we arrived & we needed quite a lot of shower gel as it doesn’t lather up very much. The food - for a 10 night stay we got to eat at every restaurant & twice at the steak restaurant La Parrilla the ribeye was to die for & cooked to perfection. The staff were very tentative to our needs. The entertainment- we loved it and was there watching the dancers every night. My absolute favorite was Alessandro who had the most amazing moves & a beautiful cheeky smile, & who he is about the walk in them heels let alone dance is beyond me. Emily was absolutely stunning inside & out. Ellen wow how do you bend like that she was also amazing as was all the entertainment staff. Thank you for making our evenings enjoyable. Some may say that the entertainment was a bit risqué but it is an adults only hotel. The white party was a bit disappointing and we did leave early it would have been better for the dancers to entertain the guest instead of the band they had playing I am shocked by some off the negative reviews on here especially one who was negative about everything not sure what they wanted maybe they should have stayed at home! Yes there are quite a few influencers but they were enjoying their holidays taking photos & videos no different to anyone else. If you are thinking of booking this wonderful resort do because we found it to be outstanding in every way. Thank you to all the staff at Stella island for giving us unforgettable memories! YOUR THE BEST!