The Island Hotel

I stayed at The Island Hotel in Crete from 16 July to 23 July 2026. Unfortunately, what should have been a relaxing holiday became an extremely distressing experience, particularly because of the way a serious health concern was handled by hotel management. On 20 July, I ate chicken wraps at The Stone restaurant, which is located on the hotel premises. I have kept my digital receipt confirming my payment at the restaurant that day. Approximately three hours after eating, I developed severe vomiting and diarrhoea and became extremely weak. I was unable to leave my room or enjoy my holiday and spent approximately two days recovering in the hotel. I had not eaten outside the hotel during my stay, so I naturally became concerned that something I had eaten at the hotel could potentially have contributed to my illness. I want to make clear that I cannot medically confirm the exact cause, and I am not claiming that the chicken wraps definitely caused my illness. I am simply explaining what happened and why I felt that my concerns deserved to be taken seriously. Once I was feeling well enough, I contacted our TUI representative, who contacted reception and told me that a manager would come and speak to me. Approximately 11 hours passed and nobody came to see me. I therefore went to reception myself and asked to speak to a manager. The Operational Manager came to speak with me approximately nine minutes later. Unfortunately, the conversation was extremely upsetting. I felt that I was not given a reasonable opportunity to explain what had happened. She repeatedly spoke over me and interrupted me while I was trying to explain my experience and did not allow me to finish speaking. She repeatedly raised her voice and shouted during the conversation, despite me still being unwell and recovering from severe vomiting and diarrhoea. I felt that I was in a particularly vulnerable position as a guest who had just experienced severe vomiting and diarrhoea, and I did not feel that my concerns were being listened to calmly or respectfully. She told me that my illness was a virus that had appeared “from the air”. No medical evidence was provided to me to establish this explanation. During the conversation, she also made comments about my health, including saying that I was unhealthy and had a poor immune system. I found these comments inappropriate, as she had no medical information or medical assessment of me to support such statements. The conversation lasted approximately one hour. During it, she repeatedly raised her voice and referred to involving a lawyer. I was also warned about possible legal action in connection with leaving a negative review. I find this particularly concerning because I believe guests should be able to share their genuine experiences and opinions, provided that reviews are written honestly and responsibly. This review is based solely on my personal experience and the events that I personally witnessed. I was also offered the possibility of seeing a private doctor during the night for blood tests. As I was already unwell and did not know the doctor being suggested, I did not feel comfortable with this option and chose not to proceed. To be completely transparent, I cannot say with certainty what caused my illness because I did not receive a medical diagnosis establishing the exact cause. What I can confirm is that I stayed at the hotel from 16 July to 23 July, ate chicken wraps at The Stone restaurant on 20 July, have a digital receipt confirming my payment there, and experienced severe vomiting and diarrhoea approximately three hours afterwards. I then spent around two days confined to my room. The illness itself was already extremely distressing, but the response from management made the experience considerably worse. I would have expected empathy, professionalism and an opportunity to explain my concerns calmly, rather than being repeatedly interrupted and shouted at while I was still recovering. I am sharing this review so that future guests can make an informed decision based on my genuine experience. I am not claiming anything that I cannot personally substantiate, and I am not stating that I know the medical cause of my illness. I am simply documenting what happened to me and how my complaint was handled. Based on my experience, I would not choose to stay at this hotel again.

Firstly I'd like to say that we did have a lovely relaxing holiday and were initially worried because of all the negatives reviews! I'll start with the positives! The hotel itself is lovely. We had two rooms, first a casual double which was small but adequate and clean and the bed was super comfy. Then we upgraded to a swim up around the Relaxing Pool. We got quoted the same price for a private pool as a swim up (which I found a bit odd), but we went for the swim up as we do like to chat and see a little bit of the world outside of the room. I'm really pleased we did as this made the holiday to be honest. We stayed around the relaxing pool as we like peace and quiet. However, they've trimmed a lot of the trees back and there isn't a lot of shade after midday which we found hard to deal with. We can only comment on this pool, which was a nice temperature and clean and quiet. The swim up room was bigger and again, lovely comfy bed and good air conditioning. Now a few negatives! The food! Breakfast is normal hotel breakfast, nothing special but nothing to complain about. However the buffet dinner is really NOT 5 star. Same thing pretty much every night and very 'school dinner'. There seems to be only one waiter who can take your order of drinks. And while we were there, they changed from being able to charge to room to having to pay every time. This is a bit annoying and not what you want to be doing on holiday. I get the impression the hotel 'needs' the money. The waiting staff - mmmm - a little training on how to clear tables wouldn;t go amiss. They take plates away from one person while the other is eating etc. They even took my husbands plate away, whilst he was finishing his meal! In my opinion, for what its worth - surely it would be more cost effective to 'serve' people their evening meal - 2 starter, 3 main, 2 dessert options is all that you would need. Do it well and you'd have far less waste than all the food they must throw away - or do they? Do they just reheat it every night? People would enjoy their dinner and order more drinks etc, hence more money spent in the hotel. Another bug bear - THE TOWELS! You're only allowed 2 towels! And you have to swap them - and as I found out when I wanted to swap them at 2pm - you can only swap them between 10 and 12! I just got a curt 'no'! How hard would it have been to swap 2 towels!! It's the little things, The Island Hotel, that will bring customers returning! I felt like they were just trying to make as much money as possible. It is far better to under promise and over deliver than the reverse! I don't believe the hotel warrants a 5 star rating - they don't know how to deliver the bells and whistles that a 5 star gives. We went out to eat quite a few nights and there as some great restaurants nearby. The location is brilliant. Would we return, no unfortunately not - we paid a lot of money for this holiday - we could probably have gone all inclusive to the Caribbean for the same money! But its a shame as the hotel has the potential to be top notch! You just need to really deliver on the food and drink aspect and make your customers feel valued and not just a cash cow. If nothing else, sort the towel situation out! That's not hard!! Another suggestion, and a great money earner, a drinks waiter who comes around the pool during the day! Who gets up and goes to the bar, not many people! But who would order at least one alcoholic drink and coffee a day minimum - most people! Also, the little shop. What a lovely lady you have there - I understand she once sold snacks etc! Another opportunity you are missing - because everyone now goes and stocks up at the supermarket just up the hill and she is missing out. She is an asset to your hotel but if she can't make money then she won't stay! I hope management take the time to read this review - please sort out these issues and so many people would come back year after year. You have so much potential!!

We stayed at The Island Hotel in Crete for 7 days and had a wonderful experience. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming throughout our stay. The hotel itself is beautiful, modern, and very clean. The air conditioning worked perfectly, which was much appreciated in the summer heat. The outdoor area and pool were lovely, and having a private beach was absolutely amazing. The only thing I think could be improved is the sunbed situation. Many guests place their towels on the sunbeds early in the morning and then leave for breakfast, the shops, or somewhere else for hours, making it almost impossible to find a free sunbed after breakfast around 11 a.m. On the day we left, we went for breakfast at around 7:30 a.m., and several sunbeds had already been “reserved” with towels. I think it would be a great idea for the hotel staff to regularly check the pool area and remove towels from unattended sunbeds after a reasonable amount of time if they are clearly not being used. Other than that, I have no complaints at all. Thank you, The Island Hotel, for a fantastic stay. We truly enjoyed our holiday and would happily recommend this hotel to others!

We had a really lovely stay at The Island Hotel and would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a relaxing holiday. We booked one of the casual swim-up rooms, which is shared between three rooms. We weren’t sure what to expect, but it worked out really well. Everyone used the pool at different times, so there was very little crossover, and when we did see each other everyone was friendly. It was actually quite a nice touch. The room itself was a little on the small side, but as we were only really sleeping there it wasn’t an issue. The bed was incredibly comfortable, the shower and bath were great, and housekeeping did an excellent job every day with fresh towels and a spotless room. Our room was one of the furthest away from reception, but we honestly didn’t mind. The walk through the hotel is lovely, with beautiful surroundings, so it never felt like a chore. The pool areas are fantastic, with plenty of sunbeds available throughout the day. We never struggled to find somewhere to relax, and the complimentary pool towels were a nice bonus. We spent most of our time at the main pool. We were a little disappointed there wasn’t a DJ every day, but it did make for a quieter, more relaxing atmosphere. We only booked breakfast, and in hindsight we’re glad we did. There was a good variety of hot and cold food, including eggs cooked to order, omelettes, fruit, pastries and cereals, so there was always something to eat. However, the quality could definitely be improved. Some of the hot food often seemed as though it had been sitting out for a while and wasn’t particularly fresh. We’d also have loved to see a water refill station somewhere in the hotel. You can buy drinks from the bars, but if you’ve brought your own reusable bottle there’s nowhere convenient to top it up, and even the on-site shop doesn’t sell bottled water. We had lunch by the pool a couple of times and really enjoyed it. It’s a little pricey, but the food was good and the service was quick. A special mention has to go to Lukas in the lobby bar. He was genuinely one of the highlights of our stay. Friendly, welcoming and brilliant at his job. If you’re staying here, definitely stop by for a drink. The location is lovely. There are plenty of restaurants, bars and supermarkets within walking distance whichever way you leave the hotel. If you head out of the pool entrance and turn left, you’ll find lots of places to eat along the seafront. We especially recommend 2 Friends, just past the little church. The food was fantastic, the staff were incredibly welcoming and it ended up being one of our favourite places of the holiday. Overall, we had a fantastic week. The hotel is clean, peaceful and perfect if you’re looking for somewhere to unwind. It isn’t perfect, but the positives far outweighed the negatives, and we’d happily stay here again. We were actually surprised by some of the negative reviews before we arrived, as our experience was completely different. We saw staff being treated quite poorly by some guests, yet they remained friendly and professional throughout. We’re really glad we didn’t let the reviews put us off.

⭐☆☆☆☆ – Not the 5-star hotel we booked or expected We booked The Island Hotel based on TUI’s description of a 5-star adults-only hotel, paying for a Casual Double Room with Garden View and Balcony or Terrace. Unfortunately, what we received was completely different and extremely disappointing. Our room was nothing like the one advertised. There was no window, only a single frosted-glass entrance door, making the room feel dark, enclosed and claustrophobic. There was no proper balcony or terrace as described, and the room bore no resemblance to the accommodation shown in the brochure. To make matters worse, the air conditioning leaked water throughout our stay. The restaurant was equally disappointing. Food was frequently lukewarm, repetitive and often ran out. Gluten-free options were very limited, and drinks weren’t included with dinner on half board—not even water. Long queues were the norm, guests had to wait to be escorted to tables after giving their room number, and service was often slow. Seeing cats wandering around the restaurant and ant nests nearby was not what we’d expect from a hotel claiming to be five-star. The hotel itself felt tired and poorly maintained. Public areas lacked air conditioning, vegetation was overgrown, loungers were often covered in leaves, communal areas were dirty, and there was visible mould and grime in places. Furniture and fittings were dated and worn. The swimming pool was another major disappointment. After swimming, my white bikini was permanently stained green and had to be thrown away. Our white inflatable lilo also turned green, and green staining was visible around the pool itself. We never saw the pool being cleaned. There were no toilet facilities nearby, and guests regularly brought supermarket food and alcohol to the pool area, leaving rubbish behind. Arrival was poorly organised, with one concierge trying to escort around eight arriving parties individually to their rooms late at night, causing unnecessary delays. Throughout the holiday we also experienced constant aircraft noise and random loud music around the pool. This hotel simply does not meet the standards expected of a 5-star property. Our biggest disappointment was that the accommodation we were given was not the room we booked or paid for. Had the hotel and room been accurately represented, we would never have chosen to stay here. Sadly, this was one of the most disappointing holidays we’ve had, and we cannot recommend The Island Hotel based on our experience.