Eleni Palace

I can't say enough about the friendly family that runs Eleni Palace. We wanted to be near the beach but convenient to the city and Eleni fit the bill perfectly. We arrived at the Irakleon port at 5:30 am and with taxi drivers on strike we headed to the bus station. Unfortunately, we were directed to the wrong bus because while the hotel's address is "Gazi", the area nearest the beach is "Ammoudara" so we were on the #10 Gazi bus when we should have taken the #1 or 6 Ammoudara bus (a 15-minute ride). The 1st sign of our Cretan hosts' hospitality was that when we called, confused, he told us to get off the bus at the first stop in Gazi and he would come pick us up. :) We had a 2-room suite that was spacious & clean & had a lovely wrap-around terrace looking down on the pool area. We also had a fully equipped kitchenette & table & chairs, so we bought lunch & snack items at the nearby grocery and only went "out" for dinner. Breakfast was not included with the room but was available & quite reasonable at the cafe on the pool terrace. The beach is a 2-minute walk from the front door of the hotel & there is plenty of free beach space in addition to the rent-a-chair sites. Our only complaint was not with Eleni but with the hotel next door where a raucous wedding started one night at midnight and ran till 5 a.m. The next night we were prepared, if necessary, to close the doors (and shut out the lovely breeze) - but they charge extra for the AC remote control.

This is a lovely place to stay, it is a family run business and the people were very nice and helpful. We had a little kitchenette which was handy. The place was spotless, the pool was lovely. The only down side was that if you want air conditioning it was €5 extra. The location was perfect for what we wanted, it was out of the capital (Heraklion), right beside the beach and surrounded by lots of lovely and very reasonably priced places to eat and drink. If you're looking for a happening night life though this is not the place for you, although there were plenty of clubs along the beach, most were deserted.