Blue Palace

We stayed here four years ago and were very pleased with the hotel location (close to Plaka and Elounda), our room (a sea view with pool), the food arrangements (buffet breakfasts and evening meals included in our half board package) and the general ambience (set on a hillside with glorious views of Spinalonga and Mirrabello Bay). Good enough reasons to revisit. On our return in October 2023, we, once again, had a sea view room with a pool, but in a different part of the hotel grounds. The view from the room was stunning with Spinalonga right in front of us. We watched the boats delivering visitors to the island many times whilst we were having our coffee on our terrace. However,one significant thing had changed. The evening meals were no longer buffet style.Now you had to book to eat at one of the several themed restaurants onsite. This might seem like an improvement in quality but, as we were half board, we could only choose from a restricted menu unless we wanted to pay a supplement (quite often a costly one for certain dishes). The other change was the use of a digitised menu on an app which you had to install on your mobile or tablet. (although, if you hadn’t downloaded it you would be presented with a hotel tablet with the app installed). On the day of our arrival I had problems installing the app, probably because the wifi in our room was, at best, very poor and my phone was using local 4G signal most of the time. The wifi would drop out frequently and on many occasions we had to log back into the system. This meant I was using my roaming allowance which had cost implications for me. This normally would not be to much of an inconvenience but you had to use the app to reserve your table at all of the onsite restaurants. I eventually installed the app which happened whilst we were in one of the restaurants where the wifi signal was much stronger. We did mention this at Reception and we were basically fobbed off with the receptionist saying we needed to do certain things to our phones to make them work properly. This has never happened an any other hotel we have stayed at, and when we were in a strong signal area of the hotel our phones worked normally In all of our other dealings with the receptionists they were very attentive and helpful. This was especially the case when we wanted our boarding passes printed because the guests’ computer printer was out of order at the time. Our dining experience was pretty mixed. The Buffet breakfast was excellent with a large choice of hot and cold food enough to please all tastes and appetites. When it comes to the restaurants however, it was a mixed bag. We ate at the Blue Door (Traditional Greek) restaurant three times, Asia Deep Blue (Asian/fusion) and Isola (Italian) twice. Generally, the portion sizes were very large (a couple of times too large for us). Not all the food was to our taste, with one example being served “herb” ice cream in the Asian/Fusion restaurant without any information on the menu that it was not normal flavoured ice cream. But, we still come back to the fact that the majority of food choices we would normally have made carried a supplement. We were not prepared for this and it spoilt our stay, food being an important part of our holidays. I must say the lamb chops served to me in the Blue Door restaurant were great (and supplement free). Another disappointment was the lack of any entertainment. On our previous visit on one evening there were a group of Greek Dancers who provided very good and amusing entertainment. They performed in the Buffet Restaurant (probably the only area big enough for them to dance). We were informed by the Concierge that the entertainment finished in September. If the food arrangements remain the as they currently are it is unlikely we will return. This is a shame because the hotel has a lot of other things going for it, especially the location.

Ive been returning to this establishment every 2-3 years since my first visit 10 years ago. Top location with stunning views of sunrise , all rooms see to Spinaloga which is so beautiful to look at all hours of day. Great service from staff and very good restaurants within the hotel. Stafff can help on suggesting local restaurants in the nearby villages for a more traditional cretan hospitality. You must spend some time at the spa !

Where do I begin? When staying at The Blue Palace, you are in lap of luxury and comfort. We enjoyed a beautiful suite with a private infinity pool overlooking the water and Spinalonga. The beds were luxurious and the rest of the suite was beautifully appointed. The mini bar was anything but mini! It was stocked to the brim. The service was impeccable and the food off the charts.