Avra Imperial Hotel

Wonderful staff and hotel. The pool is one of the greatest for families. The beach isn't really for kids and lacks enough sun chairs for everyone. The location is very bad if you come for shipping and dining in different restaurants but perfect for relaxing and sunbathing. The spa is a wonderful addition to the overall experience.

We are a family of 3 adults and 2 children with high expectations and Avra exceeded our expectations despite our doubts due to some slightly negative online reviews. We experienced the warm welcome from the minute we walked in from the porters and reception staff. The hotel foyer and complex was beautiful (very Instagram friendly), rooms were good size; pool and sea views were superb. The pools are amazing, clean and we took full advantage of the pool side bar/restaurant. The concierge and reception area staff were amazing especially when sorting a cake for my son’s birthday. We stayed half board and the buffet restaurant was so good that my family looked forward to the offering for breakfast and dinner. Our family have specific dietary requirement incl. vegetarian diet and nut allergies so the food labelling and staff help was much appreciated. We experienced the Italian, which was very good although we could not get a booking for the Asian restaurant so that may speak volumes! We highly recommend the spa where we booked for manicure, pedicure, facial and massage. The staff and service was amazing, better than spas in the UK and the wider spa facilities are complimentary. Agree Avra is not 5 5 star however very close and you need to appreciate local customer service and cultures - body language and customer service may not be as expected - this is Crete and it’s all about appreciating different cultures, customs and environments. We loved the location allowing us to visit the west of Crete by rental car away from the touristy Chania, which we visited and concluded not the best place to stay. In summary we really enjoyed our stay and the memories will stay with us for long time.

We have stayed with the family at Avra Imperial in May/June. It's a brand new facility: very nice building. Super clean: both communal areas and rooms were immaculate. Big swimming pools. The main pool with a bar at the center. Overall good service: excellent concierge advices and also the luggage handlers were super helpful. Front Desk could improve the sense of urgency. The are 3 restaurants: 1 Mediterranean 1 Italian and 1 Asian a la carte plus normal buffet for full board. Full boards are allowed to free 3 meals per week a la carte. Overall food was good with a combo of traditional and continental. However lunch seemed much lighter Good spa facilities as well: kids are allowed in the internal pool 10 to 12. We didn't like the sea side: Kolimbari doesn't offer the best beach in Crete. However inside the Hotel you can rent cars from a super nice gentleman and drive to different beaches. We drove to Elafonisi, Falassarna, Platnias and Agia Marina with Falassarna being the best at 35 min drive.