Petradi Beach

This hotel is great if you're looking for somewhere basic to explore Crete from and don't need to spend much time in the room. The staff are really friendly and it is a really great welcome when you arrive with a really nice reception area. The room we were in was incredibly basic. No real decoration but the beds are comfortable, the room has AC and it was clean. The bathroom was clean and reasonably modern but very basic again with a very small shower and useless hairdryer. We had a room on the road, but we booked last minute and expected to be on the road side. The door onto balcony is pretty sound proof plus there is a shutter you can pull across to block out prying eyes and keep more sound out. The pool area is really lovely with loungers and chairs also overlooking the sea. The hotel has a private beach which was perfect for lounging in the sun. The bar by the pool and sea is lovely, with loads of outdoor sofas to sit and enjoy a drink while you look out at sea. The breakfast is pretty poor quality. There's lots of choice but it's all pretty low quality. The area to eat breakfast outside is lovely but the inside area is soulless. I did and wouldn't want to try dinner at the hotel. But if you're looking for a place to explore the area and spend limited time in your room then this hotel does the job. It's just outside of town so it's really easy to get on the main road and drive across the island. There are a couple of really nice restaurants about 5 minutes away from the hotel. It's about 25-30minute walk into old town or a 5minute/£5 taxi which the hotel can order for you.

The hotel stands on a very busy main road, a 20 minute walk from the old town. It is spotlessly clean and the rooms are basic but comfortable. The wifi was good and we had a TV but couldn't watch it as English speaking programmes were rare. We had a room with a beautiful sea view but had we overlooked the road, we would have struggled with the traffic noise. Take your own hairdryer as the one provided is a tube style in the bathroom. We had free, efficient air con but the safe cost 2 euros per day. Staff were all pleasant and helpful. The hotel has it's own section of beach with free sunbeds, though some sunbeds were torn, so we had to search for decent ones. The external area of the hotel is very attractive with a clean swimming pool, a bar and plenty of seating, all overlooking the beach. Breakfast is served in a basement room with no views but can be taken outside on the terrace, as trays are provided. It is essentially a continental breakfast with plenty of choice plus a small amount of heated food that was not kept warm enough and seemed a bit random, such as scrambled eggs and cheese turnovers or savoury slices and frankfurter. The fruit juice from the machine tasted like squash but smoothies were offered some days. The earlier we went to breakfast, the better the choice. The coffee was good. We walked into the old town for dinner, as the rep. suggested that they were better value than those near the hotel. There are numerous, good restaurants in the old town but the walk isn't particularly pleasant due to the traffic and strong exhaust fumes.