Apollonia Beach Resort & Spa

The Apollonio Resort Beach & Spa markets itself as a 5-star hotel — which was a key reason why we chose to book it. Unfortunately, the experience fell far short of expectations. In reality, the property resembles more of an outdated 3- to 4-star establishment, frequented — regrettably, again and again — by guests whose behavior lacked basic social etiquette. At times, the atmosphere felt reminiscent of “Ballermann” party culture. We had booked a junior suite, which turned out to be tired and old-fashioned in style. The mattresses were uncomfortably hard, and the bedding setup did not accommodate the bed frames properly. The bathroom was cramped, and the shower awkwardly integrated into a bathtub. Although the room was advertised as 60 m² (balcony included), the layout felt inefficient and the space not particularly well-designed. This resort may be acceptable for families looking for a casual 3- to 4-star vacation, but anyone seeking genuine luxury, peace, or elegance will likely be disappointed. The buffet was average at best. The à la carte restaurant was decent, though certainly not gourmet-level. On a more positive note, we would like to praise the animation team, particularly Ali, Eduardo, Mario, and Andrea, who were consistently upbeat and contributed greatly to the overall mood. Special thanks also go to the waitstaff, especially Manolis, Chrisi, and Stavros, who stood out for their professionalism, humor, and attentiveness. Sadly, other staff members lacked basic hospitality skills and seemed unsuited for their roles. We stayed for three weeks, and one major frustration was the lack of closet space, forcing us to live out of our suitcases — not exactly a 5-star experience. The beach was a highlight: spacious sunbeds with generous distance between them allowed for some degree of privacy. However, strong winds in June often blew sand directly into our faces, which made beach time unpleasant at times. Organizationally, the hotel was underwhelming. The pre-arranged taxi service failed; after waiting 40 minutes, we had to organize one ourselves. Though they kindly offered us a free return transfer to the airport as compensation, even this wasn’t managed properly. Another group of guests took our assigned cab, and we were left waiting an additional 30 minutes — a frustrating end to an already underwhelming stay. In summary: we do not recommend this hotel to anyone looking for refined service, comfort, or a true 5-star experience.

The whole experience at the spa from start to finish was amazing. My friend & I had full body massage, facial and scalp massage which made us fall asleep! We also did the hot rocks bed. The staff were very accommodating. We were celebrating my friends 30th birthday & the team put up a birthday banner in the massage room & made the day that more special for her. Thank you to, Elena, Olga & Vasiliki for a memorable day.

After spending a week at this resort I would recommend this to anyone . The staff are amazing from the cleaners to hotel management. The hotel itself is very clean and the team of cleaners work throughout the day making sure the resort is spotles FOOD A amazing selection of meals which are all coked to a high standrd this resort includes 3 additional restaurants I would highly recommend the Greek restaurant on the beach excellent service same can not be said about the Italian restaurant which we had to walk out of as service was extremely poor. SNACK BAR Chrisi at the snack bar is warm and welcoming and very polite and friendly also has a great memory for drinks and we did miss her on her days off but on her return the drinks went up another level. BEACH Clean sandy beach with ample free sunbeds a must is the sunrise from the beach. POOLS Main pool very clean excellent sunbeds and life guards on duty from 10am till 17.30pm. GYM A good variety of equipment Now for the not so good although this is a must see hotel resort I would suggest avoiding peek season as it is over run with Germans and as us brits know from years gone by they love to get up at 5am and grab all the poolside sunbeds so be prepared to set your alarm and get up extra early as I did on one occasion only to find that when I went to the beds I'd placed my towel on it had been moved to the wall alongside the pool and when I approached the person he claimed to speak no English however my gcse German was enough to let him know that I was not best pleased All in all a must visit resort

Excellent hotel. I recommend it to everyone. Good food, rooms, pools, etc. The best thing was the animation programs where there were darts, football and other sports. There was also a mini-board for children and the animation team was nice. I recommend it.

Very nice staff and service. Kids club met our expectations, entertainment crew was very welcoming. Hotel is located 30mins by bus from Heraklion city center, easy to get to see Knossos and Heraklion sights by public transport.

I would like to ask what the full name of the yoga animator Mario from Slovakia is..?Thank you for your answer.Otherwise it's beautiful here and I'm glad I chose this hotel and I like the food here, it's really beautiful here