beautiful lobby, great facilities, nice rooms, fantastic staff, very clean and safe
Disadvantages:
some of the evening entertainment wasnt brilliant, magnetic key alters watches !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hotel Minos ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As we scoured through the Thomson travel brochure looking for a holiday destination we saw a nice looking hotel which was situated in Rethymno on the Greek island of Crete. The recently refurbished Minos hotel is a four star hotel and is situated 150m from the beach. The pictures of the hotel looked lovely so we booked two rooms for 10 days in August.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arrival ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Minos hotel is about an hours drive from the airport in Heraklion. The coach dropped us at a busy roundabout where we were pointed in the direction of the hotel entrance. The entrance to the hotel is up a reasonably steep slope and as there was not enough room to get the coach up there we had to carry our luggage up to the hotel. Thomson had mentioned the slope in the brochure and from where the coach dropped us off it wasn't too far up the slope to the hotel entrance so it wasn't a problem (although it might be awkward for wheelchair users or those with mobility problems.) We went to the reception desk to check in to the hotel and fortunately there was no queue. The receptionist spoke good English and he gave us each a card to fill out with our details so we sat down at one of the tables and filled them in. He then gave us our two room keys and told us the times for dinner and breakfast. We paid 35 euros for a fridge and a safety deposit box in our room which he then gave us the keys for and pointed us in the direction of our rooms.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rooms ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We had asked for the two rooms to be next to each other and fortunately they were. We were on the second floor and there was a small lift that we used to take up our suitcases. The rooms were of a decent size, contained two single beds which were pushed together and a third fold up bed which had been put along by the wall. There were two wardrobe doors which had plenty of coat hangers and hanging space in, some shelves and the safety deposit box was also situated in there. Under the wardrobes was a decent amount of space which we used to store our shoes and empty suitcases. The bathroom was quite small but nice and clean with a toilet, sink and bath with a shower over it. In the bathroom there was also a hairdryer, shaving point, towel rail and a basket containing shampoo, conditioner, bath foam, body lotion, a shower cap, a cute little sewing kit and an even cuter little box with cotton buds and cotton wool pads in it! The bathroom had three large and three small towels which were white and fluffy! In the bedroom there was a thin worktop where we put our travel kettle on and used to make the tea! There was also a wicker storage box type thing, two bedside tables, a tv on a stand which contained the fridge, radio and a small circular table with two chairs. A sliding patio door lead out to the balcony where there was a plastic table and two chairs, a fold out towel rail and a beautiful view of the main swimming pool and the sea. In addition to the sliding glass door there was a sliding shutter which blocked out the light and moths but let the air in. The room key was attached to a magnet which was used to turn the power to the room on. We soon worked out that the fridge would only stay on when the magnet was in place so we used some initiative and brought a dark board with two magnetic darts from the shop over the road for just 1 euro and the two darts could be put in place during the day to keep the fridge on! We also worked out that our fridge key also opened the fridge in my grandparent's room so we left it in between the two balconies so that we could use both of the fridges! The balconies were a reasonable size and if we leant round the divider we could pass things across or chat to my grandparents! The side of the balcony was a nice height and was solid so it was perfectly safe for my 6 year old brother. The maids came everyday and made the beds and cleaned the room nicely, they even folded our bed clothes into pretty shapes!! The air-conditioning came on from 7pm to 7am s it was always nice and cool during the night. Overall the rooms were perfect for all of us, there was plenty of storage space and they were nice clean and a decent size. We only had one problem which was because my brother had dropped and left biscuit crumbs on the floor and then left the balcony door open all day we had a slight ant invasion but that was his fault and not the hotel!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Facilities ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lobby - The hotel lobby was beautiful, there were large paintings which took up whole walls and it was all spotlessly clean. There was plenty of comfortable seating with tables and we enjoyed sitting and playing a few games of cards before going to dinner in the evenings. The lobby was on two levels and from the very large reception area you go down a small slope to the lobby bar which served some delicious cocktails!
Toilets - the lobby toilets where also the toilets for the restaurant and lead off of a short corridor and were perfectly clean.
Restaurant - Through the lobby is the doors to the restaurant which is plenty big enough for the number of guests and has tables of varying sizes so as a group of six we were always able to sit together. Along one side was the food which was in a buffet style. Breakfast was an American style breakfast where there was variation each day and plenty of cereals, breads, fruits, and cooked food. You could also get unlimited coffee, tea, orange and grapefruit juice in the morning. Breakfast was fairly casual and the tables were laid with paper napkins and table cloths. Dinner consisted of local specialities, as well as International cuisine and all sorts of delicious things! Dinner was much more formal and men are expected to wear long trousers. The restaurant staff came round and took drink orders and were very friendly. Overall we were incredibly impressed with the food as there was so much variety and it was really delicious. The restaurant staff made sure they topped up the food before it ran out so there was no waiting around for anything. There were a few outside tables so if you wanted you could eat breakfast or your evening meal outside although indoors was so comfortable that we stayed in there!
Bars - the hotel has two bars, the lobby bar and a bar outside which also serves food throughout the day. The outside bar had plenty of seats and this is where the evening entertainment took place. The bar has an extremely long list of cocktails (I recommend planters punch which is delicious!) in addition to traditionally Greek drinks and every other drink you could possibly wish for!!
Swimming Pools - The hotel has two swimming pools, a small one out the front of the hotel and a large one at the back of the hotel where the bar is. The main swimming pool has toilets and a shower by it and has more than enough sunloungers and umbrellas around the pool on the grass so you can pick whether you want to be sunbathing or laying in the shade. Although the hotel is on a main road, it is surrounded by trees and plants so you really don't notice other than the occasional screeching of tyres!! The pool gets very deep very quickly and to start with my youngest brother had to stay around the edge of the pool to stay in his depth but as his confidence grew he was swimming out into the deep end and thoroughly enjoying himself! The pool is big enough for inflatables and we brought a lilo which we left in the pool when we left as that tends to be what people do so they don't have to take huge inflatables home! There are two goal nets and plenty of balls in the water so its great to play in for adults or kids! The pool water is quite cold in the morning but is so refreshing after you have been in the Cretan sun for a few minutes!! The swimming pools were kept nice and clean and were never crowded. Its definitely worth popping down to the shops to get some inflatables though as it is incredibly funny watching people trying to climb on to a lilo! The barman Kostas is a lovely guy and always brings your drinks round to you by the pool with a smile.
Internet Corner - The hotel has a little corridor just off of the lobby where there are two computers with internet access. You ask at reception and they log on a computer for you so you can go online. They charge you 1 euro for 15 minutes and then I think the price is lowered for time after that but its great value anyway considering in previous hotels I have paid up to 2 euros for 5 minutes just to use the internet!!
TV room - there is a reasonable sized tv room which also has a digital projector, we didn't go in there as the tv programs were all in greek! There were lots of seats in there and a huge tv but we rarely saw anyone in there.
Jewellery Shop - in the lobby there is a stylish looking jewellery shop which is open a few times a week. The gold in Crete is relatively cheap so it is definitely worth a look.
Luggage room and shower room - Luckily on the day of our departure we were picked up fairly early in the morning but for those who have a late departure there is a decent sized luggage room and a shower room for guests.
Conference room - the hotel also has a large conference room which can hold about 100 people. Obviously we didn't use this but we had a peak and it looked really nice.
The hotel also offers the following services for guests: • Guest Relations & Services • 24-hours reception/Concierge services include: General information, Messages, Films development, Wake Up calls, Car Rental, Excurcions, Airline information. • Currency exchange • Credit cards acceptable (Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Maestro) • Medical Care (on call 24-hours). Pharmacy 150 m. / Hospital 2 km. • Baby sitting, cots and baby-food (upon request) • Postal services - Express courier service • Managers special cocktails for Repeat clients
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Entertainment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The evening entertainment was the only thing about the holiday that wasn't brilliant. Being a small hotel the evening entertainment wasn't always great. There were a few music evenings which were nice, a sea turtles slide show which was really interesting and a magic show with a magician who was incredible and involved all the children which was brilliant but other than that the other evening entertainment was a bit naff. It's a shame the entertainment wasn't as good as it could have been but some of the evenings were still really enjoyable so I suppose it wasn't too bad!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Staff ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During our stay all of the staff were fantastic, the reception staff were really helpful, the bar staff were friendly and often gave everyone free shots with their drinks. The restaurant staff were always very helpful and were very efficient and clearing the tables and taking drink orders. The maids were friendly and always talked to my little brother in Greek (much to his horror!!!). I cannot fault the staff at all, they were all brilliant and as the same staff were on everyday they get to know you and vice versa.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Location ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I mentioned above, the hotel is on a main road but you hardly notice it. To get to the beach you have to cross over a busy roundabout which is a bit of a scary experience until you get used to the fact that greek drivers just aren't going to stop for you!! The beach is just down a little road and if you walk along the prom you can find really beautiful areas of the beach. There are plenty of shops along the seafront and endless places to eat! If you walk along the seafront to the harbour you can get a little train tour around rethymno. On the seafront there are plenty of water activities and the companies are always willing to haggle with you on the price. My brother and dad went jet skiing and managed to get a very good price! The town is a busy one and you do need to be careful when crossing the roads but it is a really friendly town. There is literally no crime other than that by tourists so you will find police in tavernas drinking coffee as they have nothing to do! On the way down the the seafront is a large spa shop which sells everything and even closer to the hotel (just at the bottom of the slope) is a little shop which sells drinks and snacks, stamps etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Overall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We were so pleased with the hotel and the staff and it really made our holiday a fantastic one. The hotel lobby was beautiful, the rooms were ideal, the food was delicious and there was so much variety! The swimming pools were brilliant fun and as the hotel only had around 174 rooms there was no fighting over sun beds or restaurant tables. The bar was great and was a lovely place to sit in the evening. There were a couple of things that could have been a bit better, one being some of the entertainment shows and also the magnetic keys kept altering our watches!!! Although there is the slope to get to the hotel, the hotel itself has very good wheelchair access. Everything else about the hotel was perfect and I would definitely recommend it for families or couples.
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