Vantaris Palace

"We stayed at Vantaris Blue for two weeks in September 2026. Overall, it is a pleasant hotel, but there are several important points to consider before booking. Important considerations The biggest issue is the need to cross the busy E75 to access most of the hotel’s facilities. Vantaris Blue has two communal pools but no reception, bar or restaurant, and no staff on site overnight. Guests check in, eat breakfast and use the main facilities at the nearby Vantaris Luxury Beach Hotel. Although the main hotel is only around a five-minute walk away, there is currently no safe designated pedestrian crossing. The road is busy, traffic moves quickly and we saw vehicles frequently ignoring the “no left turn” restriction at the main crossroads. On one occasion, we were almost hit by oncoming traffic that had been hidden from view and turned despite the restriction. Roadworks have restricted alternative crossing points, although the situation may improve once they are complete. For now, guests must wait for a suitable gap in the traffic or for a considerate driver to stop. This could be particularly difficult for anyone with limited mobility or travelling with young children. The hotel also charges 2€ per night (so 28€ for our two week stay) for use of the in-room safe, which felt difficult to justify given that Vantaris Blue has no reception or overnight staff. Facilities and location Vantaris Blue itself has limited facilities. In addition to the two communal pools, most services are provided at Vantaris Luxury Beach, including the bars, restaurant, spa and main swimming pools. Guests need to cross the E75 at least once a day for breakfast and several more times if they want to use the beach or the facilities at the main hotel. There is a temporary 30 km/h speed restriction, but vehicles generally did not appear to observe it. After check-in, guests are usually driven to Vantaris Blue. As we had hired a car, we followed a member of staff in our own vehicle. Despite the road issue, the location itself is convenient. Vantaris Blue is in Kavros rather than Georgioupolis, although Jet2 and TUI describe it as being in Georgioupolis. Kavros has a good selection of bars and tavernas, many of which are on the same side of the E75 as Vantaris Blue. Georgioupolis is around five minutes away by bus or car and offers an even wider choice of bars, tavernas and beach bars. Buses to Chania and Rethymnon are also cheap, reliable and easy to access. Room and private pool We stayed in a room with a private pool. The terrace was attractive, with two loungers, a parasol and a table with two chairs. We also enjoyed the views of the mountains and the small farm opposite, where we could see goats and hear a cockerel. The room itself was comfortable, with plenty of storage and an excellent rainfall shower. It was cleaned daily, and the bed linen was changed regularly. However, some debris occasionally remained on the floor after cleaning, so it was not always clear whether the floor had been mopped or simply swept. Unfortunately, the private pool was disappointing. The water was extremely cold, and the pool was not as clean as we expected. On arrival, we had to remove several hairballs from the surface. Before using it, we regularly had to clear away crickets, flies, spiders and other insects. There was also debris at the bottom, including dead insects, a screw and general dirt, which we could not reach ourselves. We saw a pool maintenance worker at our pool twice during the two-week stay, but the debris was never removed. The terrace looked lovely, but the pool was not as enjoyable as we had hoped because of its temperature and cleanliness. Toiletries were provided on arrival but were not replenished, so I had to buy my own from the nearby supermarket. A bottle of water was also provided in the fridge but was not replaced. Fortunately, bottled water was inexpensive locally. The fridge was built into an attractive cupboard, but the enclosed space caused it to overheat and stop working. This was particularly concerning because we were storing important medication inside it. We found that leaving the cupboard door open improved the airflow enough to keep the fridge working. Breakfast We stayed on a bed-and-breakfast basis and were impressed by the range and quality of the food. However, vegetarian labelling was unclear, making it difficult to tell whether some dishes contained meat. For example, the potato dauphinoise appeared to contain ham. Other food labels were inconsistent. On some mornings, a label for “vegetable omelette” was displayed even though no such dish appeared to be available. A label for “traditional Greek bean soup” referred to ordinary baked beans. Breakfast was advertised until 10:30am, but arriving at around 10am often meant finding tables already cleared and awaiting setting for lunch. Staff sometimes began removing breakfast items before 10:30, and at exactly 10:30 the lights and music were switched off, making it clear that breakfast had ended. Pool towels The pool-towel system was unnecessarily inconvenient. Towels could not be changed before 11am, and Vantaris Blue guests had to go to the spa area at the main hotel to exchange them. Because we wanted to minimise crossings of the E75, we took our towels with us to breakfast and planned to change them afterwards. However, breakfast ended at 10:30 and towels could not be changed until 11am, meaning either another crossing of the busy road or a wait of at least 30 minutes. Towels could only be changed once per day, with the room number recorded. This meant repeating the same process every day, and it was not possible to obtain another fresh towel later in the day. Replacing pool towels in the room alongside the normal towels would have been much simpler. Guest mix and communication Most guests appeared to be German, and hotel staff frequently addressed us in German. This was sometimes confusing, particularly as we had made an effort to learn some basic Greek before our holiday. We were also disappointed by the communication at the end of our stay. The day before departure, we received a letter explaining the check-out time and how to arrange collection, with our luggage, from Vantaris Blue to the main hotel. The entire letter was written in German, so we had to translate it ourselves. As British guests who had booked through a UK tour operator, we felt this information should also have been provided in English. Entertainment and prices We did not use the entertainment very often, but we particularly enjoyed the disco and magic show. Prices at the hotel bar were reasonable, with beer and cocktails costing roughly the same as at other local bars. Overall impression Vantaris Blue and Vantaris Luxury Beach are both pleasant hotels, and we enjoyed several aspects of our stay. We liked our room and terrace, the surrounding village of Kavros, the nearby restaurants and bars, and the convenient access to public transport. However, the unusual layout and the need to cross the E75 for breakfast and most facilities are important considerations. The lack of a safe pedestrian crossing is especially concerning, and we were not warned about this before booking. The private pool also fell short of expectations because of its cold temperature and cleanliness, while the towel system and €28 safe charge felt unnecessarily restrictive and difficult to justify. We would consider staying in the area again, particularly if the roadworks eventually make crossing the E75 safer and easier, but we would want to check the current road conditions before booking."

"Plus: Nice look, very nice staff, cleaning every day, nice beds Min: stench nuisance from air conditioning in room, stench nuisance from wood oven and noise nuisance from adjacent restaurant, moderate maintenance private swimming pool (response reception: that's the way it is on Crete), breakfast buffet is very varied, but a lot of oil in hot dishes"