Magda Hotel Club

"All in all this hotel was great, the staff were polite and very helpful, the food was delicious and plenty to choose from. The rooms were lovely and cleaned daily, I stayed in a Deluxe double which is in the new building, and my friend stayed in a Superior Double in the older part of the hotel. The only real difference seemed to be the light coming into the rooms and the view from the balcony. The Superior room only had a small door out to the balcony and this was the only natural light into the room, and the balcony overlooked an alleyway and opposite was other balconies. My room However had sliding doors the width of the room with a balcony that overlooked the pool. I was also on the same floor as the rooftop pool, which was nice to be able to walk down the corridor and I'm poolside. As we went at the start of the season I was a bit disappointed that the only place open for food was the main restaurant which was only open at specific times. The pool snack bar wasn't open, so you couldn't get snacks throughout the day. Towards the end of our stay I found out that the main bar had a few snacks but every time I went to see what they had, they'd run out or there's was only one thing available. Not like the pool snack bar advertised. It would have been better if there had been something advertising the alternatives in the bar. The entertainment seemed to be good, but it was very much aimed at the French guests. They did translate the bare minimum to English and German, but it did put me off as I didn't really know what was going on. The animation staff also went to all the tables with French speakers to try to get them involved, but completely ignored the tables of non French, so we were excluded. Not once was I approached to see if I wanted to join in during my whole stay, but I saw the animation team approaching lots of French holidaymakers. If the hotel is open to all nationalities then the animation team should treat all the same. The location of the hotel was good with the beach being at the end of the road about 5 minutes away, and a few shops on the way. The main town/shops was around a 15 minute walk along the seafront."

"Could not fault the hotel for cleanliness and the layout of the pools. We do understand that it is a French orientated hotel but we did find some guests were not welcome because of being British. Plenty of comfy sunbeds but must mention the food and the drinks availability. Only locally sourced alcohol available and that the taste is not the same as branded drinks no matter how you mix it. Branded drinks were sold separately. Also we were advised that Magda hotel was available to accommodate Coeliac suffers and we have this via email too. When we enquired at the restaurant, we were given a loaf of gluten free bread. Food is so repetitive for breakfast, lunch and evening meals being the same every day and someday not even labelled with what it was. There is no thought by the head chef to mix it up and try something different . Just gyros and chips and fatty pork skewers and Spaghetti with inedible bolognese sauce. You could try a couple of theme nights like Asian and Indian food . There was also no tuna available for the salad bar but it was included( very sparingly) on the pizzas. Which had hardly any toppings at all on them. Also air conditioning was never on in the restaurant or reception area and some days it was extremely simply unbearable. We only booked The Magda Hotel in Crete because on your website it stated that you had a 4000sq m Athletics Centre so our 5 grandchildren could play the different activities but when we enquired where it was ,we were told it had been sold. If it has been sold then why is it still on your website. I would appreciate a fuller response for this and not just a generic response to say we are taking this onboard and will do something in the future."

"I have just returned from a family holiday at the Magda and had a wonderful week. We had an individual pool room which was spacious and very well maintained, though shelving for toiletries in the shower would have been useful. Ria in the bar was a constant pleasure, despite some very busy evenings and my massage/facial from Ifigenia was superb - definitely recommended! I would also echo previous concerns about the emphasis on the French clientele and lack of focus on British customers, especially the children. I feel UK tour operators should perhaps highlight this. For we adults, not a particular issue but a little unfair on UK children visiting in UK half term. Luckily the nearby Dinosauria and Planetarium make a fun day out. Gouves itself was a lovely resort with the most fabulous sunsets and nice bars. Overall a great holiday."