Europa Beach Hotel

“A Lovely Place”

We have just returned from a weeks stay at Stella Blue and it was lovely! Stella Blue is undeniably a beautiful hotel, the location is stunning, right on the beach. The staff are so so hard working and so friendly, nothing is too much trouble. Everything is clean and new. The food was good, i… lisää

We have just returned from a weeks stay at Stella Blue and it was lovely! Stella Blue is undeniably a beautiful hotel, the location is stunning, right on the beach. The staff are so so hard working and so friendly, nothing is too much trouble. Everything is clean and new. The food was good, i’ve seen some people moaning it was cold/repetitive but we never had this problem, we always looked forward to our next meal. We always found a sunbed around the pool, yes some people reserved the ‘good’ beds around the main pool very early, but this was never a problem for us as we liked the beds a bit further back by the other pool, which were always free for us to grab after breakfast. I wish the music around the pool was more consistent, some days we had some good tunes and others it was a bit meh. Same with the entertainment in the evening, saturday night we had an acrobatic show which was incredible, but other nights it was just a DJ and the music wasn’t great in my opinion. The other thing we wanted to point out were the many power cuts we experienced whilst staying, especially in the evening, the whole complex would lose power for 5/10 seconds and it caused our air con to go off, then we had to get out of bed to put it back on, not a massive deal but I feel like that shouldn’t be happening. All in all I would definitely recommend Stella Blue for a relaxed get away.

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“10/10 - returning next year”

Can’t recommend enough, i will be returning next year. Staff were amazing and the hotel was so clean. My room was beautiful, so clean and modern

“Stunning hotel, let down a tad by food and drink”

Me and my partner booked a swim up for 1 week and we loved the hotel. The hotel is probably one of the most aesthetically pleasing establishments that we have stayed. We went for a swim up room and was not disappointed. The room was a perfect size for a couple with coffee, tea facilities and a mi… lisää

Me and my partner booked a swim up for 1 week and we loved the hotel. The hotel is probably one of the most aesthetically pleasing establishments that we have stayed. We went for a swim up room and was not disappointed. The room was a perfect size for a couple with coffee, tea facilities and a mini bar that is replenished daily for this room type. The rooms and hotel in general is spotless and I would like to shoutout Monica from housekeeping, she couldn’t do enough for us! Our only slight issue was the food / drink. The breakfast and lunch time options are great, I love the 3 options at lunch of the two ale cartes or Buffet, we particularly loved the pool ble bar. Dinner however was focused heavily on sea food, of which me and my Partner do not eat. We spoke to other non sea food eaters who also said they struggled. The biggest issue for me though was the lack of accessibility to drinking water. One bottle was placed in the mini fridge everyday, however, the only way to get water all inclusive through the day was to ask for cups of water at the bar. Bottled water is not included, there is also no existing hydration stations / fountains throughout the hotel as far as I’m aware. The water provided at the bar was often served in plastic cups that looked like they had hardly been cleaned, often with black dirt swimming in them. I don’t think I got served a clean cup of water once. I had heard that you could go to reception and request bottles of water but when I did, I was told to use room service, so pay €8 to get a bottle of water? The local alcohol brands are also overpowering and quite poor.

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“My recent trip”

Stella Blue, Crete – A Beautiful Resort That Falls Far Short of Five-Star Service (2/5) Stella Blue is undeniably beautiful, especially in the warm Cretan evening light. The grounds are attractive, the beds were comfortable, and breakfast offered the best food selection of the day. The beach party… lisää

Stella Blue, Crete – A Beautiful Resort That Falls Far Short of Five-Star Service (2/5) Stella Blue is undeniably beautiful, especially in the warm Cretan evening light. The grounds are attractive, the beds were comfortable, and breakfast offered the best food selection of the day. The beach party was also excellent, with great music and performers, and the gentleman working at the Anima Bar was one of the few staff members who truly stood out for his friendliness and professionalism. Unfortunately, those positives were outweighed by a long list of disappointments. The biggest issue throughout our stay was the way complaints were handled. We raised three separate complaints and received no apology, no acknowledgement, and no meaningful action. We were repeatedly told “later, later” and often directed from reception to guest relations, only to be told that guest relations mainly dealt with excursions. It felt as though nobody wanted to take responsibility, and by the longer we stayed, the less important we seemed to become. Housekeeping was another major let-down. On one occasion, the floor was being mopped while our personal belongings were simply moved onto the floor. Towels, tea, coffee, milk, and sugar were not replenished consistently, and despite having the door locked, housekeeping still disturbed us early in the morning. There wasn’t even a proper “Do Not Disturb” sign available for the room. Our room had several problems during the stay. The air conditioning stopped working for no apparent reason, a fuse blew with no apology offered, the fridge was poorly designed and items constantly fell out of it, and we also had ants in the room. A noisy bird repeatedly woke us during the night, and there appeared to be a wasp nest nearby. The walls are extremely thin, meaning you can hear almost every noise from neighbouring rooms and corridors. For a hotel marketed as all-inclusive, the food and drink offering was disappointing. Much of the buffet food was lukewarm or cold and lacked flavour. Several snack bar restaurants required additional payment despite being advertised as part of the all-inclusive experience. Free drinks also stop at 11pm, which feels restrictive for a resort of this standard. The alcoholic drinks often tasted heavily watered down. Ironically, the room service food, which came at an additional cost, arrived hot and was cooked to a noticeably better standard. The facilities also fail to justify a five-star rating. There is insufficient seating in the bar area for a hotel of this size, not enough sun loungers around the pools, and the Wi-Fi is extremely poor. The TV offered very few English channels, and although Netflix and YouTube were advertised, attempting to connect simply switched the television off. No instructions were provided for operating the air conditioning either. Entertainment was another weak point. Aside from the excellent beach party, most evenings were very dull and we were often bored by 9pm. Considering major sporting events were taking place during our stay, it was surprising that there were no proper facilities to watch matches and not even an English commentary option for the England game. The location may suit some travellers, but we found it quite isolated. There is very little on the beach itself, with no real selection of shops or bars nearby, and the beach furniture looked old and worn. Taxi fares were expensive, and with only a limited bus service available, getting around without renting a car became frustrating. The resort is also directly under the airport flight path, with planes constantly arriving and departing, while coaches frequently reverse near the main pool area, creating additional noise. We also experienced poor communication regarding laundry collection, which was missed due to staff miscommunication, and then we were almost charged the express service fee despite the mistake not being ours. Repeated requests for a late checkout were simply met with “we’ll note your request,” with no proper update even close to departure. For the amount of money this holiday cost, including an additional €100 upgrade charge, Stella Blue simply did not deliver the five-star experience that was promised. It is a beautiful property to look at, but beautiful surroundings alone cannot compensate for poor service, unresolved complaints, mediocre food, inadequate facilities, and a lack of customer care. We actually enjoyed ourselves more when we left the resort and explored Crete, which says a lot. Sadly, despite the attractive setting and a handful of excellent staff members, I would not return to Stella Blue anytime soon. The hotel has great potential, but significant improvements are needed if it genuinely wants to provide the luxury five-star experience it advertises. There’s no front of house to greet you for your meals or offer you an aperitif shot of a local drink or to take you to Your table

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