We stayed with friends from 13 to 19 September 2025, and I’ll say straight away: the hotel exceeded our expectations. The value for money was spot on.
Pros
Food — genuinely excellent for a 4-star hotel: several types of meat, fish, prawns (not every day), a few kinds of cheese (including blue cheese), ice cream (5 flavours), fruit (two types of grapefruit, oranges, apples, pears, grapes), and desserts.
There were also dried fruit (dried apricots, raisins, prunes), delicious orange marmalade, sun-dried tomatoes, and different types of olives.
All of this was available in the main restaurant with an open terrace and a beautiful sea view.
The all-inclusive (AI) concept also included one visit to an à la carte restaurant right by the sea (tasty food and a lovely setting).
Bars: there are 3-4 bars on site, but they serve the same red, rosé and white wine everywhere. Cocktails were so-so… Beer was fine, but I personally preferred the wine — especially in the main restaurant.
Rooms were pleasant and decorated in light tones. We stayed in a two-room Sea View with a great view. A couple travelling with us had a Double Deluxe (Aegean) — and the furniture and bathroom fittings were perfectly fine there too.
I do wish the hotel would update the doors and windows.
I should also mention that earlier in summer 2025 some friends stayed here and also chose Deluxe rooms. They’re slightly more expensive than Standard, but look better overall.
Wi-Fi in the rooms was free.
Sea & beach: the hotel is across the road from the sea, but it feels more like a promenade — cars passed very rarely.
Right opposite the hotel there’s access to the beach with paid sunbeds (€25 per set). However, if you walk about 10 metres to the right along the shore, there’s a small free section where it’s perfectly comfortable to lie on your own towels 😜
The sea is amazing: with rocks on both sides of the beach, there are quite a few different fish in the water. Not Egypt, of course, but still lovely — a snorkelling mask came in handy.
About the sea conditions: during our stay it was calm for one day, then there were small waves, then bigger ones. On the last day we drove to the south of the island because we couldn’t really swim — the beaches had been washed out.
In summer 2025, even in August, people complained about strong waves around Rethymno — it was stormy quite often.
By the way, some tourists we met were staying at Eri Beach & Waterpark 4*. Sunbeds are included there, and they have an artificial lagoon where people were swimming even during storms. I actually went to check it myself 😁
Location: for me, this is the hotel’s biggest advantage.
I’d been to Crete before (Agios), and thought nothing could beat it — but Hersonissos really impressed me: bright, lively, and welcoming.
At the same time, the hotel isn’t right in the middle of the main promenade — it’s slightly to the right, so it’s not as “party” as the centre.
Speaking of nightlife: the AI concept included the King Scorpio À la Carte Beach Bar opposite the hotel. Until 8 pm you could order cocktails there — and they were tastier than elsewhere in the hotel. After 8 pm alcohol is paid, but the dancing makes up for it.
The music was nice, varied and familiar.
Important note: if your windows and balcony face the sea (like ours), the music can be heard until around midnight. We were fine with it, but it might not suit families with children.
About Hersonissos: a seaside promenade (great for walks or a run), cafés, shops, excursion offices, and car rentals. We rented a car for €50 per day + petrol.
We did one day to the west (Preveli, Rethymno, Bali), and on the last day (stormy) we went east and south (Elounda, Agios, and Ierapetra).
Service: the reception team were very friendly.
We arrived at 4:30 am, and were checked in at 1:30 pm.
No problem 🙂 We slept for a couple of hours by the pool, then went to the sea. We received our wristbands at 12:00.
When a scarf fell from our balcony (we were on the second floor) down to the first floor, reception helped us retrieve it (they opened the room and gave it back).
One of my friends had a birthday — the hotel left a bottle of wine in her and her husband’s room, and also brought one to our girls’ room as well (even though it wasn’t our birthday) 😁
Housekeeping was fine.
Bed linen was changed twice over 6 nights (I think).
The biggest plus for me was the guest mix: mostly Europeans. As far as I understand, it’s similar across the island at the moment.
❎ Cons: honestly, I struggled to find any. The only thing I didn’t love was the paid luggage lockers for the first and last day — like at a train station, €2. They’re in the basement.
But then I realised it’s actually more secure than leaving bags in a general luggage room.
There are also toilets and showers down there, which is really useful with early/late flights if you don’t extend the room.
The hotel grounds are quite densely built up with blocks, and there are several pools.
✅ One more thing: we booked a Samaria Gorge excursion through Viktoria Malia. Later we met her in person (and bought wonderful olive oil). She’s genuinely warm and kind, you can really feel it 🤗 She even treated us to local snacks, so I definitely recommend working with her.
