Alex Vaughan
Outstanding hotel with excellent facilities. You can really tell you are in some place that is premium and you really get what you pay for.
The room was in great condition and locally themed. Our room had a swimming pool and garden that was really well maintained.
The grounds are kept to an excellent standard. This is not normal landscaping for a property this size, the whole place is lush with foliage and flowers around every turn and it must cost a fortune to maintain all of this.
I see some people complaining about ants and other insects, this is just a byproduct of having a hotel with lush gardens surrounding all the rooms. The only other option would be to not have gardens or spray everything with pesticide constantly - I am happier to have the gardens personally and it was nice to see the place full of life (including lizards and cute little birds).
Finally the food was excellent in the buffet, restaurant and the beach area. They are outstanding in this area and each evening they had really nice live performers which was a nice touch.
Nam Truong
The Grecotel Hotel Caramel is located in Adele, very close to Rethymnon. I stayed there for two weeks years ago. At that time, the hotel had just recently opened, and the entire property was beautifully clean and very well maintained. The beach area was also lovely.
I still remember my first day — I arrived, went straight to the beach, lay down on a sunbed, and simply fell asleep to the sound of the sea. It was absolutely wonderful.
The breakfast was excellent, very well-balanced with a wide variety of choices. We also had half board, and the dinners were just as impressive — diverse, high quality, and really enjoyable.
What I particularly liked was that they offered a free shuttle service if you wanted to visit other hotel facilities within the resort group. We also booked the Grecotel Spa Farm experience once, which was truly beautiful and relaxing.
I can highly recommend this hotel. One day, I even met the General Manager at the time, Marinka, and had a conversation with her — she was completely in her element, truly passionate about what she was doing. Love to come Back one Day 🤍💙🩵
Nicole W
An absolute lifesaver! Currently staying here and the hospitality is unmatched!
We had to make a last-minute reservation for our family after a terrible experience at a villa rental, and it turned out to be the best decision ever. We are still here, and the entire team is incredibly accommodating, professional, and welcoming. They have completely turned our stressful situation around.
The food is amazing, and they even went above and beyond by surprising my daughter with a birthday cake one evening! If you want exceptional service, this is the place to be.
Maria S
We had a wonderful stay at Caramel Grecotel — a stunning resort with genuinely exceptional staff.
From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed by Ioanna (forgive the spelling if it's wrong), who gave us a warm and attentive overview of the property and personally escorted us to our room. The management had upgraded us to a better room, which was entirely unexpected and very much appreciated. Ioanna also organized a wonderful day trip to Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. We came to Crete specifically to explore Minoan culture, and this excursion was important to us. The execution was flawless — and I was particularly impressed that the vehicle was a minivan, suggesting that my mention of motion sickness in lower cars had not fallen on deaf ears. The drive, well over an hour in each direction, felt less like a logistical necessity and more like part of the adventure itself.
The surrounding nature is beautiful, and the attention to detail seems to be embedded in the staff's DNA — every interaction felt personal rather than transactional. We were on half-board and alternated between lunch and dinner at the resort, occasionally venturing into local tavernas to explore Cretan food. On our last evening, the manager Maria organized a special dinner in response to our comment that we wished there were more local food options on the menu. What followed left us speechless: the chef prepared both our favourites and Cretan dishes we hadn't yet tried, while the head waiter explained the preparation and the provenance of each ingredient. It was the perfect final evening.
A couple of honest observations. The first is minor but worth noting: at the restaurant, water was served by the litre and charged per bottle at every meal. I’d much prefer complementary filtered water since I rarely drink more than a few sips with my meal. It felt slightly at odds with the overall spirit of hospitality.
The second comment is directed less at the hotel and more at a broader issue, so I offer it with that caveat. The beach was heavily littered with plastic — not from hotel guests, but washing in continuously from the sea. Every morning, a small group of us tourists collected what we could, but it was a losing battle. Single-use plastics, including straws served with some drinks, remain ubiquitous. I have travelled extensively — including to far poorer Caribbean nations — and have rarely encountered beaches in such a state. Greece is a country of extraordinary beauty and history, and the contrast with the plastic pollution is jarring. It deserves better, and so do its visitors.
That said, none of this diminished what was a truly memorable stay. Much of that is owed to the staff at Caramel Grecotel — warm, attentive, and consistently going beyond what was expected. We left impressed, and we will be back.
Arben Tudor
I stayed at this hotel from June 28 to July 4 with my family. We are very pleased with the conditions in which we found it. The location of the hotel. The cleanliness and service. Very friendly staff. I want to highlight the professionalism of the waiters. Mihali, Elsa and everyone else. Thank you for everything. We will be back again. Goodbye. Arben M. Tirana Albania
