Blue Aegean Hotel & Suites

“Welcoming staff, a comfortable environment, and varied and delicious food!”

We enjoyed a wonderful half-board week at this delightful hotel! It is worth ignoring overly critical reviews from "Brits Abroad" types who expect to be luxuriously waited upon hand-and-foot while behaving like chavs. Blue Aegean has plenty going for it. The communal areas are kept spotlessly cle… more

We enjoyed a wonderful half-board week at this delightful hotel! It is worth ignoring overly critical reviews from "Brits Abroad" types who expect to be luxuriously waited upon hand-and-foot while behaving like chavs. Blue Aegean has plenty going for it. The communal areas are kept spotlessly clean, the extensive array of food at each meal is diverse and excellent, and the staff are helpful, polite, and welcoming. That was our experience. Those who turn up late for meals but expect to be treated like princesses deserve to be disappointed. Those who speak to members of staff as though they are servants would do better finding a hotel that caters for rude people. Those who bring their own speakers to the main pool area and attempt to drown out the piped background music need to learn some manners. You get the idea. No destination is going to be perfect, of course, because individual tastes and expectations are all different. On the first morning after we arrived, we couldn't get anything warmer than tepid water for our showers. We subsequently learnt that it is necessary to first allow the water to run for a bit, depending on how far your room is from the solar-panel-heated tanks mounted on the roof. The availability of hot water also depends on how much has been used by other guests who share the same tank and may have already taken lengthy showers. It is what it is. We were also surprised to find that the cleaning staff changed the sheets the day after our arrival and decoratively arranged our pyjamas on the bed. Oh, how we laughed with embarrassment. We subsequently hid our pyjamas to avoid a repeat. No harm done. They were simply trying to please. All in all, the service was excellent, the food was marvellous, and the accommodation was comfortable. While you may prefer to have a tour operator do everything for you, the Blue Aegean Hotel has its own website, and you can get a far better deal by going direct if you're prepared to put in a little effort. The local beaches are OK but nothing special from our point of view, although admittedly they probably seemed less inviting on account a robust northerly wind blowing waves onshore for all but the final day of our stay, making the water less appealing for swimming. No matter; we took advantage of cheap car rental (from Intercars a short walk away with straightforward online booking) for a couple of days and headed further afield. We also took the bus into Heraklion for just 2.40 euros (which we booked online via the https://www.ktelherlas.gr/en website). We recommend this hotel. We had a great stay, which was enhanced by friendly staff, a well-maintained environment, and delicious food.

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“Fab hotel and staff!”

My husband and I took our 4 month old here for a week in the sun with my mum and dad, cannot fault the hotel at all, the staff were lovely, the all inclusive food was the best I’ve had for all inclusive. We had a few issues with our room and my parents room at first which was very quickly resolved!… more

My husband and I took our 4 month old here for a week in the sun with my mum and dad, cannot fault the hotel at all, the staff were lovely, the all inclusive food was the best I’ve had for all inclusive. We had a few issues with our room and my parents room at first which was very quickly resolved! Staff couldn’t me more friendly and helpful! We’ll never forget our boys first holiday in the sun at this lovely hotel!

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“Relaxing holiday.”

Lovely hotel with brilliant staff. Our room was a little dated but clean and comfortable. The pool area was nice with ample sunbeds. The food was lovely with plenty of choice and well cooked, the only complaint was it was never warm enough but there was a microwave if needed. Disappointed there wer… more

Lovely hotel with brilliant staff. Our room was a little dated but clean and comfortable. The pool area was nice with ample sunbeds. The food was lovely with plenty of choice and well cooked, the only complaint was it was never warm enough but there was a microwave if needed. Disappointed there were no cocktails on the all inclusive and even the ones you pay for in my opinion were not worth the money. The area outside the hotel is fairly quite but flat so made easy walking. If you go out of the hotel to the main road turn left and keep walking you come to a small selection of tavernas and shops. Overall had a great 2 week stay and would recommend for a quiet holiday.

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“Great Holiday”

We stayed here for a week at the very end of the season and had a lovely holiday. It was quiet, and got quieter, but that was fine for us. Our room (33) overlooked the main pool and was lovely - apart from the fact that there's no glass on the windows, just wooden shutters, so don't expect to be go… more

We stayed here for a week at the very end of the season and had a lovely holiday. It was quiet, and got quieter, but that was fine for us. Our room (33) overlooked the main pool and was lovely - apart from the fact that there's no glass on the windows, just wooden shutters, so don't expect to be going to sleep before 11pm/midnight as there's nothing to shut out the noise! Our room was huge, we had been allocated a family room with 2 double bedrooms and a kitchenette, so for 2 of us there was plenty of space. The door key was a bit stiff but we figured out how to make it work eventually. The hotel itself was lovely, as were the staff. The food was fairly good, lots of choice, though as others have commented it was somewhat cold (one morning we were there as soon as it opened for breakfast and the beans were still cold!) so they do really need to find someway of improving that. Drinks were not great, the beer was very weak and there wasn't much choice, but there never is in all-inclusive hotels. We did have 1 night of disruption where a massive group of what I can only call chavs (around 20 of them) decided that, as it was their last night, they would keep the party going with their own speakers and alcohol. We rang reception twice and could see him go and speak to them each time, but they seemed to enjoy that they were ruining other people's evening & refused to leave, continuing to make noise until around 2am. We turned the air con on in the end to try and drown some of the noise out. The hotel really needs to have some sort of back-up security to sort issues like that, as just allowing them to continue to disrupt other guests is unacceptable. How is one guy meant to deal with a large group like that (who I have to say are great role models to their young kids, swearing and shouting). The only response I got from the hotel when I complained the following morning was an apology and told that they were going home. The hotel location is ok, a little bit out of the way but there's a couple of shops and restaurants nearby. We walked up to Analipsi beach and got on the land train (the Gouves land train looked pretty rubbish). It was ok. You can get off/on at Old Hersonissos (not a lot to see) and the new Hersonissos Port (a little bit nicer). We also caught the bus from bus stop 13 on the main road direct to Heraklion and visited Knossos Palace. Much cheaper than doing it through an official tour and you're then not time restricted either. Definitely worth a visit (though don't go expecting too much). We also booked a trip to the Lasithi Plateau (minus the cave of zeus as it's apparently now closed for the next year for a lift to be installed). We really enjoyed it, especially visiting the olive farm, though I was a bit disappointed that you don' actually get to see them making it. All in all we had a lovely holiday and would certainly recommend the hotel to others.

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