Blue Palace, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, Crete

If I could add another star to Phaea Blue I would! From the moment we entered this exquisitely designed hotel we were welcomed with warmth, enthusiasm and champagne! After being shown the extensive library and other public areas, we were whisked away to our beautiful suite with private pool in a “buggy”, available to take you anywhere on the vast property at a moment’s notice. We were happiest, though, to walk almost everywhere, taking in the spectacular grounds—flowers in full bloom, cypress, palms, herbs, lavender, produce garden… Beginning with a lavish breakfast buffet each morning and ending at Blue Door, Anthos or on top of the property in the garden, we will remember the many delectable and interesting bites and sips—freshly squeezed juices and Greek wines—for a very long time! Blue Door is quite special—not only is the food exquisite but you’re right on the water and, on one of the nights we were there, local musicians played for us—a dream! Not to be missed is the farm-to-table dinner, offered twice each week in the middle of the produce garden—what could be better than food grown by staff and local farmers and local vineyards?! Dinner is served family style and the chef keeps delivering small plates of whatever he’s inspired to cook on any particular evening—a most beautiful education in Greek culture! There’s so much to do right from the hotel—walk to Plaka or take the hotel launch to Spinalonga, another must! The beach is smooth rocks with crystal clear water! The staff was spectacular with exploration advice, restaurant recommendations, arranging for cars to take us anywhere and to bring us back “home” whenever we were ready! We weren’t surprised to meet several people who return to Phaea Blue year after year and we hope we’ll be back one day soon! Thank you everyone!!

This is hands down one of my favorite hotels. From the moment we arrived - everything was total perfection. The welcome greeting to the amenities, to the activities to the accommodations. The food was as extraordinary as the service - we came away feeling like everyone we encountered there is now a good friend! Highly recommend the traditional “pop up” dinner - which was absolutely spectacular. We also loved going out on the boat and having lunch and swimming. Every meal was incredibly delicious… and every person we encountered was so helpful and kind- from the general manager to the food and beverage manager… the executive chef and Maria who served us each morning. The rooms are stunning and comfortable. My husband and I shared a suite with our two daughters. We hated to leave - but as they reminded us, we must leave in order to come back. And we WILL be back.

The way you are pampered makes you feel home. The kindness and professionalism of the staff is something absolutely worth. Always available and attentive. The restaurant on the seaside, Blue Door, is a place with an idyllic view, you forget you are in a hotel, you feel like being at lunch or dinner with friends. Here too, impeccable service and excellent cuisine. Breakfast is truly unique, quality and courtesy. The beach is located in the most beautiful part of the gulf, in front of Spinalonga island. We were very satisfied with the cleanliness of our room and in general. A totally relaxing holiday in a place with a unique view.

First and foremost, the staff here are what makes the place. They are friendly,helpful, kind and attentive. They are a 5/5 and the 4 rating would have been a 3,5 without them.We did have an advantage in having been to the Blue Palace about 6-7 times, with the last visit with our family in 2022 when it was still the Blue Palace. The SIGNATURE room: We had room 605 which we really liked, partial sea view, view over the pool from the balcony and the terrace outside reception, with easy access to reception and breakfast room( Anthos). There were a couple of niggles but sorted immediately. It has a nice size walk in shower.The fridge is a decent size and plenty of cupboard space. There isn’t anywhere to do your hair other than standing in the bathroom where there is a mirror. There is only one USB in the room which is surprising if it has indeed been refurbished. TV is a good size and you can hotcast to it. No English channels, BBC doesn’t work and mainly Greek,Italian,French and German channels.yes we are on holiday but it’s sometimes nice to chill and watch TV in the evening/night. DELUXE SEAVIEW BUNGALOW WITH POOL(713):We spent one night in this room which is not really a bungalow, more like a ground floor room.Not much privacy.The pool is really nice,two sunbeds and an umbrella.Water from the shower seeps into the toilet area.The shower area is very tight and someone with a bigger frame than me would struggle.The toilet separated by a glass panel/ door is also in a narrow area. Double sink but unfortunately the sinks don’t hold water.The mechanism for the plug does not work.Blackout blinds in the various windows do not fit the description and the room ends up being very light.Aircon is over the bed which is not ideal.The fridge is smaller than the one in the Signature room.This room is also further away from the reception/breakfast area & you may need the buggy.The pool aside, we would not choose this bungalow over the Signature room we had. The Beach: We love the beach. Never a rush for beds as it’s a beach which allowed for a very large Blue Palace Hotel previously.The sea is absolutely stunning,a beautiful colour, transparent. It was pretty breezy down by the beach during our stay but if it drops you will want it back to harbour you from the heat.The staff here , Stavros( whom we have know for many years), Ilias and Voula are all great.You can also walk along the beach, passing a water sports hut, to get to Plaka. You get to the beach by ordering a buggy on the app. RESTAURANTS: There only two, Anthos( doubles as the breakfast room) and Blue Door. They both serve very similar menus, whereas I think it would be good to have a different type whether it be Italian, Asian or other. The breakfast is lovely. There is plenty of choice of yoghurts, cakes, salads, fruits , bread, cheese and you can have omelette, scrambled eggs and other items from an à la carte menu.What a lovely team it is here! Maria, Vaso,Maria, Eleni, Nikos ,Sofia & others look after you so well and are very welcoming. We only visited the Blue Door in the evening.The food here is excellent & the portions are decent size.The team of Haris,Rena and Dora are wonderful, fun,attentive, kind and know their stuff.The only downside is that both restaurants are, in our opinion, very expensive but if you are on HB or FB then that matters less. Plenty of nice places to eat out in Plaka( Carob Tree, Ostria,Isla), drinks at the Pine Tree, Despina’s on way tobElounda to name a few! THE POOL : This was the smallest pool at what was the Blue Palace and it is one of the real negatives of the hotel.There isn’t any shade.Whoever designed it didn’t plan it properly.It needs someone to come up with a solution.We understand that the wind gets up here and this is the reason given for fixed umbrellas and heavy beds but as useful as a chocolate fire guard ! No good for young children/babies for sure and us looking for shade. Generally, the pool area was empty. THE SPA: There isn’t one! It’s just treatment rooms. CINEMA room: seems like a waste of space. WHATS APP “app”: works very well for ordering buggies, booking dinners etc. CONSTRUCTION: We were told before we booked that there wouldn’t be any outdoor building works which was totally untrue.As mentioned by others you will hear Jackhammers,drilling and general other noise, especially around the beach. We spoke to the General Manager and Lina about various issues and they promised to do absolutely everything to help us have a lovely holiday and they did. Must mention Chrysoula ,the lovely “buggy guys” Tasos, young Dimitris and too many more to mention. Would we go back? Be interesting to see how this develops alongside the new Rosewood Blue Palace! All I would say to the Team there, is “ the devil is in the detail”

The friendliness, professionalism and efficiency of the staff is what really makes this hotel. Firstly I'd like to thank Maria and her team each morning at breakfast and also Tasos who we got to know through many of our buggy trips. There is no mention of the building work next door on the hotel website which I think is an error and a little unfair. I'd seen mention of it on previous reviews so my travel agent contacted the hotel prior to my arrival and our bungalow was the furthest away and we were not hindered by it. Down on the beach, yes you could hear it but in my opinion it wasn't bad at all. I think you have to accept this happens everywhere but if you're made aware of it before booking then you have the option to change your plans. We stayed in a deluxe seaview bungalow with heated pool. The hotel provides pictures and details of the accommodation so you are not mislead but please don't get caught up on the word "bungalow" as it's not. Our accommodation was kept immaculate throughout, the coffee and tea replenished. I think for the price you pay and the 5 star status, fresh milk should have been provided in the fridge, we bought some in the village. Breakfast was excellent. Freshly squeezed orange juice served in decent sized beautiful glasses was top notch. Excellent buffet and an menu to then order hot dishes. We made an observation about there not being any cooked meat on the menu, eg sausage or bacon, the next day, we were asked if we wanted sausages or bacon and this was the same every day throughout our stay. First class service, attention to detail, couldn't fault that, thank you. There is a problem in my opinion with the sunshades and beds (which are very comfortable I have to say). The straw shades are not big enough to cover two beds and are fixed into the ground, I presume to stop them flying away in the winds. The beds are sited on wooden platforms on the pebbly beach which are very small, basically it is impossible to move your beds around unless you lift them onto the pebbles which places you in full sun. The same goes for around the pool, the shades are fixed and small. I was disappointed that you weren't able to swim in the pool before 10am. I would have liked a swim prior to breakfast. I would also have expected courtesy water provided at the beach and pool as I've experienced in other hotels abroad. I am concerned about the new hotel being built and what effect it is going to have on on Phea Blue, especially the beach. The gym was excellent, used by us both. We ate in Plaka every evening, plenty of places to eat. The hotel is situated on a hill and depending where your accommodation is situated, there can be a lot of steps to negotiate but you can always message for a buggy to take you around the property. Thanks again to all the staff that helped to make this a great holiday.