Domes Zeen Chania

I have little to add to all the positives other reviewers mentioned: I actually like the very modern design and decor of the resort, the food is great, and the service mostly good. Like others have pointed out, this is a resort which attracts a lot of families with small children, so you really shouldn't mind that. There're some activities, but because we visited right at the end of the season, we couldn't really test those. I can also imagine that I don't want to visit when it's fully booked, because I can't imagine it be very comfortable. (The breakfast area was buzzing as it was, and I could hear the telly and child of the neighbouring villa extremely well, wich surprised me.) The mid: some communication with the staff was a bit weird, but that's maybe a cultural, 'lost in translation' kinda thing? On our last evening, a staffer came to our dinner table and quizzed us about our stay. When we gave the stay an 8 out of 10, she looked shocked and told us that's supposed to be very bad for a Marriot? So we shrugged (wanting to get on with dinner) and gave it a 10... The bad: these are the reasons why I won't return to Domes Zeen. In the whole resort, all the greenery is tropical plants, which require a lot of water, different to native plants. On an island that regularly (heck, our taxi driver from the airport to the hotel mentioned it during the first five minutes) suffers from devestating droughts, I find that weird, to put it mildly. On top of that, pools are filled with fresh water instead of sea water. I've stayed in resorts in Greece having their own desalination plants and would've liked to see that here. A luxury collection resort should also emplay top notch technology. (Related to that: the millions of 300ml water bottles handed out to guests. Do we have to do that?!) The last point are the numerous cats on the property. I love cats, and there's no doubt some of the staff care for them. Still, here the resort as the chance to do something for the whole community and implement a proper spay and neuter programme. Cats can multiply very, very quickly (getting pregnant twice a year and having those kittens having kittens themselves 9months later - colonies can grow exponentially). Not only are they a threat for the local wildlife like birds, diseases can spread quickly. Also, spaying and neutering makes the cats much more pleasant to be around - no unwanted spraying, aggressive behaviour etc. A TNR programme could truly benefit the community and also alleviate suffering. The cats were a big hit with a lot of the children when we were there, but also used to beg a lot during mealtimes. Managing the colony would have a lot of benefits.

Lovely buildings and friendly staff but end of season so probably more issues than usual. Breakfast service was smooth as self service but dinner service this week has been slow despite fabulous friendly waiters and waitresses. Last night - some white wine by the glass unavailable - again probably due to being end of season. Shame for such a nice relaxing hotel location. You only get one holiday opportunity even if it is towards the end of season

This is a beautiful hotel however we felt it lacked atmosphere and felt cold. The rooms felt dark. The breakfast buffet and the dinner we had were great, plenty of choice for everyone. One thing I must mention, when we stayed 20/9/24 there were a lot of young families holidaying, mainly under 5’s so just be aware of this if you are expecting more of chilled quiet pool vibe. It’s a 10 euro taxi ride into Chania which is absolutely beautiful.

This is a fantastic property. Everything about the place is exceptional. The landscaping, the room design, the common areas like the swimming pool and the restaurants, the beach area ….it’s all at the highest level. I can’t imagine how anyone could visit the Domes and not come away having had a special experience. I am not one to comment on staff performance since people are people and sometimes we have bad days, other times good, etc., but the staff at the Domes is off the charts. Everyone is friendly and helpful and they truly go out of their way to make sure you are enjoying yourself. In sum, I’m sure there are other hotels on Crete that are also excellent but I cannot imagine that there are any that can beat these guys. Thank you for everything Domes Zeen!

The hotel itself is beautiful and the grounds are well maintained. The staff are all friendly and are very accommodating. We were frequently messaged during the stay to make sure everything was ok. Cleaning staff were superb and couldn’t do enough. The room was large and had everything you would need for your stay, some nice little touches and towels aplenty. Terrace was large with a sofa and pool. Haute living club was worth visiting with some tremendous food and a great place to relax outside with sea views and a glass of wine. The pool is large with comfortable sun loungers and towels available. There was never a problem in finding a sun lounger. Food at breakfast and dinner was good with lots of choice and plenty of variety. Only thing I would say as a downside was that the lunch service was chaotic. Twice given the wrong bill in the first two days, drinks sent back and service painfully slow at lunch. In fairness to the hotel they did compensate this with a free meal and drinks. Guest service was generally very good.