Cretan Malia Park

First and foremost, a huge shoutout to the staff—especially Manos, Dayanna, Adam Mikolis, and Dimitris. The majority of the team was incredibly polite, friendly, and helpful, which we really appreciated throughout our stay. Our Stay We visited in early September for our annual family holiday (four adults and a two-year-old). The timing was ideal—while there were children around, they were mostly younger, and the atmosphere remained peaceful. Our stay started with a small hiccup. Upon arrival, our room had what appeared to be ants. The porter immediately called housekeeping, who arrived within five minutes, checked the cupboard, sprayed bug spray, and cleaned up in record time. However, the issue persisted because the insects were actually termites coming from the cupboard joints and between pieces of wood. Manos at reception sincerely apologized and swiftly arranged for a new room. Later during our stay, we received an upgrade as a further apology, which was a lovely gesture. Our new room even allowed us to see the stars on a clear night—a highlight! The Biggest Letdown – The Food Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment of our stay was the food. While the quality was decent, the variety—especially for those with dietary requirements—was severely lacking. If you’re considering meal options, I would strongly recommend going all-inclusive over half-board or breakfast-only, as additional food purchases can quickly add up. Here’s a cost breakdown from our group: • Half-board (pool view): £1,600 + €222.50 in extra charges • Breakfast-only (garden view): £1,050 + €340.35 in extra charges Despite understanding the cost of living and the added expenses of importing food to an island, the selection for dietary restrictions was poor. Dietary Restrictions – A Nightmare A major issue was the allergen labeling—or lack thereof. While some buffet items were labeled, others had no allergen information at all. On multiple occasions, staff assured us that certain foods were vegan, only for our family member (who cannot have dairy or eggs) to fall ill afterward. Some key issues: • The plain spaghetti wasn’t labeled for gluten, and the tomato sauce had no ingredient list. • Margarine was incorrectly labeled as vegan when it contained dairy. • The baklava, made with margarine, was not vegan—leaving fruit as the only dessert option. • Breakfast included alternative milks, but cereals were limited, mostly containing honey. There was no dairy-free butter alternative, just jam. • One night, we had to ask staff to bring out the vegan cheese from breakfast so our family member could make a simple cheese sandwich—for a €40 buffet price! • The pizza restaurant refused to use the vegan cheese from breakfast for a custom pizza, leaving our only option as pizza dough with tomato sauce. Even worse, this still made our family member sick, suggesting there was hidden dairy in the dough. • At the Beach Shack, we ordered a chicken salad without chicken and were told the price would be adjusted—it wasn’t. We paid €17 for a basic salad. • The ice cream shop (“The Crush”) offered a vegan milkshake but didn’t label it as oat-based, which made our family member sick. By the end of the trip, they were just looking forward to going home. Ironically, in the hotel lobby, we found a book about vegan and vegetarian hotels—if only this one lived up to that standard! Other Aspects of the Hotel • Drinks: The cocktails and mocktails were very good! • Facilities: The gym is small but well-equipped for a simple workout. The yoga, Pilates, and stretching sessions were fantastic on weekends—it would have been great if they were available during the week too. • Activities: They offer a variety of experiences, such as olive oil tasting and bread baking, which you can request. • Kids’ Activities: The hotel caters to younger children (under 6). There was a movie night, but parents weren’t allowed to stay, which can be tricky for those with kids under 5. The kids’ area is located at the hotel entrance, which felt a bit far from the main amenities. • Parking & Car Rentals: Available, making longer day trips easy. The Grounds & Ambience The hotel grounds are beautiful, well-maintained, and clean. Our two-year-old loved exploring the gardens and spotting geckos. There were plenty of sun loungers available, both by the pool and on the beach. One small suggestion: it would be nice if they had a shared toy basket for children, like other hotels we’ve stayed at. The reception shop didn’t stock toys, which could be improved. That said, the shop had water, snacks, and tasteful souvenirs, though on the pricier side. Final Verdict If food isn’t a priority for you—or if you don’t have dietary restrictions—this hotel could be a fantastic choice, especially in September when it’s quieter. The staff, facilities, and atmosphere are great, but for anyone with dietary needs, I cannot recommend it. Would I return? Not unless the food situation improves for those with dietary requirements.

Ok for young kids but not ideal for teens -underwhelming kids club, they seem to run out of ideas, every day it's arts and crafts or face painting, no outdoors activities or swimming etc. Our 6 year old was fine with it but on the cusp of being incredibly bored by the lack of variety. You get what you pay for I guess (it's free)... - young kids activities are similarly unimaginative, there's a disco but it's a bit rubbish, there's an outdoor games area with a pool table and table tennis but no toys or anything else for young kids outside of the kids club. - the outdoor pools... one is heated but still on the cold side for our 2 year old. The other is unheated and practically unswimmable in Oct. Freezing. - the worst part is the deck beds situation: all the nice ones are reserved for specific rooms so the cold pool which is nicer to sit by than the kids heated pool is basically out of bounds unless you have a room with a specific sunbed attached to it. All the nice ones are in the sun and reserved. By the kids pool there are v few sunbeds that are in the sun or a location where you can watch your kids in the pool. It's too busy and there's nowhere to sit. When we tried taking one of the (many) sunbeds from the trees area and bringing by the pool we were told off rather rudely by the staff and told its not allowed. I've never stayed anywhere where it's so hard to find a sunbed and when you do actually find one, it's impossible to use due to ridiculous rules. This one reason almost makes this a 2 star rating for me, and I'm actually still pretty angry about it. - but, the food is actually pretty good. Not so much the buffet which is as good as they tend to be in these types of places, but the other restos are actually pretty decent. It costs a bit if you're not all inclusive though and overall with the other issues mentioned this I'd only stay here if your budget dictates it's best. There's a lot better places in Greece if you're willing to spend a bit more though.

Rating: 2/5 The hotel has a nice interior and design, but unfortunately, the service was lacking. We were disappointed to find that the pool and hotel shop had no swimming equipment for kids, which made it less family-friendly. The sunbeds near the heated pool were always occupied, so relaxing there was almost impossible. The kids’ cinema and disco sounded like a great idea, but it turned out to be just music playing from a tape, and the “disco” was essentially an open stage where children could dance if they wanted. It felt a bit underwhelming. As for the food, the dinner buffet was disappointing—poor selection and quality. Breakfast was okay, but nothing special. The hotel is fine if you’re just looking for a place to sleep, but it’s not ideal if you’re planning to hang out with kids. Despite advertising bikes, there weren’t any available on-site. Instead, they offer to take you into town to rent them, which was inconvenient. Overall, we expected more for the price.

This is definitely not 5 stars hotel BELIEVE ME - the beach is super dirty, not well maintained at all, physically extremely hard to go inside water - the system of having reserved sun beds for specific rooms, makes it impossible to chill around the pool and the garden around it !!!! - super expensive all extras ( than a real 5 starts hotel) … really not worthy !!!!!!! No restaurant is tasty ( accept Cretan - was acceptable) but super super costly !! - rooms are clean - we were super bored as a couple … DEFINITELY NOT WORTH THE MONEY !!!!!

An honest review - the hotel is smaller than it seems on the website. The rooms are ok - our family of three stayed happily in a sea view room (although the balcony made it impossible to see the sea if you were sitting on one of the chairs outside - so not sure if the extra cost was worth it at all). Make sure you book half or full board as you will be crippled by the cost of the food if you do not. Average price for us (we didn't do half or full board unfortunately) was over 100 euros each meal. They charge 75 euros for a portion of red snapper or bream - over 10 times that of M&S - daylight robbery. 6 euros for a portion of french fires and 4 euros for a bottle of water. Ridiculous. Cleaning staff of the rooms were great, hotel staff so-so. They have a lot of temporary staff from various universities in Europe doing work experience for three months which means there is no feeling of pride in the island or the hotel, it makes it feel transient. Malia itself is not really worth going to unless you need the supermarket. Do not go to the restaurants advised by front of house - they are average at best and not worth the money. Great hotel if you stay put and do not want to explore. Beware - if you are not out before 8am/8.30am on the beach all the beds are taken or 'reserved' with towels etc. so if you want to go to the beach you need to join in that madness.