smurfy
We’ve recently returned from a 7 day stay here, and the hotel itself is absolutely fantastic, it feels very grand and clean when you enter through the main reception. The staff are incredibly helpful and friendly.
There’s a huge selection on food from the restaurants, and the all day snack bars also have a huge range to choose from. The food isn’t exactly hot, and if you want to use the toasting machine it’s like warming up the bread with a radiator so be prepared to stand there for five minutes putting it through multiple times. Excellent views from the restaurants.
The entertainment staff are amazing, they put a lot of effort into entertaining the guests with their daily activities and evening shows, and you can clearly see how much they love doing what they do.
The spa was a fantastic experience, you do have to pay extra for this but I would say it’s worth it for that relaxing getaway experience.
A few downsides - the walk to and from the hotel. The hotel is on a huge hill, so be prepared; we usually got a taxi into town and back (10 euros each way), as it is quite a walk away. I would recommend hiring a car if you can, there are some lovely towns nearby to explore.
It states the rooms are cleaned daily, however our room was missed a couple of times during our stay. Our bed sheets weren’t changed at all, and overall it didn’t really seem the cleaners did much apart from make the bed and give us two bottles of water.
The beer and wine is self poured, and honestly they didn’t taste nice at all; it tasted very watered down, I just stopped drinking it altogether.
Overall we really did enjoy our stay here, and the views are amazing from the various pools as you can look into the sea in the distance.
Zoe Grimes
We just come back from our holiday in Crete at this hotel. The hotel was clean, the staff were friendly (reception and restaurant staff) the all inclusive food was amazing. We did go out to eat one night but preferred to eat at the hotel. Definitely book the Asian restaurant as that was delicious the whole family enjoyed it and included in the all inclusive for one visit. The hill is big to walk up and down but I would say it’s nice to be away from the street and the hotel felt secure. I saw a lot of hotels in the area where anyone could just walk in and I didn’t like that so I think that it makes royal imperial stand out from the rest. We spent a lot of time at the top pool but sun-beds do get taken up by towels early. They top your water in your room up everyday and clean the rooms/make beds everyday. The shower was a little dated but it did the job was very strong so had to be careful it didn’t spray everywhere. We were all very pleased with the hotel and it was a very big complex so plenty of pools and space. We didn’t really watch the entertainment but that’s just us our kids are teens so weren’t very interested so we went out in the evening doing go carting, shopping and walking along the front. Definitely recommend this hotel. We had such a good time there and in the area. Only negative was the spa team were a little pushy for you to book a massage and got moody when you said no.
Julie Fox
Good family resort. Hotel staff don't stop working. Rooms are nice. Facilities are good with something to suit everyone. Food is good for breakfast and the lunch snack bars are nice. The evening meals are mediocre at best but you won't go hungry unless you are incredibly fussy. Location is good for walking into the town but is probably not a good choice if you have poor mobility.
Dave Smith
A massive , beautiful, family hotel complex situated on a very steep hill in Hersonissos, Crete.
Multiple quality swimming pools, one heated indoors. They could do with at least one of the many outdoor pools being heated as towards the end of the season the water is freezing, yet many wish to swim outside
This is a fantastic hotel which could probably get a five star rating with just a little more investment
Elias Bauernschmitt
We stayed at the Imperial Belvedere for 11 nights
All in all I can recommend it. There’s many activities, the hotel area is big, there’s shops, a shuttle service, the staff are friendly and the food supply endless.
Here’s a more detailed look:
Pros:
The view is fantastic. Because of the terraced layout of the hotel, you get amazing sea views on every level. The outdoor area is big and gets cleaned every night. There were many free loungers everywhere and area is well maintained.
Foods and drinks are plenty and offer a large variety basically around the clock. Alcoholic drinks are also included, but check the menu first since not every cocktail is included (see photos). The food was nice with plenty of different things to try. Of course this is no 5 star hotel and all inclusive food isn’t the best of the best, but still it was all tasty and you never stayed hungry.
The entertainment team is fantastic. The shows every evening are great and offer a variety of interesting experiences. Hats off to them for going above and beyond every day.
There’s a free shuttle service to and from the beach which goes there a couple of times per day. The beach isn’t all that great though, I’d suggest renting a car for more flexibility. Rent it online way in advance when you book. There’s a good rental service directly in front of the hotel (Motor Plan) which we used and which is cheaper to than the one in the hotel.
The rooms are spacious and are all equipped with an AC unit you can control yourself. The beds are comfortable and surface cleaning is done every day, the bed sheets are only switched after your stay.
Parking is free on the hotel lot and we used it quite frequently. You can also drive around the entire complex and park your car closer to your room.
The staff is always very friendly and helpful. Many of them remember you and are always happy to see you.
Cons:
Our superior double room had no sea view even though we specifically booked it because of that. There was a big tree in front of it that took all the view. Because of we basically never stayed on the balcony because the view was ruined.
The doors to the rooms are poorly soundproofed so you can hear it at night whenever someone is walking by or talking in the long hallways.
The pools are not heated. When you come during September/October it’s almost to cold to spend time in them as they had a temperature of 22-24 degrees with air temperatures ranging from 24-28 degrees. The sea was a bit warmer than the pools.
The hotel is on a hill, walking up gets tiresome.
Noteworthy:
Not every restaurant is accessible with all-inclusive bands. There are two main buffet restaurants and which one you’re supposed to go to is based on the color of the bands. This isn’t an inconvenience, since the food is identical, it’s just a thing to note and get used to when finding out were you can dine.
The booking for the reservation for the à la carte restaurants did not work sadly so we couldn’t visit it during our stay.
The restaurant staff are very meticulous when it comes to the opening and closing procedure. The food gets wrapped and rolled away at the exact minute of closing. Please not that when you want to eat and are somewhat late to breakfast for example.
We also didn’t like the way the Tortoises are displayed at the entrance. They are all together crammed into a tiny small cage without food and without shelter. The males and females aren’t separated which causes a lot of stress on the females from the constant attempts on them and causes the males to clash with one another. We too have the exact species as pets at home and the way they are treated here hurts. What bothers me is that there is a big enclosure at the entrance next to the reception area which is built properly and is also used for them yet some of them are still cramped into the cage next to the walkway up to the hotel
Other than in the restaurants, you will have to get paper cups and paper plates when eating and drinking, if this is a concern to you.
All in all I’d say it’s worth it.
My Booking
