Imperial Palace Adults Only

Very good and convivial accommodations very relaxed The rooms are great, high spec and kept immaculate albeit I found the city tax a bit pricey it was at €7/day when I got there payable up front. Also a bit let down by the food, which was too salty or oily at times like if no one checks it before they take it out of the kitchen. Whereas I found their customer service and dedication to serve, help & accommodate the guests genuine and unparalleled big shout to Zoé and Eleni that were absolutely amazing 😍 Would gladly go back!

Stayed here for a week in October. Our room was a large suite (202) overlooking the pool area, with spa bath, shower, separate lounge area, double balcony, comfortable bed and a fridge. It had two televisions but only one English Channel (BBC world service). Hotel is quite isolated but not a problem for us as we’d hired a car from the airport (the hotel also rents cars). Parking is on the street at rear of hotel (front is reserved for hotel hire cars). If arriving by hire car at night the hotel is difficult to spot as there’s no lit sign. A local bus service runs along the busy road in front of the hotel to Rethymnon/Heraklion (you do hear road noise when sitting round the pool) - tickets can be purchased from reception. A tourist tax is payable on arrival (3e per day 1/11 - 29/2 and 7e per day 1/3 - 31/10). Pool temperature during our stay was fine for swimming. Would recommend requesting a room away from the back of hotel as not only is it noisy from the by pass road but gets full afternoon sun and so could be too hot, especially in summer. Couldn’t fault the excellent staff who were all friendly and helpful..👍 A few negatives: for such a large room there was a severe lack of storage space and side tables, which would have made a big difference. A real disappointment was the bland and repetitive food (in my opinion) on offer. Surprisingly there’s no toaster at breakfast, only a small panini maker type machine which really isn’t up to the job.

On arrival at about 11 pm we were given a lovely salad which was a nice touch. Our room was a 'basic' room which was just fine for us. The beds were two singles pushed together but extremely comfortable. The room was cleaned everyday. The air conditioning worked well. We had a small balcony (ground floor). Pool towels were supplied, tea and coffee making facilities, fridge and safe. Just enough room for hanging clothes. We were half board and found the selection of food was really good. There wasn't any entertainment but there is a nice pool bar which stays open late. We tried a couple of beaches across the road (about 10 minutes walk). They weren't beautiful by any means but fine for sunbathing with somewhere to get food and drink nearby. The hotel isn't close to any shops or restaurants other than a pizza place which seemed to have closed down for the season and a good small supermarket. The bus journey into Rithymno is cheap and easy to use. Rithymno is gorgeous for food, drink and shopping. Return taxi was around €18 (last bus back 11 pm). One day we took two buses to Chania which took about 2 hours. We didn't go on any day trips because we just wanted to relax. We recommend reading TripAdvisor reviews before you book trips. On our last day our pick up from the hotel (transfer time 2 hours) was around 5 pm so we sunbathed by the pool and were able to use showers situated near reception. Overall we found all the staff friendly and helpful and would certainly consider returning to this hotel.

Stayed in this hotel for a week in September 2024. Firstly, the hotel itself is quite nice. Nice room and nice pool but very little atmosphere. The lobby was almost in complete darkness and the “mini market” was always in the dark with basically no items for sale in it and stock was not replenished the entire week we were there. The “fitness corner” looks good in pictures but in reality it is a dark windowless cupboard with basically zero equipment and the one treadmill was out of order. No air con or windows in this room either. I’d almost class it as unusable. The food at breakfast was basic but okay. A couple of flies in the the food which I found really off putting and perhaps maybe some lids or covers would be a good idea. The pool was nice and beds were comfy. The pool bar don’t let you pay when you order drinks or snacks and instead it is added to a tab linked to your room which I don’t like as then when you checkout you’re met with a large bill rather than being able to pay as you go. There’s a bus stop close by and you can buy tickets at reception which was vital for us to get around as the hotel location itself is really poor. You’re around a 40 minute walk to the nearest bars and restaurants and there’s nothing around the hotel except fields and dirt. They did have a Greek evening which was really good and the dancers were fab. All in all, our stay wasn’t terrible but I’d say it is more a 3 star hotel than a 4.

Lovely hotel. Friendly and very helpful staff. Hotel and pool area spotlessly clean. Buffet in the evening was not repeated in the 14 days we were there. Always a good choice at breakfast and dinner. Had a junior suite and then after a small issue (which was not the hotel's problem) were moved to a suite with a jacuzzi overlooking the pool. Would book this type of room if we returned. Good music at the bar and also had 2 nights with local music and dancing. Only negative in my view was nowhere within a small distance to walk to in evenings but this did not spoil our experience.

Our flight was delayed and the transfer was long with lots of stop offs and reversing down narrow roads. I would definitely recommend a private taxi transfer. Once we arrived we were offered an up grade to a suite. My cousin and I had paid extra for separate rooms though so we saw no point in doing this. It was disappointing that we were not put close together as we had requested but I understand this isn’t always possible. The rooms were clean and comfortable and the cleaners were hard working and friendly. The air con was quite good once it got going and the WiFi worked well for me. Not so well for my cousin who was further away from the router. I loved the fact there were plenty of sun loungers beside the pool and there was no need to get up early and reserve them. My cousin and I like to run so we had to go early about 6.30 before it got too hot. It would have been nice to have a cool dip in pool after running but you were not allowed in the pool until 8am. It also shut quite early at 7 even though it was still very light then. I’m a big swimmer/pool lover so I did find this a little restricting. Food was good with plenty of veggie options. As others mentioned though it was surprising to not get and drink inc with evening meal. Not even water. Breakfast came with hot drinks and fruit juices. I would recommend this hotel if you want a quiet relaxing break. There was no evening entertainment in the 5 days we were there but that didn’t bother us. Other guests were Russian and German with not so many fellow Brits. Hotel staff all spoke English and were generally helpful. It was lovely going to the beach which was only 5 mins walk left out of hotel and across the road. There was free use of sunbeds and umbrellas, I think you were meant to buy a drink at taverna. The sea was beautiful, clean and warm but you need beach shoes as it’s very rocky. The bus into town was frequent and cheap but always seemed to run a bit late so you were standing in baking heat waiting for it. We had a lovely holiday at this hotel and I did a lot of relaxing by the pool which was just what I needed. There was a very small gym but treadmill wasn’t working so we didn’t bother with it.