A great stay for my partner's birthday who received a cake and champagne on the day. We also got upgraded to a sea view room which was great. Food options were varied and plentiful though sometimes difficult to put a 'proper meal' together. Snacks (ice cream, sandwiches, cake etc) were available outside of restaurant hours. We found there to be more snack and drink options available compared with other all-inclusive hotels. Off-menu cocktails cost 7e and Metaxa 3.20e. The very comfortable sunbeds around the small pool and on the beach were limited - although signs say not to reserve beds people did and it was the only way to secure a spot although people did abuse this, laying their towels down and then only visiting for an hour. There are about 5 spaces for 'onsite parking', otherwise there's a large piece of open dirt parking 2-3minute walk away. It's possible to drop luggage off at the front/side of the hotel and staff will direct you to the parking. Rooms have great soundproofing but I found the mattress to be on the hard side and there were no coffee sachets in the room - only 1 coffee pod for the espresso machine which isn't replenished. Not too big a deal when you're on the all-inclusive plan! Overall, a relaxing stay, perfect if you want to do nothing other than eat, sleep, and swim.

Housekeeping was poor. Used glasses and towels not removed from room. Staff was kind and helpful.

Gym needs a bit of upgrade . Delicious food . Entertainer Dominique was really good

Great little hotel that could benefit from a renovation. Right on the beach, but right in the village as well. Close to the highway to Chania which is about a 15 minute drive, airport is about 30 minutes away. It’s much more of a family hotel than a couples resort. Choice of alcohol at the pool bar is very poor, food is about average, front desk staff very personable. Even though we had an all inclusive package we ate out at local restaurants for dinner and enjoyed it. Kids seemed to be having a lot of fun which is great but also means you might want to pick a quieter spot if you want to relax.

Great location and excellent food. Weather at end of October was perfect averaging 25c in the day.

Loved this hotel. Great location and excellent caring staff

The location on the beach is great in the Middle of this small Greek village The hotel is in need of some up dating but it is very clean and staff friendly and helpful The food is plentiful although not hot for long

On arrival to the hotel our room had a electrical fault and we were transferred to Kiani Beach hotel and given upgrade VIP treatment. Next day we returned to kalyves hotel and the service was exceptional. The hotel had good facilities and the food choice was great. Overall we both had a great time and would return again in the future. Thanks

Recently returned from a 7 night AI break. We had a lovely, relaxing holiday - 2 adults & our 5 yr old. The hotel & rooms are kept immaculate. I am quite fussy with bathrooms & beds, & I expect cleanliness & comfort, which was achieved. The bathroom was small, but it’s a shower room, spotlessly clean & served us fine - didn’t affect the holiday & I do wonder if people just complain for the sake of it. Food, it is a typical buffet AI, but the quality was fresh & there’s always plenty to choose from. I particularly enjoyed the traditional Cretan section. There is always beautiful fresh fruit, a selection of salads, yoghurts, various meat dishes & a decent selection of vegetarian. My daughter loved the pancake bar & fresh fruit for breakfast every day - as well as the ice creams on tap! The standard AI alcohol menu suited our needs, a week of tequila sunrises, Cretan wine & G&T’s was quite enjoyable! Ok they’re not the premium brands but absolutely fine & you can always buy the premium if you want to. For €5 they make perfect Mojitos! If you want premium, upgrade. I suppose parts of the hotel are a little dated, but always clean & tidy. The welcome was warm, the staff friendly & the service good. The beach is lovely, sand & soft shale, my daughter loved it. There are waves, but we spent hours running in & out jumping over them. The river was also lovely & clear to play in. I’d definitely return, the area is good too with lovely tavernas, shops, pharmacy etc.

the worst exprience ever we have raised aformal complaint.

Excellent family holiday. Very friendly staff just to mention a few Penelope from reception, Stephania and Michalis from pool bar, and Dominic the entertainer do an amazing job. Penelope looked after us very well even after we checked out and had 7hrs to kill...cant ask for anymore..very good service happy holiday. The rooms are okay , bathroom could do with some work. Food is varied and good.enjoyed it. Beach is on door step, very clean and nice. Parents would be advised to supervise young kids all the time as waves are pretty strong. Location is out of the way and few shops and restaurants around..but nice and quiet.

Great hotel, great service, great location. Really good mix of nationalities including lots of Greek families and couples. 2 hotel swimming pools plus 2 beaches within 10 (yes ten!) metres of hotel. Whats not to like?!

This is great hotel in a great location. It is looking a little tired but the staff are fantastic and made our holiday.

Lovely location, very friendly staff, excellent service and entertainment, great family hotel had a wonderful holiday1

Of positive things, the location and proximity to the beach were very good. Everything is reached in a minute or two. The beach is ok but not fantastic and there are too big waves for young children. In the restaurant the food was quite good. The room we were originally given was disappointing. We had booked the standard room with a mountain view. The room, on the other hand, did not have a window to fresh air, but instead faced the hotel's atrium (which had a window facing the mountains ...). We asked for an upgrade. The response was that we could come back the next day and we would get a new room. The next morning, however, they told us everything was full, and were again asked to come back the next day. This happened also the next day! After complaining, they finally found another room for us. Not the best room in the hotel (as they had also promised...) but it was ok and definitely better than the first. Don't make promises if you can't keep them! Other small things were annoying: Air condition is not attached properly, so it was a lot of noise due to vibration. The refrigerator made a weak but high frequency noice, the shower faucet was partially broken. These may be trivial, but it should be easy to fix for a serious hotel. The service attitude of the staff in the restaurant area could also be improved. It's not a very good hotel for children. Broken toys on a tiny playground and halfheartedly entertainment for children.

Would have loved more Childrens entertainment. More geared towards adults. Had a lovely stay though regardless.

This was our first trip to Crete and our first holiday abroad for a few years. It was amazing, the hotel is lovely and exceeds its rating. The staff were so kind and helpful. It was clean and the facilities everything we needed to keep us and our 8 year old son happy. The hotel isn’t too big and ideally located so you can walk immediately into the village with local shops and bars. The food choice was excellent and always fresh. The scenery was amazing too. We would love to return in a few years.

Good hotel with friendly helpful staff in a great location by the beach. Kalyves was quiet in May which is what we wanted. It has a number of good and very reasonable taverna style bars and restaurants. Hotel is very clean and well maintained. All inclusive arrangement for food and drinks was basic. Bedroom has clean, recently refurbished and the bed comfortable. Shower/bathroom was far too small and cramped.

Enjoyed the holiday and would return however I would not rely on the all inclusive option. Most nights we ate out as the food is really poor, we didn't mind this because we were not on a budget.

Like: spacious rooms, super comfy beds, great variety of food both healthy and rich, beaches, location, staff Don’t like: rooms’ walls a bit too thin, no shampoo or conditioner

Lack of children’s entertainment let’s down the hotel

Beautiful hotel, amazing service from all staff. I will definitely recommend this hotel to anyone

This was a lovely smallish hotel, quite low key and very relaxing. The swimming pools were great, the sandy beaches were beautiful with enough sun loungers and the sea was great for little children. The food was really tasty and plentiful with variety every day. Children were well catered for too. Our rooms was clean and comfortable for the 3 of us. The shower room is a little on the small side but fine. The staff were friendly and there were activities put on by the Animations girl, some for children and others for grown ups. These were easy to participate in if we wanted to and very east to ignore if we didn't. Our daughter loved the activities that she did. The location is wonderful. Calyces is quite under developed for a beachside village in the Mediterranean. The town itself has some lovely stops and plant of tavernas which we went to a couple of times. There is so much wildlife to be seen whilst sitting on the riverside terrace eating a meal, ducks, geese, swallows, great flocks of birds in the evenings, kingfishers by the beach as well as the sweet little stray cats.

We had a great time, nice location by the beach, good food. The staff at the front desk was amazing, Penelope knew anything and every thing, very efficient, also Athina and Stabroula were very helpful and friendly. We got hugs from everybody on the departure date even from the cleaning lady! Made us feel at home. They will organize any activities and transportation needs. Great place to stay!!!!

We enjoyed our stay which wasn't all inclusive, just breakfast. Too many lovely tavernas nearby to eat dinner in hotel.

Close to beach, bar staff are nice, lady in doing the gym classes is excellent...receptionists are not so friendly and should have more knowledge about surrounding areas Cleaners need to be polite, coffee mug in room were dirty, shower door broken

Decent standard of hotel. The staff are very efficient in dealing with requests but were a bit quiet with customers, meaning they didn't initiate much conversation. Perhaps they are used to more Scandinavians, who prefer this approach. The rooms and facilities were very clean and the beach areas are very nice. However, the sunbeds on the beach are getting a bit old and could do with replacements. The cushioned sunbed mattresses that other beach areas seem to have nowadays would be a welcome addition and would definitely improve the beach experience. The food was well presented and timely. The hot food variety on the dinner service could do with more variation and definitely more Greek Beef and Lamb dishes.

Very close to beach with free sunbeds and umbrellas.Free parking close by. Food good, good choices. Liked the Cretan options, though the hot food could have been warmer. Staff very pleasant, especially the Animation team. Entertainment mediocre except greek night and piano player, both excellent. Pool at times overrun by children/large families, loud and noisy, only option was the beach. Good Hotel for families.

We stayed for a week with the kids and found the hotel to be just right. The room was comfortable and the staff were friendly. It is right on the beach which was great for the kids. Highly recommended.

The hotel is possibly the quality of a 3*. We were given room 119 a sea view. The shower room was very small with a curtain. However the room itself was okay. It was above one of the three swimming pools and close to the bar, so it was noisy - we asked for a room change prior to unpacking and 3 days later another sea view room in building 2 was available. We had room 252, A very nice larger room with a small but modern shower-room. If you do go to this hotel I suggest you ask for building 2. The hotel is very clean throughout and right on the beach. The restaurant is inside and outside by a pretty canal. We stayed for a week on an all inclusive basis - big mistake! The wine was rough, the beer not great, spirits really poor quality. Soft drinks nice. You can pay for other spirits. The 'hot' self-service buffet food was very repetitive, nearly always cold or lukewarm at best. Sometimes there were hot plates other times cold. In a week we ate out 4 times and had we had the money it would have been 6 nights. Most of the staff were polite. Two of the staff stood out for us for their helpfulness. Michalis (Michael) on reception and sometimes the bar, was very professional and most gracious in his dealings with all the clients. Ronja was a temporary waitress that worked hard but always found time to enquire about your day. The small town of Kalyves ( KAL-E-VES) has several nice Taverna's along the beach - suggest you try: Il Forno it's very good as is Icarus and Kritiko.