Hotel berhampiran Natural History Museum of Crete, Heraklion

For many years I have traveled 100 or more days a year. In SEP-OCT 2022, I traveled for a month in Greece staying at 12 hotels (and on an overnight Ferry). In this context and related to price, Heraklion Old Port Apartments was above average. PROS: Cost was very reasonable. The room with living room was clean, very spacious and with a well provided kitchen and fridge (supermarket food was extremely inexpensive in Crete). There were extra towels so no need for service. The young woman at the desk was very helpful and cordial. CONS: Close to the old port but about 700 meters to center of town and more to the National Museum or the main bus station (to Knossos or to the beaches). Still all can be reach by walking. The add say the room had great views which did not materialize. Heraklion has a lively main street around the fountain of the lions and a Great museum on the Minoan civilization which was spectacular. The museum in Heraklion was great but Knossos (reach by city bus) was very disappointing since I care for historical archaeology and not for the distorted recreation of the site by an over-imaginative British amateur. The beaches near Heraklion (which can be reach by inexpensive regular city buses) are adequate but not spectacular. In late September the beaches were not crowded at all, but still with warm water to swim. Heraklion was of interest in itself and where I rented the car to visit the rest of Crete (Xania with a picturesque Venetian port, spectacular Elefonsina Beach great for snorkeling, great ruins of Faestos, and many other atttractions). I spent 6 nights in Crete and could have enjoyed another week at least. Next trip I will stay longer in Crete. Parting remarks: Greece is wonderful, except for the touristic islands which were crowded even in October and I may skip them altogether next time. The Peloponesse resulted better than expected. Athens was safe anytime anywhere I moved, even after midnight. Travel light because not all hotels have elevators and in ancient towns you will climb many stairs and walk over cobblestones. Missing church number 59 was OK, sitting in a café watching people go by and doing nothing was inspiring even for hyper me. I had a wonderful trip.

We stayed at the DOM for three nights, exploring Heraklion and its surroundings, like the Knossos Palace. The location of the hotel is perfect - you hear the bustling city just a little bit, but almost no cars. All the bars and restaurants are close-by, a stroll at the sea is also near, and public transport reachable within minutes. The rooms are comfortable, stylish, and hyper-clean, with a tea-maker and an espresso machine provided. Breakfast is rich, with Greek and International food. We also liked that it was constantly filled up again, even shortly before the finishing time. Lastly, every single person of the staff was very friendly, the receptionists, the breakfast waitress, and the cleaning lady. We would return any time. Thanks for a great stay!

L’appartement est très bien situé au centre d’Héraklion. Il est à 20 minutes d’auto à partir de l’aéroport. Sur la même rue, il y a un parking souterrain payant (12 euros) que nous avons utilisé à 5 occasions sans aucun problème. Il y a aussi une épicerie, des boulangeries, des restaurants et une multitude de commerces tout autour. Géographiquement, l’emplacement est idéal. Nous avons résidé à l’appartement 1 du 4e étage. Une chambre fermée, une salle de bains, un grand salon - cuisine. Le balcon est toutefois le point fort de cet appartement. Il est grand, et on y relaxe bien en fin de journée. Le matin, on vous laisse à déjeuner pour deux: céréales, lait, œufs, confitures, pain, etc. Cependant , l’appartement aurait besoin d’un peu plus d’équipement: micro-ondes, ciseaux, grille-pain, planche à repasser, commodes, cintres (il n’y en avait que 6)… Pour ce qui est de la salle de bains, elle est très petite et elle manque cruellement de tablettes pour s’organiser. Hormis cela, nous pouvons affirmer que l’appartement est parfait pour un court séjour de 2-3 nuits. Quand vous y restez pour plus d’une semaine, vous vous rendez compte, à ce moment, du manque d’équipement. Les propriétaires sont très gentils et font de leur mieux pour répondre à nos besoins.

Nous avons pris le forfait demi-pension, c'était le même menu pour 5 nuits. Seulement quelques plats et les plats ne sont pas à notre goût. Le menu pour les autres clients sont meilleurs. On était très déçu. On n'a pas mangé pour la 5e journée car les menus sont les mêmes Seulement quelques choix. Je ne recommande pas demi-pension pour cet hôtel.

Nice and comfortable, good service, parking is available but has to drive carefully

I had a pleasant 7 night stay here at this accommodation while in Heraklion, Crete. It belongs to the Lato Boutique, which is the main hotel. The Annex is right opposite and required card access to enter. Room was the Economy room (15 sq. metres), a little on the small side, but good enough for a solo traveller. The room was right next to the stairwell and the lift, so there were times I could hear people moving about, but at night it was very quiet, and there were no sleep disruptions. Bed was comfy, air-conditioning was also good. The shower was also good, with shampoo and soap provided, though I noticed it was running a little low towards the end of my stay (i.e., no refills were done). I also appreciated that a luggage rack was provided, along with two bottles of water on check-in day. Fridge was big enough to fit lots of mineral water bottles to keep them cold, which would be a great reprieve in the summer time. Room safe was incredibly huge as well, it can easily store laptops securely, if needed. The elevator door got stuck on the day of check-out, but still worked, so not too big of an issue there. Wi-Fi requires a special code that you can get from the reception. My first code strangely stopped working after two days, but was promptly rectified after I informed the reception of the issue. There were no other connectivity issues for me. The hotel location is pretty near to the Venetian Port, and the Rocca Fortress; it is also walking distance away from the main shopping street in Heraklion and lots of good eating places nearby. There are also supermarkets nearby to get water as well. It does get quiet at night, but I did not encounter any incidents that made me feel unsafe. My room came with buffet breakfast included, which is served in the main building. Breakfast starts service from 7 am onwards, and was generally quite crowded at the start. Depending on the crowd level, the staff will occasionally open up a new section of the dining area. Breakfast was generally good, there was a good spread of American breakfast items, to pastries, ham and cheese and even Greek yogurt with a lot of condiments. It varied a little bit from day-to-day, but was generally the same for the most part.

We spent one night only during our Crete experience. There was a very kind person at the reception offering to explain us everything regarding Heraklion. Room was clean and everything was in order.

I couldn’t fault it, it is absolutely amazing more than I expected. The interior design is amazing and professionally done, bathroom design gave me ideas for our new home. It’s near shops but having a car is a must, Crete is one large and beautiful island. The restaurant outside is amazing and we also found a great cafe down the road which had great food.