Iolida Beach by Smile Hotels

I stayed here at the beginning of October, our flight arrived late so arrive to the hotel later than expected. On arrival the Concierge at the front desk warmly greeted us. He was very friendly and helpful, providing loads of accurate and useful information about the local attractions. The resort is divided into two, both sides of the main road, connected by a foot bridge. There is a regular bus service that runs to Chaina and Kolymbari - where you can visit the beautiful Odigitria Gonia Monastery and Bambi zoo. I would strongly recommend (recommended to me by the Concierge) a visit to Elafonissi Beach with its beautiful pink sand and tranquil crystal clear sea. You can book a coach excursion at the front desk. The hotel room itself was well furnished, the beds comfortable and with an amazing view of the beach. The all inclusive buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner was delicious and fresh. Dinner was had a different theme each night providing loads of variety during out stay. The restaurants nearby are reasonably priced if you decide to eat out on occasions. The whole holiday in this stunning island was amazing, but the tone was really set by the friendly and professional service from all the staff at the hotel. Thank you Iolida Beach hotel for my stay.

We had the best vacation ever! We stayed in iolida star and had a room with balcony and pool view. All inclusive was nice at this hotel, no standing in line, super service and a couple of tables outside by the pool also. Shops and souvenirers just outside the hotel. Restaurants just outside the hotel (with turist-food but breakfast at the Beach-side is very nice). Bus to Chania almost infront of the hotel. Very nice trip to the mountains in a turist-train can be booked just a little up the street. We already booked this hotel again next summer ❤️

Very nice and comfortable hotel. Good food, excellent service and the best staff. Housekeeping was great. Love the view from our room and the beach! I can warmly recommened this hotel either you travel with friends or family.

The staff was fantastic. The food was delicious! The sea and surroundings were wonderful! We are coming back, guaranteed! We enjoyed every second, probably the best vacatuon ever! Everything was great! It’s not just a hotel, it’s HOME! All the staff from the cleaning lady to the restaurant manager were incredibly nice!

Firstly, we stayed at the Iolida Star which is part of the Iolida Beach hotel ( the beach side is, on the beach, the star side across the busy road). We were on 8th floor in a 1 bed apartment with lovely sea views. €21 tourist tax for 7 days ROOM- The apartments are basically furnished & a bit dated but adequate with a small kitchenette with hob/ kettle/ sink/ fridge. Tea & coffee facilities are listed but you need to take your own tea/coffee etc. WiFi in every room, TV has only 1 English speaking channel which is France 24 news so maybe take a tablet & stream if you fancy a night in. Beds were firm but comfortable with nice white cotton linen & towels. Not much storage for clothes. Apartment was cleaned daily and like the whole complex, was kept spotless. Good thick walls so little noise from neighbouring rooms during our stay. Remember as with most of Greece, used toilet paper goes in the bathroom bin not the toilet, their plumbing system cannot cope. Nice tiled , decent shower with plenty of hot water. POOL AREAS - MUCH smaller than they're made to look on TUI web site!! 1 pool in each side of complex with a toddler pool attached. Not heated, our main concern was the bigger pool (Star side) had a lot of green algae both in the pool and around the sides, as well as a brown scum line around the sides, whatever the cause ( suncream or other contaminants) it needs sorting out. Other than that, plenty of sunbeds/ parasols but, as I said, a small area so likely to be very cramped during summer months. BEACH- Narrow stretch of sandy beach with sunbeds & parasols which the hotel charge extra for €6 per day (2 beds & 1 parasol). Went snorkeling but other than a few small fish it was pretty dead, around 4ft deep until you are well out. FOOD- 2 restaurants, 1 for each side, Reasonably tasty on the whole, usual breakfast fayre cooked, continental, cereals, fruit & yogurts. The 1 toaster doesn't work properly & needs replacing. As previous reviews have mentioned, there is a coffee machine but it doesn't matter what you select it's absolutely disgusting so it's worth taking a small jar of your own!! Lunch & dinner, good selection but the BIG issue is that everything is luke warm at best except if you get it as kitchen staff are putting it out as it's cooling within minutes. I never saw any staff checking food temperatures. Fans & Aircon just make this worse & by the time your sat at a table the food is pretty cold. One little irritation is that the hotel have printed single use paper place mats, which are a) useless and b) are binned as the table is cleared, this must cost the hotel a fortune but more importantly it's costing the environment & a totally unnecessary waste of paper. Note to owners - just go with a nice clean table top!! They do provide 1 bottle of water on arrival which you can refill at either of the restaurant bars, saving huge amounts of plastic waste. ENTERTAINMENT- well, there was none at all day or night when we were there but I believe

This hotel are one of the best. Room are very lovely with a great view. Comfortable beds. Close to the beach, different pools, 2 restaurants and bars! People that are working there are fantastic. Friendly, proffessional, always ready to help you. They make you feel so welcome. And thats the reason why me, my friends and family continues to come back every year. I can warmly recommened this place!

Iv read some negative reviews but cannot fault this place the staff where super friendly and always accommodating with a smile they could never do enough for you. One man that stood out to us was Dimitri Poli this man made everyday special he smile, laughter and jokes are refreshing. Not to forget he is probably the best barman I have ever come across. All the other staff were amazing and could not fault it. We met some amazing people and had a blast! Down to the hotel: lovely and clean everything worked with beautiful views. The food: best we have had in an all inclusive. Fresh, lots of variety and with food on all day. Entertainment: PLENTY even from all the staff Location and things to do: good for all ages. Clean beaches and lots to see with day trips and easy access to most things. Thanks to everyone we will be back for more. I hope when we return Dimitri is still there as he is a huge asset to this business !!

So my first thought when arriving was wow this is nice, hotel reception smelt lovely ,very clean and tidy, reception staff very polite, so once checked in you get shown where you room is. Yes the hotel has two parts you have the bridge restaurant that serves dinner and snacks. The pool bar is gr8 👍 nice sun trap. This is where we prefer to sun lounge as it wasnt as busy as the other part of hotel, to get to the other part of hotel you can walk over the bridge or u can just walk across the road , (road can be quite busy at times) It can be a pain walking back and forth to each restaurant but tbh we didn't really mind in the end it was an excuse to move from the pool bar lol So the food , food was lovely couldn't fault it different types of style to suit your fancy. The staff work very hard from running the bar , to cleaning ur table to relaying the tables , making sure you are having relaxing holiday, they was very polite and very helpful. I added these photos of the staff I met while away these hard working people need to be recognised They are so polite , if u see dimitri at the pool bar tell him uncle Joe said hi from the UK 🇬🇧 Young lad in the black jumper is Ted for short ,the guy in the Levis t shirt is kostov (smiliy bald guy) Unfortunately I can't rember the young girls name but she was also very polite. Location: so if you came out the hotel from the bridge side turn left passed the car rentle ,there is a family run restaurant called TEMPO , the staff are very polite and the food is home made, the pizza WOW very nice and the steak and sauce was amazing! Give the strawberry daqs a go too . There are a few places to eat and drink so can pick from what you want. So this was our experience and we enjoyed it.