We booked this holiday at the last minute but we could not have chosen a better hotel or area. We arrived as 6 in the morning & found we had been allocated a high room & my husband has asthma (which they had not been told about) within minutes with no fuss the night porter allocated a large lower floor room. The hotel was spotless the views magnificent & all the staff were efficient & friendly. I agree it is not an ideal spot if you have any disability but the taxi's were readily available & at only 6 euros to Stalis so did not present us with a problem. Also their air conditioning was (unlike many places we have stayed) efficient & silent!

After reading a few mediocre reviews about this hotel, we were quite apprehensive about our stay. However, when we arrived, our doubts were put to rest. The hotel itself was beautiful and set in a hillside, with sweet little features like a stone well surrounded by a seating area, lovely plants, super clean and tempting pool with pool bar. We were greeted by a lovely, kind receptionist - he was very polite and helpful even in the wee hours of the morning ( we arrived at 3 am!)
Our room was on the 4th floor, a little bit of a climb as lifts did not go up to that floor, but we thought it was a good 30 second workout to counteract the afternoon ice creams and fresh doughnuts on the beach. The view was our favourite, after so many weeks of rain here in uk, I can't say how chuffed we were to wake up to amazing mountainous and sea views with clear blue skies and sunshine every morning. The room itself was basic, but comfortable and very clean, which was perfect for us.
The location of the hotel was great, such close proximity to the town centre (about less than 10 mins walk) without the bustle of it - so relaxing.
We loved our break so much, that we're planning another to the same hotel in september. Highly recommended!!! We miss it already!

After reading mostly negative reviews about the Heliotrope I was really worried about what we were letting ourselves in for.
However, on arrival, the hotel was a lovely surprise!
Our rooms were all on different floors but on request we managed to sort out rooms on the same floor so we could all be together and this was done without any hassle or complaint by the hotel staff.
It is set in a hill so there is a LOT of stairs....this is no place for unfit people!!!
Being on the fourth floor and having no lift was a pain at first especially dragging all the luggage up there, but when we woke up in the morning and saw the breathtaking view it was worth it.
The rooms are simple with the essential minimums in. Air Con and the fridges had to be purchased separately but even this was fairly cheap.
Dark shutters kept out all the light, even on waking up in the morning you couldn't actually tell if it was daylight until you opened the windows but it meant you could get a great nights sleep.
The majority of the staff were lovely apart from a rather rude abrupt lady on reception who made you feel like she was interrogating you everytime you passed through reception. Other than that the staff made us feel welcome and are really friendly!
The pool was lovely!!! I would say to grab a sunlounger as soon as you can if you want to laze by the pool as there aren't that many to go around and Crete is extremely hot!
For half-board the food is quite basic and is mainly greek but there was always at least two english dishes and plenty of salad etc to live on!
Overall our stay was extremely enjoyable and I would most definitely consider returning to the Heliotrope on future holidays!

On arrival,we were pleased to see a lovely hotel set on and later we saw into a hill. Our busload was dealt with very efficiently we located our room which was 105 above reception. Despite not eating meat I was glad to see I always had choices and enjoyed the food. If you must have chips etc. every day, you could walk down to Stallis or along to Malia. There was a small shop selling water,papers,juice.chocs. etc. just a few yards outside the hotel.
We only paid for the airconditioning for a couple of nights and only had it on before we went to bed. (In summer you would probably need to use it regularly). Brown shutters were delightful and the room was basic but just what we needed. Beds were hard,room was small but windows/shutters opened onto balcony: If you are less then fit probably better on the first floor. Staff like anywhere else, different personalities but overall very pleasant and efficient.
We have been to many Greek islands and Athens, adored Evia island but I personally have never seen such a beautiful island as Crete. Little village of Kritsa seemed idyllic and Spinalonga worth another visit. Just sorry we never bit the bullet and went to Santorini. Better using the bus and going on your own trips via local tour operators,varying prices as ever.
From the many balconies and terraces of the hotel the view of the mountains and sea was absolutely spectacular. We felt very priviledged to have stayed in such a beautiful setting.

K.D. Dundee Scotland