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4.5
#1 of 21 hotels in Plakias
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4.5
Cleanliness
4.8
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4.7
Value
4.5
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
If you are looking for a beautiful, quiet, authentic, and hospitable family hotel in Crete, then the decision becomes much easier. Combine comfort and quality accommodation with a fascinating journey in Cretan tradition, history, and nature, Discover the Alianthos Garden Hotel, located in the peaceful and beautiful Plakias, in Southern Crete, facing the immense Libyan Sea. Everything here inspires holiday relaxation, even the "architecture" of the natural scenery. This place has been designed for the clearing of the mind and the rejuvenation of the soul. It’s not just its location in the heart of Plakias that makes the hotel one of the most beautiful hotels in Crete. Above all, it is the kindness, the hospitality, and the open heart of our people. After all, this is Crete: an open heart. All of us at Alianthos Garden Hotel welcome you, with the promise that we will do our best to take the past year "off your shoulders" and give you strength and beautiful memories for the next one.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We have visited this hotel for a number of years and everything about each stay has been excellent. The rooms are very clean and comfortable. The staff in the restaurant and at reception are warm, friendly and very helpful. The food at breakfast offers lots of choice and the evening meals are varied and cater for all tastes. We will continue to return here in the future.
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Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Georgia Vardaki, General Manager at Alianthos Garden Hotel
Responded Oct 15, 2023
Dear Jill and Keith, thank you so much for your review and your trust. We are so delighted that you enjoyed your stay with us also this year and our team took such a great care of you. We are looking forward to welcoming you back soon. All the best, Your Alianthos Garden family
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What a place! You feel like home from the moment you step in thanks to the super hospitable staff and owners. We felt relaxed and very welcomed throughout our stay! It is situated at the best location, right in the center of the village with many taverns, shops and cafes around and steps away from the beach. The room we stayed was so spacious, with 1 bedroom and a big open space living room with kitchen a complete appartment with balkonies and super comfortable mattresses, nice furniture and washed in daylight. Ideal choice for long stays and withing short drive to wonderful sights around the area. Top was the food! Amazing , super fresh , delicious with big variety in Cretan traditional dishes and mediterranean cuisine. Great guality of service, great people and great rooms and spaces! Highly reccomended !!
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Date of stay: June 2022
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Georgia Vardaki, General Manager at Alianthos Garden Hotel
Responded Jun 26, 2022
Dear guest, we are so thankful for this amazing review and your recommandation. We are thrilled that you enjoyed your stay with us to the fullest and experienced unforgettable days in Plakias. We hope to welcome you soon back in our hotel. Best wishes, Your Alianthos Garden family
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The experience at Alianthos Garden was way beyond anything we could have expected. All the staff is extremely friendly and efficient. The room is very comfortable with a choice of multiple pillows and has a very quiet air-conditioning. The soap / shampoo are of good quality and smell very good. The food for breakfast and diner was delicious. We also did a day out to Marmara and had a picnic made by the hotel on a very small, peaceful beach accessible only by boat. More than a stay at a hotel, it is an experience you are getting into - a very delightful one.
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Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Georgia Vardaki, General Manager at Alianthos Garden Hotel
Responded Jul 10, 2023
Dear guest, Wow, we were blown away by your positive words, we really appreciate the time you took to write such a fantastic review. To provide to all our guests unforgettable memories is one of our main goals. We are thrilled that we managed to provide this experience to you. We hope to welcome you back in Plakias soon. Warmest regards, Your Alianthos Garden family
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I had a wonderful time at the Alianthos Garden hotel. Everyone was so friendly and I felt welcome from the minute I arrived there. The cleanliness is next to none. I have never ever had such incredible housekeeping at a hotel before. Every day my room, bathroom and balcony were thoroughly cleaned. I even had some Bougainville put in a glass in the bathroom . I stayed in a single room and even though it was smaller than the other rooms, it still had a double bed, which was so comfortable. The food in the restaurant was haute cuisine, the best buffet I have had. Every dish was made with care and were mostly all authentic Greek/Cretan. There was plenty of choice and I was never going to be hungry, either at breakfast or dinner. The pool area was always spotless and I didn’t have any trouble getting a sun bed I have been visiting Plakiás since 1986 and this is the best hotel I have stayed in. I will definitely be back. Thank you to everyone there that made my stay perfect and for entertaining my efforts to speak Greek
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Date of stay: November 2023Trip type: Traveled solo
Room Tip:Come out of season for the perfect quiet relaxing holiday
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Georgia Vardaki, General Manager at Alianthos Garden Hotel
Responded Nov 9, 2023
Dear guest, Thank you very much for taking the time to write this outstanding comment about your recent stay. We're thrilled to hear that your experience was exceptional. It's wonderful to know that you enjoyed every aspect of us. We truly appreciate your review and look forward to welcoming you back very soon for some more Greek lessons :-). Thank you for trust and choosing us for your stay! Warmest regards, Your Alianthos Garden family
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Just back from a week in Plakias at Alianthos Garden Hotel . Had a great time . Hotel is a 3+ star with a fantastically friendly staff who are accomodating , flexible and informative. We were half-board and planned to eat in a couple of nights but ended up eating in for 5 nights as buffet and ambience of restaurant was excellent . Lots of lovely tavernas to try also in picturesque plakias . Have their own car hire , Autopreveli , which was quick , efficient , hired a VW Up ( nicknamed Stavros ) that was nearly new and cheaper than local car hire as discount to guests. Lots to explore in local area . Go to Skinaria Beach just 15 mins in car/taxi ! Easy to explore South Crete with its amazing gorges and coastline . The smiling face you see behind reception on the website is the same as in reality and all staff so helpful . Incredibly clean and spotless It's not a 5 star resort hotel , but it is a fantastic example of a perfectly-positioned , family hotel with welcoming staff and excellent service at reception , restaurant , pool and bar . Would love to go again !
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Date of stay: September 2022
Value
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Service
Room Tip:Sea view rooms gave a nice open feeling to room
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Georgia Vardaki, General Manager at Alianthos Garden Hotel
Responded Sep 26, 2022
Dear guest, Thank you very very much for your amazing review and kind words. We are really happy to hear that we could make your well-deserved holidays unforgettable. We are looking forward to welcoming you soon again. Your Alianthos Garden family
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An excellent choice if you are heading to Plakias. Near the water, but not on the restaurant/shop/hotel strip along the water. Buffet breakfast and dinner were included; the food was pretty good & there was a large selection of it. Service was extra special: Big shoutout to Didem at the front desk, who gave us a great suggestion on a day it rained - drive to the town of Agia Galini, supposedly the takeoff spot for Daedalus & Icarus's flight. On the morning we were checking out, she also pointed us to the quiet nearby beach of Souda, which was great, and helped us store our luggage in a locker room off the lobby. When we came back, we were able to shower in that locker room & dry off w/hotel-supplied towels.
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Date of stay: May 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Georgia Vardaki, General Manager at Alianthos Garden Hotel
Responded May 29, 2024
Dear guest, We are truly grateful for your wonderful review and positive feedback that you gave us! Thank you so much! It was an absolute pleasure hosting you and we are delighted that you enjoyed the culinary offers of our chef and his team and Didem took such a good care of you. We would be more than happy to welcome you back in the future and provide you with another memorable stay! Warmest regards, Vardakis family and the whole team
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The hotel is near the beach in Plakias. The room, the balcony, the corridor and the bathroom are functional. The room has enough space to make you feel comfortable.
Tourists are checked in individually, not at the reception desk, but at a table in the hall. Our receptionist welcomed us with a cold and very tasteful home-made lemonade, which was a blessing in the heat and for our tiredness after the travel.
There was a variety of food available, much more than you could possibly taste, not to mention eat. Everything was displayed elegantly, the savor of every meal was wonderful and they offer something to suit everyone's taste.
The whole staff was absolutely friendly, customer-focused, always with a smile for everybody and helpul. I'd like to mention Sonia (our cleaning lady, who cleaned our room and balcony every day as if it were at least her own), Isabella or Ami and all the other waitresses and waiters (who waited at our tables, always caring for our well-being), Cristina (who would welcome us at the restaurant) and so on. They all strive to give you the feeling of being a family member, which they succeed very well. Our stay was really wonderful and we thank them all again for their constant efforts.
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Date of stay: July 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Georgia Vardaki, General Manager at Alianthos Garden Hotel
Responded 1 week ago
Dear guest, We can’t thank you enough for your kind words. Your feedback truly brings a smile on our faces. We are thrilled that you enjoyed your time with us to the fullest. We endeavor to go above and beyond to ensure our guests have a memorable experience. We hope you entrust us also next summer with your well-deserved holidays. All the best, Your Alianthos Garden family
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I know I am bucking the trend here, but we felt it was just average. Our room was on the back side of the hotel, so we had a lot of street noise well into the night.
The bed was comfortable, but far from the best we had during our stay in Greece.
The breakfast buffet was extensive with a wide assortment of Creten breakfast items, but we stayed in several hotels that had as much and more.
We spent our first day on the beach but tried the pool later in the afternoon. There were very few lounges considering the size of the hotel, and the ones along the east side of the pool were nearly impossible to reach because they were lined up so close to the edge of the pool.
Finally, we stayed in more than a dozen hotels during our 31 day trip to Greece, and we found the staff, especially at reception, to be the least friendly.
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Date of stay: September 2021
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Georgia Vardaki, General Manager at Alianthos Garden Hotel
Responded Nov 8, 2021
Dear guest, Thank you for telling us about your experience in our hotel. We are sorry to hear that we could not amaze you with our Greek hospitality. Reviews like yours give us the opportunity to improve ourselves as well as our services. We would really appreciate to contact us direclty to discuss your experience in more detail as customer satisfaction is our No. 1 priority. We would love to get another opportunity to wow you! Kind regards and stay safe, Vardakis family and the whole team
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This hotel is a « not so hidden» treasure. Beautiful hotel surroundings. Extremly nice and helpful people. Family atmosfere and the most amazing food you are going to eat at any 3 star hotel. Its almost so good one considers to rate i down so it doesnt get too popular. Got a late dinner package to the room because of our late arrival and breakfast pakkage with fresh coffee because of us leaving early. Rented a brandnew car there with 20% hotel discount to a cheap price! Uncomplicated. Good service all the way. Everybody is very helpful and interested. Amazing lifemusic on tuesday evenings with the restaurant manager singing a ballad to top it off. Seriously how good does it get!? Greek themed food and drinks with explanations and even selfpreparation. Very clean! You see cleaningladys cleaning all day long every day. This is also a good base for anyone interested in travelling midt/ south crete.
I can wholeheartedly recommend this hotel! The mood of the guests changed a bit from the first ten days when we were there to the last 3 when the high-/ mainseason began. Probably best in early-/ late summer.
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Georgia Vardaki, General Manager at Alianthos Garden Hotel
Responded Jul 10, 2022
Dear guest, wow... we are thrilled by your amazing review and your recommendation. We are pleased that you enjoyed your stay with us to the fullest and you experienced some unforgettable days in our hotel. We are looking forward to welcoming you back soon. All the best, Your Alianthos Garden family
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Thanks a lot to Alianthos Garden Hotel and Amalthea Restaurant!! We enjoyed a pleasant stay and fantastic vacation! (12 nights, half board).
The room was clean and comfortable. Anyway, we’d like to suggest to exchange the shower curtain with a glas door or something like that. The hotel has a nice architecture and through various flowers, palms and decoration it creates a great and lovely atmosphere. The staff and the receptionists are always attentive and helpful.
We especially want to commend the Amalthea restaurant! The food, no matter wether breakfast or dinner, was always delicious and showed a great variety from the local Cretan and Greek cuisine. We especially want to thank the Restaurant team (Christoforos, Georgia, Mironas, Tzanetos and Niki) for your accomodating, kind and attentive service. Thanks as well to chef Zakis and bartender Dimitris for your everyday jokes and your viral smiles! Each of you made our holiday special and memorable!!
When visiting Crete next time, we‘ll definitely stay at Alianthos Garden again!
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Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Georgia Vardaki, General Manager at Alianthos Garden Hotel
Responded May 17, 2022
Dear Christian, A big big thanks to you for your great feedback. We are amazed that we could make your holidays unforgettable as this is our aim for all our guest. We are looking forward to welcoming you back soon. Many greetings, The whole Alianthos Garden team
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Dear Mr. Alan J,
Thank you for your interest in our Hotel.
We would like to inform you that there is not any coffee or tea facilities in the rooms!
For more information please dont hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards
Alianthos Garden Hotel Management
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