Cactus Royal Resort & Spa 

Had a wonderful stay here with friends in September. Weather was fantastic, staff helpful & friendly. Food was excellent and the a la carte restaurants were the best ones we've ever experienced in any all-inclusive hotels we've stayed in. Service was excellent and special mention to Kostas at La Strada and the drinks waitress (sorry I didn't get your name) at The Steak Restaurant. We had a lovely welcome bowl of fruit and tray of fresh pastries in our room on arrival (special anniversary) . Konstantino delivered excellent customer service at the Coffee snack bar on-site , the lunch time food here is well worth a try and makes a nice change from going to the main restaurant for lunch. The pools are good, we always opted for the middle sized one as was quieter and easier to get into for someone with mobility issues. The gym and indoor pool were also good although you would struggle with the steps if you have mobility issues. The jacuzzi wasn't working the whole time we were there which was disappointing. The spa is lovely with friendly and informative staff. Special mention to Anja for a lovely massage. We booked the excursion to Spinalonga through Tui but afterwards saw the same trip advertised outside oof the hotel a lot cheaper so something you should look into. Our guide Poppy, was so good, really knowledgeable and didn't rush us at all so we saw everything we needed to see. After visiting the island we had lunch at a harbour side restaurant in Elounda which was excellent and was included in the cost of the trip. Stopped on the way back at Agios Nikolaos which gave us plenty of time to look around the many shops or have a drink by the water. The train along the coast is worth a go and you can either stay on for the hour and a half of hop off and get back on the next one. Now unfortunately for the negatives. Whilst all the info stated that you couldn't reserve sun-beds, everyone did so therefore you had to follow suit otherwise you wouldn't have got one. Pina Coladas weren't part of the all inclusive drinks which was surprising so if you wanted one you had to pay - one of my reasons for downgrading the 5 star grading. We felt the hotel location description was misleading as the beach wasn't in front of the hotel and to get to it you had to cross a road and meander through the many beach restaurants (which by the way looked lovely) and numerous sun beds. The beach was packed so just getting down to the water was an obstacle course. We were disappointed that, whilst you have a Tui rep on the app if required, there was very limited presence in the hotel. When we did see one, to receive our intro chat, she was covering for someone so couldn't answer most of the questions we had about things in the local area. The wi-fi was awful with none at all by the pool area or anywhere in fact except in your room or the restaurant. We had 2 TVs in our room but no English channels so whilst we weren't too bothered as were rarely in our room. our friends were very disappointed. The entertainment wasn't great but we were with friends so it didn't bother us but I feel worth a mention for info. Things to note if they are important to you: As far as we could tell, none of the rooms have views, our friends had a stone wall, stairwell and car park from their rooms. One of them had asked for a quiet room and had the very noisy main road in ear shot. We had to pay to extend our room which I appreciate is standard, however, we didn't arrive until almost midnight so I think that should be taken into consideration. We were given a salad and bread on arrival as it was late but none of us ate it as it consisted mainly of lettuce with a couple of tomatoes and 4 teeny squares of ham. In summary, a beautiful, clean hotel with staff who can't do enough for you and the layout makes you feel like you're in a Cretan village setting. Whilst we had a lovely time here, due to the location we won't sadly be revisiting.