- from the moment you arrive, until the moment you leave, the staff make you feel like a VIP and the luxurious, tastefully decorated surroundings contribute to that feeling; - you are always greeted with a smile, which prompted the question: who smiles all the time without faking it? I certainly couldn't do it on a daily basis for a few months in a row; the fact is that Cretans seem to have a hospitality sense far above your average human and in many instances I could feel that their smiles and positive energy came from the heart and not from the job description; shoutout to LITSA, SOULA, CONSTANTINA and VASILIKI who made us feel at home and cared for; - restaurant/staff managers were always there, working with the team, lending them a hand and making sure the service stays high quality, which speaks volumes in terms of leadership standards; shoutout to ALEX, manager of the lunch bar, and his colleague, the manager of the restaurant, for all the pleasant interactions and for all their hard work; - three impeccable professionals handling the kid's club: MENY, MARIA and ELIZABETH kept the kids entertained the whole day long and even took them to lunch (which is included for the kids); - great functional and TRX training circuits lead by KARINA; - the room we had (located in the main building with private garden) was large, superbly furnished and provided quick access through its garden directly to the pool area, but also to the private beach (sunbeds and towels included); - impeccable room cleaning service, no compromises whatsoever; - high quality evening entertainment: tenors, violin, quality live music, not loud, but gentle and cultivated, up until 22 P.M., after which - silence, which was greatly appreciated, as it allowed everyone to rest; - rich and delicious breakfast and dinner buffets with tasty egg specials every morning; - great salt water pool; - you could always find unoccupied sunbeds at the beach and pool irrespective of the time of day;

Only two things worth mentioning: 1. the seabed is rocky and unpleasant, bathing shoes are needed and the bathing experience is not that pleasant due to the seabed, which is none of the hotel's fault; 2. next time I will go for a room that is not part of the main building, because the access hall leading to the rooms (all marble) amplifies the noises and you can hear people talking, trolleys rolling, doors slamming etc.; not a very big deal, but good to know and apart from that the room had great sound isolation;

Fantastic Stay, great food experience including buffet in the morning, amazing personal, extremely friendly and helpful

however there we more kids than expected. On booking and instagram the hotel seems to be rather for adults and we were quite surprised about the kids club right next to the main pool. Unfortunately we could not spend any time at the pool because we found the noises and ball games not to be relaxing atmosphere for us personally.

The hotel is beautiful - it looks like it’s brand new, as it’s so clean and well maintained. we felt like it were in a dream. It never felt too crowded, the pool was spacious and clean. Lots of options at the buffet. Service was faultless, no request felt like too much. The kids group was great - my daughter enjoyed some of the activities and had the best time with the pool games every day at 4. From the hotel we drove down to the south coast in about 45 minutes and spent a splendid day visiting those beaches - a must do!

Not the hotel’s fault of course but the sea directly outside the hotel is difficult to get into as it’s a rocky area - so sea shoes are a must have. Once you’re in the waters are very clear and we enjoyed swimming several times a day. But for someone with reduced mobility this would be hard or impossible. Another issue is the reserving of sun beds by guests - sometimes we’d visit the pool and every single sun bed was reserved, but not a single person lying on them! I believe the hotel should do more to clear sun beds not in use and discourage guests from reserving them.

We had a fantastic stay at Caramel, the perfect boutique hotel, intimate. The service was truly impeccable, everybody showed incredible care and attention to detail, particularly in accommodating our dietary intolerances without any hassle. The rooms were both beautiful and spacious, providing a comfortable and luxurious base for our vacation. We especially enjoyed the morning yoga sessions offered by the resort. And the concerts in the evening. But expect big entertainment, it’s really chill. The location is ideal for exploring the region - we loved being close to charming towns like Rethymno and Margarites. Overall, this resort exceeded our expectations with its combination of excellent service, beautiful facilities, and convenient location. Highly recommended!

While the beach may not rival Crete's most famous spots like Elafonissi or Balos, the hotel's stunning beauty and amenities more than compensate.

Beautiful boutique hotel, calm, clean, comfortable and spacious room with very friendly and good staff. The restaurant food was delicious and the service was exceptional. For families, they have a great kid club called Grecoland where they can accommodate kids from 4 years old to 12 years old and under 4 years old with a parent or guardian. They do a lot of activities inside and around. You feel comfortable leaving your kids with professional people such as Liza and her team work. Convenient location near to Rethymno. We enjoyed our stay in this hotel, we will definitely go back again ! Special thanks to Nikoleta, Alex, Eleni, Maria, Liza and Ioana.

All good

Beautifully designed hotel with amazing lagoon shaped saltwater pool in the center. Village-like plan but very upscale. Wonderful gardening, perfect maintenance and squeaky clean. Great service by real professionals. Recommend the dinner in addition to the amazing breakfast. This is a hotel where the food is really great, fresh, nicely presented and served on a beautiful veranda. A safe, elegant and calm environment with beauty wherever you look.

The beach area, while well maintained and with great beach chairs, is naturally rocky and often wavy or with currents. So you mainly enjoy the amazing views of the sea from many rooms and swim in the wonderful pool which is a centerpiece of the hotel.

I cannot recommend this place enough, especially because of the exceptional training program included in the stay. The experienced and professional trainers made a huge difference—not only in terms of the workouts but also by personally helping me with some health issues I had. Their care and knowledge were truly above and beyond. Every day started beautifully with yoga on the beach, listening to the calming sound of the sea. During the day, we cooled off with aquagym sessions in the pool, which were both fun and refreshing. In the afternoon, we enjoyed outdoor Pilates and functional training, which were personalized to our needs and led by Vlad, an outstanding trainer. His knowledge, energy, and ability to make each workout feel like play made it such a joy. It was a unique and deeply enjoyable approach—something I haven’t experienced anywhere else. This hotel is definitely one of the few offering such a high-quality wellness service. It was more than just a holiday—it was a true retreat for my body and mind. Btw, it is a pity I did not know there are such options when I hesitated if to book this hotel in the beginning. Of course, the accommodation, food, and hotel facilities were all excellent as well, but the fact that I could really focus on my health during the stay was the absolute highlight for me.

However, I must mention two things that did not meet my expectations. First, the beach was disappointing—the sea was full of rocks, which made it impossible to swim comfortably. Second, we were disturbed by noise from ongoing renovations from neighbours, which were clearly audible from our room and affected the overall relaxation at times.

Beautiful boutique resort, absolutely the best to stay in Crete. The sea views are amazing, don’t miss the sunset. The apartments and villas are well located in Cretan style and the staff goes out of their way to accommodate your every wish. There’s a nice kids corner with entertainment all day and although there are many young kids, the resort is still serene and relaxed. Gym, Pilates and yoga lessons every day and entertainment at night. You’re welcome with tasty drinks, a platter with fresh fruits, chocolate and bubbles. The pool is the best I’ve had so far, the food is great, the staff is excellent. You will leave with a smile on your face

Depending on personal taste, we found the room a bit minimalistic in terms of furniture. I can imagine if you pay the full price, you want some more comfort, like a better couch and a softer bed (topper). My partner however didn’t mind, so it comes down to preference.

Very peaceful, despite the fact that it’s not “adults only” concept. No loud music. The staff tries to make your stay comfortable. The design and the small details are worth mentioning. A big pleasure to walk around. The pool with the salty sea water is amazing .

The cleaning wasn’t ideal. Plus our cleaning lady came to clean the room only at 1-2 pm. Plus the room itself (especially bathroom) was made as if from low costs materials. Access to the sea is very rough. Huge stone plates are making sea entrance challenging, especially when there are at least small waves.

Firstly, the staff and service are what truly shine in this hotel. Everyone, from servers, receptionist to cleaning staff was polite, greets you nicely and reaches out to help when needed. Secondly, the buildings and surroundings are well kept and look nice, with beautiful flowers and trees spread around the premises. The main pool area is great with very nice quality seats and cabanas. This, combined with other guests being frankly older, made for a much more calm and relaxing experience, in contrast to some other hotels where the noise and bustling sounds are more pronounced. Finally I would like to extend my gratitude to the management for arranging an upgrade for me and my family to a villa, so that we could more conveniently spend time together on this trip.

Small nitpicks, but nevertheless; the location could have been better, with not many things to be done around the hotel and the beach being nice but rocky, so not the best swimming experience, even with beach shoes. Also, although when booking, one should do their research about the available facilities, but cant help but wish there was another pool or a steam room/sauna. However, this was not a major issue which would take away from the rest of the experience.