Name: Chq Galini Palace
Address: Kolymbari, Crete, Greece
Rating: 4.1

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Chq Galini Palace

220V power supply

Cot on demand

Disability-friendly bathroom

Extra beds on demand

Internet access

Living room

Mini fridge

Number of bedrooms

Room size (sqm)

Satellite TV

Shower

Slippers

Smoking rooms

Wi-fi

Room Facilities

24-hour reception

24-hour security

Air conditioning in public areas

Bellboy service

Bicycle hire service

Bikes available

Car hire

Car park

Check-in hour

Check-out hour

Dining area

Electric kettle

Garden

Late Check-out

Laundry service

Lift access

Local and international calls

Luggage room

Medical service

Multilingual staff

Private pool

Room service

Shop

Sun terrace

Towels and bed linen

Transfer service

Hotel Facilities

Entertainment programme for adults

Entertainment programme for children

Parasols

Sun loungers

Entertainment

Photocopier

Printer

Business

Greece - Health First

Healthy & Safety (COVID)

Wellness & Spa

LGTBIQ friendly

Non-smoking establishment

Things To Keep In Mind

Table tennis

Sports

Location was pretty amazing for us, they have a nice pool and a lot of options for kids and adults, and the sea is there with a minute walk.
Everything seems new and the staff were polite and helpful.
Drinks were awful unfortunately, bad quality, extra sweet even if you asked them to put less syrup, tap water served all the time. No bottled water offered on daily basis in the rooms.
We visited for 7 days, the food was not always good. We could see the same salad on the buffet throughout the day and the next one too. Most of the dishes were tasteless, don’t eat from the gyros 😆. Don’t book to the restaurant with set menu instead of going to the main restaurant, because it is not worth it.
One specific team of housekeepers were very polite and friendly, but knocking the door every day at the same time 8am if we want cleaning, we always said later. But there was a team who was not bothering us checking the sign on the door if we are in or out and visiting when we were away.

They should take care more of their sea side front.
Well not sure if we will be back, but it is better to promote yourself as less stars and meet the expectations than the opposite as in this case - 3 superior star.

This is not a 5-star hotel. I wouldn’t even consider it a proper 4-star.

When we arrived, the reception was as welcoming as if it had been a robot. No map of the hotel, no explanation of where facilities were located.

Access to the beach requires crossing the road and climbing down rocks (at the very least, proper steps could have been built). Sunbeds on the beach are owned by the hotel, but you have to pay for them. The same applies to the hotel towels.

We booked “all inclusive” but here’s what that means:
•	Water is tap water.
•	Service is basic, nowhere near 5-star.
•	The so-called à la carte restaurant doesn’t exist — there’s only one fixed night where you choose a single main dish.
•	As for “chef cuisine”? Nothing close to it.

Even allowing for some flexibility, as a regular guest of genuine 5-star hotels, this one falls short in almost every aspect. The buffet is average 4-star quality at best, with the exception of the drinks which are very poor — cheap, artificial, and again, tap water. There was no water or coffee replenishment in the room either.

The friendliest staff were the Asian team members, who stood out compared to the rest.

The management should seriously reconsider what they label as a “5-star hotel.” For international guests, expectations need to be managed carefully, because this is nowhere near what you’d expect from a true 5-star experience.

We stayed at Galini Palace Hotel — overall, it’s a great option for a relaxing vacation.
The staff are very friendly, always ready to help and accommodate guests.
Room cleaning was done regularly, and towels were changed every day.

The food was varied, with a beautiful buffet-style presentation — there’s something for every taste.
The hotel itself is beautiful, clean, and spacious, and the rooms with private pools are simply luxurious!

A few minor downsides: to reach the beach, you have to cross the road, and sunbeds are available only on the hotel grounds.
It was also not possible to extend the stay for a few extra hours — check-in is strictly at 2:00 PM and check-out at 11:00 AM.
For those arriving early or leaving late, this can be a bit inconvenient, but that’s just the hotel policy.

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay and can definitely recommend this hotel! 🌴☀️

This is absolutely not a 5 star hotel. Under no circumstances should you stay here.

Food was inedible, as many guests note. Absolutely abysmal. Atrocious. Horrendous. By far the worst food we have ever tasted. We stayed for 5 days, 4 nights and only ate breakfast twice and dinner twice when we had no other option- we didn’t care we were spending more money for meals elsewhere and losing money by not taking advantage of the all-inclusive meals. My wife and I would literally spit some of the food out- too salty, strange aftertastes, too bland. They would ruin easy things like eggs and meats. I personally survived on the pizza, the ONLY thing they didn’t spoil.

Drink- only 1 beer to offer at an all inclusive…. Didn’t know how to make a manhattan when it’s on the menu (poured 4 shots of vermouth to 1 whiskey). Was told a vodka soda was the same as a vodka lemonade. Both were gross, vodka had a weird aftertaste. Decided to just move to coke, but even that had a strange limey aftertaste. So just stick with water and coffee the rest of the trip.

Staff- staff was okay. While friendly, many did not speak fluent English to understand requests. They apparently seem to only have 1 iron for the entire resort. We waited THREE DAYS for an iron. But we finally were told we could have one. I could tell the front desk expected me to come get it, but I asked them to bring it to me and they said they would. 10 minutes later, I had to go meet them and they immediately gave it to me with no apology or mention of the delivery- there was clearly no attempt. Finally, when we received it, we were told to return it as soon as we could multiple times and that the ironing board was “somewhere”. If you’re a 5 star resort, every single room should have an iron- people are TRAVELING for multiple days, it’s really not that difficult to procure more.

More on the service- we would leave the Do Not Disturb sign on and every single time they would come in anyways, even while we were in the room. Why even have that as an option if it’s going to be ignored? They had strange hours for things (eg. the gym would close at 8:00pm). Did not feel like an all inclusive resort, especially when the massage area is inside the gym with no partition separating the two.

The only saving grace this place had was their location and the room (which we paid a premium for). But my wife and I agreed that if we had booked private pool rooms, we would be extremely upset because they are literally next to the main pool so there’s zero privacy.

Overall- by far, hands down, the absolute WORST resort we have ever been to. As avid travelers, we understand hiccups can happen and not everything is going to be perfect. But if you’re going to advertise as a 5 star hotel, you better back it up with good food, good drinks, and good service.

Americans: I really urge you not to stay at this place.

I will say, there are some invalid complaints for this hotel. Yes, there is a lot of staff that are foreigners, but we never had an issue with English with them. And even if we did, my husband and I don’t step into a foreign country with expectations that they speak OUR language. Out of everything I will say, all of the staff seems very hard working, and when given even the tiniest bit of kindness, they lit up. It is very obvious that many of these people are exhausted by the guests that they receive on a daily basis, because from what we saw, SO many guests were rude, short, impatient and unkind.  Inherently, an all inclusive resort does not seem like a good model for a country that doesn’t have tipping culture. That said, there is not a lot of incentive for a lot of these employees, which means, exhausted, overworked people, and that was sad to see.

Now, even with these amazing staff members, it could not save this rating. Here’s what was not great about this place.

Reception, terrible attitude most times. Unhelpful when it came to asking for things like, idk, an iron. We couldn’t get an iron for two days and were told in a very, “What are you going to do?” about it tone. Sure, maybe that’s cultural and maybe I’m being sensitive but it was consistent with reception. The 20 Euros per day tax for this hotel was pretty outlandish as well.

I know that all inclusives aren’t going to have the best food and drinks and MAYBE I’m spoiled from all my resorts I’ve stayed in Mexico, but geez louis, this was by far the WORST food and drinks I’ve had IN MY LIFE. And it’s not like we didn’t give the place multiple chances. Breakfast and dinner are just terrible, TERRIBLE. I know this probably reads as over dramatic but I cannot stress this enough. You would think, oh wow, there’s so many options that there must be something good right? Wrong, so unbelievably wrong. I’m not a picky eater by any means but there were some days that the food was so incredibly bad that I had to spit it back out on my plate and I was horrified and embarrassed. I mean, some things tasted off, or bland, or seasoned unnaturally. After giving 3 tries, we decided that eating at the resort wasn’t an option besides a morning tea and coffee. After coming back from the Samaria Gorge on one of our last days, we got back so late that we had to eat dinner at the resort again and I cried because again, it’s the worst food I’ve ever eaten in my life. Which is so insane to say because Greece has AMAZING food!!! This alone is what brought down the resort so much.

Then, the entertainment. Non-existent, or maybe a little cringe. Which is so sad to say because they seem to be trying but…. It’s just not good.

The pools seemed nice, the free drinks choices were fine but the sodas from their fountain tasted strange so we stuck with beer or vodka sodas.

The beach is a small pebble beach so we didn’t visit it.

Lastly, housekeeping came whether you wanted them to or not. The problem is, the “Do Not Disturb” button doesn’t work. And while housekeeping seemed good at their job, I wouldn’t find dark hair in my sheets and robes on a more often occasion than I’d like. But we had a room with a shared pool and it was nicely located.

Overall, I would never stay here again and would recommend to maybe my worst enemy. We were on our honeymoon and this was kind of the blight of our trip if I’m being honest.

Honestly One of the best holidays we have had - ever!
Entertainment was excellent: kids loved the water slides (two water parks the one for smaller children with a shallower pool was ace and allowed us to relax whilst they played) and animation entertainment was fab My kids were dancing away after dinner. They also have a small and accessible playground next to the water park!
Food: a lovely variety of good quality, fresh delicious food. From salads and freshly prepared pizzas to authentic local dishes and a huge selection of deserts and ice creams. The chef really cares and walks around to understand what people enjoy. He is excellent!
Overall the management, restaurant staff, service staff, house keeping are delightful! They go out of their way to help you no matter what you need.
Four stars on location only because the local beach is not sandy but everything else is perfect.

I am already planning to go back! Thank you Galini Palace!!!

The hotel is amazing. The staff is really nice and the location is amazing - it is literally on the beach. The food is really good, usually when I stay in hotels the food is basic but here I feel like every meal comes straight from an amazing restaurant - it is amazing. The rooms are spacious and modern. The place is so big and has so many activities that me and my friend spent the whole first night just walking around it. I really recommend staying here.

We had a really enjoyable stay at this hotel. One of the standout features was the pool bar – a great spot to relax during the day or enjoy a drink in the evening. The atmosphere was laid-back and welcoming, with good music, refreshing drinks, and comfortable seating right by the pool. It really added to the holiday vibe.

The service at the pool bar was also excellent. A special thanks to the woman with the curly dark hair – she was always friendly and professional, making sure guests were well taken care of without being intrusive.
Always smiling and she had a real talent for making everyone feel comfortable and cared for

The food at the hotel was very good and tasted authentic, with a nice selection of local dishes. The staff in general were very kind, helpful, and made us feel at home.

The rooms were clean and well-maintained, the pool area was spotless, and the beach was beautiful – just a short walk away.

We’d definitely come back and can highly recommend it!

CHC Galini Palace is ready to open its gates to the guests in 2020. 
Its modern facilities expand over an area of 50.000m2, which in combination with the high quality 
services, not only respond to all guests' needs, but also offer them unique and unforgettable holiday 
experiences. 

Location: 
Hotel is located within a walking distance of 50m from the beautiful beach of the area Kolimbari and only 300m away from the city center. 

Accommodation: 
The hotel CHC Galini Palace 5* consists of 120 luxurious rooms offering a fantastic view over the 
Kolimbari Bay, 40 of which have a sharing pool and 8 of which are VIP rooms with a private pool. 

Facilities: 
The hotel offers a main pool of 3.000m2, 2 restaurants, 2 bars, 1 a la carte restaurant, a playground, a gym, a sauna and a hammam.

WHY 92% OF OUR CUSTOMERS SAY THEY'D BOOK WITH US AGAIN

About this hotel

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WHY 92% OF OUR CUSTOMERS SAY THEY'D BOOK WITH US AGAIN

About this hotel

Top Amenities

Chq Galini Palace

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