Aelius Hotel & Spa

It was a perfection in everything ,, 😇🤎thx alot

Beautiful hotel, clean and staff are very helpful and friendly. The pool and sun beds were perfect and facilities generally excellent. The breakfasts were delicious with lots of fresh fruit and great choice. Good coffee, and clean and tidy restaurant. The evening meal was good most of the time, but occasionally the food was not hot enough. Good location to the beach, and a selection of good shops and bars / restaurants. Overall. Great value for money. I had a massage at the spa and Haris the lovely Greek girl was so sweet and made me feel very pampered. The spa area, is hidden away so you have to ask where it is on the complex which was funny but thoroughly worth a visit. Sam and Matt

We spent a beautiful time on our honeymoon at Lavris. Welcomed with a bottle of wine and rose petals. We've had a clean, cosy and quiet room. Great swimming pools. Absolutely fantastic food both at the buffet and at an amazing restaurant. With heartwarming and friendly staff ( especially Nena who I feel is the heart of the place and deserves a pay rise just for constantly spreading happiness around all the guests). We've also had a lovely, relaxing time at the spa who took care of us in an empathetic and professional way and made sure we both left happy and relaxed. The hotel is situated in a good location, not far from the beach and with a fantastic little local restaurant just right next to the hotel. Highly recommend for holidays, we've had a fantastic time.

I went alone for a short break and enjoyed it. I was a bit unsure with me going alone as it wasn’t an adults only hotel, but it was rather quiet which was nice. They weren’t too many children there and not big groups. It was mostly couples and a few small and quiet familes. I have been to several parts of Crete before and this hotel is close to the beach and there is a bus stop very close. It is also near Heraklion. I didn’t do many excursions with this only being a short stay but I have done several of the excursions before and Gouves is close to them. The hotel was clean and the room was spacious. There was a safety deposit box and a kettle in my room. There was also good Wi-Fi. The staff were friendly and helpful. My room was situated near the pool so it was a little bit noisy at night but I wasn’t too bothered as it usually stopped by 11pm. But if you like early nights or traveling with children then do ensure you get a quiet room (I thought I had asked for one but I may have been mistaken). I am a fussy eater and vegetarian but there was plenty of choice. There were a few snacks near the bar in the day. Not really as much choice as I have had from other hotels but still nice. I went all inclusive. There were lots of drinks to choose from (I have been saying all inclusive before where the drinks included have been very limited but this was not the case here- lots of choice). One day I struggled to get a sun lounger in the afternoon but there were still plenty of places to sit. And I got one the rest of the time. I also like the fact that there is somewhere you can have a shower once you have checked out of your room. I would like to visit some other places but if I return to Grouves again then I would stop at this hotel again.

I'm sadly leaving today as this has been a relaxed, wonderful holiday. We've experienced both Deluxe and Sensus pool rooms and both are very comfortable and perfect for a peaceful night's sleep. We were all inclusive and found the buffet food to be delicious, with plenty of choice. The hotel is a short bus ride from Heraklion for it's cultural sites and shopping. Gouves itself does not have much, apart from a lovely, clean beach and crystal waters perfect for swimming. The pools are lovely but my only negative is that there are not enough umbrellas for the loungers and although it is company policy to not allow towels to be left on them, people are still being allowed to do it which is very frustrating when you want to lie down and relax. Spa Lavris. My daughter and I both had back massages, plus foot and facials. From the lovely lady on the desk arranging everything to the fantastic massages from Xristoforos and Mikela, we were left feeling very relaxed for hours afterwards. It was one of the best massages I have ever had, and if I wasn't going home I would definitely book in again. Overall the hotel is very relaxed, feels luxurious and although small is has lots to do. The staff are very charming, helpful and friendly.

Lovely food, great location and staff are very friendly and helpful. Overall a really nice place to be. Also made use of the Lavris Spa where I had a back, neck and shoulders massage by Kristoforos. Kristoforos was very professional and did an amazing job.

A lovely hotel made exceptional by its staff. Nothing was too much trouble, there were always smiling faces and a moment to have a friendly exchange. Look out particularly for Nenna, serving on the buffet restaurant, she is bubbly and full of joy. We stayed in a standard room (102) big tree obscured the view of the pool but we didn't mind as close to centre of hotel, restaurant and main pool. Signs up around pool saying no holding sunbeds with towels but it still happened. Room was basic but clean and suitable for our needs. Shower over small bath, OK for us but might not be ideal for someone with mobility issues to step into. We had a spa treatment and it was very good, profession standard. You can also pick up breach towels from here. Locationwise it's a 20 minute transfer from Heraklion airport, the public bus stops at airport. The malia bus goes part the top of the road, stop 11 is the one you need, €2.40 each. Hotel 200 meters walk from bus stop. Hotel is 600metres from beach and a complementary bus also runs to beach. We found the beach is nothing special (we come from Bournemouth) but the sea is warm (8 euros for hire of 2 sunbeds). Drinks reasonably priced for hotel, nice cocktails €7-9, soft drinks €3 My only small downside was our return flight was late and we had to be out of room by 11am. Hotel offered us late checkout foe €70, if our room didn't need to be ready for anyone coming in after us. That said there was a luggage store and showers we could use.

Our first positive impression of Aelius Hotel & Spa was the friendly, smiling and helpful greeting we had from front desk staff, which continued from then on with the rest of the personal. One in particular a lady called Giota (main kitchen waitress) who happened to remember our drink preference and greeted us every day with a smile and happy disposition and this was replicated throughout with the rest of staff. I would say without hesitation that’s Aelius greatest assets…. from Management to kitchen staff and cleaners ☺️ The bedroom we stayed was lovely and modern (204), cleaned every day, but unfortunately for us, a bit too small and not private enough to wanted to sit on the balcony during the day as there were sun loungers sitting too close to it. But I would say the basic commodities like hair dryer, kettle, tea bags, coffee, air conditioner, clothes air dryer railing, we’re available and in good working order. The mattresses and pillows were extremely comfortable, firm and soft at the same time and that was a bit plus for us!! The buffet food was incredible varied, delicious, fresh, and plentiful! I believe you couldn’t asked for the wrong thing as everything was there! From fresh fruits and salads, ice creams, deserts, to cheese selection, cold meat selections, rice, pasta, potatoes, casseroles, grilled vegetables, red meat, fish, chicken, etc prepared in different ways and every day there would themes of different cuisine styles, etc! Without a doubt the best food you could possibly wish to eat! There are other great facilities to enjoy there like more than one swimming pool, a second restaurant, which you could have a free breakfast and dinner that needs booking in advance (we didn’t use as the first one was so good we didn’t want to miss on the variety it offered anyway). There is also Spa facilities, where they offer superb massages at a cost but worthy the treat. There is a mini shop next to the hotel, which I don’t recommend to use as prices of water for instance are extortionately higher ie a pack of 6 bottles of 1lt at € 5 where other shops further below the same road are at € 1.85, plus the service was a hit and miss Same thing about car hire, worth looking around as the closest are not necessarily the best deals…. I strongly recommend exploring the beaches outside Gouves, like in the Agius Nicholaos, Malia area, they were cleaner, calmer and less crowded than the one near to the hotel…. All in all, we had a fantastic holiday experience at the hotel and the east side of the island and if you ever need any help or have any concerns I truly recommend to speak to the manager Katherina, who would address any concerns with immediate effect with astounding professionalism and excellent customer care like the rest of staff proved to be!! Thank you Aelius Hotel & Spa for making our holiday stay special and memorable for the right reasons ❤️

Very good hotel services, smiling and very pleasant staff. Fridge, strongbox and kettle in the room are very nice little extras. The buffet in the main restaurant was also very good (delicious and plenty of choice). The spa massages by Mikela and Silvana were perfect and very professional.