Azul Eco Hotel

Azul Eco Hotel, Skaleta This holiday was advertised by Broadway Travel as all-inclusive at a newly refurbished 4-star hotel, and if you read the Owner/ Principles website blurb you would believe that it was the case (see hotels website). The reality was very far from that statement, or the advertisement and I would remove 2 of the hotel’s stars for a more accurate reflection. Azul Spa – 11th to 21st October 24 Let’s start with the positives: Staff The reception staff and housekeeping were helpful and pleasant. The hotel was clean and tidy and looked well maintained overall. The pool and areas were well maintained and had excellent quality sunbeds. The beach and beach bar were well maintained and had the same quality sunbeds and sunshades. Now the not so positive: Room The room, whilst comfortable, had no cupboards or drawers for clothes. There was an open space to hang clothes, with 2 small shelves underneath and an open box cabinet at the side. Fortunately, we had a spare bed in the room so that I could lay my clothes out there, otherwise we would have had to live out of the suitcase. As we arrived very late due to the flight time, the night porter, who was lovely and helpful, informed us that there was a snack in the fridge for us as we were late in. It turned out to be a tasteless cheese & ham roll, without and spread, which meant that it was stodgy and difficult to eat. And an apple! Coffee, tea and sugar supplied in the room was random and we had to buy a jar of coffee to make sure that we could have one first thing. However, no milk was provided at any time of the stay, so we had to purchase that too. I don’t think I have ever stayed in a hotel where milk has not been provided in the room and beverage supplies refreshed so adhoc. Dining Hall I’ve called it a dining hall as it in no way resembled a restaurant and looked more like a canteen! Breakfast, a strange mix of styles, was only served until 10:00. We’re on holiday for goodness’ sake! However, the food warmers were turned off at 09:45 and the toaster and coffee machines at 10:00 on the dot. The first thing to note was that the ‘butter’ was just like lard. It was so unpleasant and greasy that we had to buy our own and take it to breakfast with us each day. And no one commented! For the first few days there was honeydew & watermelon, apples and bananas available at breakfast. After a couple of days, it was just watermelon, apples and bananas, then a day later no melon at all but only apples and bananas! Even the Greek yogurt consistency was nothing like we have experienced in Greece before, so once again we bought our own from the shop next door as it was unpleasant and certainly not what we had expected! The scrambled egg was overcooked and over kept (one morning I saw a staff member adding olive oil to the dish to make it separate a bit), and the bacon and fried eggs were so over kept that they were like rubber. On one occasion, my wife noticed that the cloth used to cov

The Azul eco hotel? A scam disguised as a 4-star hotel that perhaps deserves half a star, if we are generous. Their all-inclusive formula is a joke: anything above survival level is charged separately, even snacks, which are nothing but the stale scraps from breakfast. The food? We were guilty of believing it, but it was like an insult: if we hadn't had the decency to escape to local restaurants, we might have thought Greek cuisine was punishing. And the staff? As for the waiters, most of them were nonexistent, during the day they were on the phone, while in the evening they were busy stealing food from the buffet by sneaking it into their mouths with their hands, while the cook ate directly from the plate where the food was cooked. The location of the hotel is ridiculous: lost in a hole of nothingness, far from anything useful. And the beach? Do you think it's included? Fools, it will cost you that too. In short, Crete is a paradise, but this hotel is a catastrophic mistake that we would like to erase from our existence.