Alai, Crete, a Tribute Portfolio Resort

I visited Alai Hotel with my boyfriend September 2024. We booked with Jet2 and had a super easy flight and transfer here. Weather was lovely with only 1 afternoon of rain so don’t be put off from going away in September:) The hotel was amazing fantastic facilities and even lovelier staff. We had a standard room which had plenty of storage, lots of clothes hangers, great bathroom and a super comfy bed. The rooms were cleaned daily by a super friendly house keeping team, who also provided fresh water bottles daily. On arrival to the hotel we were greeted by a friendly receptionist who gave us a tour and took us to our room. My boyfriend had emailed the hotel to tell them it was our anniversary so we were upgraded to a sea view room and the room was beautifully decorated which was such a lovely surprise for me!! We only had bed and breakfast so I didn’t try any of the evening meals from the hotel. However the breakfast was delicious, best breakfast buffet I’ve ever had! The pool was lovely always clean as was the areas around the pool. You are given towels from the hotel for use by the pool and the beach which are really nice and fluffy. The hotel includes free use of the Sun loungers by the beach with drink/snack service to the sun loungers. There is a bus service near the hotel that is €2pp. I’d recommend going into Hersonissos (5 min bus trip) which has lots of restaurants and bars. I’d especially recommend the Cretan Blue Restaurant. (The last photos I uploaded) To conclude, me and my boyfriend had the best holiday here we couldn’t have asked for nicer staff and we will remember this special holiday forever. Thank you Alai team :) xx

The hotel is clean and well-maintained, both in the rooms and throughout the common areas. The staff, especially at the pool bar and in housekeeping, were very friendly and helpful. The nearby beach was beautiful and easily accessible, and the pool itself was nice, offering a pleasant place to relax – if you managed to get a pool bed! Unfortunately, towels were left on pool chairs for hours every day (sometimes up to three hours) to reserve spots, making it difficult for others to find a place. People would claim chairs early in the morning and then disappear to get ready, eat breakfast, and have a relaxing morning knowing their favorite pool spot was waiting for them. This went against hotel policy, but management did nothing, even after we raised the issue. This made mornings stressful for us, as we didn’t want to reserve chairs unfairly but still wanted to secure a place by the pool. The hotel seems to be expanding, adding more rooms, which might worsen the already overcrowded pool situation in the future. Happy hunting! :) Further, the hotel itself feels poorly designed and built, with some areas seeming unbalanced or awkwardly arranged. Our room lacked attention to detail; many things were crooked or improperly installed. The phone and TV didn’t work properly however they did fix the TV quickly after we mentioned it. There was also an issue of outside noise due to the lack of a door between the hallway and bedroom and at one point, the power was cut off without any notice, leaving us without electricity and water. It turned out to be planned maintenance and not an emergency, so advance notice would have been appreciated. Another major concern was the lack of understanding regarding dietary needs. There was confusion over vegan and vegetarian dishes – one menu labeled dishes as vegan, while another labeled them as vegetarian. When we asked the staff, they treated the two as the same thing. "Vegan, vegetarian? It's the same!" This is unacceptable, especially for guests with allergies, like those to dairy. Proper training for the staff is urgently needed to ensure the safety and comfort of all guests. The surrounding area is heavily touristy and lacks the authenticity one might expect from a more traditional Greek experience. It felt more like a typical charter destination than anything unique or local. In summary, while the hotel has some good qualities, such as its cleanliness, friendly staff, and proximity to a nice beach, several issues need to be addressed – particularly the staff’s understanding of dietary needs and the issue with reserving pool beds, as well as the lack of enough beds for all guests, especially with the upcoming expansion of the hotel. Sadly, we will not be returning.

Great hotel and location. Staff very friendly and welcoming. The rooms were excellent and very clean Pool snacks and drinks very expensive as is the resort. We stayed bed and breakfast. Breakfast there was plenty of choice. Beach front hotel with great views from our rooms We stayed in the same hotel last year and the renovations are amazing and clean This hotel will take some beating in my opinion

Such a nice place to spending the vacation! It´s pleasure to recommend Zephyros Beach Boutique Hotel! The hotel is restored, very clean and cozy in style of simple elegance. The theme of roses on the lights and positive minds on the pictures in corridors, greek colours white and light blue and playful picture in the room and staff influence in warm-hearted way. Very friendly staff smile and care about you with esteem. Everybody tries hard and have positive access to guests and work. They are very good team! The meals was so delicious! Every day we tasted another greek speciality with view on the sea and versicolour flowers in the garden. Various, healthy and tasty meals! Very good juice, greek coffee and tea, Cretan wines and beer! Zephiros is between nice beach and street with lots of hotels, tavernas and shops. On the first sight I liked Zephiros the most of all hotels in Stalida. You can choose deck chairs near the pool or sea. All beaches are public there, so deck chairs are paid there for 3 euros per day, what is good price, but strangers don´t use to go there, so you still have free place and enough space for swimming in the sea. A part of beach is sandy and part stony. The patio of the bar on the beach is freshly windy. Second bar with patio is situated to the street. The great hotel, service, staff, beach and sea! I felt very pleasant there. The best vacation for me ever. I like it very much and I would come back to Zephyros again.

We arrived at the hotel about midnight someone was there to greet us and a chap to take our bags to our room also ashed if we wanted a meal in the restaurant ,we were tired so we just went to our room which was compact but spotlessly clean and overlooked the pool area also a bottle of red wine and some fruit plus tea coffee and a kettle very important if your British ,we were on a half board basis breakfast was buffet style as all the meals were, plenty of choice if some what random for Brits had eggs bacon beans sausage mushrooms scrambled eggs and apple pie pastry with coffee and oj very good

Booked a cheap deal on the internet and was not sure what we would get, but needn't have worried. The Zephyros Beach Hotel is fabulous! On arrival, were met with a cool drink while we checked in. Reception area cool, clean and modern. We were escorted to our room which was lovely. Again, very clean, modern and comfortable. Very comfy beds, efficient air con, balcony with view of pool and sea, a fridge and tea and coffee making facilities. The towels and bedding in the room were changed every 2 days and the room was cleaned daily. We stayed on a half board basis. The food was always fresh and constantly being topped up. There was plenty of choice at both breakfast and evening meal. The pool area was very nice, with plenty of sun beds, and pool towels are provided. Just beyond the pool was direct access to the lovely sandy beach, again with sunbeds and umbrellas. Perhaps what made the holiday complete was the staff at The Zephyros. Reception, waiters, cleaners, all unfailingly friendly, helpful and polite. Apparently this is the first year that this hotel has been promoted in the UK. There were many guests from Holland, Germany and Poland and the Ukraine, which made a lovely international mix. We enjoyed not being part of a large British contingency. All in all we had a wonderful holiday and I would not hesitate to recommend the Zephyros Beach Hotel. Just a quick thanks to Broadway travel, who arranged everything for us. Very efficient and helpful.