NEMA Design Hotel & Spa

2/5 Stars – Not a 5-Star Experience Sadly…

Disappointed. The hotel looks great online, but reality was far from it.

Beach: narrow, rocky, with a lot of seaweed and right by the road — nothing like the photos sadly… and you can add the regular noise of planes flying above the hotel/beach from morning till evening.

Spa: Loud electro music and chatter made it impossible to relax.

Tea & Coffee: Tasted salty; staff blamed the local water.

Construction: Drilling and hammering from early morning ruined the peace unfortunately.

Breakfast: Decent but found two pieces of glass in my cereal on the last day — shocking and dangerous.

On the positive side, staff (Mikos) and GM were kind/pro and did their best to fix issues and improve our stay. We were moved to a much better spacious room and given a free massage, but it didn’t make up for everything else.

Overall, this is not a real 5-star hotel — overrated, noisy, and not a nice beach. Wouldn’t return
nor recommend.

1/5 Stars – Disappointing Experience at a 5-Star Hotel in Crete

I’m honestly baffled by the number of positive reviews this hotel has received. My stay was nothing short of a nightmare, especially for a so-called “5-star” establishment.

Deceptive Beach Photos:
The beach was one of the main reasons I booked this hotel. The photos online were stunning—wide, golden sand, clear water… everything I imagined for a perfect beach getaway. In reality, the beach was small, dirty, and cramped next to a busy road. Not only was it uninviting and narrow, but the water was filled with sharp stones and seaweed. This was not the serene spot I’d envisioned. It felt like classic false advertising.

Noisy Spa:
The spa was another major letdown. It’s supposed to be a place of relaxation, but the atmosphere was ruined by blasting techno music and loud chatter. It felt more like a bar than a tranquil retreat.

Unacceptable Tea and Coffee:
To make matters worse, the tea and coffee were served with salty water. When we asked about it, the staff claimed it was a known regional water issue, but honestly, there’s no excuse for serving subpar beverages at a “luxury” hotel. For the price we paid, I expected much better quality.

Construction Noise:
There was ongoing construction within the hotel, and it felt like they were rushing to finish before the season ended. The noise from drilling and general construction started early in the morning, ruining any chance of long rest or relaxation. This should have been handled in the off-season, not while guests are paying top dollar for what’s supposed to be a luxury stay.

A Shocking Breakfast Surprise:
The worst moment came at breakfast when my husband discovered 2 pieces of glass in his cereal. This is simply unacceptable, and a major safety concern.

The One Positive:
On a positive note, the hotel staff was friendly (Mikos, the front office manager is great) and tried their best to accommodate us. Initially, we were offered a room that smelled like sewage, with a leaking bathroom that flooded the floor. However, the general manager moved us from the second night to a larger room with a jacuzzi, and offered us a complimentary 30-minute massage which was a nice touch. Despite their efforts, no amount of charm could make up for the glaring issues with the hotel.

In Conclusion:
This hotel is far from 5 stars. It’s overrated, and misleading. I will not be returning, and I strongly advise others to look elsewhere for a truly relaxing and high-quality experience in Crete.

We were very excited to stay at NEMA design hotel. We had booked here directly through the website for a 9 night stay, for our anniversary. We had inquired through email (not booked) about the price of a possible upgrade to our room. The hotel responded by cancelling our confirmed reservation, without our consent, and replacing it with a new, more expensive reservation that we hadn't agreed to yet, giving us a short window to pay for it. We had simply just asked about the price.

When we disputed this we
experienced 24 hours of slow, unclear communication. By the time they restored our original booking, we had already felt that the service was not great, so we decided to cancel our entire reservation. For a 5 star hotel, we expected better service. This was a disappointing experience as the hotel was beautiful and we were excited for our stay. Unfortunately based on this experience, I cannot recommend this hotel.

I just want to mention that the man at the reception who called us (I didn't catch his name) was very kind and this was not his fault. The issue is how the situation was handled by management.