When I shared the hotel on my personal Instagram, I couldn’t believe the amount of messages I had! The same for when I shared on my other page (@44.thevictorianreno) that I would be writing a blog on Stella Island, I was inundated with replies from people who either they had been/knew someone who had /were booked to go!
I was on the hunt for a lovely quality all inclusive that you didn’t have to travel too far for and didn’t have lots of hidden surcharges that I have often found when trying to research All Inclusive (AI) hotels. I came across Stella Island because it had such a high customer rating on Booking.com
You can book Half Board and get discount on restaurants etc but we would rather just pay upfront to know where we are at with everything – personal preference!
If you know me, you will know I rank holidays VERY highly on my priority list lols. They mean a lot to me and I put an awful lot of effort in to making sure we will be happy staying in a particular location/hotel. This is especially important to me for an AI hotel. Typically, we do breakfast only and venture out to different restaurants/bars throughout the trip. This can a lot of time and effort to look in to and in all honesty, for this particular holiday, all we wanted to do was to lie like potatoes and make very little effort.
Typically what comes to mind in terms of luxury all inclusive is the Caribbean, Mexico or the Maldives = all super pricey if you want good quality as well a considerable journey/time difference that doesn’t lend too kindly to only allocating 5 or so days for the trip. We have been to Santorini and Mykonos so knew that we absolutely loved the Greek vibe and we really were not disappointed.
Note:We stayed 18-23 May 2024 and the weather was gorgeous, approx 30 most days with a warm breeze and only 1-2 short bouts of warm rain.
Stella Island is an adults only hotel – this is either a huge bonus or huge downfall depending on what category you find yourself in! There is actually a kids friendly hotel next door (click here for Stella Palace) so that is worth looking in to if you want a fun filled holiday – I didn’t visit but did see the million water slides so can only assume kids would LOVE it!
SHORT TRANSFER TIME
Stella Island is located in Crete, approx 20 minutes from Heraklion airport. This was another HUGE selling point for us because although I would hardly class a 4 hour flight as ‘long haul, I’d still prefer a 20 min journey over another hour + which can often happen. We briefly looked at Turkey with it being fairly early in the year for ‘hot’ weather (we wanted around 30 degrees ideally) Of course not all, but a lot of the resorts were another hour journey – this made Stella a clear front runner for me. Shorter journeys also mean you can get a private transfer and it isn’t expensive in comparison.
If you book direct on their website – www.stellaisland.gr – you get a free transfer from the airport. The driver text me to say he was waiting and had a sign with my name. He was so pleasant and helpful, giving tips on where to go in Crete etc. It was a lovely welcome! The same return journey is 45euro. It was a luxury minivan hence the extra cost – it was very nice though!
FLIGHT TIMES:
Admittedly this is a downside for a lot of Greek flights and of course, not something that Stella Island have much control over. A lot of the flights mean you will miss a day upon arrival or departure due to very early or late slots. If you are flexible, I would advise you to check your preferred flight times per day, prior to booking the hotel stay so you can match them up to times you are happier with. We only arrived very late to the hotel which was a shame to lose a whole day. However, they were absolutely lovely upon arrival serving drinks and leaving snacks in the room due to the kitchens being closed – nice touch!
SERVICE
I think this hotel makes an exceptional effort on service. This was clear on the TripAdvisor reviews prior to arrival and throughout our stay. I think it is especially important at AI type hotels when you rarely leave because it makes it a far nicer experience when everyone is so polite and helpful. They really do go the extra mile to remember you and just have a bit of a laugh really rather than being too rigid – I think it was a lovely touch to the hotel and something I’d massively commend them for. I noticed a few reviews saying the drinks service was slow but in all honesty I think European countries are often quite chilled and admittedly the hotel did have a lot of guests so it is to be expected that your drinks don’t come 2 seconds after ordering!
DRINKS SELECTION
As you may have noticed from my Instagram, I like to act like I’m still 25. Therefore daytime to night time drinking is a daily occurrence when I’m on holiday – why not ey? The quality of drinks means A LOT to me – as much as the food does! I hate rubbish fake orange juice, poor quality coffees and cheap pre mix cocktails – I think you can always tell and it makes a huge difference. Again, this is most important on an AI basis when you don’t have many other options. The quality was lovely from the pool bars and the range of fresh juices or smoothies at the Breakfast and Lunch Buffet’s were also great. The cocktails were not as fussy as the likes of a £25 city centre cocktail bar type BUT I was really happy with them – I tried a range, unsurprisingly. You also get a daily refreshed mini bar of basics to keep you going like Fanta, Sprite, Water etc which is really nice. Favourites include: Fresh Orange, Iced Latte, Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri, Espresso Martini, Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Bramble etc you get the idea…
STELLA APP
SO innovative I absolutely loved this! Stella Island have their own personal App and it was a really helpful feature of the hotel. Bookings can be made on this for restaurants or activities etc. You can also request a towel change or room service tray clearance. You can check the daily activities such as free Pilates, Yoga etc and check menus for each bar or restaurant (Another favourite pass time of mine) You can directly message the hotel via a Facebook messenger link which was also very helpful as they kindly swapped my restaurant times or helped immediately when the TV didn’t work (lol I just like background noise in the room)
GYM
I don’t think I’ve ever been to a gym during a holiday in my life – what a Sloth. Anyhoo, I’m on a ‘fitness journey’ and absolutely loved their beautiful Gym. The equipment range was amazing as well as lovely quality with all cool tech. Definitely a great bonus to have!
ROOMS
Initially I was just going to book the cheapest room with it being a last minute holiday – they have balconies and seemed nice. However, once we got round to booking it they had sold out so we booked the ‘Luxury Swim Up Room’ The price difference wasn’t huge and I am SO glad we did that! (Worth noting there is also a ‘Premium Swim Up Room’ that is bigger and therefore more expensive again)
‘Swim Up’ isn’t really something we have done much but I thought it was great! It saves having to carry everything but the kitchen sink to and from the room and just a really lovely chilled approach. As mentioned, the hotel was definitely busy and the loungers did fill fairly quickly so I personally would go for a swim up room again. On our last day, we were flying very late and asked if we could pay to keep the room longer. They were going to allow a late checkout for free until 12 but we were able to pay £100 to keep another room until 6pm (our existing room was booked) Apparently the AI carries on until 6pm on checkout day either way which is great!
The room we switched to was a balcony room – it was huge! It was a ‘Premium Room With Pool View’ which is a step up from the cheapest balcony option. It was absolutely gorgeously designed – really stunning bathroom and just a massive space.
It is is probably down to personal preference so I have noted some key points below for you to consider.
LUXURY SWIM UP ROOM – the room we had for our stay
- Guaranteed sun loungers and 2 chairs/small table on your own decking
- Ease of not carrying everything to the pool
- Obviously right by your own toilet!
- Slightly more expensive than the balcony room
- I think all would be ground floor access
- If you don’t like pools that aren’t heated you may not be getting in the water anyway!
BALCONY ROOM (CHEAPEST IS LUXURY ROOM WITH POOL VIEW)
- Lower price
- I think all of them are on the first floor so will include regularly using stairs
- BALCONY ROOM (‘PREMIUM’ IS A NICER OPTION THAN ‘LUXURY’)
- This is the room that we had for the last day on late check out – it was HUGE!
- Stunning quality design and nicer finish than the ‘luxury’ option as well as much bigger
- The balcony itself in both first floor balcony rooms appear to be the same size and both have chairs
To conclude – the nicest option in my opinion, is the ‘Premium’ rating for a ‘Swim Up’ room. This will definitely be more expensive but if you are looking for a nicer room – then this is your winner! Otherwise stick to the ‘Luxury Room with Pool View’ if you are looking for the most cost efficient option!
Click here to view the room comparisons on their site
Photo is the ‘Premium’ Room Bathroom
GUESTS
A real mixed bag of age ranges which I think is nice! Naturally most were couples with it being adult only – I think judging by reviews and messages I received on Instagram, it is very popular as a honeymoon/babymoon destination! We saw some groups of friends – perhaps a 40th girls trip sort of vibe? and on the last day there was a wedding in the Greek Restaurant, where we noticed guests had been staying prior.
PRICING
Entirely varied so you are best going direct to their website to check pricing for the month and duration you may wish to visit. I would advise booking direct for the best price and perk of the free transfer upon arrival. You can get extra discount when you sign up to their rewards programme. This is also a very easy way to do price comparisons per room.
AVAILABILITY
It is BUSY! As I’ve mentioned, the room I intended to book sold out before I got a chance, as well as some other dates I originally looked at. This is, of course, likely to happen when booking last minute. However, in general, when I’ve tried to find prices for later months it’s actually quite difficult because it is just very often fully booked unless you want to book one of the pricier rooms where you get a sofa and jacuzzi etc. I didn’t get to see any of these and I’m sure they are nice but I really don’t see them as an essential to enjoy your holiday. I would advise a swim up room to make life easier but that is really all you need for a genuinely gorgeous trip!
ENTERTAINMENT
There is a pool bar that seemed to have some sort of chilled live music of an evening which was nice! There is a restaurant called Paraiso that was also set up as a bar and show stage area for dance acts and singers which was more fun than as cheesy as it sounds! Typically that isn’t my thing at all but it was a nice addition to have some fun entertainment and the dancers were clearly very skilled – sort of low key ibiza vibes! This holiday was largely to be potatoes with nice food and drink rather than a lively party every night so it was suitable for that.
FOOD
Well well well.. I was IMPRESSED! As I’ve said, I don’t usually book all inclusive and I’m very apprehensive at the idea of being stuck somewhere with basic food after paying a fortune (it does happen) The quality of 99% was gorgeous! Admittedly, as with most seaside locations, if you are a seafood fan then you have a lot more options (I LOVE it thankfully) but even so, there were even all sorts of vegan options on the menus. It was varied and fresh, well presented and just all round fab! I messed up the bookings and missed out on Paraiso which I’m gutted about, that looks gorgeous and is Mexican Fusion. Umami is ‘Asian Robbata’ and the best place we ate. Oceania is more seafood and was gorgeous. Vegera was Greek vibes in a lovely setting, also open for lunch. La Parrilla was also gorgeous with a varied menu and open for lunch as well. The buffet was veryyy good as buffets go but restaurants were available for brunch or lunch so you weren’t stuck with that as the only option (huge bonus and less ‘same’)
BEST BITS
- Quality of the food and drink
- Extra options with all inclusive such as gym classes/pilates etc
- Free arrival luxury transfer when booking directly
- Short approx 20 minute transfer
- Really lovely service from all staff
- Not spread out too much involve huge long walks to get from one place to another
- Wide range of restaurants to pick from
- Evening entertainment in 2 locations
- You can walk to a few local shops/restaurants if you wish – it isn’t totally isolated
- Hotel App was very handy
- Hotel messaging service was also very helpful
- Staff walking around the pool area to take drinks orders
- Room service is included with only an 8 euro set fee for any order
- Free minibar topped up – (soft drinks/water only)
POINTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BOOKING
My personal opinion/recommendations:
- It is better to go All Inclusive rather than Half Board
- A swim up room is worthwhile – the cheaper swim up is absolutely fine
- I would book directly
- I would take advantage of the free arrival transfer and book with them for the return transfer also
- I would take advantage of the AI in the beautiful restaurants rather than visiting local places unless you are there for longer than a week, for example.
- I would say 5-7 days is plenty of time
- Check flight times/days prior to booking the hotel dates as they aren’t always ideal
- Make sure you book your restaurants per night upon arrival so they aren’t unavailable
- All inclusive ends at 11pm – doesn’t matter in my opinion
Would I recommend a visit? Absolutely! I’d go for 5 days with good flight times.
Would I go again? Definitely!
Have you been? What did you think? If you are thinking of going and have any questions let me know!
As with all of my reviews on ANYTHING - I am being totally honest. This was not a paid or PR discount trip .However, even if it was I would be totally honest as it isn't fair to trick you into spending your hard earned money on something I didn't massively rate! I hope that always comes across X
