We just spent 5 nights here and I wanted to provide an update.

First off, there was discussion upthread whether early May is a good time to visit. In general, the answer appears to be yes (average temperatures should be in the 22 degree range), but we arrived during a bad weather spell with unusually cold temperatures and record rainfall. We then had two decent days (low-mid 20s), and on our departure day temperatures were approaching 30 degrees. The pools are not heated and were completely useless, even on the last day. I suspect they take a couple weeks at 25-30 degrees to warm up. The ocean similarly was too cold for swimming.

I used a confirmed suite award to upgrade to a Super King Junior Suite Ocean View with Plunge Pool. The room we were given looks nothing like the pictures on the website (number 727, a larger room directly above the bar). We generally liked the design, but the room was pretty bare, either still missing some furniture after the annual reopening, or maybe set up so some extra beds can be brought in? The bathroom design is bizarre, with a shower cubicle 2 meters in length, but with a rainfall showerhead mounted so close to the wall it's impossible to use more than 60% of the water without leaning into the handheld and soap bottles. The plunge pool is completely useless. It's not heated, so the water was freezing (and may well be so even in summer, because it only gets a few hours of morning sun). The balcony setup is stupid. You're fenced in by walls that basically only allow a straight forward view, rather a panoramic one. This is compounded by the plunge pool (which inexplicably spans the entire width of the balcony) and doesn't allow you to stand by the railing.

Staff are generally friendly, but we had a number of middling service experiences. I hadn't read (or didn't remember) the upthread discussion about the Michelin inspired restaurant. When we arrived at the hotel soaked and freezing around 6:30pm (btw, this is a warm weather hotel, so you obviously can't heat the rooms), the last thing we wanted to do was venture out again. The room service menu doesn't look appealing (nothing Greek, just generic room service stuff), so I went to the restaurant to asked if I could see a menu. A somewhat annoyed staff member handed me a single page, printed front-and-back, that had about half a dozen appetizers and half a dozen mains, but again just generic hotel stuff. I now assume it was the pool menu? Anyway, we ordered room service -- a bland burger without condiments, accompanied by tiny plate with perhaps a dozen hand-cut fried, plus the world's tiniest plate of gnocchi carbonara, not more than 10 bites). Ended up topping it off with a can of pringles from the minibar (which isn't a spectacular minibar to begin with, and per the young man servicing it, they're having problem with the wine, so it only contains soft drinks, water, and beer right now).

Breakfast was offered as Diamond amenity. I always find that breakfast preferences vary wildly, so just let me say, we didn't much like this one. It's a decent buffet, but nothing made-to-order, and we found the meats and cheeses lacking. It's just cheap processed meats, no prosciutto or decent salami. Every other day had small pre-made salmon sandwiches. Otherwise no salmon, and certainly not the kind of fish I'd get excited about (smoked swordfish, tuna, whetever). Pastries and baked goods were perhaps the star of the show.

Teething problems: A welcome gift of red wine and fruit was delivered on our third day, and turn-down service was only offered once, on our 4th night. Housekeeping in the room was fine, but the public bathrooms on the pool level didn't seem to get serviced all day, to the point where dirty towels were piling up next to the trash can by mid-afternoon. On day 3, I realized that our door didn't lock, and possibly had been unlocked the entire time. I had noticed that upon swiping the key card, the lock didn't make the usual unlock noise, but only produced a very faint green flash. Nevertheless, the door opened after swiping the card, so I didn't think much about it, until I pushed the handle on day 3 without swiping the card, and the door opened anyway. A mechanic came and fixed it within 20 minutes, and while I'm not the type to demand a case of champagne and a million points for this type of thing, I think in a well-run hotel, this should have at least yielded some follow-up; it was never mentioned again.

The view from the pools on the 5th and 9th floor is spectacular, but there is inadequate shade even during shoulder season. There were no towels provided at the pool; you're expected to bring towels from the room. The rooftop bar was closed and poolisde service on the 5th floor was slow. Drinks were ok and prices reasonable.

We rented a car at HER airport. As has been said above, it's a fairly easy drive, although there are some mountains where ancient trucks can slow you down to a crawl. The hotel offers free valet parking, but it's rather odd. There's no dedicated parking garage at the hotel, so cars are double-parked when possible, or taken very far away. We were reminded to call 30 minutes ahead, and even though the hotel wasn't busy, the wait was sometimes even longer than that. I do recommend renting a car, because there are some beautiful drives nearby. Of course there are also lots of rental agencies in town, so renting for a day trip or two is also an option.

Overall, despite the shortcomings, we liked the hotel. I can't say that I understand the room types, but instead of the junior suite with the useless plunge pool, I'd like a room with a more open concept, that provides for a panoramic view. My most important takeaway is that quite a few rooms do not have an ocean view at all, facing some depressing narrow back-roads instead. We hated the HER airport experience, so won't be returning until the replacement opens. When (if?) it does, we might try Domes of Elounda, which in shoulder season would have only been ~€80 more than the IC, and quite possibly would be a better option for a Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium. In busy season, Domes goes for more than €1000, so a €300 room at the IC is excellent value if one can secure an ocean view room via confirmed suite award.