I would also like to know the answer to this, and also if anyone knows whether the hotel allows you to redeem Starpoints for breakfast. Has anyone stayed recently and can answer these questions?

Fantastic
 

Just got back from my honeymoon at Blue Palace. I'm a platinum and used points. We did not receive breakfast included. We didn't ever eat breakfast at the hotel, so I can't speak to that, but we ordered room service 3 times for dinner - which was outstanding (quality, quantity and price). We actually saved some of our dinner and ate it for breakfast the next day (I highly recommend the greek appetizer trio and the greek pastries!)

This is the best property of all the Starwoods where I've stayed. I was nervous about it, because we initially wanted to stay at the Mystique on Santorini, but Blue Palace was fewer points. I can't imagine that the Mystique could be better than this - we are already planning to go back on our 5 year anniversary!

We were upgraded to a huge room with our own pool. Complimentary champagne when we arrived. Rose petals on the bed. A complimentary "happy honeymoon" chocolate mousse cake on day 3. Free parking. Free sauna/hammam/hot tub in the spa. Less than 5 minute walk to Plaka, with a great mini-mart where we bought beer & snacks which we stored in our mini-fridge in the room...as well as many nice, affordable restaurants (just watch out for the fresh fish - 33 euro - eek!) and boats to Spinalonga (8 euro round trip).

The staff here is wonderful. Friendly but not overbearing. The beach is never too crowded. Take water shoes because there are sea urchins. Gorgeous water, though.

I really can't rave enough. If anyone has any questions - I'd be happy to answer.

Congrats on your marriage. Sounds like you had a fantastic trip. Would you mind sharing some approximate costs for meals (both on and off property)? You mentioned that room service prices were good, but you and I may have different definitions so specifics would be great. ;)

Another congratulations on your marriage and honeymoon! And I'd also be interested in the food prices. And do you know what category of room you had?

Another congrat. Just got back from 5 days there and echo your comments. Was on points. Given a suite with a pool. Many say it is cold. Cool and refreshing but we swam every day. Will write a review and post pictures etc in about a week; however we are already planning our next trip. Great places to eat in Elounda as well. Ate a number of times at Ferrymans and felt like family very quickly.

Food Info
 

Thanks everyone for the congrats. :-)

They did tell me "you've been upgraded from a XX room to a XX room", but I honestly do not remember the terminology. I was in room 329, if that helps.

Food prices...the first night when we ordered room service the greek appetizer trio was 12 euro - I think there were 8 big quarters of fresh pita and 4 different spreads. The Greek salad was the same price. This came with a lot of bread (white and wheat) and butter. The Greek pastry plate was 8 euro for 8 pieces (4 different kinds). There is a 4.50 euro charge for room service. This was enough food for us to share, then eat for breakfast in the morning (we saved all the bread - 6 pieces, butter - 2 of the spreads and 4 of the pastries).

The Blue Door Tavern was slightly less than room service. I don't remember the exact prices and we didn't get the same foods. I do know that this is the least expensive restaurant on site.

In Plaka, we ate at Gorgona Taverna. The tzatziki was 3-4 euro, the tirokafteri (spicy feta spread) was about the same...I think the Greek salad was about 6. It was all very reasonable except the fresh fish from the case. That came out to 33 euro. They threw in dessert for free (fruit and spice cake).

Beer at the Blue Palace is about 4 euro (Greek beer). If you buy it at the mini-mart in Plaka, it's 6 euro for a 6 pack. You can get decent sparkling wine there as well - chilled - for 14 euro.

In comparison, at the Westin Athens the Greek pastry plate was 12 euro for 6 pieces, and beer was 6.50 euro.

I hope this helps!!

We're planning to stay 5-6 nights at the Romanos in Costa Navarino for our honeymoon next year. If we go there, is there any point in also flying to Crete and staying at the Blue Palace as well -- it would be for 2 nights only? Or are we better off coming here another time when we can potentially stay longer?

In other words, are the two places too similar to visit during the same 2-3 week period?

I loved Blue Palace. I would not miss it.

I am actually doing it the other way around...leaving tomorrow, in fact. I am doing 5 days at the Blue Palace and 3 days at the new Luxury Collection.

Based on my impression of the Romanos from my pre-opening research about the property's layout, I expect it is very similar to Blue Palace. And 2 nights seems like a very short stay at Blue Palace -- especially given the extra time, expense, and effort required to get there and to return. If it were 3 nights, maybe.

I'm also a bit concerned that you may not have appropriate expectations of the weather and water temps in early May. It will likely still be cool air temps, and cold water at both properties. There's a reason that those properties are closed through April.

A very good point that I completely overlooked. As luck would have it, the wedding date got moved from April 16 because May 14 just opened up for our venue! A later honeymoon may make air/water conditions more favorable if I understand you correctly.

So after shopping for airfares, I think we're going to push any trip to Costa Navarino/Elounda until the last week of May/first week of June, and visit Seychelles/Mauritius in the two weeks before that. :)

That should be much better, though perhaps still cool in evenings. The ocean water will likely still be cold (by my standards).

To put it in perspective with actual dates, our time in the Greek Isles (in between time in Athens) was May 17 - 25, and we wore full length, 5mm wetsuits when diving on May 18 (Santorini) and May 22 (Elounda). The surface water temp was not much different than the temps 40 feet down.

Here's a link to typical temps across the year in Greece. Water temps throughout Greece are still typically below 20 degrees Celsius (68F) until the end of May. Note that water temps typically remain above 20C until around the end of October!
http://www.climatetemp.info/greece/

I am currently at the Blue Palace. It is a beautiful place and the views are amazing...but, I just can't share the same enthusiasm that most of you have regarding this property. I would love to -- it is my vacation, after all -- but there have been enough hiccups to sour my opinion of the resort.

In all of my years of being a Platinum SPG member, I have had more problems this year than perhaps all of my other years combined. I would like everyone's thoughts on these issues as a reality check. Am I being unfair/too harsh??

1) I checked in on August 26. I was given a slight upgrade from a Bungalow to a Bungalow with a swimming pool. The room was small and basic but after flying from NYC, I just wanted to take a swim, have a bite, and go to sleep. Before I left for Greece, I emailed the property asking for a room away from the funicular and the road that runs in front of the property (as others have suggested). The following is a direct quote from my confirmation email: "We have noted your request for a room several levels above the road and away from lift and we will try our best to fulfil your wish." As it turns out, it was almost impossible to place me closer to the funicular...I was three rooms over.

I also took a peek at spg.com and was disturbed to find basically every room/suite type imaginable available for the entirety of my stay. After the flight and the drive from the hotel, it was pretty late---I would say after 4 PM. So, the "room isn't clean yet" excuse probably wouldn't work at that late hour. But, I didn't feel like moving.

The next day, I logged into spg.com and every room type imaginable was, again, available. Some of the room types are listed here: https://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefe...ropertyID=1487 . But, there were even more rooms listed on spg.com (including a "Mediterranean Maisonette Suite" which isn't even on the spg.com list). Moreover, there was even C&P available. I know that C&P doesn't apply to suites...but, I have found that when properties are even remotely busy, C&P usually isn't available (again, this isn't foolproof but it is a good proxy).

When I approached the front desk in the morning, I was told that I could probably be moved to a junior suite. When I showed the clerk my laptop with the list of rooms available on spg.com, I was told that I would have to come back when the manager arrived. He did say (unprovoked) that "two Maisonette Suite were coming available today." Great.

When I returned to the front desk later, I was told that the best they could do was a junior suite. I asked to speak to a manager and was immediately escorted back to the GM of the hotel. I showed him my laptop which listed a vast array of rooms/suites available. At first he tried to say that the rooms might be available THAT night but not for all the nights of my stay. I then showed him that I used the dates for my full stay. I also said that the gentleman at the front desk told me that two Maisonette Suites were opening that day. He didn't seem thrilled that I had that information. He said he would have to check with housekeeping to see when the rooms would be ready. I told him that I would go to the beach all day and wasn't in a rush for the move.

We left it as follows: 1) I could have the junior suite today, 2) I could perhaps have the Maisonette Suite today if they could clean it, or 3) I could have an Island Suite tomorrow. He noted that it would be worth waiting since an Island Suite was better than a Maisonette Suite. He said he would get back to me.

When I got back to my room much later in the day, I had no message. I called the front desk and was connected to the GM. He backtracked saying that he never offered me an Island Suite. (I didn't retort with his comment about it being worth waiting....). He said he would "try to move me to something nice tomorrow."

So, later in the day someone from the front desk told me that I would be moving the next day (my third day of a five day stay at the property) at 2:30 PM. I was given a Hydra Suite. It was very nice but, again, not the "best room available" (https://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefe...s_landing.html) given the list still on spg.com (granted, I don't know what this property considers "select suites"). I would have been satisfied with this suite had I been given it on day one, but at this point I was just annoyed since my stay was more than half over.

2) On my fourth day, the TV in the bedroom unexpectedly came on at about 8:30 AM with a message "Welcome, Mr. JFKSFOLAX_friend" with decently loud music. While I appreciate a welcome message, I probably didn't need it the day before I am leaving. And, more importantly, I didn't need it while I was sound asleep. On the trip, I had been sleeping until about 10:30 AM(so nice)...so, the 8:30 AM wake-up call wasn't really great. I wasn't able to fall back asleep. The first front desk agent I called was worthless. I asked that a manager call me about the issue. She acknowledged the request twice but I never heard from anyone.

3) My stay is for five days...but, I arrived late on the first day and I am leaving quite early on the fifth day. So, I have three full days. So far on two of the days, a gentleman has come to check the minibar with the DND on the room. On the first occasion, it wasn't a huge deal as I was clothed and simply watching TV after a shower. But, I did think it was odd. The second time, I was naked and had to run for a towel as he tried to enter. As I came to the door, I asked "isn't the do not disturb on the room?" He acknowledged the DND and said he would come back later. :mad:

4) In my correspondence with the hotel, I noted that I was coming for my birthday. Direct quote from the hotel said: "We have also taken notice of the fact that you will be celebrating your birthday during your trip and we will have a small surprise for you." I am leaving tomorrow and have received nothing, thus far. While I don't expect a property to give me something for my birthday, it is odd that they would send me the message and then drop the ball. Whatever, I guess.

So, what do you guys think? Constructive feedback appreciated. This is a supposed to be a five/six(?) star resort property, right? Thank you.

I really loved the resort and the trip. As an SPG Gold on a C&P award, I got a nice room with a private pool! How cool is that! Used the pool everyday and also seemed to get a gratis bottle of wine or food plate everyday of our 3 day stay. I loved staring across the bay to the little island and taking the quick ferry from the town a stone's throw north over. I loved the town a bit south for the bars & restaurant's right along the port. The larger town a bit further south was gorgeous too with the bay surrounded by huge cliffs. The hotel's Asian restaurant was out-of-this world good, awesome spa with pool & gym. I love this resort.

This suite is named within the description for the Deluxe Suite on the page you linked above.

I don't understand how you could possibly be in the upgrade predicament unless there's something you've left out of your post.

Surprise! :D