Golden Bay Boutique Hotel & Bungalows

We are currently half way through our stay(me and my daughter) From the moment we checked in, we had the warmest welcome! The day and evening staff are so warm and friendly and will do anything to make your stay perfect. They can arrange excursions for you. The room we’re staying in is a twin room with little kitchenette which has 2 ring hob, kettle and toaster and lounge area. There is a hairdryer provided and the safe is free to use, there was a bottle of water in the fridge. Rooms are spotless and are cleaned with fresh towels daily. Breakfast had a good range of foods. There isn’t any subbed wars either😊 As you head out of the hotel and turn left it is just a short walk to the beach and local restaurants, myself and my daughter enjoyed meals at Avra. If you come out of the hotel and turn right, walk for 15-20 mins(depending on your pace) you will come to a couple of bus stops(either side) one side takes you to gourves/malia etc and the other towards Heraklion. Very enjoyable stay and we will be coming back.

From the moment we arrived at 3am, we were greeted with the most warmest of welcomes! The apartment, was spacious and modern, plus a bottle of water was left in the fridge for us so we could have a drink when we got there. Joanna, the morning bar lady was brilliant, and she remembers everyone's name! George was the evening barman and he was amazing! Remembers everyone's drink and will go out of his way to make a cocktail of your choice. Breakfast had a really good choice of everything, and there is a lunchtime menu, which is very reasonable. The location is very quiet with only a few restaurants and a small supermarket within walking distance. Most of restaurants have their area on the beach, if you buy a drink (waiter service) you don't pay for the sunbeds! However if you walk about a mile along the coast path, it is a little bit more lively, with a selection of bars, restaurants, shops and water sports activities. We will definitely come back again!

Lovely hotel - spacious rooms and comfortable beds. We had a studio with shared balcony - would have been nice to have a private one. The staff are amazing - we were greeted with such a warm welcome by George and Hanni. Joanna in the pool bar is the loveliest funniest lady - she is so friendly and teaches you Greek along the way when you order anything - she definitely helped to make our holiday a fun one. The hotel is a great base for anyone wanting to hire a car and explore the island , which is what most people during our stay seemed to be doing. Cons - the evening food wasn’t great, we were disappointed as we thought that having the food in the taverna next door would mean that we would have traditional Greek food - sadly not the case. I would probably recommend staying here as Bed & Breakfast for that reason. The local beach isn’t great either - if you’re not hiring a car then I recommend getting on the bus in Gournes and going to Analipsi which is only 15 mins away - such a beautiful beach with lovely beach clubs and traditional tavernas. We also got the bus into Heraklion, 20 mins in the other direction - it’s a lovely city and the bus is so cheap at €3 for 2 of us each way. All in all a great relaxing holiday but if we came back we would hire a car to get out and about a bit more as not much in Gournes itself