




In short: We analysed 21 recent guest reviews of Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only. Guests consistently praise Service & staff (10 of 10 mentions positive), Pools, beach & aquapark and Food & restaurants.
Tripplo's verdict, based on guest reviews
By Axel Hernborg · Updated 30 August 2026 · How we review hotels
Adults seeking a culturally styled retreat with extensive spa services should choose Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only. It holds a 9 Booking score from 350 reviews and a 4.7 Google rating across 2148 reviews. Standout features include stone-built rooms with Cretan character and private sandy beach access. A potential con is the active nightlife nearby in central Malia.
Guests score it 9 out of 10 — the average across the 20 hotels we list in Crete is 9.1.
What Guests Loved
- Built from local stone, the bungalows and suites blend seamlessly into the coastal landscape while offering modern interiors and private sea-view balconies.
- Unlike many public beaches in the area, the resort's private sandy stretch offers quiet relaxation with serviced sun loungers directly on the Aegean Sea.
Things to Consider
- The resort's proximity to Malia means occasional ambient noise from nearby nightlife, though the property itself maintains a peaceful, adults-only atmosphere.
- The extensive layout of the resort means some guest rooms are situated a considerable walk from the main pool and dining venues.
Should you book it?
Book it if you want
- Guests drawn to stone-built rooms with Cretan character
- Couples wanting a private sandy beach
- Food lovers wanting five distinct restaurants
What guests say
Reviews from Google“We had a calm and relaxing stay at this hotel. The atmosphere was peaceful, the facility was excellent. Overall, we really liked the hotel. There are a few things worth considering when booking, depending on what is important to you: 1-The sea is quite wavy. We visited for one week in June and were only able to swim in the sea on two days. Of course, this is not something the hotel can control, but it may be an important factor for some people. 2-If your room is close to the parking area, the delivery vehicles start arriving around 6:00 a.m. If you enjoy sleeping in mornings, this could affect your experience. 3-Guests staying for a week are offered three à la carte restaurant dinners. However, most reservations were already fully booked during our stay. As a result, we were only able to use this benefit once. 4-The hotel offers a different dinner theme every night (i.e., Latin American, Asian etc.). I personally would have preferred a stronger focus on Greek and Mediterranean cuisine. Greece has some of the most delicious food in the world, and we would have loved to enjoy more authentic local dishes rather than international options such as teriyaki tofu, sushi, etc.”
“I stayed 5 nights in June 2026 for my birthday, and it was absolutely perfect! The food was great, the entertainment in the evenings, the pools were flawless, the environment itself was quiet even though the hotel was busy, the drinks were amazing (a huge thanks to the bartender guy at the main pool bar who was so friendly). The only negative aspect was that everyone assumed my husband and I were German all the time, they would always approach us speaking German (we are from Brazil). The assumption was always awkward as we had to say at least 3 times a day “we don’t speak German”. But I would definitely come back in the future!”
“The public ares of the hotel were very nice and clean, variety of pools and always a place to seat by the pool, we loved the Main pool especially. However, the food was at the best case scenario mediocre and not good, the rooms are old fashioned, the ac barely works and doesn’t cool the room, not what would you expect from a 5 star hotel.”
“The resort itself is wonderful. The layout and construction of the buildings, rooms and pools is perfect. My girlfriend and I spent a week here all inclusive in a bungalow with a shared pool. Despite a room mix up on the first night which took multiple returns to the reception to rectify, the correct room was eventually lovely, albeit quite small. The wrong room (standard with a sea view) was much larger than the bungalow. Rooms were cleaned quickly daily. All of the staff at the resort are excellent and probably the best hotel staff I’ve ever encountered. The all inclusive food was predominantly the same every night. There were themed nights, such as Italian or Greek, but in my opinion this didn’t actually change much of what was on offer. The quality was always excellent however, so no complaints here. There are also individual restaurants which you can attend once each for free if you have an AI package. We only tried the Italian, and it was okay. I think I’d have preferred the buffet though, sadly. This was our first time at an adult only hotel, and one thing worth pointing out is the drinks service at the bars. The cocktails are expertly mixed and made, but the service is very slow. It’s not like a typical all inclusive I’ve been to where drinks are quick and readily available, and I’m not sure if the looks of the drinks are as important as the speed in which they are made, but that is just a personal opinion. Queuing at the bars was often not allowed in favour of table service, but this further slowed down the drinks. We never tried any of the spa services so I can’t comment on those. The indoor pool was slightly disappointing as there are maybe 10-12 loungers inside, with room for few people. 2 of the days of the holiday were torrential rain and we were basically limited to our rooms, as the indoor pool was full and there was nothing else to do. The day after the 2 days of rain, the pool bar was permanently shut, despite it being sunny and dry. The poolside towel service also didn’t resume on this day, which was a bit of an inconvenience. One final note is that there is a huge number of ants around the resort. Bugs are common in most places and luckily our room was safe from them, but they were everywhere, including around the internal walls of the main restaurant in places. Overall, it would be hard not to give this place a 5 ⭐ rating as it has all the hallmarks of an excellent resort, but there were several small negatives which prevented the place from being perfect in my opinion.”
“This was our first visit to Crete and we very much enjoyed our stay at Ikaros Beach. We were on an all inclusive basis. The setting is lovely, with beach, sea and mountain views. The hotel has lots of natural stone and is laid out with lots of walkways and lovely gardens. Everything is very clean and well maintained. The pool areas are very nice, plenty of beds for the number of guests when we were there. Part of the beach is also reserved for hotel guests. The main restaurant is Olive, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is a wide choice at all meals and the food is good. There were also three a la carte restaurants open when we were there and we ate in all three. We really enjoyed all of our meals, they are worth a visit. There is always room for improvement, there were times when we struggled to get service in Olive and in the bars. This is probably down to staffing at the start of the season but it would have been a bigger issue if it had been busier. We had a sea view room. It wasn't huge but it was well appointed and looked quite recently refurbished. The bed was very comfortable. For our first few days, the weather was mixed so we used the indoor pool, the sauna and the gym. We also had two massages at the spa which were most enjoyable. The staff are wonderful, friendly and attentive, if very busy at times. A special shout out to Bodhan who often looked after us in Olive, and Mikalis who served us drinks with a smile in both bars. Overall we had a lovely time at Ikaros Beach and would recommend it.”
What guests actually say
Tripplo analysed 21 full guest reviews in all languages. Every review is topic-tagged and the shares counted — never estimated.
Food & restaurants
8 reviews · 7 positive · 0 negative
- +Breakfast and Greek dishes stand out
- –One guest found some restaurant food weaker
”Breakfast was outstanding. Plenty of variety, Greek food was delicious.” — guest, translated
Service & staff
10 reviews · 10 positive · 0 negative
- +All counted service mentions are positive — hospitality 'exceeded all expectations'
”My stay at Ikaros Beach Luxury Resort was truly amazing. The hospitality exceeded all expectations” — guest, translated
Pools, beach & aquapark
8 reviews · 8 positive · 0 negative
- +Pools, beach and the spa lead the praise — 'best massage of my life'
”Lovely property with beautiful pools and a beach area. Fantastic spa facility - I had the best massage of my life!” — guest, translated
Condition & cleanliness
5 reviews · 5 positive · 0 negative
- +Renovated and consistently described as very clean
”A amazing hotel. Very clean, great staff and great food” — guest, translated
Location
5 reviews · 5 positive · 0 negative
- +The village-style seafront setting is repeatedly praised
”Super kind people, very beautiful rooms, excellent breakfast, relaxing atmosphere, amazing location.” — guest, translated
the rooms, noise levels, value for money are mentioned too rarely in the sample for an honest picture — we don't guess.
Want to go deeper?
Download the Tripplo Report for Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only — the full category analysis, room guide, price analysis and alternatives as a PDF.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only from the airport?
Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only is 25 km from Heraklion Airport (HER).
How far is Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only from the centre of Crete?
Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only is 58 km from the centre of Crete.
How do guests rate Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only?
Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only is rated 4.7 out of 5 on Google, based on 2,153 reviews. On Booking.com it scores 9.0/10 from 350 guest reviews.
How many stars does Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only have?
Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only is a 5-star hotel.
What amenities does Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only offer?
Ikaros Beach, Luxury Resort & Spa - Adults Only offers Free Wifi, Beachfront, Free Parking, Spa and wellness center, 3 swimming pools, 5 restaurants.
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