White Olive Elite Rethymno

We left after 1 hour without any compensation - far from 5 stars

The hotel is far from a 5-star experience — at best it feels somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. The beach is far too small for the size and capacity of the hotel, making it practically impossible to find space. The pool is very narrow, with almost no sunbeds available, and yet it remained mostly unused because of its poor design. Being placed between U-shaped buildings, the pool area feels like an oven, with no proper airflow or comfort.For the price charged, the hotel is absolutely not worth it — at most it’s worth half. We decided to leave after just one hour of arrival, and unfortunately, we were not offered any compensation or refund for our 5-night stay.On the positive side, I must say the staff did try to assist us within their limits, and even tried to help by offering to add 1 sunbed for me, my wife, and our children to share it. However, there was simply no space left on the beach to even reach the sea, so it was impossible to use it. The hotel and rooms were clean. But overall, the experience was extremely disappointing and did not match the advertised standard. So, a sure no go for me.

Location

Rooms with a sea view are actually pool view, and you have to look from the corner to see a small glimpse of the sea.There is a mold smell in the room, along with mold and rust in the shower.Our room had a small window facing the neighbor’s balcony with no curtains, so they could see directly into our room. The hotel only added a curtain on the fourth day of our stay.Bathrobes smelled of mold and dampness.The pool bar had a very limited selection of snacks.It closed at 5:30 PM, after which another bar opened with no snacks at all.The selection of cocktails was very poor, and you could buy branded cocktails only at the evening bar, meaning you had to pay extra either to have snacks or to drink cocktails.From 8 to 10 PM, there is always a queue at the bar, and you can wait up to 30 minutes to get a drink.There was a poor selection of food, especially for lunch and dinner. The food was tasteless, although occasionally there was seafood like fish or calamari.The hotel administration was rude and unable to resolve any issues. There were no free sunbeds after 9 AM, as all of them were reserved with towels, but less than half were actually used by guests.

Our room was one of the best parts of the stay — beautifully decorated, cozy, and modern, comfy bed with a stunning sea view that made waking up every day feel special. Perfect for a honeymoon.The staff were exceptional. Friendly, attentive, and open to feedback — a sign that a new management is in place and taking guest experience seriously. Special shout-outs to Kostas, Thassos, the Polish lady who is learning Portuguese, and the always smiling Greek lady with glasses at the pool bar — they made our stay warmer and more personal.The beachfront location is fantastic. Just steps from the hotel, it was a peaceful spot to unwind and enjoy the sea breeze.Lunch box service - very convenient for excursion/tour days - just going at the reception by 7pm on the day before and by breakfast time it was available. Helped us a lot during our day trip to Balos.The honeymoon surprises — a complimentary bottle of rosé wine, chocolate cake, and couples massage — were thoughtful touches that made us feel genuinely celebrated.A late-checkout offer - our flight departed at night on the return day - the staff offered us to stay on another room and use the hotel facilities until the time we needed to leave. This was a great highlight of the stay. I believe this service would depend on hotel’s availability, so we knew upfront there would not be any guarantees and were happy it worked out for us.

With the aim of providing actionable feedback to the hotel management for future improvements and potentially leveraging customer experience, and at the same time transparency to upcoming future guests where they could get a fresh grasp on what they can expect, we decided to provide a thorough perspective below.As frequent visitors to Crete and familiar with the all-inclusive resort scene, we were drawn to this hotel’s stylish design and beachfront location. While the stay had many highlights, there were also a few areas where we felt the experience could be elevated — especially given the price point. At the time of booking, the hotel charged around 30% more than similar properties on the island in the same category (we looked at more than 10 similar hotels around Crete). With a 5-star rating, we were expecting a more refined level of service and amenities to justify the higher price.The snack bar was the weakest aspect of the all-inclusive experience. The selection was very limited and repetitive — mostly the same Greek-style hamburgers and pizza. If included gyros, Mediterranean wraps, French fries or a more varied pizza offering would be a welcome improvement.The pool bar all-inclusive cocktail selection was very limited as well, which was disappointing for a resort in this category. Popular and classic cocktails like pina colada, daiquiri, cosmopolitan, sex on the beach, and Cuba libre were not available — even if they were made with local spirits. While there was a separate Sunset Bar offering branded liquors including the cocktails missing above from 5pm onwards, they were only available at an additional cost. The hotel would benefit from introducing a true “All-Inclusive Premium” option, where guests can enjoy cocktails with international brands like Absolut, Bombay, Beefeater, Grey Goose, Tanqueray, Aperol, or Johnnie Walker, etc.

The hotel is very small which is nice, it’s easy to get around the facilities. Everything was really clean. The staff were AMAZING, we had some trouble with the AC and some food and the hotel and restaurant managers were VERY helpful.

The location was a little complicated, it was very far from everything and we didn’t rent a car. The food in the hotel was not very good. There was not a lot of variety and there’s a lot of food that you notice that is not homemade.

The room was lovelyThe pool and sun loungers were great

Food was terrible, same slop every evening. Ended up eating out a lot. No non alcoholic beers to drinkGym was smaller than my room with shit equipment.No water or fruit restocked in my room from the first day. Poor overall for an all inclusive trip.

The place did not meet my expectations at all, the beach and the shore are really nice as well as the pools

The food and drink quality was quite low, not many options and cheap brand of alcohol were the only ones available. The food was not good, mostly we had no idea what were the dishes as nothing was named in an open buffet!!!! All inclusive was a bad choice. The staff were not friendly, we booked a room and we got another cheaper one, although we told them about the mistake, it took two days of our stay to solve the issue. There aren't enough sunbeds whenever we tried our luck, we couldn't find two decent beds. During the day the whole hotel floors stink of sweat and sh*t during the cleaning process. The receptionists were so unfriendly and somehow they didn't know anything regarding our questions.

The stuff was exceptionally helpful and cheerful, beach is a piece of paradise, food was tasty. Would definitely want to come back.

Nice private beach, quiet and spacey.Towels available for 10euro deposit.

The food was not tasty and there was no Greek kitchen. Staff is very unfriendly with only 1-2 polite and friendly people. Even the manager and one of the receptionist were rude.Bad wine, bad food, too expect for such a low quality service.

It has it's own beach ⛱️ view is great it is an all inclusive hotel and so everything is taken care of

The hotel was overbooked, so we were offered two double rooms instead of a family suite, which was actually better. The staff was very friendly.

The restaurant was quite small, and there was very little variety of foods. Also the number of sunbeds was clearly less than the number of people, so there was almost always a fight for them.The hotel is located at the beach, but there is nothing to do in the area except visiting the local supermarket.

The staff were so friendly especially Mr Cristos Despina and Christina

We liked everything

The location was good, near the sea, private beach, private pool.The staff is friendly (some of them) I would exclam that the barmans are very friendly and also some waiters.The chief of the waiters looks a little bit wierd and he tries to make new friends, but in 99% of cases he is speaking only with single ladies.

They are promoting themselves as 5 stars hotel, but you don’t receive water in your room everyday, even if it’s all inclusive, if you want bottled water, either you buy it from market which is 5 minutes away from the hotel, or you bui it from the reception. This is not ok for a 5 stars hotel.The food is not so diverse, you don’t have too much options to choose from and it’s quite the same food every 2 days. The bar is very cheap with some very cheap alchol, the beer is like 90% water, the cocktails are made out with the worst alcohol you will see in your entire life and some juice which is like in fastfoods such as McDonald’s, KFC, etc (syrup and water) If you order water from bar, the water will be mixed with dirt that remained in the hose after pouring juices. (Is the same hose for water and juice)

The room was very clean, sunbeds comfortable, many of hotel staff were friendly and hospitable. The room isolation is great and it is made up on a daily basis. Every day you can get the towels for the beach for 10€ which you get back after you bring the towels back. Deserts were very tasty. If you need a relaxed holiday in a resort where not much is going on, far from the city and you like not being disturbed by many people and music this is a resort to stay in. There is a beach bar in witch you can get the drinks (included) all day long. English skills were pretty good, since it is not like that in every part of Greece.

For a 5 star hotel I missed much better electronic devices in the room (iron, hair dryer) and shampoo of better quality. I would recommend bringing your own shampoo and shower gel because those they provide don’t really clean the scalp. The food was okay, although sometimes very dry. Another thing I didn’t like was very bad alcoholic drinks (cocktails) at the bar. Some of the staff at the bar or in the restaurant were always in a bad mood, didn’t behave badly towards the guests but you can tell they don’t like their job?! On the other side some of them smiled all day long and were veeery kind people.

I will only like the beach near the hotel and the staff.

It was dirty everywhere, on the territory of the hotel, in the rooms and near the hotel. The hotel itself is 3 stars but definitely not 5. If you want service and food for 5 stars, I do not recommend this hotel.

Good location, close to Rethymno, ( beautiful city), 15 km distance, but a rental car is recommended. The hotel provides all you need for a decent & pleasant staying ( all inclusive package) : accommodation, cleaning, pool, restaurant & private beach in front of the hotel. Food was good , fresh & diverse. Cleaning daily, if you want or need. We had a pleasant staying & appreciated the small details: welcome wine & fruits, bottled water daily, toiletries & beach towels ( 10 €/ deposit refundable). Thank you for a lovely staying!

Things that can be improved: food & deserts ( some of the ingredients could have better quality/taste), but generally the food was good & fresh; lunch to go( main course was a sandwich with 1 slice of cheese & 1 slice of ham), mosquito nests on door/window .If you don’t expect usual 5 star luxury ( the hotel is somewhere between 3 & 4 star), you’ll have a great staying in an all you need nice & decent hotel.

Family room was spacious Location was ideal if you like a beach holiday as had this directly linkedRestaurant staff were lovely

Rooms were in need of attention E.g ceiling tile falling off in bathroom, took over 24 hours for them to fixChairs in room very rustyMould along shower screenLimescale on shower handlesMirrors and doors uncleanVery strong smell coming from drains in bathroom continually Food was very basic, served ‘canteen’ style. Selection not variable eg every night x2 options for dried pasta and a sweet tomato sauce, some pork/ occasional (what I think was fish) rice and potatoes/chips. Food wasn’t very hotSome foods unlabelled therefore unsure what they were. Some salad items and cheese available. Taxis east to get - approx €16 into the old town which is lovely- loads to do there, well worth it

Very clean. Decent value. Good staff.

Poor location. Not much to do near the property

-The sea is located so close to the hotel, that it takes only 10 steps to get there. There was always enough space as well as in the sun as in the shadow. You can deposit 10€ for beach towels and get always fresh one‘s when you need. After check-out, you get the deposit back.-The bar has such a great choice of cocktails. It was fun to try every time something new although compared to the cocktails we know, these compares more to mixed long drinks. The bar crew is very friendly;-The restaurant was the best for us. Every day you have very big choice of food, which is not only very tasty but also colorful and well-prepared. The crew of the restaurant was also amazing. The manager is very friendly and communicative;-The pubic area is well cleaned and the pool quality is 9/10. It is never crowded so you will always find a place to relax.

-When we arrived we have got informed that the hotel is fully booked and that we receive instead of our actually booked room (sea view) the family room, which faces the street. After two nights we received a standard room with limited sea view. It was very disappointing, also from the way the receptionist had told us that information. The receptionist didn‘t apologize and couldn‘t find any other solution for us. That’s not a five star treatment, specially after a long journey and late Check-In.-You must be aware that the pictures on booking are false about the “Double room with sea view”. There you find picture of family suite, which is completely different category. But after our complaining to the manager, they made everything possible to give us better solution and we’ve received a third room, with a very good sea view. As apologize, the staff sent us wine and fruits;-We had read earlier about the bad cleaning and sadly want to confirm it. The room was not properly cleaned, although we had mentioned it to the receptionist.

Easy beach access, clean rooms and towels are always replaced.

Food! Horrible, it’s more like an army base cooking, we ended up eating at the restaurants in town, the idea of all-inclusive doesn’t work here, food is horrible. Your better off booking at a normal hotel and spending the rest on outside food.

Great staff, sea view, beach

Location. Too isolated. no entertainment. It’s a European 3star hotel