Sometimes things just go right... we got one of the best rooms in the resort, a junior suite with a sharing pool. You could go to swim directly from the room (the beach is also there...) and absolutely no hassle in the pool area, as there are only 4 other rooms who can enjoy this sharing pool. The room was quite basic, calling it a junior suite is a bit funny because it's so basic. But enough space for two adults and two kids.

We had the all inclusive package... as expected, the food was very average and only eatable. I think they were pretty much heating frozen food, but the salads and breads were quite okay. There's always some kind of fish, pork, chicked, rice and french fries (or other potatoes) available, with different sauces. The food was a bit disappointing and our stomaches started to get upset later the week. They also have the A'la Carte restauraunt ... I don't recommend it because the food is basicly the same there and I propably had my worst steak there ever :D. Like a thin bottom of a shoe....

The bar offers local beer, some cocktail drinks, cheap whisky and Metaxa of course. No fancy drinks here, but surely everything was drinkable ;-).

The village of Kolimbari is very sleepy, quiet and small. This is NOT a party place, just some small Taverna's on the main street, offering basicly local fish food. There's a super market some 800 meters from the hotel and some cafes and fast food places also. But still Kolimbari feels like a genuine Greek village, not sure for how long, lots of hotels are being build across the village now.... On sundays every place seems to be closed.

This was our first trip with our kids and this was exactly what we wanted. Great swimming pool, relaxed atmosphere and nice people around (almost everybody has kids here). We had a great and almost perfect week in the hotel. The best staff ever (Anna you are the best and greetings to Christos also), everybody smiles and speaks good English. It wasn't the cheapest one, hard to say was it worth the money... perfect time with the family counts more for us and we were all happy.

This was our second time staying at Grand Bay Beach Resort and would have no doubts about returning.
Hotel and rooms are very clean and all staff are very helpfull nothing is too much trouble.
Quiet location with local taverns close by. Bus service and car hire easily available to explore some of Cretes sights.

We stayed at the Grand Bay for three days.
I would agree with other reviews: the hotel is nice, with great pool scene, clean, but undermanned and overpriced. We paid euro 146 for a double with garden view and breakfast: for the same rate -slightly less as a matter of fact- we stayed at a 5 star hotel in Heraklion (and you could tell all the difference) and for a much lower one in a same category establishment (4 stars)in Aghios Nikolaos. It seems to me that the hotel is hard on independent travellers like us, but may be more interesting for those choosing it with a package tour: the quotation that we got for a room with kitchenette was simply hefty, although we do not skimp on accommodation.
The staff was overworked but really kind and helpful.
The room was nice but not special, with a big bathroom and...a foul smell, apparently due to the air conditioning grid. When we reported it was immediately cleaned but it helped only for a few hours, so there may be something more behind it: again something you would not expect in this price range.

We were very pleased when we arrived at the hotel, it is attractive, very clean and just as described on the website. The first week was fairly quiet and we had a very relaxing time but as the hotel became busier the standards fell.
The food is served as a buffet which often ran out or was cold, there were not enough staff to clear the tables or serve drinks. The other issue was the lack of sun beds. The hotel charge for the use of sun beds on the beach but do not provide anywhere near enough sun beds around the pool. Several guests complained to the manager about this, but although he admitted there were not enough facilities he was not willing to do anything about it, and became quite rude.
We spoke to people who had been to the hotel the previous year, the number of rooms had been increased and it seems the hotel can't cope with the increased capacity. We got the impression they were trying to cut corners by having minimal staff and serving cheap food. Drinks in the bar were also quite expensive.