Birais Beach Studios in Rethymno

Title: Not a 3-Star – Misleading Listing & Ruined Holiday Experience

We booked this “Birais Studios” through Love Holidays, expecting a comfortable 3-star stay. Unfortunately, the reality was far from it, and it completely dampened our holiday.
The worst issue was the lack of hot water. For most of our stay, there was either no hot water or no water at all, making basic hygiene impossible. We were forced to take cold or bucket showers, even late at night. After beach days, it was awful not being able to properly wash. We were told it was a “city-wide issue” – something that should have been clearly communicated before booking.
The rooms were cramped and poorly maintained. One room had faulty electrics, a broken freezer, and a generator blowing hot air right outside the balcony, making it unbearable to sit outside. We had to unplug everything to cool the space down. The “sea view” we paid extra for was obstructed by pillars.
The bathroom design was terrible – the door hit the sink, the toilet was awkwardly close to the wall or shower, and there was no space to hang towels or place toiletries. Sitting on the toilet meant hitting your head on the wall!
The kitchen was under-equipped – we had to buy our own cups, plates, and cutlery. There was no can opener, no sharp knife, and minimal utensils. No proper wardrobe space either; we had to keep clothes in suitcases or remove shelves just to hang anything.
We raised all of these issues multiple times, but were either ignored or given vague explanations. Some staff cared, but many didn’t seem interested in helping at all.
The area also smelled of sewage, and without the ability to shower properly, we often stayed in rather than go out in the evenings.
Breakfast was repetitive with the same oily items daily – although edible, it lacked variety. Only the omelettes were consistently decent. The fruit and juice were sometimes not fresh.
The only positive was the daily cleaning service – the cleaners were polite and kept the rooms tidy.

On our last day, the service we received really was the cherry on top of the cake! When we ordered a Greek coffee – something we’d had every day of our stay – that particular staff member was abrupt and kept repeating, “What coffee you want?” as if they didn’t know what we were asking for or more than likely not listening (which was a running commentary in greece) The same person, along with another staff member, kept approaching us about paying the tourist tax, even though we explained several times we would settle it when collecting our luggage in the evening. We had a late departure and left our bags at the hotel after check-out, but felt harassed throughout the day with repeated reminders about the tax. We ended up paying early just to stop being asked. As for the luggage storage, we were told it was in a “secure” place out back, but it was actually by a stairwell and lift area accessible to anyone. There were no visible cameras, and no staff keeping watch, which left us uneasy for the rest of the day. Definitely not the level of service or care we expected.

Overall, this property is not 3-star standard and should be reassessed immediately. Needs a massive renovation.

Good locations, beachfront, a variety of restaurants although food not great and overpriced.

Variety of excursions and one company “makitis” was cheap for what you got and really good (also a review on that one , as one excursion on our penultimate day was a let down)

Old town not much there places close early. Pharmacy closes early.

If I’m honest it was like being back home in london.

The services there are very good. People are nice, English-speaking. The breakfast is variate and good. The room was junk

What I couldn't like was the room we had: 1st floor, above the kitchen.
The bathroom had no way to remove the smell (no fan or vent installed).
The smell from the kitchen is always present inside the room.
The walls are thin and allow the sound from all other rooms to be heard

WORST of all: the sound from the sewage pump can be heard during night. Multiple times a night

2 stars Hotel, the rooms need to be more uplifted, small baths however they were cleaned every day. The food however is very good