Brown Hotels opened Isla Brown Chania on Crete Island’s Northwestern shore back in May. This luxury hotel is the second property by the group to launch under the “Isla” brand. The new 148-room five-star resort is only a 15-minute drive from Chania International Airport and 30 minutes from Chania Town. So far, the reviews we have found of the hotel are excellent, except for two horrific ones on Tripadvisor. Booking.com rates the hotel as splendid with an 8.6 rating from almost 80 guests. At Google, the hotel is at 4.5 out of 5.0 from 90 guest reviews.
Special note: With only 13 reviews total, a Tripadvisor user/guest complaining that Isla Brown Chania is not a five-star hotel hurts hard. What most people do not realize is that there are only one or two truly five-star resorts on Crete’s North Shore. Many are dubbed 5-star, but few actually have the amenities you’d expect from a luxurious hotel. That said, Isla Brown looks like a superb place to vacation. The horrible reviewer complained that the hotel is far from attractions, which all depends on what it is you want to experience in Chania. I mean, Zorba the Greek was filmed a stone’s throw from Isla Brown Chania! Now on to the particulars of this nice hotel stay.
Greek architectural firm Liakos Associates Architects designed the aesthetically magnificent hotel. The design aims to elevate the hospitality bar with the famous quirky ideas Brown Hotels is known for. Isla Brown Chania’s design offers a clean and organic concept, harmoniously reflecting the incomparable nature that surrounds it. The architects chose natural materials in construction, and the refined interior is decorated in earthy, neutral tones.
The hotel boasts unique restaurant concepts, an outdoor bar and lounge area, four swimming pools, two designated business/meeting rooms, a beautiful outdoor events lawn immersed in greenery, and a spa & wellness center.
Families can rest assured that kids of all ages will be entertained, with the younger ones in the colorful children’s club, which offers creative corners, board games, ball games, and a PlayStation, and a youth club for the older children, with a pool table, hockey table, table football and a ping pong table.
Isla Brown Chania features two room types and four suite varieties to suit the needs of every traveler. Guests will be able to choose from a “Deluxe Garden” or “Deluxe Sea” room view or opt for one of the more spacious suites, including a “Junior Family” suite, “Deluxe Garden View” suite with shared pool, “Grand Suite” with private pool, or “Honeymoon Suite” with private splash pool. All rooms and suites at Isla Brown Chania will feature balconies. They will have complimentary high-speed WiFi, flat HD TVs, bathrobes, slippers, and luxury bathroom amenities by local Greek brand Olive Era.
Isla Brown Chania has an impressive outdoor terrace overlooking the Cretan Sea and four onsite swimming pools. Gastronomy is a highlight at Isla Brown Chania, with the resort offering three unique restaurant concepts for an exemplary dining experience. Guests can enjoy the lounge area with an all-day menu at the Terrace bar, serving refreshing drinks, snacks, and pizza fresh from its pizza oven, as well as the famous Brown Hotels breakfast buffet open until midnight daily, a main restaurant with a la carte menu serving contemporary, fresh dishes, in addition to a more traditional style taverna offering Greek culinary classics.
The wellness center at Isla Brown Chania will invite guests to step into a sanctuary of calm and enjoy a selection of quality spa treatments while using its hammam, sauna, and onsite gym.
Brown Hotels plans to open an additional four boutique properties in Athens this year, and the acquisition of further properties will see the Brown Hotels’ collection total 40 hotels across Greece by 2024.