Bali Diamond “by Checkin” Adults Only
Bali Diamond is a 16-room adults-only hotel on the Varkotopos cove at Bali, on the Rethymno coast 35 km east of the town, and Booking.com lists it as Bali Diamond by Checkin Adults Only. It scores 9.0 on Booking.com across 187 reviews and 4.7 on Tripadvisor across 131, ranking 5th of the 20 hotels in Bali, with 111 of those reviews at Excellent and 4 at Poor or Terrible. The sea is 100 ft away, the pool looks over it, and the building is a maze of steps.
Crete Locals has no commercial relationship with this hotel. We earn a commission if you book through the availability links on this page, at no cost to you and with no effect on what we write; both ratings were read on the date in the table.
Hotel information
| Hotel | Bali Diamond “by Checkin” Adults Only |
|---|---|
| Address | Unnamed Road Varkotopos |
| Type | Adult only · Air conditioning |
| Style | 16-room adults-only hotel above the Varkotopos cove at Bali, on the Rethymno coast |
| Listed as | Bali Diamond by Checkin Adults Only on Booking.com |
| Signature | A pool over the sea, with breakfast served beside it 100 ft from the beach |
| Rooms | Four categories: mountain view, sea view, superior sea view and a suite |
| Ranking | 5th of 20 hotels in Bali on Tripadvisor |
| Review record | 9.0 from 187 Booking.com guests; 111 of 131 Tripadvisor reviews at Excellent, 4 at Poor or Terrible |
| Sub-scores | Cleanliness 9.4, staff 9.4, wifi 8.5 on Booking.com |
| Watch for | A great many steps and confusing lifts; mountain-view rooms face walls |
| Airports | Heraklion (HER) about 50 km east; Chania (CHQ) about 105 km west |
| Booking.com rating | 9.0/10 (187 reviews) |
| Tripadvisor rating | 4.7/5 (131 reviews) |
| CreteLocals score | 8.6/10 · read the verdict |
Booking.com and Tripadvisor scores checked on September 28, 2026.
Location
Bali Diamond “by Checkin” Adults Only is located at Unnamed Road Varkotopos, in Bali village. The map below shows the exact spot; Google Maps and Waze give turn-by-turn directions.
Who Bali Diamond suits, and who should skip it
Bali Diamond suits couples who want a quiet adults-only room above a small cove, with a pool over the water, tavernas next door and two more bays within a 10-minute walk. It suits guests steady on steps. Families cannot book it, and anyone who struggles with stairs or needs dependable in-room wifi should look elsewhere in Bali.
Advantages
- Varkotopos Beach 100 ft away, with Bali Beach 200 ft and Livadi 1,100 ft
- 111 of 131 Tripadvisor reviews rate the stay Excellent, and 5th of 20 in Bali
- 9.0 on Booking.com across 187 reviews, with cleanliness and staff at 9.4
- A pool with a sea view, and breakfast served beside it
- Superior and suite categories with sea-view terraces
- Two excellent tavernas immediately beside the hotel, per guest reports
Disadvantages
- A great many steps, and lifts that guests describe as confusing
- Wifi can be patchy in the rooms, reported alongside an 8.5 sub-score
- The mountain-view rooms look at walls and stairs rather than scenery
- 4 of 131 Tripadvisor reviews sit at Poor or Terrible
- Bali is a small resort, so a car helps for anything beyond the bays
- Adults only, which rules out family trips
The rooms: 16 keys, and the view you pay for
Bali Diamond sells four categories: Double Room with Mountain View, Double Room with Sea View, Superior Double Room Sea View, and a Suite with Sea View. Guests describe spacious rooms with lovely decor, comfortable beds, good showers and terraces, and the superior sea-view category draws the strongest reports.
Avoid the mountain-view category unless the saving matters. One guest describes their mountain view as being between two walls and a staircase, pleasant enough but not a view, and notes the compensation that their room was near a back street entrance which saved walking round. Book the sea view and ask how many steps stand between the room and the pool.
A cove, three bays and a building of stairs
Bali is a set of small coves on an otherwise steep stretch of coast, and the hotel sits above one of them. Guests describe stepping out to the beach in under a minute, walking 10 minutes in either direction to two more bays, and eating at tavernas immediately beside the hotel, which is the pattern of a compact resort rather than a strip.
The stairs are the recurring complaint and they are described vividly. One reviewer calls the building a maze, with lifts that lead from floor 2 back down to 1 which is really 3, and warns that it is hard work after a drink or a meal. Anyone with mobility limits should treat that as a deciding factor and ask the hotel for a room on the entrance level.
The other practical note is the wifi. Guests report it as patchy in the rooms while working elsewhere on the property, which matches the 8.5 sub-score, so plan on using data if you need to be reachable. Breakfast beside the pool with the sea in front of it draws consistent praise, and the pool itself is the feature most reviewers photograph.
How to get there
Fly into Heraklion airport (HER), about 50 km east, roughly 45 minutes by road, or Chania airport (CHQ), about 105 km west, around an hour and a half. Bali sits on the north coast between Rethymno and Heraklion, below the national road.
Pre-book a transfer for the arrival, because the descent into Bali is steep and narrow; the operators and fares are in our guide to taxi and transfer services in Crete. Hire a car for Rethymno, Fodele, the Melidoni cave and the Margarites potteries, and check the terms in our car hire guide for Crete. Within Bali the three bays and the tavernas are all walkable from the hotel.
The Crete Locals review
Bali Diamond earns 8.6 from us. Two platforms agree closely, at 9.0 across 187 Booking.com reviews and 4.7 across 131 on Tripadvisor with 111 at Excellent, and fifth of 20 hotels in Bali places it in the top quarter of its resort.
What the hotel sells is a cove. The sea is 100 ft from the building, the pool looks over it, breakfast is served beside the water, two more bays are a short walk along the coast and the tavernas are next door. For an adults-only week in a quiet resort within 45 minutes of Heraklion airport, that is a well-judged offer at this price.
The reservations are physical. The property climbs its slope in stages, with a great many steps and a lift arrangement guests find genuinely confusing, and the cheapest rooms face walls rather than water. Wifi is unreliable in the rooms. None of that shows in the scores because the guests who book here are walking down to the sea rather than working from the balcony.
Book Bali Diamond for an adults-only week above the Varkotopos cove in a superior sea-view room, and ask how many steps you will be climbing. Book on flat ground elsewhere in Bali if stairs are a problem.
