Coralli Beach Hotel
Coralli Beach Hotel is a 53-room hotel facing the sea at Kokkini Hani, east of Heraklion, and it describes itself as a friendly guest house rather than a resort. Coralli scores 9.0 on Booking.com across 913 reviews and 4.8 on Tripadvisor across 28. The Booking record is the one with weight behind it, and the sea in front of the hotel has done something guests want you to know about.
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 | Coralli Beach Hotel |
|---|---|
| Address | Paralia Gournon |
| Type | Air conditioning · Beachfront |
| Style | Sea-facing hotel at Kokkini Hani, east of Heraklion, described by its operator as a friendly guest house |
| Keys | 53 rooms, spacious, with balconies and sea views |
| Beach | The sand in front has been eroded by the sea; an equipped beach sits about 50 metres away |
| Evidence | 9.0 on Booking.com across 913 reviews; only 28 on Tripadvisor |
| Ranking | 9th of 11 hotels in Kokkini Hani on Tripadvisor |
| Watch for | Bathrooms, which guests say need attention even while rating the hotel well |
| Condition | Recently renovated, with guests saying a further effort would modernise it |
| Airport | Heraklion (HER) about 12 km west, roughly 20 minutes |
| Booking.com rating | 9.0/10 (913 reviews) |
| Tripadvisor rating | 4.8/5 (28 reviews) |
| CreteLocals score | 8.2/10 · read the verdict |
Booking.com and Tripadvisor scores checked on September 28, 2026.
Location
Coralli Beach Hotel is located at Paralia Gournon, in Kokkini Hani. The map below shows the exact spot; Google Maps and Waze give turn-by-turn directions.
Who Coralli suits, and who should skip it
Coralli suits travellers who want a spacious sea-facing room at a moderate price close to Heraklion. It suits guests happy to walk 50 metres to an equipped beach. Anyone expecting a resort, a renovated bathroom in every room, or sand directly in front of the hotel should read the beach section before booking.
Advantages
- 9.0 on Booking.com across 913 reviews, a deep record for 53 rooms
- Spacious rooms with balconies and sea views
- A position facing the water, with a view guests call spectacular
- Recently renovated, which guests acknowledge
- An equipped beach about 50 metres away
- Convenient for getting around, being on the coast road east of Heraklion
Disadvantages
- The sea has eroded the beach directly in front of the hotel
- Bathrooms draw specific criticism and guests say they need attention
- Only 28 Tripadvisor reviews, so that platform adds almost nothing
- 9th of 11 hotels in Kokkini Hani on Tripadvisor
- Guests describe the hotel as needing further effort to feel modern
- A guest house standard rather than a hotel one, by the operator’s own description
The rooms: 53 keys facing the water
Coralli runs 53 rooms, and guests are consistent about two things: they are spacious, and the balconies have a sea view worth having. One reviewer describes the room as spacious with a balcony and a breathtaking sea view, then adds that the property has been renovated and is nice, and that another small effort would make it more modern and welcoming.
The same review is blunt about bathrooms, saying they absolutely need to be reviewed. That is the single clearest signal in the record about where the money should go next, and it is worth asking whether your room has an updated bathroom when you book.
The beach, and the 50 metres that solve it
The beach in front of the hotel has been eroded by the sea, which is a fact about this coast rather than a failure of the property, and guests state it plainly. What they also state is the remedy: walking about 50 metres finds another equipped beach with loungers and service.
Weigh that honestly. A sea-facing room with a view is not the same as a hotel with a beach, and if your plan involves stepping from reception onto sand, this is not the hotel. If you simply want the water in front of you and do not mind a short walk to lie on it, the arrangement works.
Kokkini Hani is worth a sentence, because it is not a resort in the usual sense. The village sits on the coast road between Heraklion and Gouves, with tavernas, supermarkets and a bus route rather than a strip of bars, and a good share of its residents live there year round. That gives a stay here a different texture from Hersonissos 15 km east, and it is the reason the prices are lower for the same distance from the airport.
How to get there
Fly into Heraklion airport (HER), about 12 km west, roughly 20 minutes by road. Kokkini Hani sits on the coast road east of the city, before Gouves.
Pre-book a transfer or take a taxi, since the run from the airport is short; the operators and fares are in our guide to taxi and transfer services in Crete. Hire a car if you want Knossos, the Lasithi plateau or the eastern beaches, and check the deposit and insurance terms in our car hire guide for Crete. Heraklion and its museums are a short drive west along the coast.
The Crete Locals review
Coralli earns 8.2 from us. The Booking.com record does the work here: 913 reviews at 9.0 for a 53-room property is a deep sample, and it describes a hotel that satisfies most guests at the price it charges.
The proposition is straightforward. A spacious room with a sea view, 12 km from Heraklion airport, at guest-house rates rather than resort ones, suits travellers who want the coast without the cost. The operator’s own description, a friendly guest house, sets expectations correctly, which is more than many properties manage.
Two things keep the score at 8.2. The bathrooms need work by the account of guests who otherwise liked the hotel, and the beach directly in front has eroded, so the sand is a short walk away rather than at the door. Neither is hidden in the reviews, and both are easy to plan around once you know.
Book Coralli for a sea-view room near Heraklion at a sensible price, and ask whether your bathroom has been updated. Book a beachfront resort further east if stepping onto sand from the hotel is the point of the trip.
