Diamond Star Hotel
Diamond Star Hotel is a 23-room hotel above the bay at Falasarna, on the far west coast of Crete, and it is new enough that guests still describe it as brand new. Diamond Star scores 9.3 on Booking.com across 713 reviews and 4.8 on Tripadvisor across 23, where 20 sit at Excellent and 1 at Poor. The infinity pool looks over the bay, the sunsets are the reason people book, and the access lanes are narrow.
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 | Diamond Star Hotel |
|---|---|
| Address | Φαλάσαρνα, Χανιά Φαλάσαρνα, Χανιά |
| Type | Air conditioning · Daily housekeeping |
| Style | 23-room stone-built hotel above the bay at Falasarna, on the far west coast |
| Signature | Infinity pool aimed at the Falasarna bay and its sunsets |
| Keys | 23 rooms in five categories, two with a private pool |
| Review record | 9.3 from 713 Booking.com guests; 20 of 23 Tripadvisor reviews at Excellent, 1 at Poor |
| Sub-scores | Cleanliness 9.6, staff 9.6, wifi 9.4 on Booking.com |
| Confirmed by the hotel | Double beds are two single beds joined under a mattress topper |
| Watch for | No restaurant, narrow access lanes, and street-view rooms with little sea |
| Beach | Falasarna beach about a 2-minute drive |
| Airport | Chania (CHQ) about 70 km east, roughly an hour and a quarter |
| Booking.com rating | 9.3/10 (713 reviews) |
| Tripadvisor rating | 4.8/5 (23 reviews) |
| CreteLocals score | 8.7/10 · read the verdict |
Booking.com and Tripadvisor scores checked on September 28, 2026.
Location
Diamond Star Hotel is located at Φαλάσαρνα, Χανιά Φαλάσαρνα, Χανιά, in Falasarna. The map below shows the exact spot; Google Maps and Waze give turn-by-turn directions.
Who Diamond Star suits, and who should skip it
Diamond Star suits couples and families with a hire car who want a new room with a bay view, an infinity pool and Falasarna beach two minutes down the road. It suits guests who eat out. Anyone without a car, or who wants a hotel that serves lunch and dinner, should stay closer to Kissamos or Chania.
Advantages
- 9.3 on Booking.com across 713 reviews, a large sample for 23 rooms
- 20 of 23 Tripadvisor reviews rate the stay Excellent
- Infinity pool overlooking the whole bay of Falasarna
- Junior suites and suites with a private pool
- Built in Cretan stone, with rooms guests describe as new and detailed
- Free private parking, and Falasarna beach a 2-minute drive away
Disadvantages
- Breakfast is called repetitive by one guest, who also disputes the orange juice
- Double beds are two singles joined, which the hotel confirms in its reply
- Ground-floor and street-view rooms see much less of the sea
- Narrow country lanes lead to the hotel
- No restaurant, so every meal beyond breakfast means driving
- Only 23 Tripadvisor reviews, so the confidence sits with Booking.com
The rooms: 23 keys, and the floor decides the view
Diamond Star runs 23 rooms in five categories: Standard Double or Twin with Street View, Double or Twin with Sea View, High Floor Double or Twin with Sea View, Junior Suite with Private Pool, and Suite with Private Pool. The building is stone-built and recent, and guests consistently describe the rooms as large, modern and carefully finished.
Book the highest floor you can, and read the category name literally. A guest recommends the first floor over the ground floor because the sea is properly visible from it, another was upgraded to a top-floor sea view suite and calls the bay view the high point of the stay, and a third stayed in a quadruple with a street view and reports the kitchen in it was not working. Ask the hotel to confirm both the outlook and the kitchen before arrival.
Falasarna, the sunsets and one management reply worth reading
Falasarna is the westernmost beach on the north coast, a long sweep of pale sand backed by hills, and it faces directly into the sunset. The hotel sits above it with the infinity pool aimed at the bay, which is why review after review describes evenings on the terrace rather than the room. Tavernas and beach bars sit a few minutes away, the archaeological site of ancient Falasarna is walkable, and Balos and Elafonissi are each about an hour by road.
Getting there takes patience. Guests describe the approach as almost country lanes, narrow enough to be worth noting, and the hotel is 2 minutes by car from the beach rather than on it. In practice this is a hotel for people with a hire car, and the free parking is part of the offer rather than a detail.
One exchange in the review record tells you how the property handles criticism, and it is the most useful thing on the page. A guest complained about a repetitive breakfast, diluted orange juice, thin toilet paper and a double bed that was two singles pushed together. The hotel replied in public that all its double beds are two singles joined with a mattress topper over them, which is a straight answer rather than a defensive one. Ask for a genuine double if that matters to you, because the hotel has told you plainly what to expect.
How to get there
Fly into Chania airport (CHQ), about 70 km east, roughly an hour and a quarter by road via Kissamos. Falasarna lies at the western end of the north coast, past Platanos.
Hire a car for a stay here, because the hotel sits above the beach on narrow lanes and Balos, Elafonissi and the Gramvousa boats all need one; the terms to check are in our car hire guide for Crete. Pre-book a transfer if you land late and would rather not drive the last stretch in the dark, using the operators in our guide to taxi and transfer services in Crete. Tavernas and the beach are a few minutes away by car.
The Crete Locals review
Diamond Star earns 8.7 from us. A 9.3 across 713 Booking.com reviews is a large, consistent record for a 23-room hotel, the sub-scores sit at 9.6 for cleanliness and staff and 9.4 for wifi, and the small Tripadvisor sample agrees at 4.8.
What the hotel sells is a new room and a pool terrace pointed at one of the better views in Crete. Falasarna’s sunsets are a genuine draw rather than a marketing line, and the property was built to face them, in stone rather than render, with private pools in the top two categories. For a couple touring the west, it is a better base than anything in Kissamos town.
The reservations are practical. There is no restaurant, so dinner means a short drive every evening; the cheapest rooms look at the street rather than the bay; the lanes in are narrow; and the hotel has publicly confirmed that its double beds are two singles joined. The single Poor review on Tripadvisor is about breakfast rather than the rooms, and it is the only negative note in 23.
Book Diamond Star for a week in the west with a hire car, a high-floor sea view room and evenings on the pool terrace. Book in Kissamos or Chania if you would rather walk to dinner than drive to it.
