Kimpton La Mer Crete by IHG, Adults Only
Kimpton La Mer Crete is a 78-room adults-only resort at Dramia, near Georgioupolis, and it now trades under IHG’s Kimpton brand rather than as the independent La Mer Resort. Kimpton La Mer scores 9.0 on Booking.com across 762 reviews and 4.5 on Tripadvisor across 289, ranking first of the 3 hotels in Dramia. The brand change matters practically: IHG One Rewards status and points apply here, and guests with status report being upgraded.
We have no commercial relationship with this hotel. Crete Locals earns 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 | Kimpton La Mer Crete by IHG, Adults Only |
|---|---|
| Address | Dramia |
| Type | Adult only · Air conditioning |
| Style | Adults-only resort at Dramia, near Georgioupolis |
| Brand | Now Kimpton La Mer Crete by IHG; previously the independent La Mer Resort and Spa |
| Loyalty | IHG One Rewards points and status apply; guests with status report upgrades |
| Keys | 78 rooms and suites; the swim-up pool rooms are the category guests write about |
| Dining | Evening a la carte restaurant rated well above the coast average; quick pool lunches |
| Ranking | First of the 3 hotels in Dramia, which is a small field |
| Read first | 34 of 289 Tripadvisor reviews sit at Average or below; the newest reviews describe the rebranded hotel |
| Airports | Chania (CHQ) about 50 km west, Heraklion (HER) about 100 km east |
| Booking.com rating | 9.0/10 (762 reviews) |
| Tripadvisor rating | 4.5/5 (289 reviews) |
| CreteLocals score | 8.5/10 · read the verdict |
Booking.com and Tripadvisor scores checked on September 25, 2026.
Location
Kimpton La Mer Crete by IHG, Adults Only is located at Dramia, in Georgioupolis town. The map below shows the exact spot; Google Maps and Waze give turn-by-turn directions.
Who Kimpton La Mer suits, and who should skip it
Kimpton La Mer suits couples who want an adults-only week with a swim-up room and a proper evening restaurant, and IHG members who can put status and points to work. It suits guests who want quiet: Dramia is a small place near Georgioupolis rather than a resort strip. Families cannot book it, and anyone who wants a town on the doorstep should look at Georgioupolis itself.
Advantages
- Part of IHG’s Kimpton brand, so One Rewards points and status apply
- 9.0 on Booking.com across 762 reviews, a large and steady sample
- Swim-up pool rooms that guests describe as the reason the stay felt special
- Evening a la carte restaurant rated well above the resort average
- Pool lunches described as quick, fresh and exactly right for the middle of the day
- The hotel arranges private airport transfers, which guests found removed the arrival stress
Disadvantages
- 34 of 289 Tripadvisor reviews sit at Average or below, the weakest share among the adults-only hotels here
- Tripadvisor’s 4.5 sits a long way under the 9.0 on Booking.com
- Dramia is small, so eating or drinking outside the hotel needs a car or a taxi
- Two names still circulate, which makes older reviews harder to place
- No children, which rules out family trips
- Ranked first of 3 hotels in its village, which is a smaller field than it sounds
The rooms: 78 keys, and the swim-up is the upgrade
Kimpton La Mer runs 78 rooms and suites, and the swim-up pool rooms are the category guests write about. One IHG Diamond member describes being upgraded into one on arrival and calls it the thing that made the stay, with complimentary wine and fruit waiting in the room, which is the kind of arrival the Kimpton brand is built around.
If you hold IHG status, book direct and state it, because the review record suggests it is honoured rather than ignored. If you do not, the swim-up category is still where the money should go, and it is worth asking how far the room sits from the restaurant and the beach.
What the Kimpton badge changes
Until recently this was an independent five-star hotel called La Mer Resort and Spa. It now operates as Kimpton La Mer Crete by IHG, and both Booking.com and Tripadvisor list it under the new name. For a traveller that means three things: the booking sits inside IHG’s system with points and status, service standards are audited against a brand rather than set purely in-house, and reviews written before the change describe a hotel run differently.
That last point explains part of the gap between a 9.0 on Booking.com and a 4.5 on Tripadvisor. The Tripadvisor record reaches further back and carries 34 reviews at Average or below; the Booking.com sample is more recent and larger. Read the newest reviews before you book, which is our standing advice for any hotel that has changed hands or flags.
How to get there
Fly into Chania airport (CHQ), about 50 km west, or Heraklion airport (HER), about 100 km east. Dramia sits just inland of the coast near Georgioupolis, off the north coast national road.
Ask the hotel to arrange the transfer, since guests report that service working well and it removes the arrival problem; alternatively our guide to taxi and transfer services in Crete lists the independent operators. Hire a car if you want Lake Kournas, Argyroupoli or the drive south to Chora Sfakion, all of which are close, and check the terms in our car hire guide for Crete. Georgioupolis, with its river mouth and tavernas, is a short drive for an evening out.
The Crete Locals review
Kimpton La Mer earns 8.5 from us. The recent evidence is good: 9.0 across 762 Booking.com reviews is a large sample, the swim-up rooms deliver, the evening a la carte restaurant is rated well above what this coast usually manages, and lunch by the pool is quick and fresh rather than an afterthought. Guests arriving with IHG status describe upgrades and thoughtful touches, which suggests the brand transition has been taken seriously.
The Tripadvisor record is the reason the score is not higher. 4.5 across 289 reviews, with 34 at Average or below, is the weakest profile among the adults-only hotels in this batch, and it does not match the Booking.com picture. Some of that is the brand change pulling recent ratings up while older ones hold the average down, and some of it is simply a hotel that has not been consistent for everyone. Either way, read the last few months of reviews rather than the headline average.
One caveat about the ranking. First of 3 hotels in Dramia is accurate and close to meaningless: the village is tiny. Judge this hotel against Georgioupolis and the Chania coast generally, where it holds up well on food and rooms and less well on consistency.
Book Kimpton La Mer for a quiet adults-only week with a swim-up room, especially if you hold IHG status, and take a car or use the hotel transfer. Look at the larger Georgioupolis resorts if you want more to walk to, and read the newest reviews first because this hotel is not the one its older record describes.
