Yianna Caravel “by Checkin”
Yianna Caravel is a beachfront hotel at Amoudara, 8 km west of Heraklion, with the sand 30 ft from the building, and Booking.com now lists it as Yianna Caravel Suites by Checkin adults only. It scores 9.1 on Booking.com across 353 reviews and 4.7 on Tripadvisor across 118, where 98 sit at Excellent and 6 at Poor or Terrible. The sea-view suites with hot tubs and the beach beds are what guests book; the half-board menu cycle is the complaint.
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 | Yianna Caravel “by Checkin” |
|---|---|
| Address | Dios 20 |
| Type | Air conditioning · Airport shuttle |
| Style | Beachfront hotel at Amoudara, 8 km west of Heraklion, with the sand 30 ft away |
| Listed as | Yianna Caravel Suites by Checkin adults only on Booking.com |
| Signature | Sea-view suites with hot tubs, and beach loungers guests compare to mattresses |
| Rooms | Seven categories, including jet tub, hot tub and sea view suites |
| Room count | Our record holds 27; a directory lists 35 and a guest estimates 30 to 40, so it is unconfirmed |
| Review record | 9.1 from 353 Booking.com guests; 98 of 118 Tripadvisor reviews at Excellent, 6 at Poor or Terrible |
| Watch for | A half-board menu that repeats every three days, and one report of unfriendly restaurant service |
| Check before booking | Booking.com lists the hotel as adults only while our record shows family rooms |
| Airport | Heraklion (HER) about 12 km east, roughly 15 to 20 minutes |
| Booking.com rating | 9.1/10 (353 reviews) |
| Tripadvisor rating | 4.7/5 (118 reviews) |
| CreteLocals score | 8.6/10 · read the verdict |
Booking.com and Tripadvisor scores checked on September 28, 2026.
Location
Yianna Caravel “by Checkin” is located at Dios 20, in Amoudara Heraklion. The map below shows the exact spot; Google Maps and Waze give turn-by-turn directions.
Who Yianna Caravel suits, and who should skip it
Yianna Caravel suits couples who want a sea-view suite with a hot tub on the balcony, a beach at the door and Heraklion 15 minutes away by car. It suits guests who will eat out some evenings rather than take every dinner in the hotel. Anyone who wants a resort with several pools, or the old town on foot, should book in Heraklion itself.
Advantages
- Amoudara Beach 30 ft from the property, with loungers guests compare to mattresses
- 9.1 on Booking.com across 353 reviews, with staff at 9.7 and cleanliness 9.5
- 98 of 118 Tripadvisor reviews rate the stay Excellent
- Seven room categories, including suites with hot tubs and jet tubs
- A restaurant on site, with dinners praised on both platforms
- Heraklion airport about 15 to 20 minutes away by car
Disadvantages
- The half-board menu repeats on a three-day cycle, per a guest count of the dishes
- 6 of 118 Tripadvisor reviews sit at Poor or Terrible
- One guest found the restaurant service unfriendly
- Amoudara is a residential strip rather than a resort centre
- Wifi scored 8.7, the weakest of its Booking.com sub-scores
- Booking.com now lists the hotel as adults only, while our record shows family rooms
The rooms: seven categories, most with water or a view
Yianna Caravel sells seven categories: Deluxe Double Room, Double Room with Bathtub, Deluxe Double with Jet Tub, Junior Suite, Junior Suite with Hot Tub, Junior Suite with Sea View, and a Deluxe Suite with Sea View. Guests describe large rooms, big balconies and windows cleaned during the stay, and one reports a third-floor suite with a hot tub on the balcony.
Book a sea-view category and confirm the policy on children. Our record holds 27 rooms while a Crete hotel directory lists 35 and a guest estimates 30 to 40, so the total is unconfirmed; more importantly, Booking.com’s listing now carries the words adults only while our record still shows family rooms, so ask the hotel directly if you are travelling with children.
A beach at the door, and a menu that loops
The position is the product. The hotel sits directly behind Amoudara beach, a long sandy strip west of Heraklion, and guests single out the sunbeds as unusually comfortable and the sea views from the front rooms as the reason to pay more. Heraklion, Knossos and the airport are all within 20 minutes by car, which makes this a practical first or last stop on a touring holiday.
Dinner is where the record splits. Several guests call the restaurant food delicious and take dinner there repeatedly, while one counted the half-board offer as 5 starters, 2 salads and 5 main courses rotating every three days, which is thin for a stay of a week or more. Another found the restaurant staff unfriendly and would rather have stayed near the harbour in town.
Read the Tripadvisor rank with care. The page places the hotel 2nd of 2 in Skafidaras, a hamlet rather than a resort, so the ranking carries no information at all. The distribution is the useful figure: 98 of 118 reviews at Excellent, with 6 at the bottom.
How to get there
Fly into Heraklion airport (HER), about 12 km east, roughly 15 to 20 minutes by road, which is the time guests report.
Pre-book a transfer for the arrival, since the coast road west of Heraklion is busy at peak hours; the operators are in our guide to taxi and transfer services in Crete. Hire a car for Knossos, the Lasithi plateau and the south coast, use the hotel parking, and check the terms in our car hire guide for Crete. Amoudara’s tavernas and shops are a short walk along the strip.
The Crete Locals review
Yianna Caravel earns 8.6 from us. Two platforms agree, at 9.1 across 353 Booking.com reviews and 4.7 across 118 on Tripadvisor with 98 at Excellent, and staff and cleanliness are scored 9.7 and 9.5.
The hotel delivers a specific thing well: a suite with a hot tub and a sea view, 30 ft from the sand, 15 minutes from the airport, at a price the Elounda and Agia Pelagia properties cannot approach. Guests who use it as a beach base for touring central Crete rate it highly, and several have rebooked.
Two things stop it going higher. The half-board offer runs on a short cycle that a longer stay will notice, and the restaurant service drew one clear complaint against many compliments. The listing also needs clarifying: Booking.com says adults only, our record says family rooms, and only the hotel can settle which is current.
Book Yianna Caravel for a beach week at Amoudara in a sea-view suite with a hot tub, and eat out on the strip a couple of evenings. Book in Heraklion if you want the old town and the museums on foot.
