Iberostar Creta Marine Rethymnon

My friend and I stayed in Crete and had a wonderful time! We went Sept. 26th through Oct. 3rd, 2004. The hotel you stay in decides on which bus you get on outside the airport. But, it is easy enough to figure out. It takes about an hour to get to the hotel. The staff were all very helpful and friendly. Our rooms were cleaned daily to include folding any pajamas and laying them nicely on the beds. We also went to the spa and got massages and the body wraps that I would do again. The food is great. You choose anything you want from the huge buffet. The waiters/waitresses will get the drinks for you once you have taken a seat.

I have nothing bad to say about the hotel itself!

If you want to get out and see sites, you can go down to the shop inside the hotel and buy tickets for the bus that is right outside the hotel. It will take you just about anywhere. This is how we travelled and at first, is a little scarey but once you have done it a few times, you learn to be calm. It is the twisted road and driving close that is the scarey part! If you prefer a smaller beach type place, I recommend Georgiopolus beach. It has a small shopping district that you walk from the bus down to the beach. If you prefer bigger shopping city type places, Chania was that. You just take the bus to the bus station, which is the last stop from the hotel. You then go in and buy another round trip ticket to the place you would like to visit. Most everyone speaks English and if they didnt, we just figured it out! Just remember that you are on vacation and if you dont necessarily find the place you wanted to get to, you are STILL in a place you had never been to before so it is still an adventure. As for the hotel and staff, I would go again and try to stay longer. There is alot to do with the animation team. I dont believe that they rest! If you are planning a vacation in Crete, try this hotel. I cant imagine you could be disappointed!

We have just returned from a wonderful week at this hotel and my only complaint is that I could not stay longer! The hotels position, right on the coast and surrounded by mountains was stunning. The grounds were lovely. I was a little concerned before we went at the lack of a large sandy beach for the children, but after a visit to the large overcrowded beach in Rethymon we all very much apprieciated the lovely lagoons. I think it is in the hotels favour that it is 10 miles out of large resort. My two teenage children had great fun snorkelling in the lagoons and saw many different fish and shells. The food was delicious and plentiful. The waiters very friendly and cheerful. Our rooms were spotless and spacious. Wonderful views from the balconies of the sea/mountains/sunsets. The sea was rough on two of the days we were there, but we were still able to swim in the lagoons. The watersports was very well organised and speedboat/jetskis kept well away from swimmers. There is a platform for a lifeguard but we never saw one. The children enjoyed the activities and evening entertainment, but it did end a little early. (around 10.15). Disco 3 times a wk went on until 1am. The entertainment team worked very hard with daytime activities and shows in the evening. They were very friendly and anouncements were made at the pool re next activity (archery/darts/water polo etc), but never any pressure to join in. I would have liked to see some local cretan/greek dancing, but nothing of this kind. The 'little train' to Panormo was well worth it (1E each way). Panormo is a lovely little village with a harbour, beach, tavernas and a few shops. Lots of locals sat out at the tavernas. Very peaceful and unspoilt. I would like to have taken the trip to walk the Samaria Gorge but too hot to contemplate it! (family were relieved). As mentioned drinks were a little expensive but not a problem as we do not drink loads. Also had fridge in room so had own supplies of beer/coke/water. Overall a brilliant holiday and would definately return here without hesitation.

We recently spent two fabulous weeks at the Creta Panorama Hotel near Rethymnon on an All Inclusive basis (2 Adults 1 Child aged 12). I would highly recommend the hotel, the food was excellent, so much to choose from at all meals we didn't have the same meal twice. There was plenty to do for adults and kids, at least 10 swimming pools, 4 man made bays for sea swimming, and water sports available. You helped yourself to beer, juice, and wines at meal times, also beer was available for self service at the main pool, along with a pool bar for kids juices and coffees. There is entertainment laid on every night ranging from magicians to music shows for adults and kids. You can take a leisurly stroll around the beautiful grounds with great views out to sea. The accomodation is spotless and your room is cleaned every day. I can not speak highly enough of this hotel. Will definately be back.

My wife and I had one of the most wonderfully relaxing holidays ever! We were there June 14-23. The weather was beautiful, the food outstanding, and the grounds were picture-perfect. Our sea-side cabana on a small lagoon gave the feel of a botique resort, yet with the amenities of a mega-resort. Walks by the sea, swimming in the lagoon and pool were as soothing of the spirit as the body and mind.

Drink at dinner are very expensive, and there is NOTHING served to drink without a price on it. This is a glaring flaw in an othewise almost flawless experience.

We highly recommend this hotel, and look forward to trying others in the Iberostar chain. We were impressed!

Just got back (literally, a day ago) from this hotel so thought I would write a more concise review. I tried, before departing, to research as much as possible about all aspects of my holiday and came to a halt at the hotel - not much exists about it! So, I'll try to include all that I think is relevant.

We arrived quite late - about 11pm their time, and it was 28C already! This was on the 13th July. But I needn't have worried, as this was Heraklion airport, in the city, and temperatures during the day time normally stayed at about the 28/29 mark. I thought the heat would be unbearable but it was fine, perfect, and the hotel is right beside the coast so we got a lot of cool breeze.

Anyway, the hotel. We travelled with Airtours Prestige so we got a taxi straight away to take us to it. The drive itself is pretty spectacular - although the Greek penchant for no crash barriers and lots of overtaking does scare you a little! (Why anyone would want to hire a car is beyond me!). We got to the hotel pretty quickly, I thought - only about 50 minutes or something. Went past Bali and it looked pretty unspectacular. Arrived at the hotel and there is a huge fountain outside (check out the videos at iberostar) and at night looked just gorgeous.

We checked in, and an electronic car came to pick us up to take us directly to our bungalow - fantastic! The bungalow itself is nice, havn't been to many 4* hotels before but it was more than sufficient. Apparently they all have sea views but we could just see a little from our patio. This didn't matter though.. we were right next to the main swimming pool and in the middle of lovely gardens. Wasn't any tea and coffee facilities in the room as advertised but who really wants to drink that on holiday? Very handy fridge, too. The rooms were kept absolutely spotless and the housemaid even folded up all my scattered clothes on the first day! If you do go, you must remember to tip the housemaid and she was constantly cheery all day and did a perfect job.

For breakfast there is loads of continental stuff - meat, cheese, bread, pate and lots of hot stuff - scrambled egg, omelette, sausages, bacon, tomatoes - as well as various yoghurts, cereals, salad stuff and fancy cakes. You can sit outside on the veranda and feed the cats if you like, too.

Dinner in the evening was fine - very varied and generous buffet, more than often it was pork in sauces, fish, moussaka, spinach pie, along with the normal salad stuff and kids food. The only fault here I could find is that the waiting staff take your drink order at the beginning and deliver it but do not ask you for more later on - it gets quite busy and there's a lot of clearing out tables etc so I wasn't that fussy. The house wine was foul so avoid it! But that could have been the free shot of raki we were given I suppose...

Pools/Facilities: We used the main pool only once, because of the novelty of being able to sit in it and order from the pool bar! They have a random ledge near it that isn't signed so we did get nasty bangs on our knees though so watch out. Also, the floor itself in the pool and around it outside is extremely slippy with no warnings so if you take children I would advise to watch them closely. Nearly broke my neck on numerous occasions!

Instead we did most of our swimming in a little bay they had. Nothing like a spectacular beach but we were happy - lots of rocks as you paddle in though so be careful! Apparently you are charged 3E for each sunbed on the shore here but we used them everyday and were only asked for money on the day before we left. There are better beaches a short walk past the three hotels to the left and one at Panormo, but we didn't visit there. They have a flag system in place but I didn't see any lifeguards and the sea got extremely rough a lot of the time so you do have to keep an eye out.

Entertainment: on our first night they had a tropical party in the ouzo bar so we went there and had a couple of drinks. Usually Euro stuff - lots of cheesy music played by a DJ and the "Animation Team" dancing with the guests. They did a naff thing involving the girls paddling in the pool with a couple of torches to that Olympic instrumental music, too. They light little fires on the marina so it looks pretty spectacular at night, and then fireworks were lit - gorgeous. Very thrilled. The one thing I would say about this is that people who have paid extra for the sea front bungalows, the VIP bungalows and suites might be a bit annoyed because all this entertainment goes on right beside their accommodation through the night so in a way I was pleased we were a little further back.

They did other things, like a Moulin Rouge night, and a Disco, but all in all it was a bit.. crap, really, for want of another word. Maybe it is just a cultural thing but it was very naff and cheap - not the sort of classy stuff you would expect from a hotel of that standard. They are the same team who do all the competitions and stuff during the day at the pool and are nice enough, enthusiastic individuals but it does get pretty jarring after more than a couple of hours. They also do this incredibly annoying choreographed dance every hour to an awful song and encourage everyone to get involved. Shudder! Very kiddy oriented. The dude in on the keyboard in the lobby bar is also very bad but this comedy entertained us more than the Animation Team did all week.

We instead spent most of our time in the lobby bar. I seriously don't know why people complain about drinks being a little expensive. A normal cocktail was 5.80E and a 'tropical' one was 6.10E. That's £3.75 for a cocktail! I don't know where everyone else comes from but that's the norm for a standard cocktail for me. And, come on - you've paid, what, a few hundred/thousand pounds to come on holiday for a couple of weeks and you're too tight to pay 20pence extra for a little drink! No wonder we have a moaning reputation!

As I remember I think a standard large beer (500ml) was 4.10E. Not bad at all. You can either order them at the bar or you can wait for a waitress to come to serve you and bag some free peanuts, hah.

We noticed that it was mostly populated by Germans, Italians and French. Apparently not a lot of British people come here. But who really cares? Just so you know.

They have a little mini market which is fine but there is one just 200 metres away and you can get your bottle water there for 15 cents as compared to 30 in the hotel. (By the way, they charged us 2.10E for a small bottle of water at dinner so maybe just be cheeky and bring your own identical 15 cent bottle from the market!) You can buy bus tickets there and the bus to Rethymnon stops right outside the hotel - perfect. There is also a little train that takes you to Panormo but unfortunately we didn't visit.

Rethymnon itself is thoroughly enjoyable to walk around - the fortress is amazing. One recommendation I simply must make is to go a restaurant called Avli, just off a road near the Rimoni fountain. Quite simply one of the best dining experiences I have ever had. I didn't want to sit at a bog standard holiday 'restaurant' and point at a picture of the food I wanted to eat, so we went here.

Gorgeous. In a pretty courtyard. Wait until later though, about 8, because we were just ambling outside for ages around 7 but it was dead. They have a fantastic mix of 12 cretan dishes for two as a starter which was fabulous - the octopus was unbelievable. The wine waitress knows her stuff, and the bottle of white she selected was simply divine. They also get you bottled water, too. It's a little more pricey because it was more upmarket, but for 100E we got all of this: starter for two, two mains, village salad, bread, bottle of wine (20 alone), beer, punch, dessert, brandy, coffee. You won't regret it!

Some people may complain that the hotel isn't near the town but personally I think it is so much in our favour that it is a few minutes out. The strip of hotels just outside Rethymon lacked character and charm and we just all shunted together in a messy way beside the lacklustre beach. Here, we were a short bus ride away in gorgeous surroundings, just this one complex of classy hotels and the mountains for company. Definitely worth the short bus ride.

So, that's about as much as I can squeeze out for now! Very recommended but make your own entertainment!

Stayed at the hotel for one week lovely room overlooking the ocean with private balcony and couldn't fault the food only crticisms being that it is quite a distance from the town itself, drinks very pricey and a lack of evening entertainment.

Have just spent a week at this very relaxing and beautifully maintained hotel. We stayed in the presidential suite which was superb and had beautiful views over the private beach and lovely grounds. The food was excellent, lots of choice for the whole family with a lovely greek buffet and a grill with fish or meat to choose from. The drinks were a little expensive but if you choose to stay somewhere like this that is surely what you would expect. My children (6 and 5) loved the mini-club where the rep was so enthusiastic with them - activities all day to keep them out of the sun. My only slight complaint was that the children reps did not speak excellent English (they were German and Italian) so I felt a bit uncomfortable leaving them - so we sat around the pool next to the kids club where we could see them and enjoy watching them particpate in all the activities. The staff at the hotel really could not do enough to help and went out of their way to make our stay really enjoyable. Would not hesitate to recommend it.

Having arrived at 2 am to a nice welcome and a great room, it is worth the sea view costs. The hotel is spotless and the gardens and walks make up for the lack of a good beach.

All the rooms are spacious and have good bathrooms.

The food was one of the best buffet's available and the staff in all areas of the hotel were hard working and pleasant.I cannot do more than say the gardens were a sight for sore eyes and kept immaculate.

Just a couple of niggles, but they do not detract for an extremely well run hotel. The bar service in the evening was slow and the room staff did not replenish the bath foam until I asked for it!If thats all then you know it is a great hotel . I am a travel agent and will recommend to my clients without a qualm.

The hotel is excellent in every way from morning till night the only complaint i have is the drinks are very expensive i was paying 9.5 euros for two vodka's and a bottle of coke which after two weeks its starts to bug you, aslo i went the last two weeks in july which the hotel was very busy and the service was very slow due to not having enough staff on. The food is excellent and the al carte restaurant with VIP waiter service down by the bay over looking the harbour is stunning (my wife was very impressed) the hotel is about 20 minutes from rethymnon in a taxi which will cost you 15 -20 euros which again i felt was expensive. I came home feeling that i was ripped off because greece has always been cheap, they blame the euro. I hope i dont put you off the creta marine because its a lovely hotel just expensive for drinks.

This hotel is truely exceptional.Spotlessly clean throughout.A fantastic variety of high standard cuisine every day for breakfast and dinner with a variety of snack bars for lunches or snacks throughout the day.Lovely pools (3).Wonderful landscaped gardens with lots of green grassy areas.The staff understand several languages and are all courteous and helpful.Very well managed by a gentleman and his team who makes it his business to be seen everywhere.3 private beaches, watersports and a brilliant animation team who provide two children's clubs,adult activities and evening shows of a good standard.We had a marvellous 3 weeks there.My son of 17 was also well pleased.My only criticism is the drinks are a little expensive