Iberostar Waves Creta Panorama & Mare

Ido Ya'ari

This resort truly feels like a holiday village. You could easily spend an entire week here without leaving the property. There are so many activities and facilities, including several swimming pools, tennis courts, mini golf, table tennis, a kids' club, an amphitheater, and much more. We booked two rooms with a shared pool, and that was definitely the highlight of our vacation. The kids spent hours in the pool, while we enjoyed the stunning views from our terrace. The resort is very well maintained, spotless, and the staff are friendly, welcoming, and always happy to help. The main restaurant offers an excellent buffet with a huge variety of fresh, high-quality food. In addition, the resort has three themed restaurants that are included in the stay. You just need to reserve them in advance through the app. We tried them all, and the food and service were outstanding. The only reason I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5 is that we had no hot water in the mornings for the first three days, even though I reported the issue on our very first morning. Thankfully, it was fixed from the fourth day onward, and we had hot water for the rest of our stay. Another small issue was that the kids' room had bunk beds, with the top bunk located directly beneath the air conditioner. We had to turn off the AC whenever the children were sleeping, which wasn't ideal. Other than these two issues, everything was excellent. We had a wonderful stay and would definitely recommend this resort.

Arthur

We arrived at the hotel with a family of 14 in seperate rooms and the rooms were nice the only thing I would say about rooms and cards is that there is only 1 room card so you don't have a spare. The view was really nice especially at sunset. You have to walk a moderate distance to go to the beach and there is not much sand on the beach mostly big rocks. In the nearby sister hotel there was a third party water sports which I liked,I tried the canoeing. The only thing i would say is that the bananna boat is a touch overpriced being 15 euros each. The anamation team was really nice and there are seperate age groups, Monkey camp 4-7,Dolphin camp 8-12 with kai and zoi(they are nice and funny) and the adults. They have a 1 week theatre schedule and we were they for longer than a week so we didn't want to watch the same thing. For some of the shows it says its a fire show but it was mostly dances but the best of the best was funny. Food wise there could have been more options and bring more foods such as the steak bake and hast brown from uk. They mostly target uk and german audicences. There are 2 freshwater pools the rest are salt which annoyed me because I had to go to the water park or "Luxury pool" as I call it . Saying that the "Luxury pool" had proper sunbeads and gazeboes and an infinity pool. The "Luxury pool" is the one at the other end of the hotel near the metal fence opposite side of the sister hotel. There is a gym and a spa and the massages are a bit overprices at 120 euros each. There is a donut shack and we loved that (its a coffee shop but we got donuts there) and since we had a big family we were able to get 10 donuts! There is a train outside of the hotel that leads to other villages. From Arthur UK Age 12

Sally Sadler

First this is a lovely hotel and the food and drink is amazing. However it’s very confusing if you’ve not booked all inclusive and you get mixed information depending on who you talk to. This made us very nervous as to what we were able to do. Basically at breakfast the basic drinks are included but half board they’re not at dinner so we got told off. We didn’t know. No one told us and no one gave us information about it. It’s all online but it’s not very specific for half board. I don’t eat or drink a lot so all inclusive is a waste for me. That said to avoid the huge confusion I wish we had got it!! Staff are all friendly and even the one who explained we got it wrong was nice and said it was okay but tomorrow we know! I was still a bit confused because the basic wine isn’t available just the more expensive ones. The pools are all lovely and very clean. We love the seawater pool. The whole complex is lovely and I think if we return it’ll be with family as there’s so much for the small children here.

Sarah Burke

We have lived in Crete for about 2 years now and decided to come here as a staycation on the island. I would start by saying we would not stay here again. The biggest issue is the "all inclusive" aspect has a significant asterix. A majority of offered restaurants and activities can only be accessed with a reservation. And you can only make said reservation if you are a guest for 7 nights. So, if you are staying for less than that, your dining options are limited to the buffet. Which on the first night is lovely. But you will be eating there 3 times a day, every day, for the length of your stay.... The beer included in the package is a brand brewed by the hotel itself and is so watered down it might as well be labeled non-alcoholic. Same for the wine - which comes with the added bonus of incredibly unpleasant metallic aftertaste. And as for the cocktails - just don't order the cocktails. After that, this is a very high priced ThunderDome, You will wake up each morning and begin your day by fighting others for a chair by the pool, as they allow people to pop out towels at 0600 and not actually sit until 1430. Then you will fight to get into the buffet, because that's the only restaurant you and almost everyone else staying there are allowed in and the line will be up the stairs and out the front doors. Then when you gain access to the buffet, you fight for a table. Then when you find a table you will fight in line for food. They will run out of mugs, they will run out of coffee, they will run out of most things honestly. Because it is the ONLY place most people are permitted in. And then you get to do it all again for lunch and dinner. In fact, your entire stay will feel like a roller derby match trying to fight others so you can simply partake in the offered "amenities." Now a majority of the staff is lovely save for the reception staff, which is unfortunate. And the facility itself is lovely - our kids loved the waterpark aspect. But this specific area of Crete is literally a whole bunch of all-inclusive resorts. Pick one where you wont have to fist fight your way to reheated frozen pizza and the Greek version of Naty Light. And if you do decide to stay here for whatever reason - stick snacks and a few bottles of decent drink in your bag. And may the pool chair gods be forever in your favor.

Pavel Smoldarev

Everything is superb, the service is very high, the staff is excellent – ​​very friendly, always ready to help – great job. The food is varied, high-quality, and delicious. The pool is clean, and the grounds are very well-maintained, clean, spacious, and varied, with magnificent views and sunsets.