Iberostar Waves Creta Panorama & Mare

No slippers no straws because of the hotel is eco friendly also the spa has a heated javmcuzzi but 25€/1 hour and the heated pool is not heated is just an indoor pool

This has been mine and my finances favourite holiday by far. To summarise the main feature of this hotel is the breathtaking views of the sea, beautiful sunsets and its gorgeous maintained gardens. The staff always greet you with a smile and are extremely accommodating. I have broken down this review into sections. There are some negatives but the positives massively outweigh them. Room The room was fairly basic but had a large double bed, a walk in shower, with towels, toiletries such as shampoo conditioner and body wash, alongside a hairdryer. There was a kettle with some teas coffees etc. We had a mini bar which had nothing in it. The balcony was good space with nice views of the hotel. (1430) we had a priority location room. Air con was also nice and cold. Lots of storage. The negative was that there was only two plug sockets for the whole room so this made charging devices difficult. We were then upgraded to a swim up suite which was gorgeous. The bed was enormous, the shower was larger and facilities overall better; it was clear this was recently renovated. We had two sunbeds with cushioning and a sharing pool which was just magical. One thing which was a shame was that we felt our cleaner in our initial room never hoovered. Often we went to the beach and despite our best efforts trod in sand and it remained there for days. Food & Drink The food for breakfast is the usual, bacon eggs sausage, sweet treats and pastries, cereals. Lunch we rarely had but loved the star cafe at the beach which served hot dogs and burgers. Dinner was varied and always something new to try. There is always your home comforts such as pasta chips and pizza, but also a variety of different fish; meats and rice dishes. This was one of the best all inclusive foods I’ve had. We had the a la carte in the Italian which was gorgeous, and also the Greek which was okay but nothing on the standard of the Italian restaurant. The Italian restaurant is also available for anyone to eat at for lunch which was nice for a sit down meal. The drinks were the usual my partner felt the beer was weak but alright. I didn’t like any of the cocktails and was disappointed the daiquiri was premade! The cocktails could definitely be improved. I do recommend a lovely iced frappe from Vera down at the star cafe! The biggest negative for us was that we had to book dinner every night for the main buffet. This was extremely frustrating as we hated being restricted with timings, and often we did not know when we were going to be hungry as we were doing different things everyday! This was disappointing and felt tedious. Pools One of our main negatives is that if you are like us and can enjoy a lie in, you have no chance of a sunbed. We had been down at 8am and the majority of sunbeds had gone. We mainly stayed either at the beach or the Faerhon pool which seemed the only one to have sunbeds clear. The pools were clean and beautiful but a shame we did not enjoy many. Entertainment

Honestly, the customer service didn’t stack from day one. We went all inclusive (with wristbands and for those that know all inclusive know) and it was lack lustre. In our opinion poor choices on the buffet with not much variation. Very difficult to book a large family into the other restaurants and when I raised this with reception they explained the system doesn’t allow it so I should have gone to customer relations. By which point it was too late and fully booked. Having to reserve a time to have dinner in the buffet was a nightmare and one night I had to carry my napping 6 year old into the restaurant so my other children could eat and I didn’t miss our slot. They don’t refill the mini bar unless willing to pay £35. All drinks are served in plastic cups that have seen better days and it’s Pepsi not Coke for those that have a preference. We felt that with certain outlets it was a chore to provide us with larger drink orders (particularly the beach bar). The aqua park is great but the chairs are dangerous and uncomfortable. Twice we fell backwards and smashed our back on the floor. The staff however are brilliant in this part of the hotel. The main pool was salt water and my children really struggled with that, even with goggles. We did take the magic train twice and eat out which is a lovely trip and the local restaurants are very used to large families and offered brilliant service and food so highly recommend that. The rooms we had were tired and the grout needs a good clean and housekeeping were not brilliant at providing extras (like blankets for the kids who had to sleep under the aircon) and complained about us requesting this. The sea is stunning and the coves are brilliant to snorkel in however very few sunbeds down there so get there early. Check in took nearly 45 mins and yes you are offered drinks and a flower but equally you got sold to on all the excursions the hotels offer. Too much after a long day of travel. I did have a major issue with a member of staff. It wasn’t dealt with well and the communication was poor but I will say once the manager heard what happened we had more reassurance it was dealt with. To be honest I won’t be back. Not what I expected from an iberostar. Do your research. For value for money I would book elsewhere. An overpriced 3* resort at best.