Village Panorama Hotel

I have just arrived back from Village Panorama. It is early this time of year for crete so was not all up and running. Weather thou was 38-40 degrees shame to hot but can't complain. Booked 4 days before departure. The hotel well very clean - food after about 4 days starts getting a bit boring shame they never had a small snack bar by pool. If you wanted a shop you had to go to town which was a bit of bind walking down the hill you had to fit and it is getting expensive out there. The staff on receptionn very rude don't now yanis as never see him. The bus that run's from hotel to town and beach was 9am 10am and 3pm with returns at 10.15 3pm 6pm and 7pm was not enough really and the driver stopped on the road were he wanted to so never got taken the full distance (never mind ah) but I have a walking difficulty so were he dropped off was were you were picked up too steep a hills for me so tried gettting a taxi from town they were never about when I tried either, on 1 occasion a lady and man were shutting there buisness so they run me and my friend back to hotel (that was very nice of them) as being after bus service from hotel I would not of got back to hotel.
Would'nt recommend it to anyone.
Peter was very good at his job and did deserve Thursdays off.

The hotel was nice and clean. The reception staff Yani was helpful. However this hotel was not all inclusive by any means. we had to pay for drinks after 11.30pm at night and we were given set meal times i.e. breakfast 7.30am til 10am Lunch time 12pm to 2pm and tea time 6.30pm to 8.30pm and no snacks in between. Other than the coffee and biscuits that was brought out to the pool area at 4pm to 5pm.
The entertainment in the hotel was basic for example a quiz and bingo with karaoke in the evening.
Only one bar in the hotel comple which was situated outside in the pool area so this meant walking up and downstairs taking drinks inside the hotel lounge area where it was warmer.
The food was ok and a choice was available however the desserts was there any ????? apart from biscuits and a different colour jelly.

if your doubting weather or not to go to hotel village panorama.. please DONT
IGNORE THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS!!
probably the best holiday ive ever been on.
the food is lovely.. sometimes. some people may have problems with the food but the supermarket is within walking distance!
the weather is always amazing!
your never bored which is all down to the entertainer , Peter!!!
He's a gorgeous, very talented man, who leads the mini disco, bowls, volleyball, table tennis, gymnastics, water aerobics, except on thursdays when he has a well earned day off! he speaks english,slovakian,french,polish,german and more!
music is played during the day, theres special morning songs which are repeated every day, this isnt a problem, as the atmosphere is improved when everyone sings along.
The staff are friendly and easy to get along with
Yannis is the lovely man who sits at reception and welcomes you to the hotel, Peter of course, the bar staff are lovely, Charlene is the most beautiful and nicest girl you will ever meet! i miss them all so much!
go to the hotel with an open mind and you will not regret it!!
when can i go back?!!
x

If you've read negative reviews about this hotel, please, please ignore them!!
We had a major panic at the airport when we realised we'd stupidly forgotten to print our accommodation voucher, but we headed off in a taxi with everything crossed that we'd have somewhere to stay.
When we arrived at about 4.30am, we were greeted by a very smiley, welcoming night receptionist, Yiannis who assured us he had a copy of the voucher & not to panic. We'd already booked a sea view room as we paid attention to the options when booking, but Yiannis then gave us a choice of 2 rooms which we weren't expecting!
The first was in the main hotel & was Butlins level, very clean, very comfortable but a bit basic. The second was out past the pool & was Travelodge standard, absolutely huge, with modern wooden furniture, a large balcony & amazing views.
Whilst we were there our room was cleaned everyday by a friendly maid who always chatted away to us, despite her not speaking any English & us not speaking any Greek!
We found everyone who worked at the hotel to be fantastic, especially Charlene & Aris who did the afternoon/ evening shift in the bar & Yiannis (not the same Yiannis who works reception at night!!) who owned the hotel & would line up free drinks on the bar at the end of the night for those guests who had stayed up and made the most of the evenings entertainment & music. Peter & Eric are also decent guys, just lock up your daughters when Peter's around & don't think he's a good bet for a holiday romance, he has a one track mind & lot's of notches on his bedpost as we saw him take different girls home everynight (though to be fair any guy would do the same in his position as Mr Entertainment.)
The cynical amongst you will assume this was because we were 2 20 something girls & that they had ulterior motives but we saw them be just as friendly to families, couples, basically anyone who was polite & respectful to them instead of treating them like servants!!
The other thing people complain about is the food but we couldn't understand that either! Ok, it's not cordon bleu but there's always plenty of choice and both hot & cold options at each meal. We had chicken nuggets & chips on offer 2 days out of 7 which is surely enough to please even the fussiest of British palates!
Yes there was a large hill to walk down to the beach & the supermarket but this was the only thing that kept us fit during our break (apart from dancing at night) & if you find the hill too much or are feeling lazy then get the minibus (which runs 3 times a day)or a taxi (about 4 euros each way.)
In conclusion, we really enjoyed our holiday at the Village Panorama Hotel & would have no hesitation in going back. We made some great friends, both in fellow holiday makers & in hotel staff & have no doubt these will be lasting friendships.
This hotel has everything you could want or need for a fun & relaxing holiday in the sun!
At the end of the day a holiday is what you make of it. Go with the right attitude & a large smile & you will have a fab time & leave with some great memories!

1 reader found this review helpful

on arrival to the hotel we did find the welcoming man at reception fairly rude....
however, the remainder of our holiday was lovely, including the food and of course peter!
overall we had a brill time and would say definately go there for the lovely hotel and beaches and nice restaurants, as we had a wicked time. yes the beach is a longish walk but only for the lazy! people are wanting five star accomodation for cheaper prices, stop complaining and start having a good time!

We arrived early in the morning on the 23rd of september at around 2am, we were greeted (or scowled at!) at reception by the male receptionist and told that the sea view room which we had been promissed by the tour operator was not guareenteed and told we would have to settle for a mountain view room or pay 10 euros a night extra. We decided to stay where we were, we went to the rooms and found them to be small but adequte for our needs. Would have been nice to have a kettle in the room but we did have a fridge and tv. We had to pay 25 euros to hire the safe and also 30 euros for the air conditioning remote control. We did have a few crickets and woodlouse in the room but it didnt bother us as the room was cleaned everyday. If you dont think you would be able to put up with the bugs, request a room on the upper level or away from the grassy areas. Our friends with a baby were put in a room with a terrace by the grassy area and found that they were kept awake most nights by crickets in the room and had to kill a couple of cockroaches as well. not suitable with young children! when they requested another room they were offered rooms at the top of the hill with not very pleasant views.
The other guests at the resort were mainly eastern european or polish and the the food and the entertainment was mainly geared towards them. I was also suprised at the other guests rudeness, like pushing in front of you in the queue, not moving when they can see that you need to get by, or even staring at you disapprovingly but this isnt the hotels fault so dont let that put you off.
The food times are very regimented 7:30 till 9 for breakfast, 12 till 2:30 for lunch and 6:30 till 9 for tea. if you want anything to eat inbetween there is nothing available and if you are slow eating your meal at the end of the times you will be told to hurry up and leave.
There is only one bar area with mainly one person serving at a time and the all inclusive drinks consist on beer, 3 cocktails, vingery wine and a couple of spirits. Also one drink per person each time so the queue was almost always about 7 people long. The entertainment starts at 10 o clock where the bar plays some crazy euro pop madness which includes a cockrell crowing, some guy snoring and army trumpets really loud that you cant escape it! the music is repetative with the same tape being played every other night but if you like eightites rock ballards and the macarena this could be the place for you!
The resort itself has nice views of the beach but there is a large hill to walk down to get there which feels worse getting back up it. The bus runs from the hotel at 10 am and 3 pm and returns at 3pm and 6pm, the taxis finish work at 11pm so if you are out the many bars and tavernas for a night out bear this in mind. We eate out most days and the food was excellent, we would recommend Kri Kri and Zorbas. Also the cocktail bar on the corner of the main street is really nice and they also show british football sometimes. bazaar is also worth a visit.
The beach was lovey, went snorkelling everyday, hired a kayak but can only go out as far as 300m but was still worth a go! All in all we had a lovely holiday the weather was good, the town was good, the beach was good but the all inclusive side of the hotel not so good.

A simple greek hotel with basic very clean accomodation. A great value for money option. The food is somewhat monotonous but there was always plenty of bread, pasta and salad so no-one need starve. On the whole the staff were very friendly and helpful especially those on the reception. The hotel is situated above the resort and the views are fantastic! The resort is quiet with a few shops and plenty of bars and restaurants. For a quiet chill out good value break I would go again.

We booked our hol back in march after thomas cook cancelled out original holiday to spain, so we booked what we could in a rush to get a holiday. Then we made the mistake of reading some of the very negetive reviews left by others and we were really dreading it.
When we arrived on what was o be our first night, we were told that our room would not be ready till the next day as they had double booked, so they offered to put us up at the 4 star blue bay resort for the first night.These things happen we thought and accepted the offer. The blue bay was very nice.
We only paid £460 each for 2 weeks all inclusive in a 3 star hotel, £250 which was for the flights, so we basically paid just over £200 for 2 weeks accomadation, all food and all drinks so we were not expecting the ritz!!!yes the food was repetitive, and at times not the greatest, but for the price you are payin what do you expect!!!When we were there there were people from the uk, russia, poland, germany, france, belgium, lithuania, slovakia, slovenia, checz republic etc. so not every meal is goin to suit every guest. previous reviews went on about veg being served at breakfast etc but maybe thats what other countries have with there breakfast. Us brits seem to think that breakfast should be cereal, toast, beans, egg, bacon etc, but the fact is most hotels cater for a far wider range of customers nowadays and it is not a brit centred indusrty anymore!!nobody is going too orce you to eat veg for breakfast so why complain. There was always fresh bread every day so you could always have cereal, or beans and toast or whatever if nothing else suited you.
What we would tend to do was have breakfast, then maybe lunch if there was something we liked, ad if there was nothing at dinner for example we just went to one of the local tavernas, or ordered a kebab from Samarias (they deliver to the hotel, and the tasted great!!)Also the rooms were clened EVERY day without fail, and the rest of the hotel was absolutely spotless at all times.
The entertainer was there most days from 1030am to 1130pm an yes it was also repetitve but it was only one guy doing the entertainment (Nicos), and he did the best he could so fair play to him.
The location is on a very steep hill but we were pre warned before we booked about this, so we hired quads and a car for a week and got out and about and saw a bit of the island.
To end with we just wanted to say a big thanks to Dora the receptionist and Yanniss the night manager, who were always available and happy to help, even when they had the added stress of our tour operator going bust (XL), still did everthing they could to make sure we had a great holiday. At the end of the day a holiday is what you make of it and if you are on a budget, then I would highly recommend the village panorama. However,if you are expecting 5 star food/accomadation etc, for what worked out for us to be £15 a day then dont even bother booking as its not the place for you.
I would also say that anyone who has aleady booked before reading the bad reviews, dont stress out too much and just go with an open mind!

hotel was good ,we got a great room over looking the sea ,BUT !!!!!! do not go all inclusive ,if u want to eat that is .Food is worse than terrible very very very bad ,pork fat more pork fat and then some more ,salad ok ,watch the pickeld veg though !
Now down to the free drinks ,yes you do !all in small plastic cups ,one per person ,very little choice in drinks ,(you have to pay for the good ones on the back shelve ),so if you ,like me like a wee beer be prepared to visit the bar often, oh ! and stand in long ques each time.shuts 11.30 for free drink.
hotel is ok as i have said ,beach down a big hill ,you can get hotel bus up and down at certain times (you will need it coming back up),nothing realy to do for your kids other than the pool ,(closes at 6.30 )great view (IF YOUR ROOM IS IN FRONT OF HOTEL ) if not no view at all ,all staff quite rude, with exceptions to the cleaning staff and the man who is on the desk at night .
well thats the hotel ,will not be back ,will go back to crete though .

I booked this 11 day all inclusive holiday for myself, my wife and 3 friends and their respective partners about a year ago. We read various reviews on this hotel during the run up to the holiday and at one time I very nearly cancelled, I was that concerned.
I'm really glad that I didn't...
Our arrival (at 3.30am) was met with a cheery smile by the guy on hotel reception, who immediately offered us refreshments whilst we carried out the necessary paperwork.
We were then shown to our rooms which, whilst not massive, were plenty big enough and clean. We were all offered the chance to hire a remote controller for the air conditioning which we gladly agreed to pay 5 Euros per night for as it was so hot.
We were very happy with our accomodation and found that our rooms were cleaned nearly every day whilst we were there.
The hotel food was OK, not brilliant, but for the price we paid we weren't expecting steak & lobster. The salads on offer were fresh, the hot food selection wasn't brilliant but we usually found something to our tastes. You are holidaying in Crete, not Blackpool people, so don't come here expecting burgers, chicken nuggests and fish and chips like we have at home.
The selection of drinks from the free bar were adequate, the beer was quite nice and the spirits were served in sufficient quantities to ensure that you could get tanked up quite easily if you so wished. OK the Gin wasn't Gordons, and the Vodka wasn't Smirnoff...but come on. At the prices you can get this holiday for you don't really expect them to be do you????
Don't get me wrong...this isn't the kind of hotel that you would want to go for on honeymoon or a romantic break, but if you are after a cheap holiday in the Sun for a laugh with some mates or a kids holiday you could do a lot worse. We went without our two 12 year old twin boys this year but I would have no hesitation in taken them here with us next year. They are not fussy eaters and don't live on junk food, enjoying salads and vegetables at home and would have eaten everything put in front of them. If your kids are used to a diet of junk, then they won't enjoy the food on offer, but that's hardly the hotels fault is it?
The beach at Agia is perfect for adults and children alike, the water is warm and gin clear, with little fishes swimming around your legs as you paddle or swim. It is not too deep and is ideal for those not too confident in the water. There are plenty of Tavernas and restaurants stretched out along the bay that finding somewhere different to eat or drink is not difficult. We would personally recommend a restaurant called Kri-Kri for superb steaks and seafood. A little more expensive than others along the bay but well worth it for a really nice evening out.
All in all we really enjoyed our first trip to Crete, and as I say, I would have no hesitation in returning to this hotel again.
The only time I saw any staff getting annoyed behind the bar was when certain individuals decided that they were going to "stockpile" their free drinks on the table and kept going up to the bar getting fresh drinks before they had finished what they actually had in front of them. Selfish to the core, and I can't blame the staff for getting a bit cheesed off.
Take this holiday for what it is (a cheap one) and you will have a good time.
We got 11 nights all inclusive for £525.00 per person including flights from Gatwick. You couldn't stay in Blackpool for that amount of time at a decent B&B for that amount of money...and you certainly wouldn't get to come home with a fantastic tan and meet some of the friendliest people you could wish to meet.