Village Panorama Hotel

This hotel is in no way good enough for the stars it has been given. We arrived in the dead of night and were pointed in the right direction of our room, no help offered at all. We had reserved a mountain view, having had the choice of this or sea view. I was looking forward to the lovely scenic mountain view from our room.
The room was very dark which is usual and we were very tired. When we woke the room was blacker than a coal mine and we soon realised that there were no windows to be found in the room. The front door opened on to what can be described as thick vegetation with no light or view of anything either. The mattress was placed upon breeze block bases, no bed frame and no furniture as everything was breeze block shaped concrete.
I was very distressed and I suppose being claustrophobic does not help. They showed us to another mountain view room with a lovely view of a 4 foot breeze block wall and thick vegetation with no light but a window at least. We were then offered for 5 euros per night a room with a sea view. This room did indeed have a lovely sea view, proper beds and furniture but was very basic with a/c extra. The food was good, Kostas was great.
The rooms are dreadful and paying to get something decent is not good and all the complaining falls on deaf ears. I would not put my dog in the majority of the rooms this hotel has to offer.

My husband and I booked this holiday and then read some of the reviews. We then thought maybe we had made a mistake. However, we had a really good time. The staff were friendly but put up with a lot of moaning from people who do not think things are good enough, so no wonder they look grumpy sometimes.
we had 3 great meals a day, I'm a really fussy eater and not once was there something I would not eat or at least try!. The main complaints we heard were about the food and this was because people wanted chips and burgers and English food, if they wanted that then maybe these people should stay in the UK.
There's not much entertainment but Kostas the barman was brilliant, he certainly kept things lively enough and we had a really good laugh. Yes it is only 2 drinks at a time, but how many do you really need at once!! there was also a good variety, gin, rum, vodka, wine, beer, cocktails and numerous others
The beaches are lovely and it's 5 euros for 2 sun loungers for the whole day. we had great fun and really enjoyed watching all the different fish which swim around your feet, some of them were fascinating.
Our room was clean and tidy and the cheerful maid came round everyday, the beds were comfy and we had no problems with the bathroom, which although small, had everything in it you need.
If anyone is thinking of going, this a beautifully placed hotel, the views are spectacular. The walk back from the beach is a bit of a hike but it keeps you fit. This is not for people who want excitement and entertainment every night, this is a lovely relaxing holiday and I would recommend it.

This holiday was a bit of a mixed bag, with plenty of good points, and a couple of bad. This was the first all inclusive deal I have been on, and I went with my best friend.
Bearing in mind we paid about £320 each all inclusive with transfers from the airport to the hotel, I was not expecting a huge deal. The holiday is so cheap, you cannot expect too much!
The food is a strange one - the salads are good, as is the fish they serve. The problem was my friend is vegetarian - despite asking the rep and the staff at the hotel if there was anything they could do, there really wasn't much choice for her. In the end she did resort to picking the meat out of dishes (it was that or eat lots of the very nice tomatoes they serve, and nothing else!). So, you won't starve, but expect the food to be basic. If you are a meat eater though, the food is pretty good. The hotel will also provide you with a packed lunch with a sandwich, juice and water if you give them a day’s notice which is handy, even if you only take the water!
The drink isn't anything special, but what the hey - it’s an all inclusive bar! If you want anything a bit special, you have to pay for it, but personally it’s good enough for me. The bar staff do their best in tough circumstances from what I can tell.
The room we had was pretty basic, but from talking to the other guests they seem to vary widely. The covers provided on my bed had various cigarette burns in them, but were clean. The room was a bit like you would expect from an ok-ish hotel, in my experience. Again, this wasn't a big deal - at the end of the day, it’s cheap, and we were out and about most of the time, so it didn't matter.
The reception staff are ok. We received a very warm welcome, I can't fault that! When we did have a problem though, they were not massively helpful. I reported seeing a rat, although no action was taken.
There is a lovely village you can walk to with a beach, as mentioned in the other reviews. It is definitely worth wondering to - nip into the Dolphin restaurant if you can - and makes a nice change from the resort. Be warned - the hotel is otherwise not near to anything else. You will need to catch a bus from the hotel, stand on the side of the motorway and flag down a bus (there is no official bus stop to speak of), hire a car if you can, or go on one of the organised trips. The trip to Spinalonga was fantastic.
I did have a nice time at the Panorama, but I would not recommend it unless you are ok with spending a fair bit of time by the hotel pool. And yes, there are lots of Polish people there, but they were all nice enough. If you have small kids, I think this place would be fine. Its not great though if you are looking to go sight seeing during the day though as it is a bit isolated, unless you are prepared to pay for taxi's or hire a car.

We arrived at the Village Panorama expecting the worst and for the first hour or so we got it. We were a party of 15, my husband and adult daughter were given what we'd read on the internet as the cowsheds as our accommodation, they were dreadful, however, a polite word to the reception staff and we were given keys to rooms in the main hotel and these were satisfactory.
The food was plentiful and as far as our party was concerned of a good standard. The position of the hotel gave spectacular views and was a challenge walking to the beach but was well worth it. The beach is shingle so we all would recommend beach shoes of some type and be careful of your children as there is a steep drop once in the water. It is really peaceful with just 3 or 4 tavernas and a supermarket, fab.
It is such a long walk to anywhere we spent most evenings at the hotel, (be aware they lock the bottom gates at 11-15 and some of our party had to climb over them on one of our nights out)that is where the problems can be. We have been on 6 previous AI holidays and never had to wait so long for drinks, Kostas, who appeared to be head bar person, was dreadful. We thought he was joking but in fact he was taking the p--s. He would have about 10 to 15 people waiting and choose to straighten beer mats and glasses and chat to people at the other side of the bar for a good 5 minutes frustrating those waiting. Most people were good natured about it and no serious arguments broke out while we were there but it was not good service.
I would recommend car hire, we did this via reception which was a painless process, and there are lots of lovely places to see within a short distance. The bus, to Heraklion, stops near the Panorama and tickets can be purchased from reception. Our men folk had a days golf and said it was the most challenging days golf they've ever had, and came back exhausted. (Hire a buggy)
I would not recommend this hotel to anyone with any walking problems at all, there is no pleasant walk of an evening after your meal and no shops to browse (there is a small supermarket on the site)
After all of the above we had a brilliant holiday, the weather was beautiful, we got out and saw some of the sites, the beaches and Agia Palegia were lovely, views spectacular, the hotel staff were friendly and polite, food was fine, tea and coffee available all of the time, the only fly in the ointment was the bar staff. Please (to the management) do something about this, now!

Despite some of the bad reviews on this hotel for the price we paid we did get value for money. The rooms are basic but clean there is maid service every day, the food was very good and plenty of it, maybe a bit repetative with the fish but it was very tasty anyway.
The only thing that I could complain about was the lack of staff running the bar, so be prepared to wait to get served. Overall the staff were very pleasant with the exception of some of the bar staff namely Costas who would have benefited with taking some happy tablets, however it never marred our holiday.
I was there along with my husband and 13 other friends and we has a fabulous time. For a change walk down the bank a little way there is a bar called Pennystellar the bar staff are wonderful along with the food. If you buy a drink you can use their pool during the day and its very quiet and peaceful.

Well, I know you are probably reading more or less the same reviews over and over again. Mostly bad, interspersed with some suspiciously good ones!
Anyway, I won’t write a three page essay about how horrendous our stay was, all I’ll say is, if you would like to talk to me, and see photographic and video evidence of just how disgustingly horrendous this place is, send me an email.
We actually paid ourselves for early flights home and missed over half of our holiday to escape the flea pit! Damp rooms, hairs in the bed, mould in the shower (lots) yellow stained walls, sick on the balcony, unbearable stench of raw sewage that wakes you in the night and leaves your clothes stinking, rude staff, slops for food, the list is endless.

After reading some of the bad reviews on this site; I was genuinely worried about the stay at Panorama. I was contemplating cancelling all together, but I'm glad I didn't.
Me and my girlfriend arrived at the hotel at around 4am after a very long day of travelling, we both made an effort of being friendly regardless of how exhausted we were. I even took the time to learn a bit of Greek on the plane. The receptionist (as a lot of people have commented) is very friendly; he even gave us free air conditioning for the first and second nights.
The general look of the hotel is slightly run down, but you really need to look closely to notice this. On entering our room I was a little shocked at how basic it was, but after a couple of hours we had unpacked and it seemed a little more homely.
The next morning we managed to get the tail end of breakfast which wasn't very impressing, the best thing to do with meals is try to get into the restaurant as soon as it opens so that the food is fresh and hot.
I spent the week wondering why people were complaining, as really for the price, I wouldn't expect much more. I'm known to be a bit of a snob, but I went the whole week without complaining. If you go there with an open mind, be friendly and respect the locals you can't go far wrong.
The rowdy polish and Germans did get on my nerves towards the close of the week, but we just headed on down to the beach when things got loud. The walk down to the beach is a bit of a chore, but it's worth it. The bars and Taverna's are fantastic, My favourite being "Kri Kri", the first on the left as you come down on to the beach path in Agia Palagia. We made great friends with the bar people in Club Nanu too.
Overall, I was definitely pleased with the outcome of the holiday. I'm just annoyed I spent all that time worrying about it before the trip.

I am currently sat in my front room typing this when I should still be in Crete. The resort of Hotel Panorama was that disgusting; we ended up paying extra to stay at Pennystella down the bank and catching early flights home.
I can't say anymore as to what went on while we were there as I am about to enter into legal proceedings with medhotels.com to try and claw back the money spent on this farce.
I can only imagine the people writing good reviews of this place work for the tour operators/hotel or need their head looking at!

If you are going to this hotel please read the hotels own web page, because you get exactly what it says on the tin. I had a wonderful 14 nights here with my wife and 2 small children 5 and 14 months. The hotels says in its page quite clearly not suitable for old people or couples with young children because it is at the top of a large hill.
The food is traditional and that means Greek. The staff are very helpful and polite but I guess it’s give and take. Be courteous to them and they will be the same.
Good points- The food is delicious and healthy, the pool is full of screaming kids (as a pool should be), there are plenty of sun loungers and the drink never runs out.
It only takes 12.5 minutes from the hotel to the beach with large bag and pushchair. Beach is beautiful and the water is Cristal clear. Rooms exactly what it says in the brochure and cost effective.
BAD POINTS
Miserable unappeasable grumpy BRITISH guests. The daytime bar tender is a misery (just say please and thanks then leave him to it). The queue for the bar gets a bit long (however Kostas the outstanding night bar tender is fighting this case with the owners to get larger glasses.
SUMMARY
If you want sausage, egg and bacon for breakfast, fish and chips for lunch then a roast dinner, go to Blackpool. If you want silver service and 5 star, pay for it and go to Dubai.
The hotel is great value and worth every penny. Our holiday worked out £9 per day per person and you get 3 square healthy delicious meals, loungers, pool and as much drink as you can manage.

After a recent stay in beautiful Agia Pelagia at the Panorama Hotel we would like to write our opinion to counteract some of the 'whingers' on the website. Arriving around 4.00a.m. We were greeted by a very cheery receptionist who gave us all the information we would need, and offered us drinks and snacks before retiring to our room.
He advised us to have the air conditioning as they were having a heat wave - and we were glad we did. The room was clean and compact with a nice balcony and wonderful views. This was cleaned daily by the equally cheerful maid. The bathroom shower had constant hot water and was very controllable - and you soon get used to the fact that the floor gets very wet as this is all open!
Meals were extremely good with everything you could want for breakfast (except toast) and the pancakes are well worth queuing for! Lunch and dinner were so tempting that if you are not careful you end up having two large cooked meals a day.
Salad was always available for those with more willpower. The wine is perhaps better made into spritzers, the Ouzo worth trying, but the Raki is for those who just want to get drunk - never mind the taste!!
Our rep. Clodagh was friendly and helpful and there are lots of organised trips if you don't want to hire a car. Santorini is beautiful and very interesting - but expensive.
The two bays to walk to are lovely, we preferred the quieter one but each has bars and somewhere to buy snacks etc.
It only takes ten minutes to walk to either bay (we were told it was 20 minutes to the quieter one by road but we found a short cut)Coming back is all uphill and will take at least 20 minutes unless you are super fit. Taxis are available. Worth investing in two sunbeds and umbrella for 5 euros.
The female receptionist in the daytime we found to be very friendly and helpful too, but does not suffer fools gladly. From some of the tourists we saw she gets quite a few of those to deal with!!
If you want nightclubs and the music scene then this is not the place for you. If you are looking for a quieter place to relax this is ideal, especially for 40-50 60 ish.
Our main dislikes - people who pile their plates up so high with food they can hardly carry them! Also at mealtimes I would like to hear more Greek music instead of the British pop we can hear anytime.
If you are looking for fish and chips, continuous ice-cream slot machines and loud music type resort please go somewhere else - and allow us quieter British to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of Agia Pelagia and the amiable Greek people.
Glynis and Colin Potter (Harry!)