Panorama Hotel

Booked the Panorama hotel for 7 nights, leaving Gatwich at 7:30am 13th Sept. On arrival at the airport, there are about 7 or so car hire companies - well worth picking up their leaflets, as the hotel nominated car hire company is twice the price!!! Anyway, the hotel is nicely appointed, after having a renovation in 2002. It is approx 40 mins transfer from Chania Airport, via Chania (which can be very conjested). The lifts are old and the carpet on the walls smells!! They sometimes fail to open on floor 2, although a trip back down and up again usually sorts the problem!! The bar prices and pool cafe are very expensive - a pint of beer is about Euro5.00, and bottled beer is more expensive. A Gin and Tonic is about Euro 6.50. However there is a little shop outside the hotel (just cross the road) - Big Magnum Ic Cream Cornets are only Euro1.30 (triple in the hotel!!); water is Euro0.45 (shop); Euro2.90 (hotel). The food is buffet, and of an above averge standard. Breakfast is especially nice; evening meals are served on a lovely terrace over looking the sea. Evening meals are themed - e.g. "italian night; Createan Night...etc" The highlight of the hotel is the pool - its saltwater and you can float!! When you are in it, there is an illusion that the end of the water is the start of the sea - nice design! The entertainments team are fantastic...Mario, Bella, Craig, Luc....all fantastic people, not pushy, very friendly and have a good selection of activities to keep people happy from Darts, Water Polo, bar games. There were 2 shows that were well rehearsed and well delivered...well done guys!! Bella has a fantastic voice too :) I would return.

We have just returned from a weeks holiday at the hotel Panorama Blue(executive wing of Hotel panorama) This is definately NOT 5 STAR! Good points, Nice pool area, Beautiful sea views, Bad points, Food, location(middle of nowhere), Busy main road with NO footpath, Evening entertainment poor, Drinks expensive. Should be classed as 3star, Nothing like the quality of sister hotel (Coral Beach Hotel Paphos)

We stayed in the 'Executive' wing of the Hotel known as Panorma Blue from 30 Aug - 6 Sept this year. I have to say that on arrival we were given a pretty bad explanation of how to get to our room as it's not within the main building - no one took us there, and we were bumbling around in the grounds for a short period! This later proved to be quite odd as we saw other guests to the same wing being delivered via 'Golf buggy' day in, day out. Perhaps, they were short staffed when we arrived as it was an evening flight? The hotel itself is a little dated (as mentioned in a previous review) but very clean and most of the staff are all friendly and keen to help. The pools are all lovely to look at (infinity pools) and very popular with the guests. Food is plentiful and varied. Although, we rarely ate at the hotel preferring to go out and about at night. The hotel is within an easy taxi ride of Chania Town and the cost ( 5 - 6 Euro) is well worth it as the town provides a host of really excellent restaurants, bars and shopping. It's a little gem and I spent many happy hours wandering around there. Keep to the restaurants just behind the harbour front if you want really good food at great value. You won't miss the view of the harbour because the Venetian archicture is better in this part of the town and the tiny winding streets are full of interesting sights. I guess the most disappointing factor for us is that we paid that bit extra to stay in the 'Executive' wing believing we would have more PEACE. We work very long hours during the year and part of a holiday is catching up on some decent nights and having the odd lie-in. The noise from the road was very hard to ignore (Room 1003) in that wing. Secondly, the machine room for the lift & a room where one of the pool filtrations system seemed to be housed was incredibly noisy and our room was a little too near for comfort. I noticed that Rooms 1001 - 1002 remained un-occupied and I can see why - it would have been hellish to avoid the noise being right beside these noisy utility rooms. I pity anyone put in there. We had another semi-circular pool above our room (which was amazing to look at) and guests in the more luxurious rooms on the 2nd floor had sole access to this. This made gurgling noises for most of the night and the pump switched on every morning at 7 a.m. making even more noise right above our heads. At times, it was so loud it was as if we'd left a tap running in the bathroom. In conclusion, the hotel was disappointing for us but I'm sure would suit other people admirably if they weren't too bothered about noise levels and could avoid our particular room. I would definitely go to Crete & Chania again but not to this hotel. It was a rather expensive hotel (Panorama Blue section) that failed to give us what we ultimately wanted - some real peace!

We booked this hotel and when we got there found that they had rented our room to someone else! Not great! So they moved us to Palazzo Porto Platanias, which was absolutely mindblowing! If you are looking for somewhere to stay in the area go there instead. From there we drove past the Panorama several times and it seemed very out of the way, stuck on its own. What we saw of the hotel (the reception area etc) was excellent, very clean and luxurious. But if it were the same price etc purely on the location front, go for the PPP!

There have been a lot of mixed reviews about this hotel so I'll try and sow it all up here. Like most of Greece your better off going at the tail end of the season, especially to a hotel like this as you can get some truly amazing deals. For instance, if you go in late Sept you can get deals around £150 p.p. sharing, which is excellent value. To state it's a 5* is a lie, but different countries have different ratings - I think this is partially why people have formed such mixed views but it does make me wonder how much these people really travel...the price should be a giveaway for goodness sake. I would say it was a 4 star, as I've stayed in Sheratons and other branded hotels for work in Europe/States and the standard isn't much higher. They are all clean, room service is good (food v good), good TV, air con (free) and a nice bathroom. You can't hear the traffic as much as people make out, but if you live in the sticks or are old you may not be use to some slight noise, but it certainly won't bother you. The thing that lets the hotel down is the lobby, my heart initially sank when we got in. It's a bit dated but lets face it are you really going to hang out there? The lifts are old and look like they're from a Paris apartment block - 4 people to one lift tops. The pool side is great, and it does look like the photos. If you don't believe me check out one of the reviews below where the person has attached one. Another main criticism people have commented on is the lack of things to do in the evening. I find this laughable. People who have made this comment should clearly stay in their English hamlets. There is SO much to do. In the evening get a taxi to Chania (Harn-e-ah). It's only 7€ and a short ride away. The old town is beautiful and has some fantastic restaurants, Cretan food is amazing, far better than traditional Greek. I came back looking healthier than ever. There is also a trendy bar area in Chania, which hidden round corner from the main harbor past the ampitheatre(?). Ask the hotel as this place is chic and full of beautiful Cretans enjoying the evening. We hung out with loads of people in their 20s/30s here. There are no egg and chips brigade here just Chic Cretans and Athenians. Some people stayed at the hotel all day as it is on a hill up from the costal road, and either didn't bother or didn't know what was only a few miles away. All you have to do is get a cab or hire a car. If you can't be arsed then don't bother going. As for the day there are loads of excursions and beaches nearby, islands to hop to (Santorini) markets to shop in (Chania), lush mountains to drive through, loads of ruins, amazing caves, a stunning gorge, countless villages and beautiful olive groves to drive through - you just have to make an effort. I have seen some of the best lagoons and beaches in Europe on this island and believe me I travel a lot. Just hire a car and explore this is one hell of a beautiful island and I thought the hotel was perfectly placed for it all. So to conclude: This is a great hotel to use as a base to explore the most beautiful part of the island.It might not be 5 star but its clean, the staff are good, the views stunning and the food great. It is well placed to drive to the beaches or explore the old capital. At night you can get a cab either direction or hang out and have food by one of the amazing beaches. You just have to make an effort nothing is just round the corner, but it's like that for most of the island. If you're looking this up just before you go, please take my advice and use this hotel as a good base, don't be disheartened when you first arrive - just go out check out the view and get a taxi into town in the evening. You'll have a great time.

We're just back from our trip. I'm from Belgium, so my English is not so great. Here we go: The food in the hotel is really fantastic! Even breakfast is large. Dinner was every evening different. You just can't choose what to eat. So many chooses. I gained 2 kilo's this holiday, so... We had a baby with us en asked a room near the pool. We didn't get it. Alle the childeren were gatherd (?) on the 3th floor, away from the pool. A change of room wasn't possibel because the hotel was fully booked. That wasn't true, we know for sure. The rooms (we had one with seaview) are not that big, but were ok. The pool is great, but not for small childeren. The childspool is too deep en you can't sit near to it when you're sunbathing. Pitty. Having a walk in the evenings is IMPOSSIBLE!!! YOU RISK YOUR LIFE !!! You have to walk on the road, the road is INCREDIBLE busy en there is nothing to see. Just a few supermarkets. So you have to take the bus to Chania (15 min). We knew the road was busy, but this busy... So we were chained to the hotel. You also hear the traffic all the time. On the other side of the hotel, you hear the traffic less, but there is a go-carting, so you here that noise. We won't go back there because we like to have a little village near the hotel so we can make a walk from time to time. The hotel is not that interessing to stay a whole week. The beach is also not that great: you sit next to the busy street. You get the impression you sit ON the street. Chairs and umbrella's are for free, there arent't a lot of people, but it's not that nice to sit. The hotel is renovated, but just the pool en the poolbar. The elevators are very old (from time to time one of the two didn't work) and it's difficult to take a wheelchair(?) for childeren in it.

My wife and I have now stayed at the Panorama hotel 3 times and will certainly be going back again next year. The rooms are comfortable and clean; however, disappointingly, room service is not available 24 hours. The food is remarkable with a different theme nightly including a Greek dance evening. The pool area has a magnificent view of the surrounding sea and the nearby islet of Thodoru. The hotel is situated on a hill around 3km outside the town and the beach in the vicinity of the hotel is rather rocky so we preferred to catch a cab to the Agia Marina beach, Platania or head towards Chania (or Xania to locals) town for other beautiful beaches. We regularly walked along Kato Chalidon to the market and old venetian harbour. The market is rather nice for leather goods and jewellery and items are reasonably priced. Also, be sure to visit the old harbour for its lively bars and cafes. A representative from the local tourist office is available in the hotel every morning to plan and book any excursions you may wish to take during your stay. A wedding was being held at the hotel while we were there and some maintenance work was being carried out on the building, but neither caused us any inconvenience nor caused an eyesore. Other guests staying at the hotel were mainly older couples, however three parties of younger individuals were also among the guests and recommended the town's nightlife and praised the hotel "happy hour" event every evening. Overall, Chania is a beautiful town and I would recommend it for a relaxing, tranquil holiday for all ages.

I stayed with my partner at the Panorama for 2 weeks in late June / early July. Overall we had a great holiday and I would certainly recommend it for young couples looking for a romantic location and a base to explore the rest of Western Crete or for older couples / families. The hotel is on the coastal road between the main town, Chania to the east and Platanias to the West, the latter being a more 'up-beat' resort and the former the main town with a busy harbour, beautiful old town and 'chic' new town with many boutiques. 10 minutes west of the hotel is a small resort called Kalamaki, which has a great, sandy beach cove with good snorkling. There are free loungers here and a great little bar called Bamboo. There is a cash machine, mini-market and all the usual stuff. The beach opposite the hotel is just a small bay with a small shingle / pebble beach. There is a small shop next to this which sells the usual stuff, including the essentials (500cl Amstel 90c and water 30c) and is very handy (though I managed to wait about 5mins to cross the road on one occasion!) The road is noisy throughout the day and night, although we didn't really find it a problem. There is a Go-Kart track next to the hotel, though as the hotel is elevated above this, the sound wasn't really a problem for us, though it may be more so in high season. On the hotel itself, the pool area is beautiful. The freeform, saltwater infinity pool really is amazing. It seems to just slip into the sea, and the pictures really are a true representation. There are plenty of loungers and a decent patio with wicker chairs in the shade. The pool bar serves the usual snacks and drinks, though isn't cheap. Draught beer is around €5 and a G&T is around €6. Gyros, which were great, are only €3 and keep you going for the rest of the day. Other meals are what you would expect for a pool bar, though not cheap. The main restaurant is out on a very picturesque patio overlooking the sea and postcard sunsets are regular. The food, I felt, was very average though I normally stay in apartments rather than hotels so have little basis for comparison. The one good night is the Creten BBQ, which I guess is difficult to do badly. The staff are by and large robotic, unfriendly (with one or two exceptions) and are more interested on having you sign away your room number for overpriced drinks. Our room was good. Clean, air conditioned and with a balcony and sea view. Nothing special, but everything you would need. Overall we had a great holiday, I'd say its a good 3* / average 4* hotel. Great location, good facilities, but quiet and lacking in atmosphere in the evening, though a €7 cab to Platanias / Chania can remedy that.

Myself and three friends stayed at the Panorama Hotel for a week half board. We got a fantastic deal on lastminute and paid £379 each. Although classed as a 5 star hotel I would actually say it is more of a 4+ star. There is an executive wing to the hotel which we believe is in fact the 5 star section. The hotel is set alone and has fantastic views of the sea. The fact it is away from other hotels gives it a very peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. The pool area is fantastic - with an infinity pool that has the most amazing views of the sea you cant help but relax The rooms are spacious and the very clean - I particulary liked the fact that the rooms are carpeted. We had a lovely view at the side of the hotel which overlooked the sea so the sunsets were particualary picturesque. However half of our party had a room at the back of the hotel which looked over the mountains - this room didnt get the sun at night, so if you get the chance ask for a front facing room. We were half board and the choice of food was good and each night there was a different theme to ensure something new. Unlike most hotels you eat your breakfast and evening meal on a fantastic authentic large patio that overlooks the bay surrounded by flowers and greenery - something we were all impressed with. The prices for drinks and food at lunch were average. If you want snacks and drinks for round the pool or for your room it is a good idea to nip to the small shop just opposite the hotel the prices are a lot cheaper and there is a good selection of snacks and beverages, there is also a pay phone here - phone cards are available from the shop. The nights there are very very quiet so we caught a cab to the neighbouring town of Platania where there are many bars and several clubs (which wouldnt have looked out of place in central london) however with the euro things are now more expensive than you would imagine Overall a fantastic place to go if all you want to do is sit by a pool and relax - great hotel couldnt really be faulted

We have visited Chania eight times in the last ten years, we love it. This time we thought that we would go upmarket for a touch of luxury at the Panorama. On the whole it was a good decision, however the readers need to also be aware of the down side of the choice. The hotel is situated up a steep incline and perched on top of a hill. We attend a gym every week but still found the initial walk a bit strenuous. Being on a hill we found that the welcoming, cooling breeze often turned over sun umbrellas and caused havoc for lunchtime meals by the fantastic pool. The biggest turn off was the adjacent coastal road that was very noisy and very busy. We found ourselves trying not to notice that every fifth vehicle was a loud motorbike with minimal exhaust. We also couldn't find a brochure that mentioned the recently constructed go cart track next to the hotel. On the plus side, all food, rooms, views, cleaning and staff were above average. The staff however had been severely trained to log your bar accounts on their local computers and we, the customers, felt secondary to the over zealous collection of money.