We traveled to Greece as a family of four: me, my wife and two teens (18 and 14). We spent the first week in Athens, and then moved on to Crete for the second week. As you know, Crete is a very large island and we had tons of hotel choices. It was very hard to narrow it down, but the Peninsula seemed reasonably priced and the location was relatively central on the island (so that we could journey in any direction)... not to mention the photos of the property seemed very inviting, relaxing and pretty. Rooms - we booked the Family Suite, and requested being near water. Such requests (i.e., near water) are obviously not always guaranteed, but they were able to accommodate us. Our location was fantastic. We were away from the main building and close to the "salt water" pool (the better of the two pools, but I will get to that) and the sea. We could exit our room and be at that pool in less than a minute, and the sea in about 2-3 minutes. The elevator to go back up to the main level where the restaurant was also a minute or two away. Next to us, we could see the Bungalows, which we almost rented, but decided we wanted the extra bathroom which the Suite came with. We felt really fortunate to get the location we did, but even if you end up in the main building area, your trek to the beach (or the better pool) should be no more than 5 minutes. The rooms are sparsely decorated, one room had a faux orchid and the other a painting, and quite simple, but that was just fine for me (I was there for the location, not luxury aesthetics). The bathrooms seemed more updated, but neither of ours had ample room to spread out your toiletries. You had to use the small sink (enough room for toothbrushes and my razor), or the small plastic stool in the corner. That was fine for me, but my wife was a little disappointed. Fortunately, she got over it quickly, as you had plenty of closet space with shelves in the room to lay stuff out. Speaking of bathrooms, keep in mind that Greece is one of those countries where flushing toilet paper is forbidden due to their pipe system. Every toilet has a little waste basket (with lid) next to it where you dispose of it. Not really an issue when they clean the room every day, but public toilets away from the hotel can be another story. The A/C units worked well, but we had the power go out on us at least 3 times while in the room over the course of a week, and fortunately they were quick to address (could that have been due to being located in a small and separate building than the main one? I don't know). If you want to unwind with a little TV at the end of the day, be prepared for very limited English channels (we had only Bloomberg News and Nickelodeon)... all of the other channels were primarily German or Greek (I recall a few more channels in various languages too). Not a huge issue for us, but still worth calling out.. and it makes sense since most of the tourists are European. Most of the staff we encountered spoke English, except for the cleaning/maintenance people. They tend to mop the exterior walkways in the early morning (between 6 and 7, probably because breakfast opens at 7), and you need to be careful... rarely will you see a caution sign in use, and I slipped on two occasions. One time, landing sideways and spilling my coffee everywhere. Had I been elderly or disabled, I could have been really hurt. Again, be very careful if you are an early riser and want to take a walk. Food - I'm usually a bit wary of all-inclusive options, but given the relatively remote nature of the hotel, it made sense. My usual wariness is not just because of concerns over food quality, but also I've walked past too many all-inclusive hotels in Mexico on the beach and it looked incredibly over-crowded with people packed in the pool like sardines and obnoxious Top 40 music blasting LOL. That was not an issue here. Even though we went during the summer high season, it never felt overcrowded (yes, it was full, but it didn't feel overbooked, if that makes sense), and the food was actually pretty good for buffet style. While you would see the same food choices available each day, there were also always special selections for the day, during lunch and dinner. My favorite was when they added for dinner a selection of Cretan dishes that included lamb and escargot. One of our teens is a little less adventurous of an eater and there was plenty of choices for him too (always pizza and fries offered, for example). There are also ala carte restaurants onsite, and our package provided one free meal, which we did on the final night. The ala carte restaurant we went to (near the salt water pool), if you end up paying directly, was reasonably priced and included moderately upscale dishes (beef, lamb, fish and more). The service at the ala carte restaurant was great. However, I do want to call out that when we arrived at that particular ala carte restaurant, we were initially told we needed to go to the other one for the package we booked. We informed them we were told by the front desk to go to this one, and after a phone call to the front desk, they agreed to let us stay. Beach - the location is pretty nice for this part of the island... especially being relatively close to the main city of Heraklion (30 mins away.. that might sound like a huge distance, but Crete is a pretty big island, and it takes probably 7 hours to drive all of the way from east to west if you wanted). The peninsula it is situated on has really nice views, and to one side is a small public beach with a restaurant and little market shops (neither associated with the hotel), and the other side of the peninsula is a long man-made concrete platform with chairs and umbrellas. We preferred that side, as it was less crowded, and really only for the hotel guests due to location. There is a bar there too, including snacks, but it's not part of the all-inclusive deal. The water close to shore was relatively clear and it's a pretty spot. The sea floor is rocks with some patches of seagrass, and a few occasional fish. You can certainly snorkel there, but after an hour or two of doing it, you'll feel like you've seen it all. Still, it's a nice relaxing spot away from the crowds. There is an onsite (albeit not affiliated with hotel) water activities group, where you can rent canoes, jet skis and boats. We did the jet skis for 30 minutes (which cost 100 Euros), all four of us taking turns, which was plenty of time considering you can only jetski in an extremely limited area. I would actually recommend not doing the jet skis because of that limited range (coupled with the price), but my kids have never done it, so we did if for them. The next day, and for not much more money (either 110 Euros for 2 hours, or 160 for 3 hours), we rented a boat for a few hours, where we could explore the local area much much further (I'm guessing 2 miles in either direction). We opted for 2 hours and wished we had done 3. Pools - there were two pools. One up near the dining area and closer to the main building, and the salt water pool, closer to the sea. We definitely preferred the salt water pool, not just because it was closer to our room, but because it was much more scenic. The main pool is literally right next to the dining area and just didn't have the same feel/vibe. It was square and a bit boring. The salt water pool was in a more picturesque part of the property, and you could also walk right down to the aforementioned beach platform in about a minute from there (with showers/restrooms in between). This pool and the beach platform do fill up, and even though the pool hours were technically 10am to 6pm, you would find the usual towels being slowly put out starting at around 8am, and people using the pool by 9 or 9:30 (the beach platform fills up more slowly). As expected, the spots with the umbrellas go first. Most days it would be full by 10am. However, around lunch, there were usually vacancies so if you miss your opportunity in the morning, come back around lunch. Our favorite spot, however, was the beach platform. Just a beautiful little spot, a bit quieter (the saltwater pool does have a connecting kids pool), and fortunately also easier to find chairs. Other advice? The hotel can assist you in renting a car, but if you go in the summer/high season, book it in advance. We tried to book a car with one day's notice, and they only had two cars to choose one... one only big enough for two people and the other a Fiat van of sorts. The van was not in great shape. The battery died on us (fortunately we were back in Heraklion, the main city, and not 2 hours away as we had driven), and we lost over an hour of our day waiting for them to come and replace it. Not only that, the A/C stopped working too. Don't make the same mistake... book your car well in advance, so you don't get a dud. :) At the end of the day, this is a great hotel for families. The location/scenery is very nice for this part of the island and relatively convenient from airport (30 mins), and the food was good for all-inclusive (better than expected, and good for families). There are certainly more luxurious hotels available on the island and of course many that are less so, and had it been just my wife and I, I would have gone for something more private.. but again I feel the Peninsula is a great choice for families.…
The staff at the hotel are fantastic, extremely polite and helpful - nothing is too much trouble. The views from the hotel are breathtaking. Our room was very clean on arrival, spacious with a big balcony overlooking the sea. Clean towels were provided every day alongside a bottle of water for each guest in the room. The restaurant caters for a range of dietary needs and provides a good choice of food daily. My son has a nut allergy and he was well catered for with a wide range of dishes available for him to eat each day. Eating away from home with a nut allergy can be very scary and stressful. We did not experience this in our stay, It was great that we could all relax and enjoy the food without fear of him having an allergic reaction. Every morning whilst eating breakfast the guest representative checked on people whilst they ate their breakfast and reminded them that she was there to help them. This really gave the impression that the comfort and happiness of their guests are the highest priority of the staff at the hotel. I highly recommend this hotel and I will definitely return in the future.…
Well situated ,the hotel grant a good service as well for rooms and swimming pools . Children are wellcome . Diifferents sports can be practiced duch as diving tennis basket ball ,food is excellent .Just take care of depth of pool
We just had a fantastic stay at the Peninsula and it is everything that you could expect from a large resort style hotel. We paid full board and we were a little hesitant as some of the reviews we had read about the food were quite mixed, but in our experience they were awesome and the food was really good for buffet style, with plenty of fresh fruit vegetables, and a huge array of lovely hot meal options for the family to enjoy and certainly not get bored of at all. The hotel is great and the staff, from the front desk, cleaners, food & beverage, everyone, we’re just fantastic and so friendly and nice. We can thoroughly recommend this hotel.
We got married on 22 June here and had the most amazing day. The hotel staff went above and beyond for our wedding ceremony. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who played a part in our special day. A special thank you to Maria-Christina who helped me plan our wedding since 2020! She gave us exactly what we wanted and more and we both felt very taken care of. The hotel itself is beautiful and all our guests absolutely loved it from the service to the food and surroundings. We would highly recommend this hotel for a wedding and a holiday for a family. So thank you Peninsula Resort & Spa for everything. We already can’t wait to return. Summyr & Colin
We booked 7 days in this resort, traveling with our 4-year-old daughter. The location of this property is amazing. It has 2 beaches on the side, 1 Rocky platform, 1 dandy beach, and has a great view of the sea,2 swimming pool (1 sea water pool). The booking. Com offer all inclusive,which provides breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between, drinks all included. The food they provided is quite generous and decent with varieties. Every evening, the resort organizes some activities to enjoy, you can also participate, such as karaok night. The view is simply amazing, almost all the rooms have terrace or balcony, with sea view. There is a direct bus stop in front of the hotel, to go to Heraklion city centre. The timings are listed at the reception, 3.5eur per person, kids free. I will recommend this property for a great family or friends vacation. …
Family of four with late teenaged kids. Amazing location with breathtaking views across the aqua blue Aegean Sea. If you don’t mind some steps, great swimming opportunities at surrounding beaches and also a sea side platform at the resort. Food was amazing with great variety, plentiful and great snack options between meals. All inclusive drinks package was the way to go with plenty of beer, wine, spirits & cocktails included. Facilities were great with a variety of pools, low key sports (table tennis, foam archery etc) and spa activities. Entertainment was focused on younger children and little on offer for the older children (+12yrs), teenagers or adults.
Overall a great place. Beautiful resort on a stunning location. We had a two room bungalow with sea view and it was ok. Had everything we needed but the interior was a bit minimalistic/not cozy. Restaurant was good. Enourmous selection of fresh food. Only disappointment was the evening entertainment. It was only in french. So if you dont speak french. Tough luck. No fun for you. This is not ok on a hotel with very mixed guests. I heard many non french guests. Also the there was very little entertainment for kids. Also the kids pool with slides is detached from the main resort area, it makes you feel like kids arent welcome and it is 100 meters fra the pool bar, so you habe to brung your kid if you want to get refeeshments. For this reason alone we wont be coming back.
We had the most amazing time at the Peninsula Resort and Spa. The spa itself is wonderful. I had a facial and a full body massage and fell asleep during the facial it was so good! They also have a steam room and sauna and indoor pool for after your treatments. As for the pools, they are amazing for children! I have a 7 and 11 year and we’ve been coming here from the USA for the past 4 years because it never disappoints and you have everything you need; my kids love the salt water pool because there are numerous areas to jump into the water and the pool with the water slides. You also have access to two sand beaches, a platform beach (my personal favorite) with a bar so you can drink you coffee and eat and relax and swim in the warm crystal clear sea all day and into the evening. The views are unobstructed and unreal. I feel a peace and calm here. This is why we always come back. The staff are amazing, the food is top notch and there’s always something fresh and new available. We highly recommend vacationing here. The staff love children - they aren’t a bother - they are welcomed! But there are plenty of travelers without kids too so it’s a nice mix. The photos are not exaggerating. This is what the hotel is like!…
A friend and our 2 teenage children loved our trip to this beautiful hotel. It is spotlessly clean with great amenities. The village is quite a walk away and a steep hill to climb back but a taxi is €10. The village is quite small but there are restaurant and shops. We took the bus from the hotel to Heraklion one day. The food is good, plenty of choice but was personally a bit disappointed with breakfast. The pools are lovely with plenty of beds but the water is freezing! There were a lot of French guests in the hotel we were told this was normal for the time we travelled, this meant some of the entertainment was in French, we spoke with the animators and following that the music quiz had English involved. But regardless we did enjoy the evenings, especially the traditional Greek night which got everyone up dancing. The staff are all so helpful and friendly, especially Mano and Claudian from the bar and Robin one of the animators. I would recommend this hotel but if you are wanting to explore more I would say hire a car.…
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