Gouves Water Park Holiday Resort

We had a great and professional massage from Katerina! Well done! We came back completely reborn! This whole week was very pleasant! We can recommend this stay!

Hotel facilities; Overall good, food was reasonable and a few options although similar most nights and only one buffet restaurant so it gets VERY busy and have to book the a la carte ones via the hotel app which had limited spaces by the time we booked so worth downloading in advance. Hotel room was spacious, clean and beds comfortable. Towels changed daily. (We had a family suite), though not a great shower partition so water would leak on to bathroom floor. Many different pools though most were cold, even the children’s ones. There was one heated pool but it is small and very crowded. The splash park was good but disappointed that the slides were only for 1.2m and above as our boy was only a few centimetres off this and couldn’t go on and had we known this at the time of booking we might have gone elsewhere. Lots of arcade games in various areas which cost extra and we found we probably spent around £50 on these over the course of the week so be prepared! Little mini market on site that sells souvenirs, sunglasses, snacks, lilos and buckets and spades for the beach, reasonably priced. Surrounding area; only 5 minutes walk from the beach which was very pleasant, €10 to hire a couple of sun loungers, sea seemed warmer than the hotel pools even and clear waters. Around a 20 minute walk to the aquarium (with two young kids) from the hotel. €30 entry. We went to the Waterpark City which was very good, lots of slide options, lazy river etc and our son could go on a decent amount. We used one of the tour operators which were on the way to the beach and they gave us a lift there and back. This was about 15 minutes drive away, and cost €96 for a family of 4 including tickets and transfers. (One under 90cm so went free) Otherwise the surrounding area was quite run down I would say. Staff helpful and good at getting through service and keeping the place clean. Lots of cats around but that appears to be the case everywhere we went on the Island.In the flight path so lots on planes flying over but we didn’t really mind this and the kids liked spotting them. We also found the at the entertainment on some nights could be quite loud, if we were putting the kids down at around 9pm. Overall we had a good stay and enjoyed ourselves but we would probably try a different hotel if coming back to Crete. Highlights: Hotel room, Watercity Waterpark, Pizza from the snack bar, Gouves Beach, Aquarium. Great live music in Main Bar in the evening. Low points: Waterslides at hotel height restriction, buffet restaurant like a cattle market at peak times, bit of a disjointed layout of resort and cold swimming pools.

Katerina gave me a very good massage. Very relaxing and peaceful. Enjoyed the use of sauna and Jacuzzi as well. Thanks very much.

I had the most relaxing massage! An hour of pure bliss and have left very very at peace and relaxed. Would highly recommend

I had a full body massage with katarina, it was super relaxing and she made me feel very comfortable asking me questions about my preferences as she went along, I 100% reccomend!!

Booked our trip to this hotel a year in advance, as a family, and we were initialy impressed with the positive reveiws. So this is an honest reveiew, from a seasoned traveller, as we found it: PRO'S: Hotel is a 5 minute walk from the beach. It's a a large complex with several pools, snack bars, & main bar. The rooms we had were large and well equiped. The beds were very comfortable, and the rooms were cleaned daily with fresh towels daily and fresh bedding 3 times per week. The staff were very helpful and pleasant, in general. CON'S: The food is poor. Plenty of selection but cold by the time you get back to your table. We spoke to many people who all said the same. There is only one main dining room for breakfast, lunch & dinner for the entire site, so it's a bit of a cattle market if you go at the wrong time. The drinks are local brands and not very good. The pools are freezing! There isn't much in the way of good restaurants or bars within a 10 minute walk, so you need to venture further away. We found a lovely restaurant, called the Island, 20 min walk away. There are a few bars and restaurants in the village, which is a 15 minute walk away. We had to eat out regularly just so we could get some warm hot food. Only given 3 stars, mainly for the room and the cleaning staff, but will not be going back. There are much better places than this a similar price.

I have had a lovely time at the hotel spa. I enjoyed a 90 minute full body treatment and facial. The products used feel amazing on my skin and I feel thoroughly relaxed. Thank you katerine.

We were a family of 13 travelling to Gouves. We would of had a lovely holiday wherever we went due to the circumstances of the trip. The hotel was an average hotel. What made it special were the water slides and the many pools. The staff were very accommodating and couldn't do enough for us. The rooms were basic rooms consistent with a 3 star hotel. Nothing regarding the complex states its 5 stars. There was different food each night and there was always plenty of it, however it was never hot. My daughter often went to the restaurant for breakfast at 7.30 as she had a small baby. Even on opening the food was not hot. Towards the end of our week, the complex got really busy, there were often queues to get into the restaurant on an evening from opening time to closing time, we rarely were able to sit together as a family. We understood we wouldn't always be able to do this. I wouldn't like to see it in peak season. We had a couple of meals in the Asian and Greek restaurant, once again the food was nice but not hot. The other downfall we had was the area. Unless you went out on trips or were willing to use public transport to the other towns, there isn't much round about the hotel. If you want a basic hotel and dont want to venture out then this is a great place to be. If you want the luxury of a 5 star hotel and you like to venture out then this is not the place to visit. On checking out, there is a room with lockers to leave your cases. These charge €2 a locker and hold 1 suitcase. There is no refund. There is a changing area with 2 showers for guests to use after checkout. Im not complaining, I'm giving an honest judgement so people know what they are paying for. I wouldn't class this as a 5 star establishment so dont expect it. Our grandchildren had the best time ever in the splash pools and on the waterslides, which is what its all about. The main pool is the only heated pool, so be prepared when you go in the others!!! The sea is warmer haha.

Good hotel, would return. Anna in the spa did a wonderful massage, was very relaxed and value for money. The spa and gym is great

5 star highly recommended food great selection desserts were amazing staff so friendly especially Maria who cleaned our rooms every day so friendly the room was spotless will definitely return