No problems with the hotel, very clean, comfortable and friendly, and first class dining.

Staff if treated as friends and not your slaves are brilliant and very welcoming.

Entertainment was virtually nil, but if guests are not interested in joining in, what can you expect. Meggie tried her best, and we even provided an assistant for her final Bingo session. Don't knock it if your not prepared to join in.

Despite the very many bad reports on this Hotel the management have not found it neccessary to change anything. We have just returned,the barman in the evening is still miserable and rude, the lounge beds at the pool are still scarce, the food is still inadequate and the all inclusive is still a joke.

The pool bar did not open at all, and if it had it was not part of the all inclusive package. The snacks were appalling just dry sandwiches and no ice cream for the kids. The hotel is clean and in a good position for the beach.

The pools are nice but there is no paddling pool for tots, the childrens pool is all one depth of about 3 feet. There are marble steps leading to the pool which were a hazard with an active tot.

The play area gets so hot during the day the plastic slides are too hot to use. The daytime and evening entertainment were practically non existant, the animation team seemed to be enjoying their holiday at the Astir Beach if no one else was. We often turned up to participate in things but they didn't bother to.

The childrens club organiser wouldn't open the club because 'there were not enough children' and there was no entertainment at night before 9.30p.m.which then changed to 10p.m.and even then it was sporadic and poor, they did't seem to want to bother.

The dining room staff and reception staff were pleasant and the young daytime barman was nice but the barman in the evening was very unpleasant. The general immpression is every penny is watched and all inclusive guests are a nuisance.

All inclusive what a joke! Recycled food, kids allowance for drinks and rude staff apart from 2.

Very clever of the cleaners to make you think that the bed linen had been changed when they had only been changed once in a week.

Bar area appalling apart when we all got fed up waiting for the bar staff and ended up serving ourselves (at last a decent pint).

Felt sorry for reception staff who took most of the abuse especially on the last day when were told to vacate our rooms at 12.00 we two 7 month old babies and wait 15 hours for our flight the cat was treated better who lived outside! When asked to see the manager we had to wait for two hours. When they did arrive we then had a stand off for an hour and then they gave us a compromise 7 people in one room!

I was quite nervous about this trip as I had read some reviews that were a bit off putting, but I am pleased to say we had a fabulous time.

The staff were friendly and accommodating and adored the children.

The rooms were clean and well presented. The fridge was a godsend and so was the hairdryer and the television had a vast amount of channels.

The hotel was modern and had ramps and lifts which were a godsend for the pushchair.

Food was more than adequate considering the varying nationalities that were being catered for.

The children loved the pool which was very safe and clean and was an ample size.

The entertainment and activities were enjoyable especially if you wanted to join in, on our last day my son was the only child in the kids club.

The location was perfect, transfer time was less than half an hour and the beach was literally across the road.

The hotel guest mix was great with Italian, Polish, German, Belgium etc. We met some really interesting people.

After reading numerous reviews of this hotel following our booking I admit to being apprehensive before departure.
The Hotel was very clean and the room spacious.

Maid service very good with regular towel and linen changes. We arrived back each day to find my wifes nightdress in the shape of a flower on the bed !!!

Pity this attention to detail didn't extend to the dining room. The staff could not cope with the fact everyone seemed to arrive at 9.00am for breakfast and 7.30 for evening meal. We were often kept waiting for replacements of scrambled egg and coffee cups at breakfast and plates and ice cream at evening meal. The food was always varied but very little greek food, a direct result of the hotels mixed cliental.

The bar staff struggled to raise a smile and viewed everyone as an interuption to their day. The entertainment staff tried very hard despite being a little bit corny at times. The number of loungers by the pool was an issue and we Brits faced a daily struggle to secure a plot.

On the plus side the resort was nice and clean with good beaches and plenty of bars and shops in the high street. The mythos beer was upto it's usual high standards and prices all round the resort very ressonable.

Having being to Crete before I would prefer the Chania side of the island but at least it was better than Malia !!!

The hotel was right on the small sandy beach where we had to spend all our time because the pool area, although spotlessly clean, was very small. It looks adequate on the pictures but it wasn't. There was only about 20 sunbeds and those were taken at 7am on the dot any earlier and the maids removed the towels so if you want one be prepared to be up early.

The pool bar opens at 6pm till 2am lovely young lad very friendly but over worked was always on his own no help no matter how busy it was.

The food was not nice we went all inclusive that was a joke. You were put in an annex at the back of the dining hall the only drinks included in the package were the really cheap ones the soft drinks were horrible and the children wouldn't drink them after trying them myself I understood why pure syrup!!!!

The breakfasts were just continental not even a toaster. The morning and afternoon snacks were cheese and spicy luncheon meat sandwiches with no butter and rock hard bread and the cakes were atale from the night befores evening meal. The ice cream was not frozen again a thick syrup consistency not ice cream as we know it. The lunches were salads and pasta everyday the same you had to ask for butter it was not freely available. The evening meals were no better the soups were either lumpy or had never seen a vegetable just coloured water. There was again pasta and salad every night the main courses looked Ok but were for continental taste no chips at all not that I eat them much but the children do apparently they have them once a week but only one tray so be there first or you miss them. Like I said didn't see them at all. The mashed potato was packet made including lumps. The inside bar which was the only one I could use with the all inclusive package was not air conditioned and in August you need that if nothing else.

It was staffed in the day by a friendly young lad who didn't speak English at all and by a very miserable barman in the evenings he shut when he felt like it didn't matter that the all inc was till 12 if he felt he wanted to shut at 11.45pm he did. The hotel manager had fetish I think about the bright yellow bands you had to wear them on your wrist in you pocket wasn't good enough even though he knew you were all inc because he asked to see the things about 20 times a day he still insisted you wear them all the time even out by the pool. If you went in without it he would not let the barman serve you till you went out to get it very unreasonable.

The entertainment staff tried very hard to involve everyone and did put on some entertaining games throughout the day. And also for the very young children in the early evenings but after that it all depended on guest participation whether there was entertainment at night. The crowd we were there with weren't up for it at all because they weren't happy with the rest of the package.

The holiday rep was unhelpful when we complained about the food and drink. On this particular day it was nearly 100 degrees the barman was there when he felt like it and when he was there there was no milk for the coffee no bottled water (which you had to buy even on all inc)and the machine for the soft drinks wasn't working there was no ice in any drinks everyday or night. She said what can I do all the guest complain about the food and drinks it is not to the English taste.

Well that just summed it up IT WASN'T all 9 of us hated it go next door to Marina Beach a wicked hotel and they have great staff.

The hotel was basic but the rooms/bar/lounge/pool area were very clean, the beds are rather small but ok.

The food was very continental - no toaster at breakfast - only 3 high chairs for the whole hotel (there was 6 babies who arrived on our flight)the staff didnt like the fact that we all wanted to sit together this just annoyed them as they only had 2 tables to seat 8.

There was a good selection of salads and loads of feta cheese but this was not kept chilled, loads of pasta and not much else - it was ok for a week but think you would be starving if you booked for longer.

My son also contracted salmonella on our return - so they definitley need to sort out the food!!!

The set up was a bit behind with the times - there was a pool bar but this was not opened in the day!!But it opened at night for drinks which you could buy this is not part of the all inclusive package.

You had to get your drinks from the lounge bar which is situated inside the hotel - the bar man was very misrable and would'nt give you a drink unless you had brought your glass back!!

He gave you glass to drink from in the day when you were around the pool and plastic cups in the evening - I did mention this to the manager and suggested he used plastic cups for outside and glasses at night - this suggestion was carried out and the bar man even had a smile on his face after that.

You had to be up before the sun to get one of the 30 sunbeds around the pool or choose to sit on your towel on the grassed area!

We chose to pay the 3 euros per day for a sun bed on the beach which was clean adn very close by to the hotel.
the village is about a ten minute walk away and had a selection of shops and bars - pretty much everything you need - the next beach along had water sports etc for hire, it wasnt a busy village and was a good mixture of locals and tourists.

The hotel staff were pleasant apart from misrable bar man - but there was not enough staff every one of them was a jack of all trades.

The day time entertainment was excellant for the children -we had a range from 8 - 13 years the activites were well organised, ususally in the shade and the staff were very friendly.

The evening entertainment was a bit like a comedy show - even the children thought it was rubbish!!!!

Dont think we will visit this hotel.

The Astir Beach hotel isn't a very big hotel.

The staff aren't very helpful, and found it pretty difficult to get a drink there. There was only 1 barman in the evening and he was very overworked which made him very grumpy at times, you had to keep hold of your glass or you couldn't have a drink because of glasses shortage. 1 night they ran out of vodka and also bottled water.

The food was very nice and you were not stuck with French fries all the time. If you want water don't drink it from the restaurant as I found out it is tap water, I suffered a nasty stomach.

The area of Gouves is really nice it has a lovely beach just outside the hotel, some nice tavernas and shops. It makes for a very relaxing holiday.

The hotel entertainment was poor, maybe because it was the end of the season.

This hotel is a real mixed bag. On the positive side it is clean, in a very pleasant area, relatively cheap, good variety of food, and has enthusiastic entertainment staff.

However.....the reports about the bar staff are spot on. I was so disappointed that the pool bar was closed all day, and I think the waiting and bar staff inside must complete courses on rudeness and general unhelpfulness ( is that a word? ). I had good information on this as a fellow guest was Greek and understood every word that was being said! and it was not good....

The food was not bad, some days it was actually quite good, breakfast was probably the best.

The pool area is OK - not huge but quite pleasant and good for little ones as the water level is high so it is easy to climb out of. There is a very major lack of loungers. They are like gold dust.

I would say use this as a base, travel around, and if you can afford it, stay at the fabulous Marine Beach next door. They know how to treat guests properly.