The hotel complex was clean & on the whole well maintained with friendly staff. It is quite spread out with no buildings of more than three storeys high, a stunning chapel in the middle, a small shop, it's own restaurant & cocktail bar, spacious dining area, snack bar, poolside bar & effectively 8 swimming pools. There is a reasonably sized lounge at reception and a decent enough sized seating area on a terrace outside, by the bar. There is also a well shaded kids playground with a few bits of apparatus for them to enjoy. 4 of us stayed all-inclusive in 2 spotlessly clean & comfortable rooms (classed as superior rooms) with television, kettle, small fridge, safe (€21 /wk), wifi (€21 /wk approx) and a really good aircon unit. Despite the decor & equipment being the same, our two rooms were quite different with one being split level with a kind of loft bedroom and the other more of a standard room all on one level & a little smaller. We were not in the main hotel complex but in what appeared to have possibly at one time been a small separate development of 8 rooms with its own little pool. Tucked away behind one of the larger blocks it was lovely and peaceful with sun right into the evening. Each room had it's own small veranda with a table and chairs and a clothes drying rack. The rooms had a large 'twin' shower closet with a low level shower head on a flexible hose and a rainfall shower head, you selected your preference with a push pull button. The toilet was separated into another reasonably sized closet with the basin in the room itself. All worked fine with easily controllable temperature controls or flush buttons. Our only gripe with the room was the lack of storage. The wardrobe was tiny and apart from that there were two small bedside shelves and one other small shelf, a part of the fridge & safe housing. The hotel is again spotlessly clean & tidy and is in a quiet location. The flight path into Heraklion goes over the hotel but the planes are high enough that their noise won’t spoil your relaxation. Apart from our own 'secret' pool, their were three other main pool areas. The animation pool, around 1m to 1.5m deep, was in good order & had two slides that ran for a couple of hours a day, at fairly random times, it seemed. Their was also a fountain that was great for a neck & back massage, in the middle. The animation team ran yoga & zumba sessions and darts competitions in a covered area by the pool as well as table tennis, with water polo & aqua aerobics in the pool itself. Sunbed numbers were tight at times but we always managed to get some and their were sufficient umbrellas and gazebo for shade. There was a bar by the pool but it was closed the whole time we were there. The second pool area, right in the middle of the complex, had a main pool that ranged from 0.8m at one end to 1.6m at the other with two shallow toddler and baby pools beside it. We thought of this as the family pool with the all inclusive bar alongside, again ample sunbeds & a few umbrellas, a further deck of sunbeds with gazebos to provide shade, a pool table, table football and the spa just alongside. The third swimming area, or 'long / quiet pool' as we called it was in fact split into three, with a small seating area half way along, by the snack bar that also served beer, coffee, wine & soft drinks. These pools were quite shallow, ranging from 0.6m to around 1m. There was also a shallow baby & toddler area separated off at the top end. There was no bar serving all inclusive spirits are cocktails by this pool. This was probably the area where it was toughest to get a sunbed but again, we were able to find them, when we wanted. The suites with pool access were lined up along one side of these pools. The food was decent with a good variety at all meal times with the option to sit inside, outside under cover or out in the sun. Service times were plenty long enough, too, although the dinner service does effectively end at around 9pm rather than the advertised time, as the staff start clearing way dishes at that time. The local spirits served as all inclusive are okay (mostly 30% abv) but the beer is awful and the wine little better. The coffee served is a good quality. After reading reviews, we took our own half litre reusable plastic cups and the bar team were happy to fill them, rather than putting up with the crappy little disposable plastic cups they would otherwise supply. There is a sign at the bar stating one drink per person but we never saw it enforced. There was rarely a queue, apart from leading up to 10pm when all inclusive drinks come to an end. Luckily the bar is pretty central to the complex so you won't have more then a 2 or 3 minute walk from any of the pools or seating areas. The evening entertainment was around the all inclusive bar & was pretty good. You could enjoy a chat or a game of cards without having to shout over the din and at no point where the animation too pushy to get you involved. They were also friendly and would just stop by your sunbed for a chat during the day. Special mention to Astamay (hope I have spelt that correctly), good luck with your Masters. Kato Gouves is right on the doorstep, as is the sea / beach. It is a quietish resort, with a little bit of feeling of being in the middle of nowhere but good for a daytime or evening stroll & it does have a couple of okay small beaches. There are a handful of decent bars, one nightclub, a number of good tavernas and restaurants as well as several supermarkets and souvenir shops. You will not struggle to find car hire, either. For a warm welcome, we liked the Seaside Restaurant which had plenty of decent Greek fair but enough familiar dishes to keep the more picky eaters happy. We hired a car through reception and would recommend visiting the practically deserted Kommos beach (get your own drinks & snacks at Lidl en route) with lunch at Matala and a chance to see the ancient caves. Knossos is a must, as is Phaestos & Gortyna if you like your ancient ruins. Ammoudare is another great shallow beach with a good deals for sunbeds & drinks at the sports bar (the one with surfboard displayed to the far right). Be aware though, Cretan driving is pretty special, take your time and stay alert.…