Village Heights Resort

Quiet, peaceful resort for those who don't like loud mass tourism resorts, crowds or noisy music by the pool. If you're looking for sun, pool and quiet with a short drive to the beach (15 minutes) this is the place for you. The rooms are basically small individual buildings with a suite upstairs and another downstairs with your own balcony/terrace space depending on the suite you select. We had a great seaview and could hear nothing but the cicadas in the evening. The only let down is the bathrooms which are 3*. The shower is very weak and the water swings between cold and burning hot as they have this mixer system a lot of European hotels seem to have. I really dreaded the challenge of trying to rinse the salt and sand out of my hair every day and having to jump out of the way every time the water switched to scalding. Also, the there was only a shower curtain which didn't really work that well so we often had water all over the bathroom floor. A couple of small tweaks to the shower would make a huge difference. Regarding food, you have the option to do all in or full board, or self-cater in the suite which has a kitchenette or do a mix and have some meals at the hotel. The dinner buffet is very nice, varied, with various theme nights and lovely entertainment ranging from calm music, to Cretan dancing to a live singer and a fantastic kids disco. Lunch options are very limited; the food by the lower pool at the Citrus bar was virtually inedible. Nice burgers and salad at the main restaurant but that's it. I highly recommend dining in the hotel every night to enjoy the excellent entertainment and food. They have yoga and a daily aqua fit class in the pool which were both very nice. The mini club offers arts and crafts, and very motivated staff to keep the kids happy and a nice playground. However, one must not expect a daycare programme where you can drop your kids off and head out - the activities last roughly 30 mins. The kids had a blast in the playground with other kids in the early evening and I must say the the kids disco was the highlight of the trip for our family! The kids club staff headed by Holly went above and beyond to keep the kids happy. Considering the heat though, it would have been nice to have a large indoor jungle gym/ ball pit/ trampoline so the kids could do something during the peak of the heat as the pools are not shaded so you really either spend the entire day in direct sunlight or nothing else. The big downside of the hotel is that the pools shut at 6 pm. Considering the intensity of the sun in July/August, this doesn't make sense. After a morning at the pool or beach, we sometimes could not face more direct sun and heat ( as none of the pool are in the shade, both in full sunlight at all times) until around 6 pm when it started to cool down a bit, but unfortunately the pool would then shut. This is the main reason I would not return to this hotel during summer season. Maybe for adults only, you can alte

It's difficult to do anything but echo all the positive reviews about this hotel. We loved it! We spent 2 weeks here all-inclusive. Staff were all amazing, and nothing was too much trouble! Although the buffet restaurant was nice and perfectly adequate, we did feel it fell a bit short on variety, choice, and live-cooking compared to other places we've been. We predominantly eat at the Elia Restaurant upstairs. The food was delicious, and it felt like more of a dining experience. The staff certainly looked after us! Lunch we usually had at the lobby/pool bar. Again, it's delicious. We also had the option of a la Carte in the main restaurant for lunch and in Rodies Restaurant in the evening for dinner. All these options, including drinks, are covered by the all-inclusive package. A few choices at Elia & Rodies Restaurant did have a supplement, but we opted to stick with everything already included. We joined in both of the Cretan Dancing Nights in the main restaurant, which were brilliant. The buffet was excellent on those nights! The hotel is remote and isolated, but that's why we chose it. We used the shuttle bus and 5 days we spent at The Beachcomber Bar Restaurant. It's a perfect spot on a sandy beach. Again, the staff and food were amazing. And it's nice to have the complete contrast between the countryside hotel and the beach! We joined in some of the yoga and fitness classes, which were all very good. The gym is a good size, but the equipment most definitely needs updating. Some of it is no longer fit for purpose. The other thing I'd mention is that we were disappointed in the 2 dinners we had at Rodies. We had high expectations after reading other reviews, and maybe we made the wrong choices, but we weren't impressed although the surroundings were lovely. They perhaps need to have a few more things on the menu that don't have a supplement for all-inclusive guests! We had spa treatments both weeks, and they were brilliant. Perhaps an unusual thing to highlight, but you certainly won't get 'sunbed-wars' here, and that was a pleasant change . Also, Beachcomber Bar Restaurant reserved sunloungers on the beach for you ready for your arrival. All in all, this hotel exceeded our expectations, and we certainly had good value overall. The sign of a great holiday is not wanting to leave! I won't name all the staff, but from reception & concierge to bar, restaurant, spa and everyone behind the scenes, thanks for your hospitality and making our holiday memorable!

Lovely spacious resort, quiet and spotlessly clean. Excellent apartment although no private balcony, no 103 which was a disappointment but as we were hardly in our room not to much of a problem. Highly recommend the spa and had a fantastic massage from Anna. The Cretan night was also very good with live music & traditional dancers. The courtesy bus was good although would be even better if it ran a little later and picked up from the old town also.

Very poor food choices in main restaurant - for a 5 start hotel this is unacceptable, food was mondain - same thing repeating all the time with little to no variety, closing pools at 6pm in the middle of the season when the outside temp is 30 deg + makes no sense to me especially for kids where they could use the actual hours when the sun is not burning anymore.

So disappointed with our stay here. Nothing about the resort is 5 star so please be wary of the rating. Lots of little things just let it down. Awful rude spa staff, to the point that I ended up in tears (I have never been to a resort where they make you pre-pay treatments and don’t let you add them to the bill.) Also, very difficult to get clean & fresh pool towels. The sunbeds are awful and tip forward if you sit on the edge (like, huh?!? What sunbed does that?!?) and I ended up hurting myself. Grounds are nice but not spectacular, everything just feels a bit dated. Activities are pretty poor as well, no golf balls at mini golf, no one showed up to teach the HIIT class. You just expect more from a 5 star resort and this just did not deliver. Food is good and rooms are spacious, but that is about it in terms of positives.