Creta Maris Resort
Creta Maris is an independent, family-owned all-inclusive resort on the north coast of Crete, at Hersonissos, laid out like a traditional Greek village of whitewashed alleys and bougainvillea across two sides of a quiet road. Families come for its 17 freshwater pools and 4,000 m² waterpark, seven restaurants, one of them a taverna cooking from the resort's own organic field, a Blue Flag beach and a Worldwide Kids club for four to twelves.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who it suits, what's folded into the price and the facts to skim first.
Creta Maris is one of the larger family all-inclusives in Crete, with 676 rooms laid out like a Greek village and the food, pools, waterpark, clubs and entertainment folded into one price. It's been run by the same family since 1975 and doesn't publish a star grade, positioning itself at five-star quality; guests rate it 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor from around 6,750 reviews, ranked 166th out of 1,493 hotels in Limenas Chersonisou and 9.1 out of 10 on Booking.com from around 1,750. What draws families is the water: freshwater pools spread across the resort and a big waterpark, alongside seven restaurants and a farm-to-fork kitchen. The trade-offs are that most of the pools and the whole waterpark are unheated, so early and late in the season the water is cold for small children, and the à la carte restaurants each take one booking per week of your stay. You'll get the most from it with children old enough for the Kids Club, which starts at four, and tall enough for the main waterpark slides.
Best for
You want a big waterpark and lots of pools, strong all-inclusive food and a supervised kids' club, with children who are four or older.
Maybe not for
You need drop-off childcare for a baby or under-four, or you're set on boutique-designer room interiors.
Best ages
Four and up, when the Kids Club and most of the waterpark open to them. Babies and toddlers are catered for, but there's no drop-off care below four.
What stands out
17 pools, a 4,000 m² waterpark, seven restaurants around the resort's own organic field and a Greek-village layout.
What to check
The waterpark and main pools are mostly unheated, the à la carte dinners book one sitting per restaurant a week and some facilities close at the end of the season.
Where is it?
At Hersonissos on the north coast of Crete, about 20 to 25 minutes from Heraklion airport.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where Creta Maris sits, how it's laid out and what that means for getting around with a pushchair.
Creta Maris sits on Dimokratias Street at Hersonissos, postcode 700 14, in the Heraklion region on Crete's north coast, and is built to feel like a traditional Cretan village. Whitewashed alleys wind between the buildings, past bougainvillea, cobalt-blue doors, old ficus and olive trees and the resort's resident cats, so you rarely walk the same route twice. It's a big place at 676 rooms, but the pools, restaurants and gardens are spread out enough that it doesn't feel crowded even when full. The resort sits across two sides of a quiet road, linked by two bridges, so you never cross the road on foot; the road is audible from a few spots, the Pithos restaurant among them.
The village terrain is generally manageable with a pushchair, though the surfaces vary as the paths wind through, and the resort lends out baby strollers on request if you'd rather not carry your own. The official information doesn't detail gradients or steps across the whole site. Rooms with a walk-in shower are available in the Deluxe, Pool-Front and Exclusive Adult categories for anyone who needs step-free bathing, though the resort doesn't describe its wider accessibility. The beach side was renovated in 2023 and 2024, and it blends with the older inland buildings. Hersonissos town is a ten to fifteen minute walk away, covered further down.
There's a distinct adults' side for guests aged sixteen and over who book the Exclusive Adult rooms: their own Spira Pool and heated East pools, a jacuzzi, beach gazebos, the Adama and Nami bars and adults-only evenings at the Alatsi restaurant.
Every restaurant and bar
The three buffets, the four à la carte restaurants, the bars and snack points and how the dinner booking works.
All seven restaurants are in the all-inclusive price. Three are buffets you can walk into; four are à la carte restaurants for dinner that you need to book.
Enomy is the main buffet, in the central building, open from early breakfast through to a late snack at midnight, with live cooking stations and the widest choice on the resort: fish, salads, a vegan section, wine from a list and a large dessert spread. An outdoor sea-facing terrace here is kept for Exclusive Adult guests at mealtimes. Arismari is a modern Greek buffet with an à la carte option, nearest the beach with sea views; the choice is smaller than Enomy's, but the outdoor setting is the nicer of the two. Estia is the family buffet, Mediterranean, above the main heated pool next to the Kids Club and Baby Room; its children's menu was put together with a child nutritionist, and there's a barbecue and gyros station, an ice cream corner and chips for younger eaters, which makes it the easiest room with a toddler.
Mademi is a Cretan barbecue, à la carte for dinner, in one of the two best spots on the resort, right by the sea, specialising in grilled meats. Alatsi serves Aegean seafood à la carte alongside it, in a bright, modern room with fishing references on the walls and candle-lit tables in the evening. Its weekly schedule mixes evenings open to all ages with evenings reserved for adults sixteen and over, so children can eat there on some nights but not others; check the week's schedule when you arrive rather than assuming either way. One family who ate there with young children, on one of the all-ages evenings, found the formal setting wasn't a hit with the children, who had a little food before finishing the meal at the buffet. Pithos is an à la carte taverna cooking organic Cretan food from the resort's own certified field; it sits next to the road that divides the resort, so there's some traffic noise, though guests say it doesn't spoil the meal. Platia is an à la carte Greek meze restaurant, laid out like a town square with Byzantine arches. There's also a single private table by the rocks for Seaside Private Dining, with set menus at an extra charge, outside the all-inclusive.
Every restaurant has high chairs, the à la carte restaurants carry kids' menus on the evenings they're open to all ages and there are child-friendly options across the buffets. Allergens are labelled throughout and the resort holds an ECARF allergy-friendly certification, with many dishes cooked in front of you, which one family with allergies singled out as reassuring. There's no specific weaning or jarred baby-food provision described; the snack points serve fruit and juices, the on-site Market stocks baby products and the resort is the place to ask about particular infant feeding needs.
The bars and snack points
Nine bars are included: the Vegera lounge, the Adama cocktail bar (adults only), the Aperol Spritz bar, the Ruga and Kourites pool bars, the Sima beach bar, the Steki bar in the bungalows, the waterpark bar and the Idaia bar. The Nami Wine Cellar is a separate adults-only wine experience, with one session included for Premium and Villa guests, and the open-air Cinema Bar is the one drinks outlet that costs extra. Six snack points run through the day: fresh juices at Arodamo, salads at Kritamo, fruit at Valsamo, the Waterpark Kitchen, crepes, waffles and ice cream at Kourites and wraps at Sima. The ice creams, waffles and gyros are the ones children make for.
How the à la carte booking works
Every restaurant is included, but the four à la carte dinners each take one booking per restaurant per week of your stay, so a seven-night stay lets you eat at each once. You book through the resort app, the website or the hostess desk, a day ahead or on the day, and the early-evening sittings that suit small children go first. A smart evening dress code applies at all the à la carte restaurants.
Rooms and suites
Every room category with its official size, then which suit a family with a baby or toddler.
There are nineteen room types across four groups: Deluxe rooms and bungalows, larger Family rooms, adults-only Exclusive rooms for guests sixteen and over and the Premium suites and villa. Most rooms are 27 to 30 m², so a family of four needs a Family room or a suite. Every room has air conditioning, a balcony or terrace, a mini bar and a 50-inch 4K smart TV with Netflix. The tables below carry the official sizes and how many each sleeps; the guidance after them is which suit a family with young children.
Deluxe rooms and bungalows| Room | Size | Sleeps |
|---|---|---|
| Garden/Mountain View Rooms | 27–30 m² | 1–3 |
| Garden/Mountain View Bungalows (up to 3) | 27–30 m² | 1–3 |
| Garden/Mountain View Bungalows (up to 2 + infant) | 27–30 m² | 2 + infant |
| Sea View Rooms | 27–30 m² | 1–3 + infant |
| Pool-Front Bungalows | 27–30 m² | 1–3 + infant |
| Room | Size | Sleeps |
|---|---|---|
| Open Plan Family Rooms | 30–33 m² | 3–4 |
| One-Bedroom Family Rooms | 38–73 m² | 3–4 + infant |
| Family Connecting Rooms | 54–60 m² | 4–6 |
| Room | Size | Sleeps |
|---|---|---|
| Garden/Mountain View Rooms | 27–30 m² | 1–2 |
| Sea View Rooms | 27–30 m² | 1–3 |
| Sea-Front Rooms | 27–30 m² | 1–2 |
| Sea View Suites | 50–74 m² | 1–4 |
| Room | Size | Sleeps |
|---|---|---|
| Sea-Front Bungalows | 27–30 m² | 1–2 + infant |
| Sea View Suites | 50–74 m² | 2–4 + infant |
| One-Bedroom Collection Suites | 53–77 m² | 1–4 + infant |
| Two-Bedroom Collection Suites | 96–103 m² | 2–4 + infant |
| Ambassador Suite | 139 m² | 2–4 + infant |
| Presidential Suite | 139 m² | 2–3 + infant |
| Private Pool Villa | 160 m² | 2–4 + infant |
The Deluxe rooms and bungalows suit a couple, or a couple with one small child: the Sea View Rooms and Pool-Front Bungalows take three guests plus an infant in a cot, while the Garden and Mountain View versions are limited to three guests with no cot, apart from one dedicated Garden/Mountain View bungalow built for a couple plus an infant. For a family of four the starting point is the Family rooms. The Open Plan Family Rooms at 30–33 m² are one open space with no separate bedroom; the One-Bedroom Family Rooms add a separate bedroom and a living room, so there's a door you can close for a nap, with one or two bathrooms depending on the layout, though their official size spans a wide 38–73 m² across different layouts, so confirm the configuration when you book. The Family Connecting Rooms at 54–60 m² are two bedrooms with two bathrooms and two balconies for a larger group.
Above those, the Premium Sea View Suites at 50–74 m² add a living room with two sofa beds alongside the sea-view bedroom, a workable layout for a family with older children. The Premium Two-Bedroom Collection Suites at 96–103 m² give two bedrooms and two bathrooms with a sea view, and the Premium Private Pool Villa at 160 m² has two bedrooms, a private pool, a full kitchen for preparing baby food and direct beach access, which is the flagship family option. The Exclusive rooms are for guests aged sixteen and over, so they aren't an option with children; they're listed for completeness.
Children aged two to eleven stay free in the Family rooms, the Premium suites and the Villa, though not in the other categories, and infants in a cot are accommodated across most room types. The mini bar is filled once on arrival and topped up weekly in the standard, Deluxe and Exclusive rooms; only the Premium suites, Collection Suites and Villa get a daily refill. Room service breakfast is an extra charge on every room and suite except the Villa, which includes it as standard. The Premium rooms, suites and villa also add priority restaurant bookings and 20% off food, drink, spa and watersports extras, and on a stay of seven nights or more a session at the Nami wine cellar and a day's car hire, each once per stay; the villa adds a concierge, the VIP lounge and breakfast in the room on top. Guests describe the rooms as comfortable and practical rather than boutique-designer: well kept and functional, not the newest or most styled interiors.
Pools and water features
The resort has seventeen freshwater pools spread around the grounds, so they rarely feel crowded. Six are outdoor pools for general use and aren't heated; one outdoor pool in the Terra area near the Kids Club is heated, which is the one to head for with a toddler early or late in the season, and there's a heated indoor pool in the fitness centre for aquarobics and lengths. Five pools are set aside for children, shallow and lifeguard-supervised. The Exclusive Adult area has its own Spira Pool, three heated East pools and a jacuzzi for guests sixteen and over.
The waterpark is a separate 4,000 m² section with twisting slides, a multi-level aqua tower pool, a Spray Action Zone and its own bar, lifeguarded throughout, with enough to it to feel like a day out on its own. The main slides need a minimum height of 1.20 metres and a maximum weight of 120 kilograms, with no upper age limit; the aqua tower pool takes children from age three and at least a metre tall, with a parent alongside; the Spray Action Zone has no restrictions. The waterpark pools aren't heated, so in May or October the water is too cold for smaller toddlers on the main slides, though the Spray Zone is fine; in July and August that isn't an issue. For a shoulder-season trip, the heated Terra pool is the reliable warm-water option.
The beach
The beach runs 250 metres and holds a Blue Flag, a mix of silky sand and pebbly rock. The water is calm and shallow enough for paddling, and it's reported to shelve gently, though that's a guest impression rather than an official measure, so pack water shoes for the pebbly patches. Loungers, umbrellas and towels are free. The pools and waterpark have lifeguards; the official information doesn't confirm the same for the beach. Watersports run from the sand, jet skis, pedalos, kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards and flyboards, all at an extra charge, with 20% off for Premium guests. Exclusive Adult guests have their own beach gazebos, there's a quieter, rockier stretch near the bungalows and the Sima beach bar serves drinks and snacks.
Babies and toddlers
The Baby Room and the clubs, the babysitting position, the baby kit and everything else that fills a family day.
The Baby Room is a free indoor and outdoor play space for children up to five, in the Terra area (Hall 8), open Monday to Saturday from 09:30 to 17:30, May to September, with a playground next door. It's staffed by the hotel team, but a parent has to stay throughout: it's a shared play space, not a drop-off nursery. There's no supervised drop-off care for children under four anywhere on the resort.
The Asterias Kids Club, run by Worldwide Kids, takes children from four to twelve at no charge, Monday to Saturday, with supervised drop-off sessions morning and afternoon and a midday Stay and Play where families join in. The club starts at four, and the only exception is a child who is three years and eleven months. It runs to one carer for every eight children, up to twenty-four in a session, in English, Spanish, German and Dutch. The programme goes well beyond colouring: yoga and mindfulness, storytelling, arts and crafts drawn from Greek history and myth, Greek history games, nature meditation, cooking, STEM and eco activities, plus the playground, courts, pools and football pitch, with a healthy snack in each session and dietary needs catered for. Booking ahead matters, especially in the school holidays, when sessions fill and a waiting list runs; you can cancel free with a day's notice, and there's a fifteen-minute grace period before a missed slot goes to someone waiting. The same operator runs the childcare at Daios Cove and Elounda Gulf Villas.
The Teens Club, for thirteen to seventeens, is free and runs June to September, not in October, with board and video games, an arcade, sports and a library. Babysitting is available, but the resort doesn't publish its hours, cost or how to book, so contact it directly to arrange one. A baby cot, a pushchair and a bottle warmer can be provided at no charge if you ask in advance; they aren't set up automatically, and no particular brands are named. There's a mini disco at 8pm and an evening show at 9pm, which ran even at the quieter end of the season.
On and off the waterThings to do
Plenty is included. On land there's five-a-side football, three-on-three basketball, tennis courts, water polo, mini-golf and boccia, with a daily sports programme. The fitness centre has cardio and weights, on-site trainers and daily classes, the heated indoor pool for aquarobics and lengths and yoga offered around the resort. Watersports off the beach, jet skis, pedalos, kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and flyboards, cost extra, with 20% off for Premium guests.
Cine Creta Maris is one of Europe's largest open-air cinemas, showing subtitled classics, blockbusters and dubbed family films; the Cinema Bar there is the one extra-charge outlet. Evenings bring theatrical shows at nine, karaoke, live music and quiz nights, and there's an arcade room with claw machines, air hockey, pool tables and darts. There are Greek dancing, language and cooking workshops, and in August a grape harvest with picking and a wine press. Its EU-certified organic field and vineyard can be toured, and the edible landscape runs to more than 300 fruit trees and plants. The open-air Agora Market gathers Cretan craftspeople for ceramics, weaving, leatherwork and glass-blowing.
The spa has a steam room, hammam, sauna, hydromassage, an indoor heated pool and an outdoor pavilion in the adults' area, with body and beauty treatments at an extra charge; you can book it alone, as a couple or as a whole family. Direct bookings get 10% off treatments, though not beauty services, and Premium guests 20%; the full treatment menu isn't published, so ask the spa.
Beyond the resortThe area and days out
Hersonissos town is a ten to fifteen minute walk away, a lively, touristy seaside resort of bars, boutiques, tavernas and an old harbour at Limenas; it's more a working holiday town than a picture-postcard village, and it's handy for souvenirs and eating out. Heraklion, Crete's main city, is about 16 miles (25 km) and 25 minutes away, with its Archaeological Museum, Venetian harbour and old town. The Minoan Palace of Knossos near Heraklion makes a good half-day, and Spinalonga, the Venetian and Ottoman island fortress and former leper colony, is a boat-trip day out. Inland, the Lassithi Plateau has traditional mountain villages, and nearer to hand are the sheltered cove at Sarantari and the long sandy beaches at Stalida and Malia to the east. The Lychnostatis open-air museum near Hersonissos covers Cretan folk life, and there's a thirteenth-century monastery at Soumela and a golf club within reach of Heraklion. The resort's guest service desk, on extension 333, arranges the bigger trips, from hikes and gorge walks to yacht cruises, helicopter tours and day trips to Santorini.
Loves and gripes
What guests rate and what frustrated them, how it stacks up against its rivals, the journey in and the weather by month.
What families love
- The food, praised across the board for quality, variety and the farm-to-fork sourcing.
- The Greek-village setting and the landscaping, kept spotless.
- The Worldwide Kids club, singled out for the range of its activities.
- The warmth of the staff.
- The waterpark, for children tall enough for the slides.
- The pools spread around the resort, so it rarely feels busy.
- The open-air cinema.
- The value for money: one family reported paying around £6,500 for a family of four, including flights and transfers, at the height of the summer holidays, and judged that good value for everything the price covers.
Common gripes
- The rooms, comfortable but not the most modern or styled.
- The unheated waterpark and main pools, cold for small children in May and October.
- The à la carte limit of one booking per restaurant a week.
- Terraces that sit alongside neighbours rather than being fully private.
- Facilities winding down at the end of the season, the Teens Club included, not always flagged in advance.
- The mini bar refilled weekly rather than daily in standard rooms.
- Some traffic noise where the road divides the resort.
- No drinks service at the loungers, so you fetch your own, though the bars are plentiful.
- The Baby Room isn't drop-off childcare: a parent has to stay throughout, which catches out anyone expecting supervised sessions for the youngest children.
- The spread-out layout that guests love also means a fair amount of walking to get around.
How it compares
In the same Hersonissos area, Lyttos Beach is the closest rival: Creta Maris has more pools, seventeen against eight, and more restaurants, seven against five, and edges it on food and atmosphere, while Lyttos has more waterslides. Daios Cove, on the north-east coast, is the one to look at if you need drop-off care for a baby, since its Worldwide Kids crèche takes children from four months; it's more boutique and more expensive, and Creta Maris wins on the waterpark, pools and dining variety. Grecotel Marine Palace over on the Rethymno coast has a bigger aqua park and a dedicated baby programme, though Creta Maris has the stronger kitchen. The new Ikos Kissamos, opening in 2026, sits at a different price point with Michelin-chef menus and unlimited branded drinks but no waterpark, so it suits families who put dining ahead of water play.
The journey and the seasonGetting there and when to go
The resort is about 16 miles (25 km) and 20 to 25 minutes by road from Heraklion airport, the main hub for Crete, with direct summer charters from most UK airports. If you book directly with the resort rather than through an operator, a free private transfer is included: the arrival leg on stays of five nights or more, both legs on seven nights or more. You have to request it in advance with your flight details, and one taxi carries up to four people and three cases, so ask about a second car for a bigger group. There's no minimum stay to book, the five and seven-night thresholds only affect the free transfer. Green Motion has an on-site desk with an electric fleet and charging points if you want a hire car, and taxis can be booked through guest services; a day's car hire is included only for Premium and Villa guests on a seven-night stay.
For a family, June to September is the warm, reliable window with everything open and the waterpark comfortable. May is warm but not scorching. October is quieter and better value, but with some facilities closed, so check what's running before booking late in the season.
Month by monthWeather
Creta Maris is open from around May to October, and the north coast of Crete is generally sunny and dry across those months. July and August are the hottest, with the warmest sea; May and October are the mild shoulders. A summer wind, the Meltemi, can pick up in exposed pool areas in July and August, though the north coast is more sheltered than the south and the bungalow layout gives some cover.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 24° | 15.5° | 11 mm | 2 | 20° |
| June | 27.5° | 19.5° | 4 mm | 0 | 23° |
| July | 29.5° | 22.5° | 1 mm | 0 | 26° |
| August | 29.5° | 22.5° | 2 mm | 0 | 27° |
| September | 27° | 20° | 13 mm | 1 | 26° |
| October | 24° | 17° | 54 mm | 4 | 23° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer. The resort is open from around May to October.
Good to know
Shops, services and the paperwork worth having straight before you go.
The on-site Market sells food, drinks, newspapers, magazines, tobacco, local delicacies, snacks, toys and baby and personal-care products, so it covers nappies, formula and sun cream too. Peter's Jewelry and a clothes boutique are on site too, at extra charge, and Premium and Villa guests have a VIP lounge with e-books, coffee and a work station. Laundry and dry-cleaning are available for a charge, and changing stations are provided in the family area. The guest service desk, on extension 333 or [email protected], handles activities, transfers and excursions.
Greece has no elevated UK travel warning as of mid-2026, with the European Entry-Exit System the main change to entry procedures, so check GOV.UK before you travel. The resort is heavily certified for sustainability and allergies, holding Green Key, Travelife, ECARF, TÜV Austria, Bio Kouzina Gold and Organic Spa among others, and it was named Greece's Leading All-Inclusive Resort and Greece's Leading Sustainable Hotel at the World Travel Awards in 2022. It has also picked up TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards in 2021, 2023 and 2025, a Booking.com award in 2023, a Kayak award, TUI recognition and a readers' hotel-choice award in 2021.
The questions parents askQuestions
Is there childcare for a baby or toddler under four?
Not as drop-off care. The Baby Room is a play space you stay in with your child, and the Kids Club starts at four. If you want time off, arrange private babysitting with the resort, or look at a resort with a crèche from a few months old, such as Daios Cove.
How do we book babysitting?
Contact the resort directly before you travel, on [email protected] or +30 28970 27000. It is available, but the hours, cost and booking aren't published, so sort it ahead rather than counting on arranging it once you arrive.
Can children eat at Alatsi?
On some evenings, yes; on others it's adults only. The schedule changes week to week, so check it at reception when you arrive and book an all-ages evening if you want to eat there as a family.
How many à la carte dinners do we get?
One booking at each à la carte restaurant per week of your stay, so a week gives you one dinner at each. Reserve on the app soon after you arrive, as the early sittings are the first to go.
Is the airport transfer really free?
Only on a direct booking with the resort, not through a travel agent, and only if you request it ahead with your flight details, five nights for the arrival leg and seven for both ways. If you booked through an operator, budget for a taxi or hire car.
How tall does my child need to be for the waterpark?
The main slides need 1.20 metres, with no upper age limit; the aqua tower pool takes children from three and at least a metre tall with a parent alongside; and the Spray Action Zone has no restrictions, so the smallest can still play there.
When is the best time to go with young children?
June to September for warm water and everything open. May and October are quieter and cheaper, but the unheated waterpark is cold for little ones, and by October some clubs have closed, so check what's running before you book.
Do the children stay free?
Two to elevens stay free, but only in the Family rooms, the Premium suites and the Villa, not the Deluxe categories, so the room you choose decides it. Infants in a cot are fine across most room types.
See more Creta Maris photos
Open the Creta Maris photo gallery →Useful links
- Creta Maris Resort: the resort's own site for rooms, what's included and the children's clubs.
- GOV.UK Greece travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- Crete with little ones: our guide to the wider island, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 13 July 2026.
