Stella Village — Hotel in Municipality of Chersonissos

A Fantastic Family Holiday at Stella Village, Crete! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆||Writing this on our last evening 😊 What a trip it’s been!||We stayed in a Family Superior Suite as a family of four (with teenagers aged 12 and 14). Our room was on the top floor – very spacious with a handy sliding door between rooms for a bit of privacy. Free Wi-Fi throughout and we were whisked to our room by golf cart upon arrival, which was a lovely touch after a long day of travelling.||We arrived late and really appreciated the complimentary food left in our fridge – a thoughtful welcome. Our apartment was tucked away in a quieter area, which we didn’t mind at all – in fact, it placed us much closer to the water park, which quickly became a highlight of our stay for the kids!||Resort Layout & Facilities||Stella Village is part of a larger complex including Stella Palace and Stella Island. Be aware that guests are only allowed to use the facilities of the hotel they’re staying in, which staff enforce using the colour of your wristband. While it’s understandable, it does limit access slightly.||The water park is a shared facility and has its own bar and restaurant. The bar mainly serves beer (no spirits), but there are soft drinks and coffee available. If you’re after cocktails or other drinks, head to the pool bar. The food served at the pool and water park is excellent, with loads of family-friendly options.||Beach & Surroundings||There’s not a great deal outside the hotel, but the beach is a gem – clean, shallow, and just steps away. Sunbeds are free for guests, and you can bring drinks from the bar down with you. The kids loved snorkelling in the crystal-clear water and spotting the fish.||There’s a rope and buoy to indicate how far out you can swim. It’s shallow enough for kids to stand, and deeper towards the end – just enough for adults to stand on tiptoes. A quick word of advice: don’t leave valuables unattended. We saw a couple’s sunglasses get swiped while they were in the sea.||Highly recommend the scuba diving team on the beach – friendly, professional, and made the experience unforgettable!||Exploring the Area||We took a trip to Hersonissos one day. Rather than a taxi, we opted for the local bus, which was an experience in itself! It’s about a 15–20 minute walk to the bus stop, even in flip-flops. Buses run frequently (every 30 minutes on Sundays), and cost just €4 return per person. These are air-conditioned coaches and the journey took about 7–9 minutes. Hersonissos is lovely – lots of bars, shops, and beautiful sea views. Well worth the visit.||Entertainment||Entertainment at Stella Village is more geared towards younger children, with nightly shows in the arena – magic acts, dance performances, and movies on the big screen.||However, Monday night’s pool party at Stella Palace was a standout for our teens – their little taste of Ibiza! From 9 pm to 10:45 pm, the music was pumping, the cocktails were flowing, and the vibe was amazing. The night ended with a fireworks display, which was a memorable highlight.||Food||I’ll be honest – we were a bit nervous after reading some of the reviews, but we were pleasantly surprised. This is a busy, family-friendly resort catering to a wide range of nationalities, so go in with an open mind.||Breakfast had all the usuals – cooked options, cereals, and continental choices. At the water park, there were kebabs, burgers, wraps, nuggets, salads, and endless ice cream. The main restaurants served a wide variety – chicken, pork, beef, squid, fish, pizza, pastas, and fresh salads. Yes, it gets a bit busy at peak times, but staff work hard and we always found something we liked.||We particularly enjoyed the Mediterra Restaurant, which felt more open and relaxed. We used it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – they also have a snack bar open in the late afternoon.||⸻||Final Thoughts||We’re so glad we visited Crete and Stella Village. As a family, we had a wonderful time, and while we usually don’t return to the same place twice, this holiday may have just changed our minds!||Ratings:| • Location: ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆| • Beach: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆| • Water Park & Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️| • Accommodation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆| • Entertainment: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆||Would absolutely recommend Stella Village for a fun and relaxing family getaway. Thanks for...

Absolutely a wonderful week overall. I was not having such great expectations when I booked, but I positively changed my mind by the time I arrived. The plex is not of recent construction, but the overall level of maintenance and service received let me class this place as 4+ stars as in a hotel classification.

The village's rooms are dislocated on small blocks of 6 rooms each side, 3 rooms per floor. Cannot tell how many in total. Rooms at the second floor to me are the best as there's a small balcony offering a bit of intimacy from the passage of people moving between rooms and the central body where the reception is. The reception welcomes you offering an immediate view of the three swimming pools available to the village guests, and - just opposite the road - to the private beach. Adjacent to that you can find the central restaurant, the main bar, and a swimming pool bar/restaurant called Mediterra, available for breakfast and lunch only. The selection is limited but can be easily traded in with the pleasure to eat in between the breeze coming from the sea and its view. In the evening, in the same restaurant, you can eat "a la carte" tasting some of the fusion Cretan dishes.

The village is melt with the hotel Stella Palace, where two more prominent and more elegant swimming pools are available, and to a luxurious complex not accessible to regular guests.

Available to the guests (at the very far end from the village side), there is a water park, some tennis fields and a small mini-golf track where you can spend hours when not splashing in the water or suntanning.

Rooms are cleaned daily, and towels changed regularly, and a bottle of water supplied.

When in an all-inclusive package, free drinks are available all day till 11 pm. No snacks, other than at 4 pm, unless you're at the water park where a hot selection is available throughout the whole day.

Why four star then?

To help the management improving with those little things that were odd.

Food. Great indeed for what I tasted, but you should stress more the local cuisine by offering more Cretan choices regardless of the international audience, IMHO. Please, advice the chefs not to use frozen foods in front of the guests. Don't think this passes the right signal. Please, make available a tea machine during the meal. Obliging people going to the outside bar to take one from the same dispenser available inside is a bit ridiculous. Similarly, why not having cappuccino inside, and only in the Mediterra coffee machine?

Swimming pools. It would be nice having a big one also for the village's guests. Why not merging two of them? After all, a small baby pool is in place already.

Tiling. You should do (seriously) something for the slippery. I've almost fallen three times when merely walking with and without shoes.

That said, thanks for the fantastic time. Applause to the animation team who pleased us all nights with their shows and activities; likewise for the receptionists who have accommodated our...

I’ll start with the good. All staff were great very friendly, bar staff were great, very fast service. We had a flight delay outbound so we missed dinner but the staff were thoughtful enough to leave some sandwiches, pasta, salads in our fridge in our room for when we arrived which was a nice touch. ||Food was good, nice tasting, hot and always well stocked. Never seen an empty tray at the buffet stations. Breakfast and evening meals were probably the best for variety. The snack bar was great up the waterpark too. If you’re a picky eater then you may find it slightly repetitive at the restaurants. ||Never had to run and find sun loungers wherever we decided to go always plenty available by the pool and up the waterpark. The waterpark is great for kids and adults. ||Cleanliness wasn’t an issue, the maids were around everyday cleaning the rooms and to a good standard, the grounds are very clean, well maintained, pool areas always clean. ||Now for the not so good. The cot we were given for the baby was ripped at the bottom and the frame was sticking through. We did get it changed although the maid said with the mattress over the rip it’s ok but I still requested it to be changed which wasn’t an issue. ||The room was small for a family of 4.If we return then we’d have to book an upgraded room for the extra space. With the luggage to it was tight for space. ||On our last day there was a party at the waterpark( supposedly the owner or mangers daughters birthday party) the owner/manager instructed the life guards to close up all the sun umbrellas due to in his words the wind. There was a slight breeze but not enough to blow umbrellas over. The life guard was apologetic and said the decision was crazy as it’s not that windy. ||This unfortunately drove people away from the waterpark and it was about 28 degrees and for family’s with small children we had no choice as we needed shade for the baby. The baby was sleeping in the shade when this decision was made. I gathered this was a ploy to drive people away so the birthday party had the park to themselves which kind of worked because around half the people left. But the umbrellas by the pool were ok to stay up. ||Overall I’d stay here again if there was a good deal when booking or I’d pay the extra to stay at the palace. ||Quick tips - we found the Mediterra restaurant better than the main. ||Get up around 8am and get a cabana by the pools great for shade for the kids ||There’s also a great restaurant 10 minute walk away from the hotel. Turn right as you come out of the hotel and just walk straight. The restaurant is called Areya. Great food, Good music and musician. ||The shop in the hotel is good. Got most things you may need stocked there. If not there’s supermarkets either side of the hotel and the supermarket next to areya...