Between the Aegean Sea and the olive groves, Kappa Club Iberostar Creta Marine reinvents the art of the Mediterranean holiday. Here, vacations are not just about relaxing: they are about discovering, understanding and connecting with people. Village walks, Cretan cuisine, exchanges with the locals: a trip with a human face, where local culture becomes the heart of the pleasure.
Kappa Club Creta Marine is not an entertainment club, but rather a brotherhood of enthusiasts, a joyful fellowship of cultural ambassadors. Their motto could well be that of Montaigne: " Travelling to discover oneself by discovering others ". The guides, often multilingual and passionate, unite holidaymakers and travellers in the same human adventure.
Here you'll find what most of the big hotels have lost: human contact, conversation and curiosity. Between two swims in the hotel's turquoise coves, you learn to say " kalimera " not just correctly, but sincerely. The chef, Nikos, is greeted like a friend, and you're surprised to realise that Crete is not just an island, it's a civilisation.
A chic resort on a human scale
The Kappa Club Iberostar Creta Marine is not an arrogant behemoth, but an archipelago of bright buildings, hemmed in bougainvillea, which open out like welcoming arms onto the Aegean Sea. With the discreet elegance of well-oiled Mediterranean comfort.
Ideally located for discovering the island's main cultural centres - Rethymnon 18 km away, Heraklion 64 km away and Chania 78 km away - the seafront hotel has exclusive access to 3 private beaches. Cretan architect Marios Ninos has renovated the rooms and bungalows, which are surrounded by extensive gardens.
A mosaic of travellers and flavours
Here you'll find a happy cohabitation of German families, French, English and Belgian couples, all brought together by a buffet with a universal flavour, where feta cheese competes with paella, and where, at the turn of a plate, you can savour Cretan cuisine, blessed by olive oil and the gods.
You can dive, swim, or simply let yourself be rocked by the wind, this " meltem This is the ancient "trireme" (1) that propelled the triremes towards their destinies. This is how the holiday unfolds: a mixture of idleness and legends. Because in Crete, you never quite rest: in the background, there's always the voice of Minos, the footsteps of the Minotaur, or the memory of a resistance fighter hidden in the mountains. And perhaps that is the ultimate luxury: not just the indulgence of a five-star seaside retreat, but the certainty of living, for a few days, in a land where history and myth keep watch, even from the comfort of a deckchair.
Between idleness and mythology
The Kappa Club Iberostar Creta Marine 5* looks like a modern citadel: white walls, geometric lines, suspended terraces. The architecture has none of the grace of ancient palaces, but it bears witness to a timeless desire: to erect, facing the sea, a residence that shelters both the repose of bodies and the illusions of men.
Travellers pass by, ephemeral silhouettes, as anonymous as those who once passed through the gates of Knossos or the Venetian arches. A few armchairs, a few tropical plants: so many fragile ornaments, doomed to fade, but which speak of the human effort to give comfort the appearance of eternity.
Outside, the gardens are laid out with an almost military precision. The lined-up palm trees are reminiscent of the frozen processions depicted in Minoan frescoes: in their immobility, they retain an immemorial nobility. The many swimming pools imitate the infinity of the sea, but are nothing more than domesticated mirrors: wise waters, watched over, where we try to capture something of the marine element, unsubmissive by nature.
The sea is everywhere. You can see it cut into small coves, a succession of blues that poets invented before colour charts dared to name them. You can dive, swim or just let yourself be rocked by the wind.
The rooms are vast and bright, opening onto balconies where the sea air rushes in. The bed is enthroned like a temporary altar dedicated to rest. Immaculate sheets, light curtains, furniture without rough edges: so many signs of contemporary luxury, without the splendour of ancient mosaics, but pursuing the same quest: to make life sweeter in the face of the inexorable passage of time.
In the hammam, the steam envelops the bodies, and in this humid heat you can feel the echo of the sacrificial fumes that once rose up towards the gods.
The restaurant dining rooms unfold like an endless banquet. The dishes laid out in abundance and the wines served generously are a reminder that every civilization, from the Minoan era to our own, has sought to give the table a sacred role: to nourish the body, soothe the spirit and seal the community through sharing. Here, the ancient rite has become a buffet, but it still carries its original spirit, that of excess, abundance, and the promise of fullness.
The table, between tradition and abundance
Each evening is a gastronomic tour of Southern Europe:
In the trattoria La Locanda, Here you can enjoy Italian dishes in a relaxed atmosphere.
The Dias main restaurant offers an all-you-can-eat buffet with the best of Greek cuisine: dishes prepared the same day using fresh ingredients from Crete: typical empanadas (filled turnovers), gemistá (vegetables stuffed with rice) or moussaka. There are also recipes based on fresh meat and fish, as well as creative salads.
Visit Thalassa Mediterranean restaurant : Every dish on the menu lives up to the unique view of the Aegean Sea from the terrace. Greek flavours, a selection of dishes from different parts of the world. Open only 5 days a week.
The Vegghera restaurant introduced us to the gastronomic nuances of Crete: cheeses, nuts, sweets... all accompanied by raki or wine (booked as part of the "All Inclusive" package).
The Dionyssos snack bar, is the ideal place to eat at your own pace: late breakfast, lunch or coffee whenever you feel like it.
Snack bar Anatoli Ouzo. If being on holiday means magically losing track of time, then here it's even truer. Would you like to enjoy a salad, a light meal or a drink? You can do so at any time of day from 10am to 11pm.
Kappa moments
At Kappa Club Iberostar Creta Marine 5*, a team of French-speaking entertainers offers sports and fun activities. But also the Kappa Club concept: a philosophy for immersing yourself in Greek culture thanks to local cooking and cocktail classes, tastings of local produce, walks and cultural discoveries.
In the morning, Excursions are available to the small village of Panormos (around 4 km from the hotel), where fishermen still chat while rolling their cigarettes.
At midday, Crete comes to the table: Cretan cooking workshop. Cretan cuisine - cheerful, colourful, fragrant! Under the pergola, chop the tomatoes from the garden, crumble the feta cheese and pour on the golden olive oil. The local chef explains to you, with precise gestures, how to make a perfect dakos or a tzatziki fit for the gods. And then we taste, we laugh, we toast to the raki. Plans can wait until tomorrow.
In the afternoon, stroll and learn. A Greek language workshop to learn how to say "thank you" without an accent, a pottery class, calligraphy, pebble painting, bracelet making or the creation of lucky charms. Everyone leaves with a souvenir of their own handiwork.
And if you feel like it, join the team for a visit to the Arkadi monastery. The monk Giorgos will tell you, in a gentle voice, the history of this sacred place, a symbol of resistance and peace. He always has a small flask of sweet wine "for the road"...
In the evening, when the sea breeze gently blows through the bougainvilleas, the team invites you to "Kappa moments": live music, private aperitifs, White evenings (white clothes in your suitcase). Kappa brings people together, and the festivities pick up again. The sun dips into the sea, the bougainvilleas close and the garlands are lit. It's time for sirtaki, Greek music and laughter over a drink. We're not "the entertainment", we're living together.enjoy a tasting of Cretan wines; another, watch a Greek film under the stars while a musician sings the ancient legends of Mount Ida. You feel both far away from everything and exactly in your place..
Each activity is offered without obligation, in a spirit of freedom and sharing. Families and solo travellers alike will find something to suit them: Kappa Club is more a crossroads of smiles than an imposed programme. At the end of your stay, you'll leave not just rested, but enriched with stories and faces. On the terrace overlooking the sea, Greek coffee in hand, you can think of the laughter of the evenings, the smell of oregano and the sun that each evening dips the horizon in gold and purple.
The Kappa Club Iberostar Creta Marine doesn't just promise a holiday: it offers a gentle introduction to Crete, its bounty and its soul. "Travelling here means bowing down to beauty and thanking those who bring it to life.
Kappa cultural outings, included in the package
Réthymnon by Night
Take a stroll through the old town and harbour, with its narrow streets steeped in history, Venetian monuments and typical Greek atmosphere. The illuminated port provides a magical backdrop as night falls.
Discovering Margarites
The village of potters and ceramists.
Walk in Panormos
Panormos, with its peaceful little port, typical little streets and rich history, is a concentrate of Cretan charm.
See our report on Heraklion, Knossos, Margarites https://universvoyage.com/heraklion-knossos-margarites-au-coeur-du-patrimoine-cretois/
Kappa Club Iberostar Creta Marine 5*
www.kappaclub.fr
1 - Roman and Carthaginian warships with three rows of oars one above the other.
Text : Michèle Lasseur
Photos : DR
