Rethymno Mare

"Really great stay in July this year. Firstly all the staff were very friendly and welcoming, including organising airport transfers even before we had left the UK. We had a family room in the Royal part of the hotel with a great personal pool which was kept very clean. The only slight negative was that some evenings, the hot water was a bit sparse. As my son alluded to in his review (the one before this one) the food was excellent for an all inclusive and I was very impressed by the variety, cleanliness and happy/helpful attitude of all staff. The help yourself beer, wine and coffee was all very palatable. One of my personal highlights was the beach. There was a good selection of lounges and a great pool bar. The sea is very clean and lovely to swim in. There was a great mix of nationalities at the hotel, which created a superb atmosphere and the French Animation Team were very inclusive and friendly. The only minor criticism, is that in the evening, the main bar in the hotel and the pool bar which was also open, only had 1 bar tender, so queues would build. Hopefully the hotel can consider another staff member being available at busy times. We booked the accommodation through Expedia and flights separately, which made me feel we had a great valued holiday. We used the local bus service on 3 occasions to visit Rethymno, which is a fantastic city. It was very easy to use as we got the tickets in advance from the hotel mini mart and a good tip for anyone doing this is that the bus stop is on the opposite side of the road to the hotel, slightly to the right (looking towards the sea), and not directly outside. We saw loads of people waiting on the wrong side. This was our first all inclusive holiday for a few years and we were extremely pleased with our choice 😁 Thanks to all at the Rethymno Mare 👏"

"I have recently got back from my 8 day stay at the Rethymno Mare & Royal hotel. It was definitely a holiday I will remember and would love to go back. Staff: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I can’t possibly think of one disrespectful member of staff there, each one wanted you to have a nice time and they always had smiles on their faces. Especially the following staff: The man at the ice cream station by the pool. So funny and kind and bonds with the children very well. The host at the main buffet. Such a cool guy, always shook our hands on entry and made us feel welcome. The man at the grill at the main restaurant, so funny just like the man at the ice cream station. Also all the animation team, (the people who host water activities) were so cool. They make everyone feel included and always put on such a great show. All staff can speak great English and French. Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The food was great. Every lunch and dinner the food consists of: Many types of salads which are great, cooked meat and fish, some sort of potato’s, kids food (chips, pizza), cheese, a grill outside of amazing meats (one of my favourite parts), local dishes at the front in cooking pots which are so amazing , a variety of fruit, Greek desserts, cake and jelly and finally an ice cream stand. Everything was kept well, except it was occasionally lukewarm. Everything was good quality. If you love food you’ll love this place. You could argue that the same items are brought out again and again however, I found that there was still a large selection. I was a little bit unhappy about the breakfast. It has some nice cold yogurts, fruit and pancakes but the hot food just doesn’t hit the spot in the morning. It normally consists of eggs, which are fine mushrooms and some peppers with cheese. Unlike the lunch and dinner, the breakfast is the same every day. But it’s also equipped with an outside grill which has pancakes, waffles and fried eggs. Rooms: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We booked a family suite with a pool. The pool was a great addition for not much extra, I don’t know the exact measurements but it’s decent sized and about 1.2m deep. Perfect for private relaxing. It’s also equipped with the same sun beds as the pool. The suite was separated into 2 ( the kids section where we had 2 small beds, and a king bed in the other section next to the bathroom. The rooms were fine with a good amount of wardrobe space. They were equipped with air con and a safe. However, I didn’t like the bathroom as it was a bit outdated and the shower was not the best, and didn’t always turn hot. But you do get free desserts and a bottle of wine on arrival and tea and coffee in your room which was nice. Facilities: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The facilities consisted of: A main pool, a waterpark (3 slides), another pool by the waterpark, a beach, an adults only pool, many bars, including an adults only bar, an amphitheater, a mini market, a jewellery store, ping pong and pool tables, a tennis, football and basketball court (tennis is free), the main restaurant buffet, a smaller buffet and a restaurant by the pool which was nice, and that’s all I can think of but there’s probably more. The main pool besides the water park was great, it was very large and had many comfortable sun beds. The animation team were great and provided many fun activities for all ages which I enjoyed. The pool also hosted some entertainment at night which was great fun. Yes, the pool was slippery but an easy way to get around that is wear sliders or crocs. If you’re looking to relax a bit more though and you don’t have kids I’d recommend going to the adults only pool as the animation team really like to blast their music. The private beach was great, and it had a beach bar but less comfy sun loungers. The facilities as they were all very up to standard except some of the bar snacks lacked variety for an all inclusive but the drinks were great. All in all an excellent stay, thank you!"

"Just returned from a lovely week at the Rethymno Mare & Waterpark. We opted to book a 2 bedroom family suite with private pool and sea view. Slightly mixed first impressions so let's start with the good bits.... The location of the room / pool was in a lovely elevated position, directly next to the water slides and amphitheatre. The sea views and sunsets were amazing and the terraced area with glazed screens had sun all day long. The pool is approx 5m x 3m and 1.2m deep. Perfect for taking a dip at any time of the day, to cool off. The pools were very well maintained and the water was crystal clear and felt very refreshing. The sun loungers were very comfortable with nice padded cushions....far to easy to fall asleep on in the sunshine. First impressions of the room were slightly disappointing. We expected more considering the description of a 2 bedroom family suite. In reality, this is one large room divided with a glass partition. To the front area were bunk beds and a very large double to the inner room area. Off this is the bathroom, so the kids have to pass through the main bedroom to go to the bathroom. I'd suggest that this more like the family rooms with dividing screens that we've experienced before. The bathroom was functional, but dated. Small touches such as the extract fan not working and the toilet cistern constantly running detracted from the 5 star feel. Also be aware that the floors became extremely slippy when wet. The cleaning standards in the room appeared lower than expected. Shower gel / shampoo wasn't replaced until requested, various areas appeared dusty and the floors would have benefited from more frequent mopping. There was no safe in the room and we also appeared to be missing a wardrobe in the kids bedroom area Positive points were that the air con worked very well and there were seperate units in each room. The WiFi was very good and there were 2 TV's (one in each room). Don't let any of these point put you off...they are minor, easily resolved and far outweighed by the pool and sea views. The hotel itself has a good selection of pools and bars. The soft drinks didn't appear to be branded names such a Sprite or Coke and the quality appeared to vary from day to day. The local beer was nice and so was the local wine. Unlike other resorts we have been to, there was a reluctance to allow the use of insulated tumble cups to keep drinks cool. Everything was served in paper cups which appeared to create a lot of unnecessary waste. The food in the main restaurant was good at breakfast and evening meal. The outside grill seemed to offer a variety each night. We didn't try the other restaurants onsite. The variety offered in the snack bar next to the pool was a little disappointing and limited to small pizzas, toasties, crisps, donuts and a selection of pastries and ice cream. Whilst the choice was limited, it provided a welcome snack in the afternoon. The pools sides are extremely slippy when wet, so take great care when walking across this area. A tactile, non slip paved area would be useful here as it appeared to be a busy thoroughfare. The private beach is a nice addition. The use of sun loungers, umbrellas and beach bar, all covered as part of the all inclusive was lovely touch. The hotel provided a golf-buggy transport down to the beach or around the hotel area if you're feeling a little lazy...another nice touch. The staff were all obviously very hard working and offer great levels of service. A very special mention must go to Rahoul who worked in the pool /snack bar. His approach to customer service and hospitality was absolutely first class. He made both of our children feel very special and put smiles on their faces every day with his ice cream and pancake creations, along with his friendly smile, attitude and conversation... a true profession and genuine asset to the hotel, who is destined to be a great manager. The clientel at the hotel is very cosmopolitan, with a strong French theme. However, all of the staff spoke very good English and made our stay at this hotel very enjoyable. Thanks to all of them. We would recommend this hotel and would happily return."