"I stayed in mare village from 11-18 July and thought I’d write a review since I read so many before I went and they were so so mixed!!
I’ll break it down into sections for you guys:
Location - Georgioupoli doesn’t have very much to offer but its a cute place to stay. Walking by the beach along past all the restaurants is lovely, there’s a church you can trek to over some rocks (wear good shoes I thought it was going to have to say my goodbyes to my family), and if you want to explore the areas close by, the hotel has a WhatsApp number for taxis which can take you to Lake Kournas which has a fantastic pedalo hire service (one of my fav days we had on holiday) and the closest town (30 min drive) Rethymno had a great vibe and was fun for a night out.
The actual location of bits with the hotel was… odd. You had to walk over a road to get to the buffet and the pool so the hotel felt really quite disjointed. It wasn’t a big deal but worth noting.
Atmosphere - nothing to write home about. They played music by the pool, a lot of it was AI I think. It was ok but not special. Felt very relaxed :)
Evening entertainment felt the same. There were some Greek dancers who came which was fun. They made us do a snake line and dance together!! :) but other than that it was a bit crap. Also I was pretty miffed when they closed all inclusive drinks at 23.00 on normal nights and 22.00 on entertainment nights!!! Sorry what? How can we close all inclusive when a hotel IS all inclusive????
Cleanliness - it was clean! Room was cleaned every day and felt comfortable. A few of the plates were dirty in the buffet, but just pick the clean ones lol. Not something out of the ordinary.
Amenities -
- pool was nice. Not enough sunbeds for the amount of guests, but I feel like that happens in a lot of hotels. Unless you went down at 6am to claim yours, you’d have to lie on the floor with your towel (bring a towel, you have to pay a deposit for one in the hotel). Pool itself was good - nice size, VERY chlorinated - I think it broke my face to be honest… my skin is still recovering (I did have lots of fun playing mermaids in the pool though). Temperature was and refreshing in the UV 11!
- pool bar was meh. It felt like you had to pay extra for anything nice. Want a mojito? €7 please? Want your coffee iced? That’ll be €4. Even juice was extra even though you could get it for free in the buffet. I love when an all inclusive makes you pay extra for things I’ve never had to pay extra for in other hotels - makes it unique!
- buffet was clean and food was yummy. It lacked variety, but I enjoyed it. Just budget for some meals out - GB rooftop lounge was very yummy.
- normal bar was similar to pool bar. Bar 300 over the road had good drinks and a far better vibe.
- lots of shops nearby! Staff were lovely in them and they had a fantastic variety of crisps. Try the tzatziki Pringles, you won’t regret it!
- they do have a section on the beach but I didn’t try it because you have to pay for the bed. Go to baja beach if you want to pay for a sun bed - was stunning.
Value - was a cheap all inclusive but, as I said, they do charge you extra for nicer cocktails, iced coffees etc. was quite disappointing to be honest.
Overall, it was a decent hotel. I know I was a bit sarky at times in this review, but for what we paid, I think it was worth it. I wouldn’t go again, I would much rather stay in a hotel in Rethymno, but it was still a lovely holiday. Me and my friends made lots of great memories."
