Mare Blue and Suites

"Wow what an amazing 5 night stay at Mare Blue & Suites. We booked this as an all inclusive trip and we were not disappointed. We stayed in room 34 which was a first floor room and had its own little balcony and chairs and was a stones throw from the beach front. The room was extremely modern, really spacious and clean and beat my expectations as usually the rooms don’t look like the photos but ours certainly did. We arrived early hours after a delayed flight and we were pleasantly surprised for a quick and smooth check in (unsure what has gone wrong with other peoples check in experience after reading reviews). Our room had a fridge pre stocked with little bottles of water, fruit and two wraps, well received after travelling through the night. Room had aircon which worked great, powerful hairdryer, safe (which we didn’t feel the need to use) and plenty of plug sockets! Our first morning was like a dream, gorgeous beach front right outside the hotel, two coffees to go from the all inclusive bar and drank these in take out cups by the sea. Two sunbeds, cushions, umbrella and table for €10 a day, could be free in my eyes with it being part of the hotel but something we had read about and planned for. Loved the ease of being able to take a few steps from the sunbed to get back to the bar or room. Easy to nip in for breakfast and lunch whilst doing a beach day. Can also take drinks from all inclusive bar onto the beach. The breakfast buffet was brilliant and had everything you could want from cooked breakfast, to cereals and yogurts, continental stuff like ham and cheese, pastries and fruit. Juice, teas and coffee. The lunch and evening meals always had an array of salad options, along with chicken options, pork, fish, one night we had kebabs. Another beef burgers, my favourite was the Mexican chicken with rice, or the chicken drumsticks in bbq, yum. There were always pasta options, pie, chips and fresh crusty bread and an array of desserts. The restaurant manager ran a tight ship and could never do enough, she was brilliant, nor could the two lovely waitresses always very attentive and friendly. The chef and assistant constantly monitoring the food and refilling when things get low. Yes we saw food and produce getting dropped off by a van every day late morning (as mentioned in other reviews). This is from the sister hotel behind the Mare Blue which has a bigger guest capacity and bigger kitchen. Im unsure why people are bothered about this in reviews. Food was always fresh and well cooked and you can actually see into the kitchen from the back as they have the back door open. Chefs are cooking and grilling all day on site. The bar staff of an afternoon and evening were friendly and a few times when it was getting close to 11 they would remind us about all inclusive ending and offer us to order a couple extra drinks for our last round. The location could not be better, this hotel is walking distance to everything you could want or need. 10 minutes to the big square where all the restaurants and bars are, 5 minutes to the supermarket, trinket shops and other bars. The mini train stops outside the hotel and goes to Lake Kournas in 15/20 minutes and was a great afternoon out. You can walk to the main road about 15 minutes and get the bus to Chania for the day. Another great day out! On our last day we were able to pay €30 to keep the room on till 3pm, (€50 till 6pm) you have to ask on the morning of and it’s not guaranteed. For us this was available and also meant keeping our all inclusive wristband on for drinks throughout the day. We were able to leave luggage in reception after we did check out. Now for the cons: These are minor things which people may wish to be aware of or which could be improved for an even better stay. But these did not impact us where we feel it affected our stay in any way. Sunbeds could be free for all inclusive guests of the hotel Great, fast free WiFi in reception/restaurant but no WiFi in the rooms. In the communal bathroom by reception there is a male and female toilet in a nice block and one open shower, we opted to keep our room on for our last day to have proper showers as there is no shower door or places to hand your clothes/towel if you did want to get ready on the communal bathroom which didn’t seem great. The restaurant/bar area is all outside, with sun canopies above, if you stay in the hot months like we did, no problem but I can see why people have moaned when they have gone in colder or rainier months as you would get drizzled on at meal times if it was raining. We will be coming back here as we couldn’t fault our stay and fell in love with Georgioupolis!! Thank you to all the staff for our amazing stay!"

"The flights over and back were uneventful, and the transfers were fine both ways. Reception at the hotel took ridiculously long as we were all asked for hotel vouchers. No guest had even heard of a hotel voucher since the 1980’s, so we were asked for a copy of our receipt from Easy Jet holidays. This contained personal information which I was unhappy about but I was told that unless I provided them with this information, I couldn't be checked in. We were then taken to the room which was OK on a three star level but most annoyingly had a view of a car park, a car wash, a child’s play area and the rubbish bin. The room was described as a side sea view. No it isn't, it's a "no sea view" but it is a view of the car wash etc. I contacted the reception who took me to see other rooms. These were 200m further inland in a separate building or on the lowest level in the same hotel wing below ground, ideal for passing pedestrians to look into. I wasn't impressed that the patio door had been jemmied open on the ground floor room with no effort made to repair it. This obviously made me nervous about staying there for security reasons, but when I pointed this damage out my concerns were dismissed as nothing to worry about. I did contact Easy Jet who just passed on my issue to the hotel, so we just went round in pointless circles. Once I accepted neither Easy Jet nor the hotel were particularly keen or interested in resolving this we put the issue to one side to save for a Trip Advisor review. I’m not going to spend my holiday arguing, but a side sea view is not a car park however you try to twist it. Unfortunately, the issues didn't end there. The food was so bad we ate out every evening after the first night. If one considers a week old cheeseburger as a fine dining experience, then the quality of food offered at the Mare Blue could probably appear tempting. Then there is the unexpected charge for sunbeds, which is absolute madness. The sunbeds are clearly shown in the promotional photos Easy Jet provide and yet there is no mention of a 10 euro/day charge. We were there for 10 days, that's a 100 euro unexpected charge for something that should be part of an all inclusive holiday. Easy Jet explained very carefully in the sales details that there was a charge for using the hotel safe. At the time I thought this was a bit mean and penny-pinching, but I was forewarned so I was given a warning and therefore a choice, so no complaints about the safe charges, beyond being mean. There was no such forewarning of any charges for sunbeds or the beach towel charge plus an additional cleaning fee. There were no sunbeds by the pool at Mare Blue and the chargeable ones were the only sunbeds available. I enquired at other hotels along the same strip about sunbed costs. They were complementary to their guests and they didn't understand how an all inclusive holiday could exclude the use of a sunbed. To add insult to injury, the sunbeds at Mare Blue were filthy, a few were broken and discarded to one side, probably to be cannibalised when others broke. What next, 5 euro a day bedsheet hire or a water meter on the shower or maybe a knife and fork charge? Not that they'd make much from that one given the poor food quality. The pool steps were closed off with tape for 10 days. The Wi-Fi was flaky and kept dropping out. It didn’t even reach the sunbeds, but other hotels much further away managed it onto Mare Blue’s sunbeds. The massive umbrella in the dining area that offers both sun shade and protection from bird droppings launched from the overhanging tree above was broken for our ten day stay. I was dumped upon by birds the first evening there whilst trying to enjoy and evening drink. This area also gets full morning sun, so people queued for a vacant shaded table at breakfast, unable to get any shade under the broken umbrella which covered 5 tables. And who willingly wants to eat where birds are likely to defecate on the food? That’s roughly a third of all available tables unusable. I found this hotel to be mean in spirit and in need of basic repairs that directly impact the quality of a stay. That said, the staff behind the bar and those clearing tables worked tirelessly and deserve thanks from both guests and the hotel. The room and hotel were kept clean. The cleaning staff did a great job. This hotel should be re-evaluated to a 2/3 star and not offered as a four star all inclusive unless the sunbed charges are removed and updated. The hotel needs to also improve the food and maintenance program to qualify for that 4th star. We will take at least 4 holidays this year. This was our first ever holiday with Easy Jet, having used Tui and self booking for the last 30 years We have only found one place worse for inaccurate descriptions and disingenuous selling. Whether I use Easy Jet Holidays again will depend on the quality of the reply I receive, if one is actually forthcoming. Tip. There are some lovely places to eat in the village like Babis and Rodaria. Pay an extra 3 euros to use the sunbeds at the Tropicana bar next door. Much better all round and if you eat there, they sometimes don't charge for the sunbeds. The tropicana also does great meals and they clean the beach."

"The location was great had a beautiful view from the balcony of our room 😍 The room was very clean and cleaned daily! Couldn’t give a fault! The room we stayed in was beautiful 🤩 . The staff were so friendly and helpful . So polite! The sound of the sea when walking up was beautiful and peaceful! Food was nice. Shops were close. Train to places right outside. If going defo do kouras lake! Was lovley! The were not sunbeds at the hotel but are across the road with sunbed service for drinks! Such a clean and welcoming hotel . Thanks you for all the amazing staff. Thanks for a wonderful stay .. Leona and Amy x"