MARE GARDEN

We were hugely disappointed with Mare Garden Hotel, and did not complete our stay - opting to book an old favourite for the last few days of our holiday. Our “sea‑view” room was on the top floor with no lift, and dragging heavy suitcases up broken, loose‑edged stairs felt unsafe — we saw several people trip. The room looked nice but had zero storage, one bedside drawer, and a dangerous head‑height shelf my husband hit his head on repeatedly. The rooms were honestly the only decent part of the hotel. The pool is tiny, overcrowded, and shared with another large Mare hotel. Sunbeds were almost impossible to get, and the pool was dominated by couples on floaties or throwing balls around. The bar served poor drinks, often without ice, and the beer was usually lukewarm. The restaurant was even worse: barely warm food, undercooked bacon, fruit left out with flies buzzing around, and a 20‑minute wait for half a cup of coffee. Cleanliness was questionable, with the same cloth used on every table with a squirt of vinegar as a cleaning agent. Overall, this hotel was a let‑down from start to finish. We won’t be returning.

So from the get go after booking the holiday me and our partner were second guessing our choice due to reviews. However the hotel itself was very modern and clean which is good. Room service came when requested however toiletries don’t get replaced. There was a very strong smell of drains from our room which isn’t nice with the hot weather. Our main bug bare was the fact on all inclusive you expect to have water free, we had to pay 3 euro for a bottle of water each time which is crazy. When requesting a dissarono and coke we were told it would be 10 euro as it wasn’t an all inclusive drink along with all the named other spirits. The all inclusive drinks were poor in my opinion very weak and watered down, only 4 choices of cocktails which weren’t great tasting. Another issue with this hotel is, the main reception is opposite which you have to walk to, then again when having your meals it’s another walk even further along to get to the restaurant which is in another building! We also found the pool area nice, however not enough sunbeds at all considering you share the same pool with another hotel (mare village) seen so many people disappointed not to be able to get a sunbed approximately there is around 10-12 beds! We had to get up each morning at 5am to be lucky to get a space. We also found no music around the pool for our duration there which is kind of what you enjoy around the pool whilst having your drinks, they had music on once but very quiet and played the same song on repeat 100 times! Lastly the food wasn’t great, it was edible which made us eat out for our stay which isn’t what you want on an all inclusive holiday. We only stayed for 3 nights so I’d definatley recommend especially short stays to not go all inclusive to save disappointment. On the plus side the beds were comfortable and hotel was clean, I wouldn’t come back to this hotel but I would certainly go to Georgioupoli again but in a different hotel!

We are here at the moment and cannot fault this place. It’s beautiful, quiet and the staff cannot do enough for you. There are two hotels with a shared pool which is spotless and has some amazing double-bed style sunbeds which are so comfy. The waitress brings round cushions for each bed every morning and you are served drinks all day to your sunbed which has been a lovely bonus. The atmosphere is quiet and chilled with an adult/couple vibe and relaxing pool music on quietly all day. We’ve stayed by the pool until well past 7pm - no rush to close the pool like in some hotels we have been to. The restaurant is a 2 minute walk away and the staff at the buffet take such pride in what they have cooked. Plenty to choose from (and I’m a fussy eater!), all beautifully presented. Our room is modern, so clean and very comfortable. We’ve explored the resort itself and it’s lovely. Really have no criticisms. It’s a beautiful area and hotel.

Good family trip and the food it’s really nice

Me and my boyfriend just returned from Mare Garden. We made the mistake of looking at reviews before going and I would just like to say that a lot of the people giving bad reviews must be extremely picky and have extremely high expectations from a 4* hotel in Greece. The rooms were really modern and lovely, granted the walls are thin and you can hear a lot of what’s going on outside but our balcony was over looking the road and we didn’t hear a thing at night. The sun beds are an issue, there isn’t enough sun beds for the amount of guests and you do have to be up early to guarentee a sunbed but if you can’t get one, there are always plenty of sunbeds on the beach, which is a 5 minute walk away and also has an all inclusive bar. The part of the beach that belongs to the hotel has a few pebbles on but if you take a less than 5 minute walk either way you’ll find there are no pebbles. The walk from the hotel to the reception/restaurant is not up a huge hill 😂 it is a 1 minute walk down the road, not even one minute. We both actually really liked the food and there was lots of variety, I don’t know what people expect from an all inclusive but I always had hot food and I really enjoyed the food, which is why I’ve come home heavier! The snack bar has really nice little sandwiches through the day as well. The only downside to the all inclusive was that the alcohol is really really watered down and we found ourselves drinking vodka/beer and not getting drunk at all. Only really got drunk from the raki and ouzo. Also the all inclusive finishes at 10pm on nights there are events, which is a shame because the dj night finishes at 12am and drinks finish at 10pm, however the bar in the reception is all inclusive til 11pm so we had a short walk over there to get some drinks. Another downside is that the mixers are all full sugar and no zero sugar options. Again it’s not a massive issue but it’s a personal preference of mine. There’s a 5 minute walk in to georgioupolis which is lovely and is a small square of bars and restaurants, as a young couple there isn’t much of a night life but the food there was lovely. We took a taxi into Rethymno (30 euros each way) and that was more lively and it was a stunning place. Also took a taxi to lake Kournas which was absolutely stunning. One thing the reviews don’t mention is that when you arrive you pay a tourist tax which is 10 euros per night - not an issue just to let people know who don’t know. Overall we both had a lovely relaxing week and would definitely return.