MITSIS ROYAL MARE

Amazing hotel. The rooms were great, service was fantastic and we had a free photoshoot with staff at PhotoHotel which was absolutely great.

The service is very accommodating, attentive and polite. The all-round feel-good package leaves nothing to be desired. Starting with the excellent cuisine with the service staff Rena and the waiter Herson who served us the delicious cocktails. The hotel as well as the Thalasso Center meets all expectations.

We recently stayed at Mitsis Royal Mare for our honeymoon and had a brilliant holiday. Overall, we were extremely happy with the hotel and would happily return in the future. The location is fantastic – only around 30 minutes from the airport and right on the beach, making it a perfect place to relax from the moment you arrive. Our room was a great size, as was the bathroom. The over-bath shower was powerful, the bed was incredibly comfortable, and the air conditioning was excellent. It kept the room cool without being overly cold or making us feel unwell, which we've experienced in other hotels. The buffet food was probably the best we've ever had at an all-inclusive resort, and the food from the beach bar was excellent too. We never experienced long queues or had to wait for a table, which made dining feel really relaxed. The staff were wonderful throughout our stay. Everyone was polite, friendly and happy to help, with the exception of two slightly grumpy encounters, but they were very much the exception rather than the rule. One thing we particularly appreciated was that there was no rush for sun loungers. Whether we went down at 10am or even 1pm, we always managed to find somewhere to relax. We also had access to a shared private pool for our block, where we spent several peaceful afternoons. The water was a lovely, warm temperature and was a real highlight. As we were celebrating our honeymoon, we were also treated to a lovely cake, a thoughtful card and a bottle of bubbly, which was a really nice touch and made us feel special. There are just a few areas where we think the experience could be even better. The rooms are starting to feel a little dated. We also paid extra for a sea view, but our balcony was very small and unfortunately was covered in dead flowers from the palm tree directly beside it, so we didn't really get to enjoy the view as much as we'd hoped. We also tried the Asian à la carte restaurant as we're both big fans of Thai food, but unfortunately it was the biggest disappointment of the trip. The vegan main course included cubed silken tofu. As someone who loves tofu, I've never seen silken tofu served this way—it's much better suited to sauces or soups. A firm tofu would work far better in this type of dish. Unfortunately, the sauce itself also lacked any recognisable Asian flavours and tasted more like a vegetable gravy. Glad we didn’t book any others. If you do want to try them tho I recommend booking when you book your holiday (download the hotels app) More generally, we'd love to see a few more vegan options across the hotel. These would also benefit guests with dairy allergies or intolerances. It would be great to have a plant-based protein such as tofu available at lunch and dinner, a vegan dessert option (such as cake or ice cream), and a dairy-free yoghurt at breakfast. The hotel would also benefit from better food labelling. Finally, the cocktails from the pool bars were a little underwhelming. We'd read great reviews beforehand and expected something a bit more special, but they were fairly standard. On our last night we did discover the roof top bar and they had much better choices. Those are all relatively minor points though. They certainly didn't take away from what was a wonderful honeymoon. We had a fantastic stay, made some lovely memories, and would definitely consider returning—especially with the new water park opening nearby.

This was our ninth visit to the Royal Mare since 2013 - That speaks volumes! Whilst the hotel is not a ‘new build’ (opened 1997) it has the timeless look of a Cretan village and has stunning gardens and pools. It could not be prettier, it’s so much better than the white concrete boxes that comprise most new hotels in the Mediterranean! The rooms are comfortable rather than plush but perfectly in keeping with the look of the hotel. The food is delicious, both at the à la carte restaurants and the buffet restaurant, Symposio. The menus have improved over the years and dining is one of the highlights of any stay at the hotel. The pools are clean and inviting and the rooms are kept clean and fresh. There is low key entertainment most evenings and some of the Greek musicians, particularly the bouzouki players are just fantastic! There is also live music in some of the à la carte restaurants. This level of entertainment is fine for us but if you’re looking to party wildly into the small hours, this hotel is not for you. Being a spa hotel, I would say it is primarily suited to couples / adults. Whilst there is a substantial children’s play area complete with wooden galleon, it is not marketed as a family hotel geared towards children. We keep returning to the RM as nowhere else seems to have the same ‘Greek vibe’. The grounds are beautiful, the food is amazing but most of all the staff are lovely and some have become friends. Special mentions to Staff Manager Aphrodite and Manolis from the Pacifico, both looked after us so well. ‘Captain’ Manolis is incredibly courteous and efficient, it has been a pleasure to see him over the years! Maria from the Delphini pool bar has become a very good friend and I believe she has looked after us since our first visit in 2013! We always look forward to seeing her each day and she pops over for a chat when the bar is quiet! During this visit, an unexpected issue with our room came to light (more later) but Maria stepped in and fixed the problem for us - Thank you Maria! We are so very grateful and send our love to you! We also met up with our dear friend Roula Verdonaraki who looked after our room for some years. Although she now works in a different part of the hotel, we have stayed in touch over the years and it was wonderful to see her again and spend a little time together! We send our love to you Roula! No hotel is perfect - The RM is not sited in prettiest part of Crete and some of the rooms / decor do need refreshing, although they are kept perfectly clean and tidy. Our room had a loose electrical socket and the overhead fan had no power to it but we did not report these items. I know from previous experience that the maintenance team will immediately attend to any faults reported, so I am sure that these issues would have been remedied immediately, if we had taken the trouble to report them. Mitsis seems to have downgraded the status of some of the rooms (perhaps by adding more room categories) and this caught us out, as the room we always requested had been downgraded. If requesting the same room number directly with the hotel for each visit, there is no mechanism to indicate that the room’s status has been changed by the hotel (downgraded). This time, by requesting our usual room we found that we no longer had access to the shared private pool that always came with that room previously (last visit was 2023) Having said all that, yes I am biased and none of these matters would stop us coming back again. We love this hotel and the staff who work there and it remains our ‘happy place’ for summer holidays! Thank you Royal Mare, we may even return in September!

Great hotel with excellent service. Our main server/bartender Herson was perfect, so lovely, learnt our orders straight away and greeted us every night with a big smile, lovely man x Herson my king

We had a drink at the amazing minos bar every evening. And we had the pleasure to get our drinks from Herson every night. Very sweet and helpfull 10/10 service. And really good drinks.

A very good hotel but I would say more like a 4 star than a 5 star. I would recommend it though. The staff really make this hotel what it is from the room cleaners to the bar staff every one is super friendly and excellent at there job this hotel is spotlessly clean would recommend block 500 with a private pool The food I would say is just good having read all the reviews about it before we came I was a little disappointed in the à la carte restaurants not to say there bad just not as good as I expected The best food bar by far is the beach bar restaurant Drinks the cocktails are good but the wine and beer are poor I’ve loved my time here and would recommend it but I’ve been to better

Recently returned from a fantastic 2 week stay at the Mitsis Royal Mare. We had a truly great time and experience with our friends at this 5* hotel. From the moment we arrived at reception to checking out... nothing was too much trouble for any of the staff. We were allocated room 616, a Jnr Suite with private pool, couldn't ask for anything better. It was in a prime location, and just a few short stides from the beach, directly opposite two of the À la Carte restaurants. We've previously stayed at a Mitsis hotel in Rhodes, so we knew what to expect from the Mitsis Royal Mare and we were not disappointed as the high standard was maintained through out. Check-in was easy and simple, greeted by a smile from the receptionist and a very nice cold Mojito welcome drink. There was only one disappointment for me and that was the "Candia" À la Carte restuarant, it wasn't to my liking... but this is my own personal opinion. Overall we all had a truly amazing stay, there are too many names to remember, list and thank, but special thanks go to Roula our House Keeper who kept the mini bar topped up and for the endless supply of clean towels... and finally Giorgos M the Reservations Manager who made our direct on-line booking with the hotel very easy. Will definitely return and can highly recommend ....

My family and I have just returned from a fabulous week at Mitsis Royal Mare. From start to finish it was 5 star experience. The complex was beautiful, immaculately maintained throughout, and spotlessly clean. The food was superb. We dined in all the a la carte restaurants which were excellent. All the staff were honestly so attentive and friendly from the lovely lady who cleaned our room to the bar and restaurant staff. A special mention to Aphrodite whose soul goal was to ensure guests had everything they could want. How lovely to see people who clearly enjoy their work. As a family we are not keen on buffets but the food at this was excellent with a super variety of flavoursome food. I had a full body massage in the spa and can honestly say it was the best ( and I have had many) I have ever had.. I even nodded off. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a relaxing holiday.

Great hotel, lovely facilities. Spotlessly clean. All the staff are great especially Herson in the top bar was great, friendly & really looked after us with some fantastic cocktails