Mareblue Beach

Second time in two year at Mare Blue, frequent traveller to Canary Islands and other destinations and this is up there but at a cheaper cost, if you have a hire car or transfers then your fine (it’s a bit out of the way and from the airport) but worth the trip and we’ll be going again. Kids club is spot on (among the best, can leave our 5yr old most of the day) and location, meals, pool, entertainment etc all good

Location was amazing, facilities were great and food was really good. Bottomless meals and drinks were enjoyed a lot. Good options were there for our 10 month old baby as well.

This resort is not 4 star. It just isn’t. Most of the resort is 3 star at best. Here’s where I believe the resort lets itself down and would need to address if it wants to be 4 star: THE MAIN RECEPTION A nice 4 star and spacious area which impresses upon arrival and the staff were lovely and helpful at all times. However: - No warnings prior to arrival that you need euro CASH to pay €10 for a beach towel deposit per person. Not everyone carries around euro in cash especially if you’ve just transferred straight from the airport - No assistance with bags upon arrival. THE ROOM - It had a constant musty room odour - Bathroom shower drain smelt bad the entire time - No hanging rack to hang beach wear or underwear to dry. Sure, I could have hung stuff over the patio rail but come on, do passer-bys wanna see underwear? - Room was tired eg door handle to the patio was loose; twin bedspreads are both meant to be beige colour but one was decidedly ‘grey’ in colour; - Room desperately needed a deep clean - Ground floor room (which people walk past) has a blackout curtain (great for sleep) but no net curtain so if you want room privacy in the middle of the day, you have to draw the blackout curtain and turn on the room lights. - The state of linen - we had bath towels with holes in them, and frayed edges. There were holes in our bedsheets on two occasions. One bath towel just smelt so bad the first time I used it. Some of the beach towels were very thin (like a rag), and also had fraying edges. THE DRINKS - no free barista coffee and NO coffee machine so your free breakfast coffee is a stewed pot. It was bitter. After 10 yrs of no sugar in my coffee, I just couldn’t drink it without 1/2 tsp. - house wine was just awful, to be frank. realised later that it is bulk cardboard boxed wine. - “All inclusive” drinks means you have to pay for even the most basic cocktails if they have to make them. eg mojito. i’ve never had that before at an “all inclusive” resort. Free Cocktails were very basic and the free alcohol quality was poor. staff did do very generous pours of the alcohol though. - No ice available in the main restaurant so lunch fruit juice and water drinks are tepid. THE FOOD There was plenty of food and it’s impressive how they feed 1000 people each meal in a short window of time. However, the food is only just ok. It is like good ‘school camp’ food. Some great stuff, some not so great with a lot of very overcooked and chewy meat, overcooked veges, and generally quite bland. I did not like any of the deserts -it was all very, very sweet and mostly quite tasteless. Nothing with interesting or zingy flavours eg lemon, lime, berry etc. THE POOLS Adults only pool was lovely! Generally though, there was lack of sun umbrellas around both pool areas. I would not want to be there at the height of summer. THE ENTERTAINMENT -Maybe the kids programme is great and that’s why families love it here but the range of activities for adults is poor. - The pool tables are in sad condition but they still charge 2 euro per game. - The evening music was unnecessarily loud. We were often in the adjacent main lobby after dinner, and could hardly hold a conversation, at times. Then once back in our room (about 200 metres from where the musician was playing), we could still hear it enough to work out which song it was. I really felt for the hotel blocks who were much closer than we were as it went onto 11:30pm most nights. FINALLY There were quite a few silly little extras you have to pay for such as crepes in the afternoon, 2 euro for pool tables that are in poor condition. Just makes the experience seem cheap and stingy TIP Check out the little travel agent by the beach. Car rental is heaps cheaper than from the resort. Go visit nearby beaches like Avlaki, or any other beaches recommended by travel bloggers. Day trip to Paleokastritsa but go early to get a park in the main carpark right at the end of the road Agios Spiridon Beach,

Can see it being great years ago. If you lower expectations and think of it as an average 3* hotel, you will love it. It's run down, even basic things like towels falling apart. Poor food quality but can find something to eat. Grounds are kept nice and tidy. Decent beach.