Sol Marina Beach Crete

Stayed here for 2 weeks in room 1111, 10th-24th october. Fantastic room, only issue being we feel requires a few sunbeds on the terrace, as it is so big, and really a lot of wasted space, but the sun is on it all day. Also the drain in the bathroom comes up when running water in the sink. Although these didn't cause any issues to us. The Animation team are all fantsactic, big thank you to Laura , John (unga bunga) George (katastrof), and Gina, who have all been amazing, our kids have loved every minute with these people, from kids club, mini disco, and just seeing them all about, they make such a fuss! ( S&F xxx) The hotel staff are so friendly, big shout to Niki at the swim up pool bar, always smiling, and also Asta in the indoor bar, always so polite and kind. The food, was very plentiful, and we always found something to eat. The restaurant staff were amazing too, always showed us to a table especially at busy times. The restaurant got busy as the ju jitsu teams started to arrive, and it was annoying at times as food was being cooked fresh for them and customers were not allowed that food. Isla restaurant was very nice, we got 2 visits. Both times were exceptional however if you don't like seafood then this is probably not for you, as you have a set menu, mostly seafood. Very pleasant experience throughout, all staff are very helpful and I have not come across a rude or unhelpful member. Only one recommendation, the gate at the start of the building was always locked, meaning we had to walk round, not a big issue but when coming back with lots of bags of shopping it would have been nice to just walk straight in. The hotel itself caters for a lot of german guests, (who albeit are sometimes a tad rude.) The final week, we interacted with the French Animation team, they were also great. Sorry I cannot remember names but thank you for including our children in the Looky disco. The photographs are the only thing that let this down, they are so expensive! We had a free photo shoot, then when the prices came, we decided we would only take 2 at €13 each as the packages are ridiculously priced at €195 for the small package upto €489 for the largest package We went out of the hotel and hired a beach buggy for 2 days from Okay car rentals , this is a must. We went right up into the mountains, drove to heronissos and visited beaches there. We visited Cretaquarium, saw the sharks, turtles, lots of fish. We took a trip on the land train also, this was a nice little family activity and not expensive. We will return to this hotel in the future, we have all had the best 2 weeks! Thank you to all the staff.

Great hotel, would definitely recommend. Entertainment team worked very hard, we all loved aqua gym with John in the pool every morning. Cocktails at the pool bar were spot on, all staff were very friendly and helpful. Plenty of sun beds and pools to choose from.

Staff are accommodating and really friendly at all times throughout the day. Day time bar shout-out to Stavaros for knowing our drinks without asking. Son really enjoyed the evening football tournaments every night. Excellent clean facilities. Beach couldn't be closer. Another shout-out to our main man John Unga Bunga, entertaining us throughout the day/week.

Firstly - since you might only get this far.....THIS IS NOT A 4 STAR HOTEL. I feel extremely ripped off. I feel cheated by the reviews on this place. I always check trip advisor extensively before booking a hotel. How this obtained #2 Hotel in Kato Gouves is beyond me. I can only presume this is an anomaly based on people wanting different things from their holiday. I have written a very detailed review as I don't recognise my own experience in the positive reviews on Trip advisor. I have been to Crete before - to a Sensatori and it was far superior. There are so many better hotels. This is just a rip off. On walking around the area there are also at least 3 other hotels that look better. I'll be fair and start with the good aspects - The front desk, bar and animation staff, are very very good. They really seem to care. The rooms seemed to be clean, no bugs or anything like that, so that's a plus. They have a small arcade for small kids, ping pong, bocce, 1 pool table and mini golf. All good. but perhaps a couple more ping pong and pool tables (like on the website) Looks like they have a good kids club, but most of the entertainment of an evening is based around kids & toddlers. I was fooled by the Melia connection to this hotel and assumed it would be on a par with other Melia hotels that I have visited. It is not. You can see where certain parts of the hotel and decor have been slightly adjusted or upgraded when Melia got involved, for example, really nice chairs in the bar, but with old, mismatching sticky tables that are too small. Some nice wall decor in common areas but old grubby floors. You can see they've tried to update the decor in some of the bedrooms, but left the old bathrooms (honestly look like they're from the 80's) In general the overall impression is inconsistent and shabby. 1. Not enough public toilets, there is one WC in the lobby and one outside, to be shared by the pool and beach. The former is shabby and not well maintained, smells and sometimes that spills out into the lobby. The outside one has only two toilets (3 or 4 changing rooms) old slatted doors and one didn't lock at all. Not clean and constantly smelly and floor covered in water and sand. These were the only toilets I found, our room was quite near the pool so frequently went there during the day. 2. The food is atrocious. Special shout out to the poolside Gyros and the daily Baklava. Those are literally the only things worth eating. There was no omelette station in the morning (every other hotel I've stayed in offers this, even 3 star) Rubber scrambled eggs or fried eggs swimming in oil. PLEASE invest in a second toaster. It's carnage waiting on toast, and we all know that there are some people in buffets that just will not wait their turn. Please sort out the music in the buffet area. It is a long narrow buffet with two ramps up and down to the seating area, creating lovely bottlenecks, please, please don't also blast really loud rock music into t

Lovely hotel very clean Plenty of sunbeds. Our room was clean and had a small balcony maid came in every day . Lots of options for food only problem is food is not always very warm Limited drinks on the all-inclusive Lots of activities for young children and the beach is just a cross the road