Marirena

“Great hotel”

Everything is fine. Clean rooms, cleaned every day. Hotel territory is neat and beautiful. There is enough food both in the morning and in the evening. For breakfast, sandwiches, boiled eggs, toast, pastries, yogurt with many different condiments. Dinner is delicious, different every day. Cl… more

Everything is fine. Clean rooms, cleaned every day. Hotel territory is neat and beautiful. There is enough food both in the morning and in the evening. For breakfast, sandwiches, boiled eggs, toast, pastries, yogurt with many different condiments. Dinner is delicious, different every day. Close to the beach with beautiful sunrises. There are many cafes and shops in the city. Breakfast 8-9.30h Dinner 19-20h "I would like a longer dinner time and an earlier breakfast"

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“50/50 Please read! Don't fall for the "all inclusive" trap.”

Firstly, don't go "all inclusive" at the Marirena, particularly if you are bringing children... but otherwise, it was fine. I'd like to say that the staff were nearly all great, lovely people, very helpful and nice. Particularly Rena, Soula, Nikos and all the young staff working the bar. We really… more

Firstly, don't go "all inclusive" at the Marirena, particularly if you are bringing children... but otherwise, it was fine. I'd like to say that the staff were nearly all great, lovely people, very helpful and nice. Particularly Rena, Soula, Nikos and all the young staff working the bar. We really liked the staff! BUT the rules and the old guy owner here make it very difficult to fully enjoy. Others comment on this, too. The "all inclusive" is a bit of a joke: - Breakfast is 8-9 only, I beleive and it's "continental" with breads, condiments, package croissants (not fresh), sometimes pastries, orange slices/water melon, a cheese, some processed meats, beans and scrambled eggs. There's a coffee machine and a "juice" and water dispenser. The apple juice was fine but the orange tasted like cordial. - The "all inclusive program" starts at 11 whereby a medium-sized fridge in a cupboard has some madiera and cholocate cake, little ham sandwiches, sometimes some nice little waps were in there, crisps and either an apple or cheese pastry. - There were no yoghurts or fruit or ANYTHING healthy for the children otherwise. We had to complain and - again the staff themselves were nice about this - were granted fruit and yoghurts when we wanted them (I didn't see other families being told about this and we felt quite guilty about it but needs must). Anything off menu comes at a cost. - Long gap between 9 to 11am - The "all inclusive" "bar" opens at 11am and closes at 10pm but has a strict menu (see pic). There's NO flat drinks or fruit juices for children. The beer was fine, a refreshing 4% "Cretan Beer" which I didn't mind. The wine is from a dispenser - it's listed as "house wine" or "in a glass, but you gotta pour it yourself. The cocktails are just a minimum amount of the spirit listed + mixer and about 2 cubes of ice - no offence to the guys serving, this is clearly what they're only "allowed" to serve. Some vodka, rum and raki options (but I dunno who's taking that). - There are other spirits on the shelf in the "bar" but of course, they're off-menu and come at a cost. - Regretfully, guest's tables around the hotel were rarely cleared (more on this below). - Dinner is 7-8pm only and food does run out without replenishment in some of the nicer things. The food was fine, though. Lots of delicious salads (same every day) and some nice options, some not so nice, 5 hot options I believe. Had a nice moussaka, once. There is ONLY water or coffee available in the dining room at this time. There is ONE person who MIGHT offer to get you a drink from the bar. Again, no healthy options for children other than water On arrival, when you come into the hotel, there is a bar, but that's not the all inclusive bar. It's the first bar you get to though and when you ask for a beer you're asked to pay. The staff are nice about it but you still have to pay at that bar. Essentially.. if you're "all inclusive"... you're hearded away like sheep to your own crappy little bar/restaurant drooling at the food and drinks that their more valued customers pay for. The pool area is nice (sun in the morning and shaded in the evening), but don't be fooled by the nextdoor connected pool area. This is apparently a "different" hotel/company/or something... but it's clearly run by the same people. To use it you need to BUY drinks. The food served to people in there looks delicious by comparison to the all-inclusive offering. It comes from the hotel's connected restaurant. It's a nicer pool area but those are the rules. Now... the grumpy old guy... I know it's not OK to call him this, but that's what he is. He appears to be the owner. he prowls around and basically bosses the staff AND the guests about. Others complain about this also... EG. Where can you have drinks, where can you sit. There are cordoned off areas and he will basically heard people around as if they are sheep etc etc etc. When checking in/out they have no luggage store but allow you to store your luggage in the reception. But if he sees you doing anything with your luggage in the reception he'll chase you out of there. Honestly, it felt like a boarding school sometimes. Again... staff: lovely. Rules and owner: not so much. I think we'd have been happy here if we were younger, had no kids, and went with B&B option only. So I'd actually recommend this place on that basis if you think the price is right. Location-wise, it's quite good! There are plenty of touristy shops down the street with a grocery store only 2 mins away and regular buses into Heraklion centre (be sure to buy your tickets at a shop rather than on a bus! it's half the price!). It's right by the beach and a couple of nice beach bars like 'Havana', 'Franks', and the snazzy insta-bar Kooba' down the beach.

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