Mare Boutique Hotel — Hotel in Municipality of Apokoronas

For the purpose of this review, I am going to copy and paste my complaint email. Please see below:||To the manager (who is never around),||I have just finished a 10 day stay at the Mare Boutique hotel with my family, and I would like to go on record by logging an official complaint, as frankly, the hotel is 2 star at best.||There have been several instances throughout our stay which were baffling and I have never experienced such instances at any other hotel.||1. Checking in took over one hour. The hotel had all of our personal details, booking references etc, and we also had all of these confirmations on our personal mobile devices. However, we were told we could not go to the our rooms until we emailed our confirmations over to the hotel, which my partner did five times, and other members of our booking party also sent emails. We were clearly able to see that these emails were sent, however, the hotel wifi was so poor, that the reception staff did not receive these emails. As this was going on for far so long, the reception staff eventually agreed to let us to to our room. We were travelling for a total of 13 hours and the initial experience was unacceptable, for a ‘four’ star hotel. Furthermore, in the days after checking in, we were receiving letters through the door asking us to go and sort this issue, again, this is absolutely unacceptable as this was not our problem.|2. One of our party had actually paid to be upgraded, and they were initially put in a standard room for the first night. |3. It is apparently hotel policy to only issue one room card. Throughout our stay, it was 30+ degrees and due to this policy, we couldn’t even keep the air conditioning on throughout the day.|4. The food is not even cooked in house, it is delivered via trucks throughout the day, and reheated in the hotel and because of this, the hotel food is nowhere near hot enough. It is warm at best, which in these temperatures is a massive food safety/hygene issue. I myself was ill for two days in the middle or our stay (sickness and diarrhoea) and I am certain it was down to the hotel food. Furthermore, there is extremely limited food options, with the same dishes on offer for two and three days in a row.|5. The hotel also has issues with running water. At peak times, there is physically no water coming from any of the showers, taps or when you flushed the toilet, the systern did not fill up. This was particularly bad on night 8 of our stay, where I had to use the beach shower to have a wash, which was recommended by reception (again, absolutely unacceptable), and due to this water issue, we missed a 7.30pm dinner reservation as none of our party were able to wash. This needs addressed as a matter of urgency, the fact we couldn’t even wash our hands after being to the toilet is a disgrace. Please see attached a video to this email, showing this.|6. When we arrived, the staff had no idea where our rooms were, and just left my partner and I to walk in the wrong direction.|7. The bar kept running out of beer and wine.|8. Reception staff told us we cant use their facilities on the day of checking out.|9. There is only 6 sun loungers at the pool for an entire hotel||My partner and I actually stayed at that Mare Blue (sister hotel) two years ago, and we thought the Mare Boutique looked to be an upgrade for this holiday. I was so wrong and I fully regret staying at the Mare Boutique and for suggesting this hotel for a family holiday.||I expect there will be an influx or complaints, as there were several other booking parties who experienced similar issues.||I will be going through the correct channels to be compensated as our stay at the Mare Boutique was frankly...

My recent stay at Mare Boutique in Crete was a profound disappointment that fell far short of the enticing portrayal presented in their promotional materials. The disparities between the marketing and the reality of the hotel were staggering. One of the most glaring issues revolved around the food. Contrary to the idea of on-site cooking, we were subjected to a regimen of pre-delivered meals, served three times a day. Regrettably, the quality of these meals was nothing short of abysmal, leaving us with limited, unappetizing options that cast a shadow over our dining experiences, especially with being vegetarian. This resulted in us having to eat out a lot and added to our expenses leaving us massively out of pocket for an all-inclusive holiday. To make matters worse, the hotel sneakily tacked on various hidden extra costs, such as exorbitant charges for the use of a room safe and even bottles of water, which guests are only provided upon arrival. These added expenses felt like an opportunistic money-grab and only served to compound our growing disappointment. This extended to the hotel's touted convenience for visiting nearby destinations, such as Rethymnon and Chania, which was misleading. Transfers to these locales came at an inflated cost, leaving us feeling taken advantage of in our pursuit of exploration. Additionally, the unpleasant stench of rotten eggs permeated the air, emanating from both the drains and the bar area. This noxious odour made every moment in these spaces an ordeal, and it was nothing short of unbearable. Throughout our stay, we were regrettably privy to arguments and fights between couples, which cast a dark cloud over the overall atmosphere. The bar's petite size was a major drawback, as it resulted in an unrelenting level of noise during the evenings. The absence of proper sound insulation created an environment that was far from peaceful, making it impossible to unwind. This not only detracted from our relaxation but also left us with an unsettling feeling of discomfort. Perhaps the most concerning issue was the doubt surrounding the cleanliness of the hotel. Upon returning home, I was diagnosed with scabies, which could have only originated from my stay at Mare Boutique. Upon arrival at the hotel, the room looked immaculate. When I awoke in the morning, I noticed a stain on the bedding which suggested to me that the bedding was not clean. This has not only been physically and emotionally distressing but has also raised questions about the hotel's hygiene standards. In conclusion, Mare Boutique in Crete proved to be a series of disappointments and false promises. From the misrepresented food to the hidden costs, nasty odours, disruptive arguments, noise, and concerns about cleanliness, my stay was marred by a litany of issues that I would not wish upon any traveller. My only positive is that most of the staff were friendly and the close proximity to the beach a bonus. I implore potential guests to look elsewhere for accommodations in Crete, as Mare Boutique left me with a lasting impression of regret...

Get ready for some fun and long reading!

Worst hotel experience ever. We paid for a 7-days all inclusive trip. We arrived at 11pm on Saturday. The receptionist said that they swiched our room but they don’t know what is our room number. Half an hour later they sent us to a room that was actually already occupied. We were then sent to a second room that was also not for us. An hour later we arrive at a half built hotel, a construction site, if you will. In our room, there were wires hanging in the shower, by the shower head, and in six other places in the room. There was light coming in through the door frame. The light switches and electric plugs had no covers. The room was dirty (covered in thick construction dust). The walls were dirty and at one point we had a really bad ant infestation that they were even in our bed. Every day we woke up at 8am or 8:30am because of loud construction noises (drilling, hammering etc., coming from rooms next to ours). Also no Wi-Fi in our construction site.

The managament does not care or answer! For 3 days we talked to several receptionists about our room and nobody could help us. They had so many complaints from other people, who also had the same problems, that when the management finally answered (on Friday noon, so 5 days later) they mixed us up with someone else, and told our traveling agency that we got free wine and fruit and thay we got a better room. We received nothing what they described.

On Friday evening, they offered us free fruit, wine and a free gazebo and a bus trip to a lake. Since we were leaving the next day (Saturday), the offer was not good so we asked for a late checkout.

When we came back to our room, on Friday night, there were two plates, each with an apple, an orange and two plums (all uncut), covered with plastic wrap and two small bottles of wine. The Friday night receptionist promised that she would leave a note for the Saturday’s receptionist that we could have a late checkout. No note was left, we did not get a late check-out. The fruit and wine was so funny to us at thay point that it was sad. We did not consume any of them.

We tried to get a free gazebo on our last day (Saturday). Again, the staff did not know anything about anything so we had to pay for it. We asked again for late check-out, but if we had to pay 10€ per hour if we wanted to stay longer. We declined and checked out at 11am as requested by the hotel.

So if you have any problems with the hotel, the room or anything else. I wish you the best of luck, you are in God’s hands!

The only thing that we were satisfied were the bar staff- very sweet poeople, good drinks! And the location was very close to the beach. Probably the hotel will be enjoyable once it’s ready and the construction is finished but the lack of hospitality from the management...