JW Marriott Crete Resort & Spa — Hotel in Municipality of Chania

This was my first stay in a JW Marriott, and whilst it was very enjoyable, it still has a way to go before it hits the heights expected of it. ||To start with the positives, we really liked:| |- The location. The setting was amazing. There were great views from the rooms, pools and a really clear sea to snorkel in. As it was an enclosed bay, the sea was very calm. Additionally, Marathi was a lovely little village with some good bars and restaurants and a laid back vibe. |- The quality of food. we really enjoyed dining at Anoeé (the summer salad was a standout), and Cuccagna (The pasta and Pistachio Parfait were worth ordering again and again). However, there isn’t a lot of variety for lunch, and room service was not worth the money. |- The spa, and staff there. Whilst we didn’t get any treatments, we loved the spa pool and facilities, minus the showers. The staff did an amazing job to keep it tranquil, any guests who were disruptive were asked to leave. ||However, there were several misses at the hotel. These included: ||- Confusing check in times, where our room wasn’t ready when it should have been, and we weren’t informed as promised when it was. We only found out through a trip to reception. |- Housekeeping was very inconsistent. The timings for cleaning were very strange, and we still had rubbish left in the room and some dusty surfaces. |- The service, in general. Examples include breakfast, where the ordering system is very confusing. We weren’t made aware of what we could order that was included. A menu for this would take the guesswork out of it. Another example was our dinners, especially cuccagna. The food was great, but we waited 45 minutes for our order to be taken, despite asking twice if we could order. Some tables had much better service than others, as we noticed another table were seated for nearly 30 mins before being given a menu. |- Food and drink prices were on the high end. Having to pay €5 for a water because they weren’t restocking the room wasn’t ideal. But we, along with other guests it seemed, found a nearby supermarket to stock up on water where it was much cheaper for the room. |- The concierge pre stay didn’t come through with a promised sweet treat and bottle of sparkling wine when we tried to organise a birthday treat before our stay. |- Some of the finishes and maintenance weren't up to standard. Sockets in the room were coming out of the wall, and the spa showers had mould in them. Furthermore, we spotted broken glass on one of the pavements, and it took 2 days for them to clear it. A lot of the facilities seem to be about style, but the quality of finishes doesn’t match the ambition. Another example of this was the qr codes on the beach sunloungers were facing out over the cliffs, so scanning them was a little precarious. It’s the little details that made it appear they hadn’t thought through the guest experience. |- Privacy in a lot of the rooms was lacking. The pools were split by a short wall, so you could see all the other suites, and a lot of the suites were right on the walking paths, the only truly private rooms seemed to be the villas facing the open sea in the east side. ||Overall, we had a really good stay. There was genuine warmth in a lot of the staff we interacted with, and the facilities were really good. Based on some reviews, it seems like there are genuine improvements being made (such as a property orientation on check in, and the clearing of towels left on sunbeds). But the hotel still needs more time, and at the price point (~€400 a night at the time of searching) it doesn’t represent great value in its current state, although I’m sure this will improve into the next...

Absolutely gorgeous property with breathtaking views and beautiful architecture including all of its rooms, suites and common spaces (restaurants, spa, pool, beaches, etc.) The rooms are clean, well stocked and beautiful with comfortable beds, fluffy towels, cold AC, fridge, tea/coffee maker, nice bathroom with vanity, shower and tub and most come with an outdoor space and private pool as well. The spa and gym is also architecturally beautiful and nice. The pool and beach is gorgeous and of course offers a stunning view of Crete and its turquoise blue water from every angle. The location, while remote, is only a 30min drive from Chania, and a 5min walk to the small town of Marathi where there are a couple of nice seafood restaurants perfect for lunch or dinner!

Service, however, left a lot to be desired especially for a 5 star luxury resort. I understand that this is a new property and the staff might not be familiar with the concept of luxury hospitality and I do sympathize with that fact. Some of the observations I made during my stay and that should be improved includes: Dirty cups and glasses were taken during service but NEVER replaced with clean ones. This happened every single day for the 5 days we were there. We had to ask for new ones everyday. Bottled water is never replenished as advertised. Empty bottles were not taken out of the room. We had to ask for more water everyday. Empty ice buckets were never replaced with fresh ones. We had to ask for more everyday Coffee pods and teabags are never replenished throughout the stay There is NO complimentary water in the pool/beach area. A bottle of water is chargeable at €5 per bottle (the same bottle is free in the room). True luxury properties usually offer drinking water for free to prevent guests from dehydration, as well as little complimentary snacks throughout the day (like a piece of watermelon, a small cup of smoothie or sorbet, etc.) €10 tray charge for room service. No matter the order, small or large, if you order something you’ll pay €10. This “tray charge” usually only applies to city hotels like in New York but I have never experienced a tray charge at a 5 star resort. This charge is also not mentioned in the menu or when you order which is a little deceiving. Small housekeeping mishaps like sometimes they’ll forget to take the trash out, or replace toilet paper, vanity kits, bath salts, etc. At check in they asked for my phone number so I can request things via WhatsApp. They never texted me…what is the point of this? At check in guests were not offered a property tour, or any explanation of the various property areas (restaurants, pool, spa, boutique, gym, etc) nor are we given a property map Had to wait for 30min for our luggage to be delivered while it could easily into the buggy that brought us to the room. Would be nice if the luggage was already IN the room especially since the check in process took also another 30min (having a glass of your mocktail during check in is nice but most guests don’t want to sit around for 30min+ in the lobby when they’ve just arrived...

We traveled as a family of 5 with 3 children. The hotel itself is beautiful. Check in was a little slow, but one of our two rooms was ready after a few hours. We were offered breakfast at the buffet which was underwhelming and lacked basics that American travelers with children would enjoy. The a la carte menu at breakfast was also “meh” and took forever. Order a coffee at breakfast and wait 20 minutes with constant follow ups regarding the status of your latte. Breakfast was consistently bad and poorly managed. The servers were totally lost with basic requests. We tried breakfast room service one day as the menu looked better (and how can you screw that up?) but all kinds of errors were made. Missing coffees, entrees, milks. Multiple calls- never got it right. Then…. Never picked it up. Food sat outside all day long despite calling to inform them we were finished. ||Upon arrival to our room, the patio was dirty with empty cups and trash by the balcony pool from prior guests. So that wasn’t great. Basic attention to detail lacking there.||Every night, housekeeping would leave their carts strewn about the property in the outdoors and exposed to the elements and wind and near guest rooms and would not take them to back of house areas. The maintenance golf carts were plugged into random outlets in public/guest areas by the guest rooms and not in back of house. I’ve never seen that at a JW or even an average 4 star resort. Honestly an eyesore after a long day on vacation. ||The kids club was small but well staffed. Our kids usually dont do kids club, but they enjoyed it. ||The grounds and views were super pretty. Pools kind of small, but fine. The kids pool was nice and shallow for those with toddlers. The rooms were nice and high tech. Cold ACs and comfy beds. ||Didnt try the gym or spa.||The location is a bit off the beaten path and it was difficult to get transportation to and from the hotel. The front desk staff would try to arrange transfers, but they showed up late on multiple occasions and we missed dinners and excursions. If you asked if the driver was close- the answer you wanted was provided, but it was often wholly inaccurate. The hotel should have a chauffeur always available and waiting. Good luck getting a driver from Chania old town back to the hotel!||Overall a disappointing stay given the service expected at a JW resort. I’m sure they’ll get it right with more training and staff. Everyone super nice, just not...