Mera Resort — Hotel in Mangalia

Save your money! While the appearances are amazing, please don't get fulled into thinking that this is an all inclusive resort. The fine prints are a killer. I've been in all inclusive resorts all around the world and I can attest that this one is by far the worst one. From fake pricing to false advertising you can find everything in between. Our journey started by renting out some villas on the W side of Venus before we got there. Price was about 1/3 of Mera's, the only problem with that being that it was in the woods, and who wants to put up a fight with the mosquitoes while at the sea side. We decided to move to Mera since it said is a family friendly place with activities for kids and of course taking away the hassle of finding food for every meal. It also had that great pool for both adults and kids and the play yard in the back for the little ones.

Now let's talk about the 'Kids friendly place". I haven't seen so far a kids friendly resort where people are allowed to smoke in public places where kids play, are entertained or eat. Unless you were dining in the restaurant, all you could smell outside was smoke. A lot of people were smoking on the outside patio, including some of the kids companions (parents). The good part about the restaurant was that they were selling a small variety of foods (nothing to brag about), and it was decent tasting.

All inclusive resort? Think again. Most all inclusive resorts you can eat at any time of the day, drink when you want and ask for service during overnight. Here, food is served between certain hours only. You also have restrictions when you can drink alcohol, and there are no good drinks that you can pick from unless you pay for them. Even then, the bartenders there are idiots. They sometime take 5 minutes to make a drink; incredible but that's the truth. They had a couple of inexpensive bad beers on tap (to be consumed during certain times), one white, one rose and one red wine (same as above) and some cheap horrible liquor (same as above).

Spa service? Here is the worst. Not only that if you want to access the inside pool and the facilities you have to pay a charge for just a few hours, but they also scam you on prices. So, me and my wife decided to take a day and spend it at the spa. We used the facilities (pool, hot cold spas, dry and wet sauna & saline sauna. We had a good time there and than had the treatment we signed up for (facials). I will talk about prices now although the money in our case is not a problem. A facial is 185 lei for 85 minutes of treatment. The lady that did that for us (I think Ana was her name), told my wife she couldn't do the whole treatment to her because she didn't need it, so my wife got 50 min out of it with about 15 min where the lady thought my wife was asleep and took off for a break I guess. She told my wife to come instead and do a Oxygen hyaluronic treatment on Monday. With me the treatment went well almost to the end when she again left the room thinking I was asleep. What a bummer, being in a room waiting for the service to be provided and questioning when she'll come back. So, my wife went back on Monday to continue the treatment that was not provided at the time to completeness. There was no question about the money until the end (previously we had to pay before the service was provided). The girl handed my wife a bill for 200 lei from which she took out 30 lei as a token for not working on her last time for the remaining of the 35 min, so a reduced bill of 170 lei. Simple math said that she should have gotten a higher discount (185/85*35=76.18), but i wasn't too concerned about that. I looked both at the spa flyer and the Mera resort booklet and the price for the oxygen treatment was 100 lei. When I went to question that at the spa they told me that the price in both of those are wrong and that their book (the one behind their desk) said 200 lei. ???? Again, I don't care about that money but the fact that we were getting scammed with a smile on the face.

Such a sour moment on this glimpse of...

A TRULY HONEST REVIEW: Mera Resort Venus - Beyond the Negative Hype!

​We were on the fence about booking Mera Resort due to some of the mixed reviews, but with limited all-inclusive options, we decided to take a chance. We are so glad we did! Our stay was wonderful, and we feel many negative reviews don't reflect the overall great experience we had. ​First Impressions & Service (5/5): From the moment we arrived around 6 PM, the reception staff was incredibly friendly, helpful, and polite. They explained everything clearly, provided a resort map, and it was a huge plus that we were able to go straight to dinner (starting at 7 PM) as our meal schedule had begun. The staff across the resort were all smiling and genuinely helpful—you really can't fault them! ​The Resort & Accommodation (4/5): The resort is large, split into two sides: two big hotels and a villa section, each with its own pools and dining. We stayed in one of the hotels. The room size is a little small, true to the building's design, but it was perfectly adequate for us. The bed was enormous and very comfortable. Every room has a lovely balcony with a table and chairs. As a welcome, we found a bottle of wine and salty biscuits, which was a nice touch. The cleanliness is impeccable throughout the hotel. ​Food & Dining (4.5/5): This is where some reviews complain, but we found the food options to be plentiful and delicious! ​Variety: Breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner, desserts, and drinks—there was always something available. ​Breakfast: 5 types of cooked eggs, bacon, various hams/salamis, cheese, cereals, fresh fruit, and more. ​Snacks: Waffles, pancakes, pizza, fresh fruit/veggies, and even a build-your-own shawarma station! ​Lunch & Dinner: Excellent variety of meats (duck, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, goose) and lots of fish. Plus, four different pasta types daily, different cooked potatoes, polenta, several soups and many more. ​Kids Corner: A major plus! They had food specially cooked for children, strictly without added salt or sugar. ​Desserts: This is purely a taste preference—I didn't enjoy most of them, but my husband loved them! Ice cream available all day. ​Drinks: Available all day until 11 PM, including three brands of wine (Red, Rosé, White), spirits, Pepsi-brand juices, natural juices, beer, and sparkling/still water.

​A constructive suggestion: The dining layout forces guests to queue a lot to get their food. Spreading the serving tables out more would drastically reduce waiting times and improve the flow.

​Kids' Entertainment & Facilities (5/5 - A HUGE PLUS): The kids' entertainment here is a game-changer for families. Starting at 9:30 AM, there were non-stop activities: Disney characters (Mickey, Minnie, Pooh), pirates, dinosaurs, face painting, balloon shaping, and music/dance sessions. Every evening featured story time and puppet shows at 8 PM. The kids club area is amazing, and the park with slides, rides, and a dedicated train ride kept our little one over the moon! Kids pool heated at 28degress and different types of slides. ​Adult Entertainment & Amenities (5/5): Adults also had plenty of entertainment with good music and well-organized activities. The jacuzzi and pools are great! They are having a spa area, but we didn't have the time to go there, but be aware the spa is not included in your package. ​Location & Access: The beach is about a 15-minute walk, but a free bus is available every 30 minutes starting at 9:30 AM. A warning: The section of road leading to the resort from the main road is very bumpy, which is not the best start to your holiday. ​Conclusion: We visited at the beginning of September, so it was less crowded than the high summer months, which might explain some of the congestion frustrations people mention. However, based on our visit, this resort provides exceptional value and a fantastic family holiday environment. We were happy, will come back, and wholeheartedly believe they deserve 5 Stars! We did not like the "vibe" of the villa section, but that's a personal...

Traveled in different places and would say for a country such as Romania is it alright to spend a short holiday due to the prices ( high) the resort is concentrated mostly for the guests to spend quality time with their kids, resort is devided in two parts as per the staff stating the main one is for ,,normal guests meaning they are booked at the renovated hotel which dates back 30+years, the second one is for the ,,special ones,, as they have accommodations in villas , ( bigger rooms, no more than 1 floor high)|Meals: for a all inclusive you will have a diversity in meals but not great and deserts are a number of 3 options wich was counted across several days.|You will have kids options and options across the days ,downside ,is rationalised and not enough for all as there is only one buffet.|Drinks are served across the day ,spirits are served at certain intervals but a massive downfall is that at 10 closed and for a all inclusive there is a bar where you have to pay! WHAT A JOKE!;|ROOMS : are kept clean ,clean towels daily, there will be allocated x2 bottle of water ( still) per room , the rooms are very clean, up to date, a lovely insight ,and I'm referring only go the villas.|Meal service: the not so experienced young staff only collect the plates but not wiping them before other guests can sit and serve. On very warm days the restaurant manager declined in opening the sliding windows for no reason and there for you had to serve in extreme heat and smell of food.|Pool area: no first aider, a lot of rules , warm , nice water.MASSIVE DOWNSIDE which put me off here is that when asking why in the area for the,, rich ,, the sound volume was low the staff told me that this is the request of some rich chaps that could not understand eachother , I've told them that the pool is a communal area ,but the books were done allready. A MASSIVE JOKE.|there is plenty to say but will stop here.|Overall future wise will not be coming back, same price would go to other countries where staff are friendly and...