Minos Mare Royal

We recently stayed at this hotel expecting a 5-star experience. What we got was discomfort, frustration, and complete disregard from the staff.

The air conditioning in our room didn’t work for most of our stay, and despite reporting the issue three times at the front desk and sending emails, nothing was done. The heat was unbearable, especially at night, and we had two small children with us. Absolutely no one took our concerns seriously.

Only on our last day, when we insisted on speaking with the manager, did someone finally fix the AC — it suddenly started working perfectly. Clearly, they could have resolved the issue earlier but chose not to.

We also paid €165 in tourist taxes, expecting high-end service and comfort. Instead, we were ignored, uncomfortable, and left feeling cheated.

To make matters worse, two days after we got home, we received a reply to our email — not with an apology, but with a sarcastic “feel free to complain.” Completely unprofessional.

If you’re looking for real 5-star treatment, this is NOT the place. Poor service, unresponsive staff, no accountability. It’s overpriced and overrated. Would never come back, and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Very relaxing message. Almost fell asleep before the end! The girls were very nice and friendly. Very warm in Greece but the air conditioning kept me cool. Would recommend to anyone looking to relax by the sea. My partner really enjoyed it also.

Not a bad hotel but very far from the standing and service level of a real 5 stars. Don’t be trapped. No charm except the pool that is quiet but closes early at 7pm so you can’t use it after your day outside. Rooms are fine but ageing, like the toilet flush which did not work properly or the shower flowing in the bathroom and unsettled (hot / cold water). Breakfast is not tasty and dinner is self service, don’t eat here. Hotel full of german tour operators.

Poor service level :
No laundry service contrary to what was indicated on Booking.
No cleaning made during our last day.
They knocked on our door the morning of our departure 1h before the due hour whereas weekend were still sleeping.
No bottle of water in the room but they still charged us the water from the minibar.
No sense of customer relationship, we got a remark that we came too late at the breakfast.

Finally location is bad : red flag 2 over 3 days on the beach and anyway the sea is tough so impossible to come with children. Beach is also always windy. And you need to take the car to go to rethymnon Where it is difficult to park.

We chose this hotel as our honeymoon destination and I regret it.

+ Extremely comfortable beds, very clean
+ they changed our bed linen and towels every day
+ a beautiful beach near the hotel

- the hotel is located in a village 10 kilometers from Rethymno
- The ventilation in the room smelled of mold, the air conditioner needs to be cleaned because
- Low-quality meat for breakfast, probably from Lidl
- it seems to me that breakfast pastries were not homemade but defrosted and baked
- Drinks with dinner were charged €4 for one liter of mineral water, one glass of white wine costs €6
- The staff at the reception had a forced smile
- The waiters were friendly and nice, but very slow, except when their boss appeared
- at the "gala" dinner, the waiter dropped leftover food on my lap (fish skin), he didn't even apologize, he just left
- our room was often noisy, as if the walls were shaking from the ventilation
- The biscuits for breakfast were old and falling apart, the muffins were too dry.
- a welcome drink with a welcome letter addressed to me and my husband we didn't get until the third day. There was cretan raki on the table and only ONE small brandy glass. There were TWO of us.
- there was often no water in the cistern. It's not really a 5* experience when you can't flush the toilet.
In conclusion, not a 5* experience, bad honeymoon...

We stayed in Minos Mare Royal with my husband early October. The hotel was really nice and clean. Personnel was helpful and kind.
Nice big pool area with sea front only few steps away.
Breakfast was super good and ladies who taked care of the breakfast service were great.
But what made our holiday perfect was VASILIS <3 the pool bartender. He was a real profesiional who knew how to serve customers. Great drinks, great service, great attitude. The bar was allways super tidy. Her also knew when to let customers in their own company. Because of Vasilis we'll defenitely come back!!

We have booked the hotel mostly because of the price from our local tour operator, we liked the idea of 5* with a private beach. On arrival we were greatly surprised by the level of services and amenities. First, there were few people, no big crowds at a restaurant, quiet. Personnel at reception and in the restaurant was fantastic, always reacting to our requests in the best possible manner. Food was great, I am vegetarian, husband likes fish, child eats almost nothing - we all found what we wanted at breakfast, and menu to choose from at dinner is just high cuisine! Swimming pool is incredibly big and is only for 5* hotel guests, Minos Mare 4* guests cannot use it. We were spending almost every day there in a pleasant shade by the bar (try Vasilis' cocktails!), just few people swimming with us, enough chaislounges for everyone. Towels were free and changed every 2nd day. Walk to the private beach was short, sea was great, but we went there only 4 times, and once for parasailing (35 Euro per person). We can't find enough words to describe the beauty of this place.

The hotel met our overall expectation.Cozy, small hotel with classy clean design, beautiful swimming pool area, rich garden, quality furniture and outdoor facilities. The staff is amazing, always smiling, really helpful from the colleagues in the reception, waiters and waitresses in the restaurant, up to cleaning ladies, even the gardener and the maintainer staff on the Beach. Everybody was taking care to keep the COVID rules, which made us feel in safe in these times. Food in the restaurant is perfect, the dinner main course is close to fine dining, not to mention the beach bar Posseidon. The service was perfect, the quality of the food over standard. The beach in front of the hotel is beautiful, blue flag awarded this year. The sunset was astonishing every day, you can have long walks along the beach. Great location to have day trips to the west/east/south parts of the island.Restaurants, bars and shops are in 5 min walk.

This hotel is exceptional. The rooms are spacious and well looked after by the maids. All of the staff are helpful and friendly. Special mention to the girls on reception. The food is the best I’ve experienced in any hotel in many years of travel. The weekly gala dinner at the beach restaurant is excellent.
The pool is beautiful, but unfortunately only gets the sun on one side at various times of the day. Being a sun worshiper, I opted for the beach instead. This is no more than a couple of minutes stroll through the lovely grounds, and each ‘station’ has two sun beds, a chair a table with umbrella and bucket for rubbish attached. Waiter service is available, and nice clean toilets close by. Entertainment is available at the 4 star Minos Mare Spa hotel (which shares the same grounds) or various tavernas and bars are a few minutes walk away in Platanias. There are some good excursions available from reception at reasonable prices. I also took the local bus into Rethymno and had a wander around the pretty harbour and the Forteza. Would definitely recommend the Minos Mare Royal.

Nice hotel with fantastic staff. Always friendly and helpful with a smile on the face. All of them!! The rooms are big, very good and spacey beds, only the shower is a bit to small. Every day there is a small gift on your bed. The food was excellent, for diner there are 4 different meals to chose from. Lunch can be taken at the Poseidon beach restaurant, very tasty and not that expensive. Near the pool is a bar with Vasili, a great bartender. Has always a great idea for a cocktail. The sand beach is clean, there are only some small rocks when you go into the sea, swim shoes are very helpful. Nice, long pool with hardly any people in it. Overall it is a great place for holidays, we surely can recommend it. Thanks to the superb Minos Mare Royal team.

The hotel strap line is 'Enjoy your greatest pleasure'. We soon understood that it is the hotel and the staff's pleasure to make sure you that you have everything you need. The staff are always smiling, and will do their upmost to make sure your stay is relaxing, enjoyable and the best it could possibly be. The hotel food is excellent - do not miss the Gala Dinner.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with a glass of local sparkling wine and a warm towel to freshen up after our long journey with. We were also upgraded to a suite. The suite was spacious and the beds were so comfy.

Minos Mare Royal is located next to its 'sister' hotel, Minos Mare (fully inclusive/Full Board plus). Both have pools, and are sited on the beach. Try the Poseidon Beach cafe/ bar. Staff again are so helpful, and food is cooked fresh and is good. For coffee lovers, the coffee here is very good.

Also, try Vasilli's Dirty Martini at the Pool Bar. The best martini and the best Espresso Martini I have ever tasted.

Cannot recommend highly enough. Thank you Minos Mare Royal and your excellent team.

This 5*hotel is a pleasure all over. We enjoyed a lot the rooms that are spacious, the delicious food, the near beach and most of all the very kind people always smiling. The kids were over excited of the nice treatment and the small gifts were very appreciated. All in all a present stay that worth the money!

One of our best hotel experience so far. The service in the hotel is exceptional! For example, on our first day our room had trouble with the air conditioner, they looked at it immediately and when they couldn’t find the problem we we’re offered to change room without hesitation. They leave small gifts at the hotel room such as candy and local drinks to try. They really do that little extra that makes your stay feel more luxurious. Also, a big shout out to the bar guy in the evening (can’t remember his name), tell him what flavors you prefer and he makes the most delicious drinks! He really puts all his love in the drinks and you can tell it by the flavor. Really recommend his mojito with ginger.

Overall the atmosphere around the hotel feels calm, modern and clean. The beds are super comfortable. I would also really recommend the dinner at the hotel! There’s always a starter and dessert buffet, and for main course you choose between meat, bird, fish or vegetarian and the food is delightful! For breakfast there’s a small offer of warm food, some bread and yoghurt, fresh orange juice. You can also order omelet, egg benedict or pancakes from the staff (included).
At the hotel area there’s a small minimarket which doesn’t take overprice at all, one 2L water cost 0,5 euro. If you wish a bigger store there’s one 5 minutes away.

The beach is clean (although there’s unfortunately some plastic in the ocean) and sunbeds is free. You get towels from the hotel that you can change every second day.

There’s not a lot of sunbeds around the pool but it was never crowded on our stay.
If you wish to eat lunch by the beach I would really recommend the restaurant own by the hotel right by the beach. Other than that, there’s no more restaurants (except for “pablos” which I don’t recommend) or pool bars at the beach which is a pity.

Overall highly recommend this hotel!

Chambre propre bien équipée, salle de bains avec baignoire et douche, produits toilette pas renouveler ts les jours, nourriture correcte mais sans grand intérêt, beaucoup de salades pour l'entrée, desserts plutôt industriels, plat principal sans grande saveur, l'hôtel est sans charme même froid dans le hall, sans parler de ce mélange de 4 et 5 étoiles qui est vraiment bizarre, le 4 profitant de la piscine des transats du 5 étoiles sans en payer le prix!!

This hotel looks like it does on the pictures and exceeded my expectations

Our stay was in general excellent.. but they were two annoying things. 1. When we arrived, after an exhausting trip, we had to move to another (5 star hotel, no problem there) because our room was occupied. 2. After a few days we discovered that any time we turned on the hot water, it came out yellow for a few seconds. We reported it, but it wasn't fixed by the time we've left

This hotel takes over booking at the peak season and you may be relocated to the other hotel when they have no available room.
The hotels they relocate people isn't same level of quality and the room is awful.
I saw nearly 10 teams have been relocated to the worse residence apartment instead of the 5 starred hotel room, all very upset and disappointed.
However the staffs are very kind and supportive and tried to help everyone as much as they can.
The rearvation team screwed thing up and ruin their guest's holidays!

Vårt opphold på Minos Mare Royal var perfekt! Utrolig vennlig og serviceinnstilt personale som alltid var opptatt av vårt beste. Høy standard på selve hotellet, rommet, restaurant og uteområdet. Kort vei til stranden og tilgang på spa. Vi kommer mer enn gjerne tilbake!

Πολη κακη ,δωματιο μικρο για τρικληνο , φτωχο πρωινο μπουφε για 5αστερο . Απο λαθος του hotel.com η' του Minos mare to πρωτο βραδυ μας εστειλαν να μεινουμε σε κοντινο και οχι παραληακο διαμερισμα.

On arrival my friend and I were told there was a mix up with our rooms and we were put in the Minos Mare Hotel for one night. The next day we were moved in to the Minos Mare Royal and again not given the rooms we had booked. The hotel did say they could check the next day the availability of the pool view rooms. But we were didn't want to keep moving so we stayed were we were. The only thing we were not given a proper explanation as to why we didn't get the rooms we had booked. The staff were great in dealing with our situation. Highly professional!
A ladder or two around the pool would be useful as I had to help an elderly couple on a few occasions get in and out via the Jacuzzi end. It was difficult to see the location of the "seat" in the Jacuzzi and the steps in the actual pool.
There were a few other small issues, which I've already given feedback on. I would certainly stay at this hotel again. It was lovely and peaceful. I had a relaxing time

Stayed for 7 days in July 2014. We arrived to the hotel in the afternoon with welcome drinks juice and wet face towel to refresh us, thats a plus for me. Staff at the reception was friendly. We had a room with swimming pool view and we liked it very much. Our room in the first night was upgraded to the suite room, the suite room was in the beach front that was unexpected to me without an extra cost and we liked it very much, the suite room was great, and then the second day we transfer to our room with pool view. The hotel room is nice, the light color i liked it, the hotel bed is so good to sleep very comfortable and the pillow, i just loved it. The AC is silent and working well, but it turn off automatically if we open the door, out to the terrace or out to the room. It´s not a problem, just turn on again. There is a bathrobe and a sleeper in the hotel room, coffe/tea maker too.

We had bed and breakfast, and we eat dinner too a couple of times. the food was so good, the breakfast so good and plenty to choose, the dinner is a buffet for first course and lots of dessert, but only the main course we must order, good fresh salads, loved it. This hotel is cheaper to eat dinner than outside. We used to eat lunch here in Poseidon beach restaurant, hotel restaurant, the food is good and the staff is friendly. All staff in this hotel is friendly.
There is volleyball game in the beach, start 4:30pm all guests can participate and there´s evening entertainment too.