SOL by Meliá Marina Beach Crete

Just back from our second stay here and loved it!
Great animation team- my boys love unga bunga!
Great food/drink options- always found something for us all to eat. The Isla restaurant is good so make sure you go (one meal included in your stay)
Lovely clean room.
No sun bed wars!!! Plenty available at any time of the day. Unless you wanted specific loungers it wasn’t a problem.
Very helpful and friendly staff.
Beach was ideal being so close- rough sea though so not particularly child friendly.
We would definitely return!

Everythink is perfect.
Animator Johny is the best men ever.

Персонал понравился, добрые и отзывчивые.
Развлечения на хорошем уровне, всё время было чем занять себя и детей.

We stayed at this hotel as a family of four in August, and unfortunately, we came away feeling quite disappointed. We booked the hotel based on the many positive reviews, but sadly it didn’t live up to our expectations.

The hotel was extremely busy and crowded during our stay, particularly around the pools. Unfortunately, the main swimming pool turned green while we were there, so we didn’t feel comfortable or safe using it. The smaller pool looked blue and appeared to be fine, however it still ended up staining our swimwear green. Towards the end of the holiday, my daughter also developed an ear infection, although I obviously cannot say for certain whether this was connected to the pool.

We also had an issue with ants in our room, including inside the wardrobe. The rooms themselves are quite basic, and the bed was very uncomfortable. Another issue was the heat throughout the hotel. The bar, dining area and other communal areas were extremely hot, and there didn’t appear to be any effective air conditioning, which made it uncomfortable at times.

We also struggled with the food. We found the choice quite limited and had difficulty finding things we enjoyed eating. The snack bar in particular seemed to serve the same food every day, which became repetitive during our stay.

The biggest positive for us was the entertainment team. They worked incredibly hard to get both adults and children involved and made a real effort to create a fun atmosphere. The staff in general were also very friendly and pleasant.

Overall, we were disappointed with our stay and personally wouldn’t recommend this hotel. There were some positives, particularly the friendly staff and entertainment team, but unfortunately, the issues we experienced outweighed them.

We stayed at the hotel for a week and had a great time. Everything was great – the room was clean, the staff was friendly, and the food was delicious with plenty of choice.

The animation team was also amazing, especially I want to mention Anna and Paula, who were absolutely amazing and did a fantastic job.
We really enjoyed our holiday and would definitely recommend this hotel!

Just returned from a 10 night stay and although we enjoyed our holiday the hotel was not quite up to what we were expecting after reading the reviews we were expecting better.
Firstly the poistives, Good location next to the beach, The very friendly helpful staff and Johnny from the entertainment team.
Things that weren’t so great, The pool doesn’t open till 10am and closes around 5.30-6.00pm so if you enjoy a morning swim then that is off the cards and for some reason the pool had turned a awful green colour come the end of our holiday and the baby pool was closed for some reason? The hotel has a large number of french guests and a lot of the entertainment going on is in French so we couldn’t get involved.
The limited nightly entertainment finishes at 10.00pm and there isn’t much to do after that so pack some cards or games.
I would avoid the toilets down by the mini golf as they are in need of attention.
I personally wouldn't rate this a four star hotel.

Lovely hotel , well equipped for small children activities. Kids pool perfect for all ages and beach easy to get too.
The staff are very friendly and helpful both at room service and around the hotel. I am gluten free and i was well catered for Manos in the restaurant met me every morning and evening with delicious GF goodies.
The rooms are a generous size for a family of 4 and are very clean and comfortable. We had a lovely two weeks stay here and would return. Only negative comment is it is on the flight path for planes landing at the airport

Excellent Family Hotel (I wouldn't come as a couple though). 6 year old loved the slides, the swim up bar and the entertainment - her favourite was the mini disco every night. We found that if you wanted sun loungers at the main pool, you needed to go and reserve one around 9/9.30ish - if you went later it was usually pretty full but there were options at the other pools. We thought the food was good for AI, particularly gyros (and other options) at the snack bar and dinner. The all inclusive alcohol was fine - beer on tap nice and easy to get, I didn't like the wine but the gin was fine so mostly stuck to that! The room (sea view) was good, had everything we needed and shower was good. The Air con was not super great, it had to be left on for a long time to cool the room down and never really cooled it enough for me. When we arrived it was very hot and never properly cooled that night. But maybe I like it colder than most! One nice touch was on arrival at midnight, there was still a mix of hot and cold buffet food on offer so we could eat something before bed (believe it stays there until 1am) which is extra appreciated when your flight is delayed! We had a lovely meal at Isla which is a must do, it's a beautiful restaurant. We also reserved the BBQ one night which was fine although for me probably would have just stuck with the regular dinner which had more salad options (not much salad at the BBQ). Overall would recommend the hotel for a family holiday and would certainly consider returning - 6 year old requested returning every year!

The massage was great. Relaxing, exactly what I needed. Eva was very professional. I recommend.

Amazing wellness therapy massage done by Selina. I highly recommend her doing the Cretan massage.

Perfect hotel nice staff
Johnny 10/10

It was really good and the animators were also good, but there were no night activities for adults for example disco nights or just music nights, just partys for kids every evening. So yeah, thats the one thing thats not good about this hotel that they have the “quiet time after 10:30pm”.

We had a fantastic week at this hotel and would definitely return.

There are many positives to note. The biggest credit to this hotel is the entertainment team; they are all truly incredible at what they do and work tirelessly for long hours yet, maintain their enthusiasm throughout. Special mentions to Anna, Laura and Aiden who are amazing with the kids but, also to Jonny (Ungs Bunga!) who is not only fabulous with the kids but, makes such an effort with the adults too! All the team (but, especially Jonny) are so welcoming and really make an effort to ensure people feel included but, without being pushy. The whole team are worth their weight in gold... as are the cleaners! The cleaners never seem to stop, and work ever so hard at maintaining such a presentable hotel. The bar staff, staff in the restaurant; in fact, every single member of staff at this hotel works ever so hard, and nothing is too much trouble for any of them!

The food. We ate in the buffet restaurant at both breakfast and dinner in the evening - there was so much choice at both. As with a lot of all inclusive places, the food was not particularly hot and on occasions, it was a very randomly put together meal but nonetheless, an impressive selection. Fresh salad and fruits were plentiful. We did not end up eating at Isla however, did enjoy the BBQ restaurant. The buffet restaurant was crowded at times however, we never struggled for a table. Drinks such as lager, wine, soft drinks and hot beverages were self serve not only in the restaurant but, around the pool area too which was useful! Whilst on the subject of the pool - worth noting that it is mild saltwater!

We stayed in a double room with sea view (2 adults, 1 x 6 year old). The room was adequately sized and had much more storage space than we expected! Little extras such as access to a free safe and a fresh bottle of water being left in the fridge everyday were added bonuses.

We only had a couple of ever so slight gripes with this hotel that to be honest, made no difference to our stay and really aren't worth mentioning as they're not that significant!

The location of the hotel is spot on! A couple of supermarkets just a few minutes walk one way and then the other way, a number of shops and restaurants. Approx 10min walk up into the main centre and literally across the road from the beach. For anybody wanting to watch sports, we'd recommend visiting the Anfield bar (lovely food too!) - approx 20min walk and next door to Gouves playground where there are bouncy castles for the kids. Also, for anybody with children wishing to access hair braiding, King's Tattoo place in the centre offer walk ins!

A wonderful holiday that will be fondly remembered.

Johnny was amazing. He entertained the children and adults. The life and soul of the party! Would definitely recommend this hotel for this reason!

Hotel em frente a praia. A cumida mto boa qualidade. Funcionarios muito prestaveis.