Marelen Hotel

"Just returned from another visit to the Marelen. The hotel has been taken over this season by new Polish owners who I believe also bought the Golden Sun across the road. We noticed a few changes and not for the good. On arrival a welcome drink is promised. This turned out to be a plastic glass of cold water. Refreshing but not exactly 4 star. Our room was one of the smaller rooms, with a double and single beds, aircon, kettle, TV, safe and fridge. Its OK for 2 but a very tight squeeze for 3 people. The toilet really lets the room down. Its tiny and very awkward to get in to. The shower area is OK but again small. The shower itself was pretty good. There is a door stop screwed to the floor directly in front of the toilet basin which prevents the glass door from hitting it. Its positioning however meant painfully standing on it as you maneuvere around the small area. Two electronic keys are provided which is very handy and the balcony is a reasonable size with a table and 3 chairs provided. Breakfast was the usual affair with a plentiful selection. Sadly there is no longer freshly made omelettes available or fresh honeycomb. The young girl at the restaurant checkin desk was friendly but the other staff not so. There is an evening outdoor cocktail bar which was very popular. The pool bar serves standard stuff during the day but the three barmen who serve there are not welcoming and at times rude. More interested in their phones than their customers. I wasn’t impressed. The chicken baguette we had was dry, with the chicken being deep fried in oil. We ordered a tuna wrap but was served the same style chicken instead of tuna. The Greek salad however was quite nice. Ice creams were pricey at €4.50 for a Magnum. Reception staff were efficient and friendly as were the room cleaners and baggage porter. The pools were all lovely, with a main pool, a childrens play pool with slides and an adults only pool. Music around the main pool was loud and pretty awful. A life guard was on duty at the main pool. The other pools were not covered other than a 3 second visual check from the pool area entrance, twice a day. General maintenance around the pools have seen standards drop from previous visits. A manhole cover, at the adult pool, was left propped open over our whole stay, a real trip hazard. Garden water hoses were left lying around and the hose was left running for a day despite staff being advised. I eventually found the source tap and turned it off myself. The adult pool shower dripped constantly. The adult pool safety cut off switch and life rings are inaccessible as they are located behind wide dense hedge. A real safety concern. The steps into the whirlpool are very slippy and we saw 3 people injure themselves from slips. The pool toilets are unisex. The toilet pan is poorly designed and dirty toilet water is cascaded onto the floor with every flush. Paper towels were not provided for two days despite twice being advised to staff. These points are not good enough for a 4 star hotel. The hotel appears to welcome dogs and we witnessed one poor dog being left in an apartment during the day. It barked quite a lot. Did we enjoy our visit? Yes. Will we return? Most probably. We did think standards had dropped from previous years. Perhaps the new owners have brought in a number of their own staff who are still new to the job. The Marelen is a lovely hotel and with a little more attention to detail and a warmer friendlier smile from the pool bar staff, could be back to its former glory."

"We've just returned from a wonderful 9 night's at the Marelen Hotel. We were looking for a clean, relaxed, friendly hotel and this is exactly what we got. I didn't get the lady's name who checked us in but she had gorgeous curly hair and it was the best check in experience I think we've ever had. She was so welcoming and full of energy! We were also helped with our luggage to our room but a really friendly and helpful man (sorry I don't remember his name). As we arrived after dinner service has finished, we were expecting food but they had made up a package for us on sandwiches, juice, water and bananas which we were very grateful for. There was also a large bottle of water in the room too. Our maid Susanna was a joy, so friendly and also had a little chat with us and the children. Our room was always spotless and made up for us. All areas of the hotel were spotless, there were always staff around doing various jobs. Plenty of bins around the pool areas too. Breskfast/Dinner service again was clean and there were always ladies tidying tbe buffet areas and the waiters promptly collected plates that were finished. Breakfast was comprehensive, continental, fruit and hot food available. Fresh and delicious with fresh juices and coffee also available. Evening meals were themed nights, barbecue and Greek nights were our fave and we wished been there longer to have them more than once. Niko at Eden bar is an absolutely credit for the hotel. So welcoming, friendly and lovely to chat too. Drinks (cocktails for us) we're a good quality and they even did little mocktails for the kids. They were especially fond of the Superman. Pool bar staff could do with being a little more personable, but the younger man with earrings was more friendly than the others. Food was enjoyable on the few times we ate there and cocktails were nice. There is also an ice cream freezer to purchase from. We stayed in a one bedroom superior suite which was ground floor but you did need to step into it so wouldn't be ideal for wheelchair users. Fairly basic but clean and comfortable. The one room has a fridge, safe and wardrobes and 2 beds made up on the sofa space. It also has a toilet and sink. Then the other room was a double bed with wardrobes and a shower/toilet. Plenty of warm water and both a waterfall shower head and also a hand held one to suit preferences. Our balcony was HUGE and great for eating our lunch and playing games on. There is also a drying rack for wet swimwear/towels. Each room also has an air con unit in and a sliding door separated them, which meant we didn't disturb the children. It was a relaxed vibe and yes the planes so fly low but the noise is less than 30 seconds. Plus no matter how many you saw, you still find ourself looking up to see what plane was landing. There is also a curfew so no planes fly between 11pm - 6am. 10 minute transfer meant it is completely worth it. We got up at sunrise on 2 of the days and headed down to the beach. We were lucky enough to see turtles hatch both occasions and make their way to the sea. It was absolutely magic. Wouldn't hesitate to come back to this hotel, it was just what we needed as a family. Fabulous."

"Incredible hotel. From the room to public toilets and pools - all spotless. Went with my elderly parents and my 7 year old daughter. Splash park is fab - open 11-1 & 3-5. Could do with a member of staff checking now and again as the hotel has adult only pools …. The splash park states no children over 12 on the slides but there were drunk adults using inflatables down the slide - I’m all for having fun until they hurt my little girl! Main pool is very deep so people tend to congregate on the steps BUT we just purchased a noodle and rubber ring and floated around - perfect temperature and so clean. Never busy and always plenty of sun beds. For me this takes away so much stress as there is no dashing down to place towels! There is a smaller pool next to the main pool which again never got busy and is perfect depth for little ones. We ate at the pool bar a few times and prices were good and food delicious. My parents did have a burger one day which was still very red inside and he was very poorly the following day. Bar man at the Eden bar is such a credit to your team. The loveliest man. Rooms were basic but spotless. Bathroom quite a squeeze - was fine for us but get to the toilet around the door is quite a squeeze. No lifts worth mentioning if you have mobility issues might be worth asking for a ground floor. We were second floor and had a lovely view. Worth noting the hotel is dog friendly which we found sweet until the last few nights we were kept up by a dog barking most the night Breakfast was delicious, fresh and lots of choice. Always plenty of tables. Turn left out of the entrance and the beach is less than a 5 minute walk. Sad to see how littered it was. Sea was crystal clear and so warm. If you turn right out of the entrance a 5 min walk to a bar called delight - we ate here a few times. Food was basic but nice and there is a park and arcade connected which is a win for the children. Before you get to the delight bar on your right is a side road - this is a shortcut to the strip - just follow the road round. It cuts off a lot of time compared to going down the main road. We ate at Pandesia a few times and the food was out of this world and so reasonably priced. There is also trampolines out the back for kids. The waiters are brilliant with the children and even let them smash a plate for good luck. A side note for this bar it isn’t for you if you’re an introvert . The waiters are all jokers and very interactive (which we loved!). There is also a little fun arcade kind of place on the same side as Pandesia. It looks closed from the entrance but if you go down the steps there is lots of arcade games, bouncy castles, go carts, entertainment etc - it’s a little tired but my little girl enjoyed it. Transfer is about ten mins from airport. You do have planes flying very low over the hotel which we loved but if noise bothers you might be a problem for you. I’m a light sleeper and due to the flying curfew it never affected my sleep. An amazing holiday and I thoroughly reccomend this hotel. We had so many plans to explore the island but with the heat and the pools being so fun we rarely left the hotel. Thank you to all of the staff who were all so polite, helpful and cheerful. We will be back! Forgot to mention there is also a little pool and air hockey section ."