Mitsis Royal Mare

Season Stay at Mitsis Royal Mare We visit Crete every year at the end of the season and have stayed at several Mitsis hotels over the years and have always found them to be of high quality, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case on this occasion. We aren’t the type who go out their way to leave negative reviews and always make a point of giving positive feedback wherever we stay; however, we felt it necessary to share our experience this time. We originally booked into Mitsis Rinela, but were informed it would be closing a week earlier than planned and were moved to Mitsis Royal Mare instead. While we appreciate that it was the end of the season, by the final few days the resort was literally packing up around us. Many facilities and venues had already shut, which made things awkward and disappointing, particularly given the amount we paid. We always travel at this time of year and have never experienced such a “closing down” atmosphere elsewhere. Our room was fine but quite dated. However, the bathroom caused repeated issues. The sink was blocked and kept overflowing, and when we emptied the bath, water came up through a floor drain and flooded the bathroom. This took a couple of days to be fixed. Although the sink issue was resolved, the bath caused flooding again a few days later. The food in the à la carte restaurants was lovely, but the buffet was a real letdown. Options were very limited and repetitive mainly boiled, stew-type dishes and fried foods. It’s the first time we’ve ever not enjoyed the food in Greece, which was quite disappointing given our previous experiences with Mitsis hotels. The spa offers a great range of treatments and the therapists were lovely, but cleanliness was clearly an issue. The steam room in particular was filthy - the floor, walls, and seats were covered in thick brown sludge, which was honestly disgusting. That kind of buildup doesn’t happen overnight, so it clearly hadn’t been properly cleaned for some time. The door also doesn’t close properly, which makes it even less appealing. On a positive note, the grounds are beautiful and well kept, and most of the staff were friendly and helpful. A special mention goes to Marianna in the buffet restaurant, who was always welcoming and professional. Unfortunately, our experience in the Minos bar was quite the opposite as a female member of staff with long blonde hair (didn’t catch her name) was consistently rude to us each time we visited. We have never encountered that level of unfriendliness anywhere we’ve stayed before. Overall, this was a disappointing end to what’s usually our favourite time of year in Crete. As much as we would like to try Rinela, this has put us off Mitsis hotels.

We enjoyed our family vacation for one week! We loved spending time at cost bar and Herson was very friendly and gave us a nice service! We’d definitely recommend Mitsis royal Mare!!

Recently returned from a wonderful vacation at this fantastic hotel . The Mitsis Royal Mare is a relaxed haven in the Crete sunshine. Great dining options to suit all tastes you will definitely not go hungry here from morning to night . Plenty of options for adults and kids alike , whether that be in one of the great restaurants, hot dogs and fresh fruit by the beach or crepe’s and waffles by the pool . Our room was spacious, clean and very comfortable with a complimentary mini bar which was restocked frequently and fresh water replenished also . The hotel wants for nothing , it even has a small onsite medical centre where you can see a doctor if needed . The shingle beach has free sun loungers to soak up the sun as do the pool area’s and we never struggled to get a decent spot . There’s a mini arcade for the kids with pool tables and table tennis tables , an on-site mini market , another kiosk shop that also sells beach and pool gear , a jewellery shop , clothing shop The true highlight of this hotel though is it’s staff , from the moment we arrived to the last moment of our holiday the staff were fantastic, happy to help , nothing is too much trouble to make your holiday a fantastic experience, I could name individuals but it would take too much time , but everyone from reception, cleaners , restaurant staff, chefs , the guys who drive the golf carts, bar staff and the many more who work tirelessly to make people’s vacations a wonderful experience …. You are this hotels biggest asset and I cannot praise you enough , Thank you for a wonderful holiday with my Wife and 10 year old daughter , we enjoyed it so much I’ve just booked to come again in October 2026

Herson was a great host and looked after us very well! It was a pleasure to meet him and he made our stay extra special!!!!!

We have had such a wonderful time at Mitsis Royal Mare. They were very good catering to gluten free, and we had the head chef explain what was suitable. Maria at the Delfino pool bar was particularly wonderful and friendly. We are excited to return in the future

Maria and her team at Delphinia are working hard to ensure everyone has a good time on their holidays. Maria always greets us with a smile.

Stayed here for 14 nights end of Sept/beginning of October and can't fault anything at all, from check in (& being greeted with cold towels, a local drink and a ride in a golf buggy to your room!) to check out, everything was pretty much perfect. All the staff we met were friendly, lovely and helpful with nothing being too much trouble, the hotel was spotless and beautifully set out, the food was amazing in all restaurants (as other reviewers recommend though it is worth booking these before you go) and the buffet was fantastic with something for everyone. We had a shared pool swim up room which was really lovely. The room itself was big with a very comfy bed and a good size bathroom. The room was cleaned and checked twice a day and the mini bar was regularly replenished. Having our own sunbeds was great although it never looked completely packed out around the pool. The hotel has a bit of beach as well with sunbeds and towels. The hotel also has numerous cats which are extremely well looked, well behaved (for cats!) and very cute. The only small issue for us and this has nothing to do with hotel itself as such, was it is a little far out from Hersonissos (or anywhere) to go for a walk about/explore very much, although there is a viewpoint and small chapel about 15mins walk away, but we booked a couple of days out on excursions which were very good. We had an excellent holiday here and would definitely recommend it.

We just returned from a wonderful week at this hotel. Our group was a family group of 2 adults and 11 year old twin girls. We booked a suite with a shared pool as a package with Jet2 from the UK. I was initially worried, after looking online, that the room wouldn’t be big enough and contacted the hotel to try to upgrade the room. They told me the room would be fine for us (they could have just taken my money!). They were right! It was huge. A large bedroom with its own bathroom and a huge living area with a pull out bed and its own bathroom. The room was well soundproofed as, when the girls stayed up until 2am making tik toks it did not disturb our sleep! The outside area was wonderful. A huge terrace with sun loungers, a shaded area and the pool. We were more than happy. We were in 618 which was perfect for accessing the beach. Quite a walk up to main reception but we didn’t mind. Food and drinks The food in the a la carte restaurants was fantastic. We ate in all of them at least once. You can only eat in each one once unless they make an exception (if it isn’t busy). I was a little disappointed at this as I really do not like buffet dining. I don’t find it relaxing as a family. There are only 3 evening restaurants which meant we would have had to eat in the buffet 4 of the nights if we hadn’t dined out. The food in the buffet is very good though, just not for me. There are also 3 lunch time restaurants. Seafood, Italian and Brunch. The crepe place is open all day and is table service. Once criticism is that they don’t offer you a choice of wine in the restaurants. The menus online contain several wines but they were not giving the choice in the restaurants. We did ask a few times but waiting staff just looked confused and continued to bring the same wine (which was perfectly decent wine). This could have been because it was the end of the season and they had run out. We could not fault the drinks at the bar. They could do with having a bar open later, closer to the rooms near the beach. I like to have a drink on my balcony while getting ready for dinner and after 5pm in October all bars but the main ones at the top of the complex were closed and it was rather a journey to go up to the main complex to get a drink. There is a mini bar in the room by they kept forgetting to restock it. Again, I think this was all an end of season problem. The staff were all wonderful, I did get the feeling they were a little short staffed. The man on the beach organising the sun loungers and the room porters were especially fantastic. There was not a lot of entertainment in the hotel. Particularly for the twins. They were happy to amuse themselves but I could imagine children on their own may be bored. The pools were lovely but absolutely freezing. Someone told me they refrigerate the water. Why would you do that in October Mitsis?? I would definitely go back to this hotel. It was incredibly relaxing and just what we needed. The staff and the room made the holiday for us.

From arrival at reception Alex ensured our room arrangement was the best set-up and location available for our stay. Roula serviced our suite with care and met every need in our stay. The dedicated concierge helped book our travel all with such ease, we never waited for help and staff were always attentive and helpful. Our overall expectations of this hotel were exceeded, all staff were so friendly and approachable, questions answered, service was prompt and always at a pace that suited in each dining setting we got to enjoy. I was so apprehensive about the holiday and travel with a 2yr old but I can honestly say I was able to have a holiday too. Our son loved the childcare setting and pirate ship play area. The beach attendant was fantastic in helping everyone find their spot and get settled for whatever duration with furniture location they desired. The resort is very clean, well presented and very relaxing to be in, the layout and varied nature of rooms makes it feel like a small village setting not a hotel. We enjoyed live music in some of the dining settings and enjoyed the day we got lunch as room service too. I would happily repeat my entire stay. Once again Mitsis you have outdone yourselves #3rd stay in your hotel and we will book again.

We had a great week, the hotel is great. The cocktails are good and diverse. The staff is lovely especially Herson at the main bar Minos.