Marni Village, Koutouloufari, Crete
Hotel Information
Recent Price: £48
Hotel Class:
Hotel Description:
Perfect choice for families, particularly throughout July and August and set in idyllic surroundings for couples to relax, the Marni Village enjoys panoramic views of Hersonissos. Take a leisurely evening stroll and you will discover the old town of Koutoulofari where traditional tavernas, restaurants and bars are on offer for you to watch the sun go down. Due to the location and set on a steep incline, apartments may not suitable for those with walking difficulties.location 1 km from the beach, 200 metres from the old town of Koutouloufari and 1.5 km uphill from the modern resort centre. loading...
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Marni Village Reviews
" We have been to... "
Submitted By: Mrs A CAFFREY
We have been to Koutouloufari/Piskopiano (stayed at Serita Beach Hotel twice all inclusive - went back for a 2nd time -what a mistake)spent most of our time in the Koutouloufari, even hired a car )8 times over a period of 16 years with our children when they were very young and have just come back from Marni Village with our exended family, now all grown up, married and with our grand-daughter (14 months). Stayed in a Villa in Marni Village, own pool etc., we all loved it. Couldn't ask for anymore, bearing in mind we have seen the changes over the years. Marni is the best of the 2 villages, no doubt about that. The people are lovely, can't do enough for you. The only problem was we only booked a week!!!!! We have got to know a lot of people over the years and they make you so welcome when you go back. Just read the review, make your own mind up, if you are a moaner don't bother going you will never be happy where ever you go. If you enjoy good food, drink and friendly people, then this is for you. Bearing in mind it is very hot. The Staff at Marni are really lovely, kind, considerate especially Vangellis and all his staff in the Pool Bar, and his bar Dionysis, Kostas in Sergani (beautiful food) Yannis at Fabrica with his Pancakes, just to name but a few in Koutouloufari, then go along to Piskopiano, you will be suprised. So sad we are at home in dreary old England. Enjoy your holiday, it's what you make of it, don't be miserable there is enough time for that at home.
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- Date of Holiday:May 2008
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" Found this place fantastic.
... "
Found this place fantastic.
The staff are very friendly, the place is spotless, the food is great in the pool bar, the facilities are great.
Before going last year, we had booked to go to Florida this year. After going to Marni Village we cancelled the Florida trip, lost our deposit and have booked to go back to Marni again in June!!!
We can't wait to go back!!!!!!!
The staff are very friendly, the place is spotless, the food is great in the pool bar, the facilities are great.
Before going last year, we had booked to go to Florida this year. After going to Marni Village we cancelled the Florida trip, lost our deposit and have booked to go back to Marni again in June!!!
We can't wait to go back!!!!!!!
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- Date of Holiday:Jun 2007
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Airtours
" My husband and I have visited Crete... "
Submitted By: Mrs K Pickering
My husband and I have visited Crete many times over the past few years; the place we always return to stay at is the Marni. The friendliness of the staff, the cleanliness of the rooms and the overall atmosphere of the Marni is excellent.
There are plenty of things to do in Koutoulafari, visit Sara and Angelo at the Sports Cafe for a cheerful evening with bar tricks and laughs, very helpful advice if you have a problem. The Iokasti restaurant is good value, the steaks are excellent. Jorge can recommend a good Cretan wine to go with your meal. Gallini has the most exceptional service and pretty wonderful food. For homely food and good banter it is well worth going to Patriko (just past the Wishing Well, on the road to Piskopiano) and meeting Zac and Manos who run the restaurant.
Never go to the Marni without using the pool bar, this year Illias and Lilla are very hospitable and good fun. Also you must meet Mia in the bottom pool bar during the day or at Dionysos Bar (in the village) during the evening. Both bars are owned by Vangelis and Kateryna who are fantastic hosts and lovely people.
Local supermarkets are good but for convenience use the Sunrise Bakery (at the end of the Marni drive) owned by Dimitris and Jean, both very helpful with duty free stuff. They will go out of their way to get what you need.
Breakfasts must go for are Rahiti (in the middle of the village) Ben and Tosca make the best al fresco breakfasts ever. There is a nice supermarket in that corner of the village, don't know what it is called.
All in all it’s a great holiday place and I would thoroughly recommend it. See you soon Koutoulafari!
There are plenty of things to do in Koutoulafari, visit Sara and Angelo at the Sports Cafe for a cheerful evening with bar tricks and laughs, very helpful advice if you have a problem. The Iokasti restaurant is good value, the steaks are excellent. Jorge can recommend a good Cretan wine to go with your meal. Gallini has the most exceptional service and pretty wonderful food. For homely food and good banter it is well worth going to Patriko (just past the Wishing Well, on the road to Piskopiano) and meeting Zac and Manos who run the restaurant.
Never go to the Marni without using the pool bar, this year Illias and Lilla are very hospitable and good fun. Also you must meet Mia in the bottom pool bar during the day or at Dionysos Bar (in the village) during the evening. Both bars are owned by Vangelis and Kateryna who are fantastic hosts and lovely people.
Local supermarkets are good but for convenience use the Sunrise Bakery (at the end of the Marni drive) owned by Dimitris and Jean, both very helpful with duty free stuff. They will go out of their way to get what you need.
Breakfasts must go for are Rahiti (in the middle of the village) Ben and Tosca make the best al fresco breakfasts ever. There is a nice supermarket in that corner of the village, don't know what it is called.
All in all it’s a great holiday place and I would thoroughly recommend it. See you soon Koutoulafari!
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- Date of Holiday:May 2007
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" I booked a ten day holiday for myself... "
Submitted By: Miss C McFarlane
I booked a ten day holiday for myself and my son in a one bedroomed apartment after looking online independently for a hotel that was close enough to the town, but away from the noise and madness of the main resort of Hersonissos.
On arrival at Marni we were allocated an apartment next to the smaller swimming pool which I was disappointed with initially as I had requested quite adamantly that I would like an apartment with a balcony and we had an apartment with a terrace instead. However, management were very helpful and did offer us an apartment with a balcony a couple of days into the holiday, which we did not accept as it was right next to the road.
As regards to the overall service of this complex, I must say that I was very happy with the service, bar one major downfall. I was very disappointed with there being no children's club/facilities or child minding facilities, yet on the website it does state that there are facilities for children. When I asked about the facilities I was told that the woman that did the facilities for the children was no longer there and there was no one else. I went on holiday with my son who is 11 years old and my friend and her son who had the apartment next door who was 10 years old. We were hoping to have at least one night where we could arrange to go out just the two of us and leave the boys in the capable hands of a trusted child minder/children's activity club.....but it wasn't meant to be unfortunately.
Having said that, the staff were very friendly, helpful and professional and the maid service was exceptional (apartments serviced every other day!!). Also the staff were very knowledgeable about tours that the local companies offered and they offered us many discounts on these. Can't forget to mention the lovely lady down by the small pool bar who works in Koutouloufari village in the evenings as well.......really friendly and a good laugh.
The accommodation was adequate for our needs. The beds can be hard for some people, but you have to accept that the apartments are traditional and are made as such (built off the floor). There were plenty of ants in our apartment (from the garden area), but that was soon seen to by the maid who was very helpful. There was a little table and chairs outside with an outside light which was very nice to eat at in the mornings and in the evenings. I loved the shutters on the bedroom windows.....something I do need as I can't sleep when there is light!!
There are two arranged entertainment evenings....one on a Thursday which is the bbq with traditional Cretan music and dancers who get everyone involved for only 15 euros per adult and 7.50 euros per child. There also is a karaoke night every Sunday (which we forgot!!).
The villages of Koutouloufari, Piskopiano and Old Hersonissos are amazingly beautiful. We loved just wandering through them, walking up and down little alleyways, looking in the giftshops and bakeries, etc. The one thing that was very off putting though were the idiotic tourists on mopeds and quad bikes. There are no pavements, so if you are with small children, do be careful. Restaurants I would recommend are: Galinis (very friendly staff and great themed togas!!...but can be a bit pricey), Rusticos (lovely place to have a meal under a shady olive tree), Fabricos (excellent chocolate crepes) and plenty of others that I've forgotten the names of. Also cannot forget to mention the restaurant in Old Hersonissos (called Myrthos?) where the staff are again very friendly and every Monday evening there is traditional music and dancing in the old square where everyone is invited.
Places that we visited which I would class as highlights of our holiday would be: Palace of Knossos, Agios Nikolas, Gortyn, Matala beach and caves, Kommos beach (near Matala) and of course, the traditional villages up in the hills away from Hersonissos already mentioned.
One last gripe I have and it's to do with Star Beach water park down in Hersonissos. The place itself is wonderful.....go karts, crazy golf, water sports, water slides, beach, shops, etc......one major drawback. The selfish, idiotic, mindless (and usually German) 18-30 men (louts). My friend and I and our sons tried to go round the lazy river but they seemed to take great pleasure in trying to spoil our pleasure in going round. They shoved us, (my friend is disabled as well), splashed us and tried dunking the kids under the water pretty unsuccessfully as by this time, both my friend and I had really lost our tempers with them. There was no need for such stupid behaviour but bearing in mind that they had probably been drinking most of the day (they all just stand or float by the pool bar which is in the lazy river) and were allowed their bottles of beer in the river, its no wonder really!! Again, if you have children, be careful!!
In conclusion, we enjoyed our holiday very much and do hope to return next May, but most probably this time we will be heading for the less touristy areas of the south coast and the 'real' traditional Crete. If I was going to return to the same area of Hersonissos, my advice is try one of the traditional villages............or even Marni Village. I would go back again!!!
On arrival at Marni we were allocated an apartment next to the smaller swimming pool which I was disappointed with initially as I had requested quite adamantly that I would like an apartment with a balcony and we had an apartment with a terrace instead. However, management were very helpful and did offer us an apartment with a balcony a couple of days into the holiday, which we did not accept as it was right next to the road.
As regards to the overall service of this complex, I must say that I was very happy with the service, bar one major downfall. I was very disappointed with there being no children's club/facilities or child minding facilities, yet on the website it does state that there are facilities for children. When I asked about the facilities I was told that the woman that did the facilities for the children was no longer there and there was no one else. I went on holiday with my son who is 11 years old and my friend and her son who had the apartment next door who was 10 years old. We were hoping to have at least one night where we could arrange to go out just the two of us and leave the boys in the capable hands of a trusted child minder/children's activity club.....but it wasn't meant to be unfortunately.
Having said that, the staff were very friendly, helpful and professional and the maid service was exceptional (apartments serviced every other day!!). Also the staff were very knowledgeable about tours that the local companies offered and they offered us many discounts on these. Can't forget to mention the lovely lady down by the small pool bar who works in Koutouloufari village in the evenings as well.......really friendly and a good laugh.
The accommodation was adequate for our needs. The beds can be hard for some people, but you have to accept that the apartments are traditional and are made as such (built off the floor). There were plenty of ants in our apartment (from the garden area), but that was soon seen to by the maid who was very helpful. There was a little table and chairs outside with an outside light which was very nice to eat at in the mornings and in the evenings. I loved the shutters on the bedroom windows.....something I do need as I can't sleep when there is light!!
There are two arranged entertainment evenings....one on a Thursday which is the bbq with traditional Cretan music and dancers who get everyone involved for only 15 euros per adult and 7.50 euros per child. There also is a karaoke night every Sunday (which we forgot!!).
The villages of Koutouloufari, Piskopiano and Old Hersonissos are amazingly beautiful. We loved just wandering through them, walking up and down little alleyways, looking in the giftshops and bakeries, etc. The one thing that was very off putting though were the idiotic tourists on mopeds and quad bikes. There are no pavements, so if you are with small children, do be careful. Restaurants I would recommend are: Galinis (very friendly staff and great themed togas!!...but can be a bit pricey), Rusticos (lovely place to have a meal under a shady olive tree), Fabricos (excellent chocolate crepes) and plenty of others that I've forgotten the names of. Also cannot forget to mention the restaurant in Old Hersonissos (called Myrthos?) where the staff are again very friendly and every Monday evening there is traditional music and dancing in the old square where everyone is invited.
Places that we visited which I would class as highlights of our holiday would be: Palace of Knossos, Agios Nikolas, Gortyn, Matala beach and caves, Kommos beach (near Matala) and of course, the traditional villages up in the hills away from Hersonissos already mentioned.
One last gripe I have and it's to do with Star Beach water park down in Hersonissos. The place itself is wonderful.....go karts, crazy golf, water sports, water slides, beach, shops, etc......one major drawback. The selfish, idiotic, mindless (and usually German) 18-30 men (louts). My friend and I and our sons tried to go round the lazy river but they seemed to take great pleasure in trying to spoil our pleasure in going round. They shoved us, (my friend is disabled as well), splashed us and tried dunking the kids under the water pretty unsuccessfully as by this time, both my friend and I had really lost our tempers with them. There was no need for such stupid behaviour but bearing in mind that they had probably been drinking most of the day (they all just stand or float by the pool bar which is in the lazy river) and were allowed their bottles of beer in the river, its no wonder really!! Again, if you have children, be careful!!
In conclusion, we enjoyed our holiday very much and do hope to return next May, but most probably this time we will be heading for the less touristy areas of the south coast and the 'real' traditional Crete. If I was going to return to the same area of Hersonissos, my advice is try one of the traditional villages............or even Marni Village. I would go back again!!!
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2007
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" Just returned from a week of bliss... "
Submitted By: Ms J Riley
Just returned from a week of bliss at Marni Village. It was heaven. Immaculately clean apartment, pools (3) and grounds, gardens were beautiful, staff couldn't have been more helpful, pool bar served good basic food and very reasonably priced.
A short 5 minute stroll however brought the village of Koutouloufari. It was gorgeous. Again very clean. All the bars and restaurants were first class, sympathetically restored and maintained. We didn’t have a bad meal or feel over charged for anything.
There are no cash machines in village so a short taxi ride, 6 euros from reception, to Hersonissos provided this amenity and many more, although we went straight back to the peace and tranquillity of the village ASAP.
I really couldn’t fault anything about this holiday. However if you have mobility problems request an apartment nearer the road or reception as the walk can be quite steep to some of the accommodation.
A short 5 minute stroll however brought the village of Koutouloufari. It was gorgeous. Again very clean. All the bars and restaurants were first class, sympathetically restored and maintained. We didn’t have a bad meal or feel over charged for anything.
There are no cash machines in village so a short taxi ride, 6 euros from reception, to Hersonissos provided this amenity and many more, although we went straight back to the peace and tranquillity of the village ASAP.
I really couldn’t fault anything about this holiday. However if you have mobility problems request an apartment nearer the road or reception as the walk can be quite steep to some of the accommodation.
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- Date of Holiday:Jun 2007
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Airtours
" What a fantastic holiday! We didn't... "
Submitted By: Mrs J Sullivan
What a fantastic holiday! We didn't want to come home! The rooms are clean and spacious and are set in a lovely village setting. The staff are fun and friendly and are great with the children. We had been to Portugal in June but this resort was far better.
The Galini restaurant is well worth the extra money staff are more efficient than you get back home! Food is really nice and the children loved it age 7 and 3. Another good place to eat is Sergio’s.
Star beach was nice but very club 18/30 with young children was sometimes a bit much. If you ask the staff they will tell you of a beach with small white stones and crystal sea at the far end of hersonissos, there is a hotel near the beach which does water sports cheaper than star beach and this beach is sandy but busier.
The Galini restaurant is well worth the extra money staff are more efficient than you get back home! Food is really nice and the children loved it age 7 and 3. Another good place to eat is Sergio’s.
Star beach was nice but very club 18/30 with young children was sometimes a bit much. If you ask the staff they will tell you of a beach with small white stones and crystal sea at the far end of hersonissos, there is a hotel near the beach which does water sports cheaper than star beach and this beach is sandy but busier.
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- Date of Holiday:Aug 2006
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:MyTravel
" Just back from my holiday in Crete. I... "
Submitted By: W Hayes
Just back from my holiday in Crete. I went with my husband and we stayed in Marni Village near Koutouloufari which is a small village but has a good selection of tavernas and shops. It is about a 10 min walk to Hersonissos downhill but on return there is a steep hill to climb. We didn't mind this but some people may find it too hilly.
Hersonissos is not very picturesque and is filled with the usual souvenir shops and bars and tavernas. We liked it best along the seafront where there are a few nice places to eat but we preferred to eat in Koutouloufari.
The accommodation in Marni Village is basic but clean and the staff are friendly. We had no problems except for the weather - 4 days were cloudy and very cold. The village is also very quiet at this time of year - a little too quiet for us - I would recommend you visit at the end of May when everything has opened up.
The price of a meal varies widely - Galini is probably one of the most expensive restaurants and it is a bit of an experience - the waitresses are dressed in togas -it's a bit like a themed restaurant - I thought it was overpriced and the food was nothing to write home about.
Overall we enjoyed our stay, apart from the weather. I would say that Greece is not as cheap as it used to be and eating out is almost the same price as eating out at home but you can find reasonably priced restaurants if you look.
Hersonissos is not very picturesque and is filled with the usual souvenir shops and bars and tavernas. We liked it best along the seafront where there are a few nice places to eat but we preferred to eat in Koutouloufari.
The accommodation in Marni Village is basic but clean and the staff are friendly. We had no problems except for the weather - 4 days were cloudy and very cold. The village is also very quiet at this time of year - a little too quiet for us - I would recommend you visit at the end of May when everything has opened up.
The price of a meal varies widely - Galini is probably one of the most expensive restaurants and it is a bit of an experience - the waitresses are dressed in togas -it's a bit like a themed restaurant - I thought it was overpriced and the food was nothing to write home about.
Overall we enjoyed our stay, apart from the weather. I would say that Greece is not as cheap as it used to be and eating out is almost the same price as eating out at home but you can find reasonably priced restaurants if you look.
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- Date of Holiday:May 2006
- Board Basis:Self Catering
- Tour Operator:Airtours
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