Marelen Hotel

Our first time in Kalamaki and we loved the resort and plan to visit again. If and when we do it won’t be to the Marelen. The staff never smiled the couple of times at the start of the holiday. We went in the bar for a drink, we was made to wait ages as we found the bar man (Nick) liked to serve his friends first. We spent all our time at the hotel Louros across the road, much friendlier. I didn't eat the breakfast after the first day as the hot food was cold, the juice was watered down so just stuck to toast.
No plugs in the wash basins so you couldn't get a good wash, was told by rep that this is the case for all hotels in Zante but we asked around and found that the Marelen was the only one we could find. We reported a leak from the basin taps on the day we arrived and it was still the same when we left. Unless you have a good strong back I wouldn't recommend the beds in this hotel.

Went to Zante for the first time last month. Have been to Corfu a few times and loved it, so expected the same sort of thing from Kalamaki.
Went with my boyfriend, his parents, sister and her boyfriend; the latter four of them had never been abroad before and they absolutely loved it!
Kalamaki was much quieter than I thought. There aren't many trips and excursions to do. We did the round the island cruise and water park. Both were very enjoyable. Do NOT book with the reps; you can get great deals from the guys down the main strip. The strip isn't too far from the hotel, about 10-15 min walk, so probably not best for you if you don't like walking. Recommend the Mermaid Restaurant nearer the other end of the strip...the food is great and you get VERY generous servings! Mini golf was quite good, but do the easy course and go late in the evening when it's cooler.
Beach very close to hotel, about 5 min walk. It's very scenic, but because of the turtles, you can't really play sports on the beach, there aren't any water sports (apart from the pedalo boats) and the beach isn't as clean as it could be. Don't get me wrong though, it's still nice.
The hotel grounds were very pretty, the gardeners put in a lot of work. Didn't have much interaction with the hotel staff, I don't think I saw any of them smile. Rooms were always very clean. The maids did a good job. Very disappointed that we didn't get either air conditioning or a fridge in our room. Considering it was so hot, we thought we might get one or the other. Prices were very high to hire.
Breakfast, miss it. Don't bother. Over processed cheese, tinned mushrooms, fatty bacon, cold baked beans, rubber scrambled eggs, jelly, watered down juices, hard croissants, you can get cheap brekkies down the main strip.
Plenty of sun beds by the pool, but too many kids running round for our liking, so we crossed the road and went to the Hotel Louros which was beautiful. Nice bridge across their clean pool, plus a free Jacuzzi! All are welcome at their pool....and ice creams are gorgeous!
Would continue to go to Greek islands, but maybe Zante was bit too quiet for my liking. Very hot though, even in mid-June.

We have just left Zakynthos and are very sad to have left the Marelen. We had a fantastic time and made some good friends, I would recommend this hotel to anyone with children as the entertainment is daily and run by Michaela, who is fantastic who always has a smile on her face and works really hard and does an excellent job! She made our holiday.
Breakfast is well presented and a good choice, Tikis from reception is like Manwell from faulty towers, very funny with a very dry sense of humour.
The only fault I would say with the hotel is the position for people with walking disabilities, but there are plenty of taxis and horse and carriages outside to take you anywhere.

We stayed in Marelen Apartments in September, We arrived late on a Sunday night after a 14 hour delay. We were greeted by friendly and smiling staff, after dropping off our bags we went directly to the bar were we met Nick the barman. We had a great night getting to know the staff and meeting other guest who come year after year to the hotel.
We enjoyed most off the local restaurants a few we visited more that once but we returned every evening to the hotel bar for the remainder of our two weeks.
Michaela, Nick, and Edmond were fantastic the family quiz night is a great laugh as well as the other entertainment that takes place.
Hope to be back soon.

Last minute booking for one week priced at £108. Very short journey from airport (10-15 minutes) but this does mean that planes fly quite low over resort. However, this is not a problem as the planes do not fly at night.
Hotel is family run. Staff were very helpful, efficient and friendly. We had a problem with the lock on our patio door the first night and reported this to reception. We were out for approx one hour and when we came back the lock had been fixed.
The grounds of the hotel were nicely presented. Gardeners were out trimming hedges and tending to the flower areas daily. The hotel itself was very nice and clean, as was the pool area. There is a snack bar by the pool side which sells good value snacks and a small souvenir shop inside the hotel which also sells cigarettes and water.
The self catering room we stayed in was small but adequate. We had a shower in the bathroom and had a fridge and cooking rings in the kitchen.
The hotel is on a quiet road and you can reach the beach in 5 minutes or so. If you walk in the other direction for approx 5-10 minutes you will reach the restaurants and bars. Laganas can be walked to on foot and you can reach it in approx 15-20 by road or along the beach.