Marianthi Apartments

We arrived at 430 am and were greeted by locked doors and no way in....we eventually forced the doors into reception and found a note saying our room number. With 2 small kids not a great start especially as the prop down a very dimly lit back road. The room only slept 3 people and there were 4 of us - only 3 beds, chairs, plates, towels, spoons etc. Ill fitting windows, poor air con and the hotel is about 10 yards from the very busy motorway - which is set to get even busier when the old road is pedestrianised this winter.
Rats around the pool and poor cleaning - if the beds hadn't been made we wouldn;t have known she'd been - dirty toilet, bed linen was old and stained, very disappointed. Following day did not know or see anyone who worked at the prop and received no welcome. Libra did not provide any welcome notes, packs or made any contact. Upon phoning the number on the board to contact Libra, they advised they do not provide reps in resort. Asked to be moved but they had no space anywhere, allegedly.
Eventually we met the owners who were lovely but this was about a week into the holiday. Wish I hadn't have bothered as spent a fortune on excursions we wouldn't have normally gone on but couldn't stay around the pool with the rats.
Rethymnon harbour is pretty but a lot of pushy rude restauranteurs who shout abuse if you don't eat at their place. They have a lot of very unkind things to say to english people and we heard them saying very mean things about tourists kids too. Stick to Skypark cafe across the main road and get a great Kebab!!!
Disappointed after reading all reviews - although they are all over a year old and things may have changed since then - in my opinion they definatley have!

We had a wonderful 2 weeks in Crete at the Marianthi, we read a few reports on the welcoming atmosphere at these apartments was and we were not disappointed.
Nothing was too much trouble for Nikos and his wife Russa all you had to do was ask.
Very clean from the rooms to the pool and a great bar which was basically self service all you had to do was make a note of what you had and Nikos would let you pay for when you were ready.
Thursday night was Moussaka night which was free all you had to do was pay for drinks which were cheap(1.80euros for a big bottle of lager).The only drawback was if you had a room poolside the noise of the busy main road could be heard so we found by shutting the doors at night with the A/C on kept it reasonably quiet.
Platanias itself is very nice, plenty of bars and restaurants these also stretch down the local road into the next town. The beach is very good with little snack bars dotted all along which are good value if you have kids.
Rethymnon is a 10 minutes taxi ride away(6 Euros)but we found it to be over priced on food and drinks especially in the old part but do go there as there is plenty to see and a visit to the old ruins is worth a look.
My wife and I would definitely go back to the resort and most certainly the Marianthi as Nikos and Russa have restored my faith that there is good human beings on this earth.

We have just returned from Marianthi within the last 24 hours. We usually stay in hotels but this was a different experience altogether.
The studios are really well placed in a semi rural area outside Rethymnon but the shops and restaurants are less than 5 minutes away on the main road. There is a really good choice.
The studios are family run by Rusa and her husband Nickos together with their 3 daughters who regularly help out. Thursday night is great with a free Moussaka meal and everyone gets to know each other. Saturday night is special with a barbecue for 10 Euros. There is so much to eat, everyone was stuffed!
The location is handy for everything. If you don’t want to hire a car and we didn’t. At 64 I'm not now brave enough, so we caught the local bus to Rethymnon market. If it had been cooler we would have walked either on the road or the beach, but it was90 degrees most of the time. We also got the little Noddy train from near Marianthi and went to Millie Gorge. This is quite a hectic day out in the heat but we wouldn't have missed it.
The bar at the Marianthi is cheap and fantastic. The wine is made by Nickos and not too strong. He gives it out by the tumbler full! Also Rusa will make you a snack whenever you want very cheap.
One little moan: - The room was only cleaned once and the towels and sheets only changed once in a week, and in the hot weather this wasn't enough.
My wife did her own washing and cleaning schedules which she didn't really object to. (I don’t think) but all in all it was a great different holiday.

As the other two reviews state, this is a very friendly and hospitable place to stay. Nikos and Roussa are the owners and really make you feel like you are staying in their home, but that you can treat it like a home from home. At the bar you help yourself, keep your bottle tops/ ice cream wrappers etc and settle to bill when you feel like it. There is also a massive shelf full of holiday books for that all essential 'lite' reading by the pool.
One thing I would say is that if you are looking for a place with lively nightlife then this is not for you, having said this, My boyfriend and I, both in our 20s had a lovely relaxing holiday and there are plenty of tavernas and a few cocktail/sports bars for a few after dinner drinks!
Argo holidays were really well organised - they even put on a taxi from the airport to the accommodation which was a very welcome surprise! The rep came to Marianthi every day, and we did book a few excursions through Argos. I would strongly recommend the downhill bike ride to the freshwater lake, but definitely not recommended is the water park near Chania - unless you are under 15 and then I think you would have a great time! Six slides for E30 is not a good deal!
All in all, strongly recommend staying at these apartments - but shop around, there are some great value deals to get here!

Roussa and Nikos will make your holiday as you become part of their extended family for the length of your stay. They have a free meal on Thursdays and a paid Barbecue on Sundays (10 euros) what a bargain. The accommodation is only 200 metres from the bars and shops of Platanes village and only 500 metres to the long sandy beach. Would thoroughly recommend a stay here. Rethymnon is only 3 miles away and is walkable (with care).