Petra Mare

My overall impression of this hotel can be summed up in one word - Cheap. It seemed like everything was designed to be as cheap as possible - from the pathetic plastic cups, to the nasty drinks and the tacky "entertainment".
The hotel itself is OK - a bit shabby and in need of redecoration. Our room was spacious, with a lovely sea view, but the bathroom was a bit grubby. It was cleaned every day however, and towels and sheets changed regularly. Hotel staff were pleasant and hard working - but although the floors in the communal areas were being continually mopped, I don't think the strip of carpet along the corridor was vacuumed once in 2 weeks.
The restaurant was OK - food mainly good, but a bit repetitive after 2 weeks. We were also slightly put off after seeing a huge (dead) cockroach on the floor one morning. The outside part of the restaurant attracts several local stray cats - unfortunately at least 2 of them are heavily pregnant, so in a few weeks time, the place will be swarming with them. Although there's little you can (humanely) do to deter them - and I am a cat lover generally - I don't really want grubby strays rubbing against my legs when I eat.
There was a decent choice of food in the restaurant (lamb, chicken, fish, pasta) and a good variety of salad, vegetables and some delicious desserts. The wine was OK - not brilliant. Be warned - the only place you can get a decent soft drink is in the restaurant - and even that is sweetened orange or grapefruit juice. Elsewhere in the hotel the only non alcoholic drinks you can get are nasty local fizzy drinks or water.
The snack bar was rubbish, unless you like cheap pizza and chips. A major criticism is of the plastic cups used throughout the hotel (only exceptions are the restaurant and the bar) - these cups are so flimsy that they practically melt if you use them for hot drinks and fold in on themselves. A word of advice - take some PG Tips - the tea is awful. As is the milk - UHT. Again, cheap and nasty.
Speaking of which, the First Choice "entertainers" were a joke. A motley collection of people who were clearly only there because they hadn't made it onto Big Brother this year, (and because they're desperate for their Equity cards) they were arrogant, aloof and had sadly limited social skills. They also made it very clear they didn't like children, despite running the kids disco. It would have been far better for kids club reps (the crèche reps were fantastic by the way) to do this, as they seemed to relate to kids far better. All in all, not a good advert for First Choice.
And another word of warning - don't be conned into buying an "Express Check In" for your return journey (7.50 euros each) - a complete waste of money. You turn up, queue, and watch people who haven't paid go through the "Express" channel in front of you basically.
During our stay there were 3 fights among the guests, and if you want a decent sun bed by the (good) kid’s pool, you need to be a very early riser. So - all in all, no I won't be going back.

We were booked for 2 weeks all inclusive and really looking forward to it. We had pre-booked a sea view room. Upon arriving at our room we overlooked what I can only describe as building works. We mentioned this to the reception staff who basically said the sea views were fully booked.
The hotel was spotlessly clean, the maid service is second to none and the cleaners seem to work around the clock.
The waterslides next to the pool were great. The salt water pool wasn't my favourite but they were regularly cleaned. The lifeguards were friendly enough.
The food was a major let down. We aren't picky people but the food on offer was disgraceful. The kids menu consisted of chips, chips and more chips with fish fingers and meatballs if they were lucky. The hotplate dishes were swimming in oil and the choice was small. There was a salad area but very small in comparison with other all inclusive our party had been on in the past. We ended up having to take out extra money to eat out because our children were hungry and feeling sick of looking at chips.
The alcohol was as weak as water. The spirits were cheap and nasty. Not a good selection.
There was a sign up in the lobby area offering laundry, Jacuzzi and indoor pool. None of these were available. When our children wanted to play pool they charged 7 euros of which 5 you got back. A bit much considering a lot of kids stay in the hotel and it is all inclusive. We were angry about the darts, we asked for a set of them to play darts and were told they were only for the use of the reps for entertainment purposes. Disgraceful.
The beach is shingle but the sea is gorgeous. Ideal for snorkeling and the water sports are great fun and reasonable.
The main bars and tavernas in the resort (about a 10 minutes walk) is nice enough. Cafe on the Rocks (aka Marks bar) was great. The staff are lovely and the food was gorgeous.
All in all the resort is still pretty quiet but with time I think it will be an up and coming resort.
We won't be returning to the Petra Mare.

Stayed at the Petra Mare for a week. 8 adults went and had a fantastic time. There was a bit of a mix up with one of the hotel rooms but had no problems with getting it sorted. Rooms were cleaned every day.
Slides attached to the hotel are fantastic and kept us busy when they were open (usually for an hour in the morning and two hours in the afternoon). Salt water pools and freezing until you are used to them.
Food was repetitive and salty but enough choice for everyone.
Hotel has three bars. No cocktails which was a bit of a let down but cocktails from the town are great.
Beach was a disappointment as it is sand/shingle but hotel pool makes up for that.
Would definitely recommend this hotel. Entertainment is very British!

We visited the Petra Mare on the last week of May and the first week in June 2005. We went with friend who had never been on an all inclusive holiday before and could not believe that there were no hidden costs.
We had a great time there, we did a lot of the water sports which were very reasonably priced and great fun (try the big mabel) its great! The reps were great always fun things to do for adults and kids. The reps worked so hard as they had to do all the entertainment themselves, what a great bunch, WELL DONE! Water slide were great!
The food was really nice, there was always a good choice at all meal times.
The hotel staff were fantastic, they were really friendly and pleasant no matter what time of day it was.
The area is very quiet but relaxing. Would visit again!

Where do I start,
The staff where and are fantastic!! the children’s reps where amazing, they never stop. I recommend the kids crèche.
The overall cleanliness of the hotel was good, but however when it came to the rooms, it’s a different matter on about the 5th day my son spilt some orange 3 days later it was still there so I cleaned it up!
The facilities where fantastic, the pools are clean and my son never wanted to get out. the watersports are good and very reasonable.
Now for the bad part, the transfer was poor, it was disorganized and on the way back our flight left at 14.05 we were still in the passport control qeue at 14.10 because the reps did not give us correct information, then our flight was delayed by 30 mins.
The food was also very bad, the kids buffet was always something and chips, my son is not a fussy eater but the only time he ate well was when we went out, other than then, it was chips and cucumber. The adults buffet was floating in oil and was very salty, if you like chips and salad you’ll be fine. I know Greek food isn’t the best but this was awful.
When you go take extra money for meals you’ll need it, unless they improve.
the town blink and you’ll miss it, ierapetra is very undiscovered. the walk to the local spar is scary there is no footpath, so don’t take a pushchair otherwise your walking in the road.
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What a wonderful week we had - we had booked "allocated on arrival" all inclusive though we did wonder what hotel we would have. We needn’t have worried.
From our first impression - all marble, dark wood, and fountains - to the wonderful choices of food every day and the pool and the entertainment staff we had a glorious time - and would return though I wonder what it would be like in July/August perhaps not as good due to numbers.
The town is lovely and one particular gift shop had the most amazingly friendly staff we loved them and didn’t shop anywhere else - we did browse others but found this one the best - hope to return next May.

I stayed at the Petra Mare hotel with my boyfriend and 5 year old daughter for 2 weeks.
The hotel and facilities were fantastic.
ROOMS
The rooms were cleaned every day and the maids were very polite and helpful. We did upgrade to a sea view room after the first night as the Mountain View rooms get no sun and are very dull. The up grade cost 10 euros per night so it is pretty costly. Apart from that the rooms were very spacious and had excellent storage space and also a fridge and safe.
FOOD
The food was amazing but lacking for the kids if you have a fussy eater. the menu changed for day to day. For breakfast expect all kinds of cooked eggs, sausages, bacon, potatoes, donuts, range of fruit and cereals and also bread or make your own toast.
Lunch and dinner were similar with always a fish dish, chicken, pork and lamb but rarely any beef. Plenty of vegetables and salad and cheese and cold meat. I never really ate the desserts but they were all traditionally Greek.
The snack bar had a range of meats, cheese and bread and 4 hot things, which were normally chips, hot dog, pizza and pasta or pork. the snack bar serves food from 10-10.
DRINK
For the unlimited drinks beer and wine and soft drinks were available on tap in the restaurant and snack bar when opened. Spirits could be got from the snack bar or from the main hotel bar, which opens at 6pm and closes about 2am and also from the el passo bar at the opposite end of the hotel complex. Depending on who serves depends on your measure.
FACILTIES
The hotel has 5 pool areas. The main large pool is about 1.2m to 2m it has and area for water polo too. next to that was a small round kids pool with a boat in it. then there was the lazy river, which goes round very slowly - good for the rings and has a few waterfalls along the way. then there were the slides. 3 slides with bumps in them, a twisty covered one and then a very steep one. I only went on the white slow one, which was good, but you slowed down about half way. lastly there is the splash pool area next to the kids club (handy) this was more for younger kids can keep them amused all day long with the different slides ( I’ll try to put up some pics).
All the pools were cleaned regularly. they are seawater pools and always very cold and first!! Around the pools are plenty of sunbeds but you do have to be up early to get the best spot.
next to the large pool were some pool tables, a tennis table and a darts board, which were always used for competitions with the entertainment team.
the hotel has its own shop, which sells juice, ice cream, alcohol, clothes newspapers, sweets, pool stuff and touristy things. It was pretty pricy so I recommend going to the shop across the road we went twice to the wine shop and each time got free things from the nice lady ( a lollypop and a mythos beer glass!)
the beach also has sunbeds and was the perfect place to go on hotter days as there was more of a breeze. It also has its own water sports. Ringos, jet skis, banana boat and it does a gentle banana boat ride for younger kids.
ENTERTAINMENT
The entertainment team were great and definitely kept us amused with a different set of activities for everyone to join in. The night normally started off with mini disco, bingo then two forms of entertainment. One of the nights outside entertainment was booked in. this was Greek dancing and was the most popular night as the Dutch and German holiday markers attended this too. the only thing is that all the entertainment is set outside but it is covered. sometimes the breeze was very cold and if you had less than half a drink left in your plastic cup it would blow away!
KIDS CLUB
The kids club was great with at least 4 hours of activities a day it was perfect for some me time. the timings and activities of the kids club varied. the video nights were good as these happened from 9pm -11pm so all the kids are asleep when you go to collect them there is also a morning where the reps take them for breakfast and one where they go for dinner. The clubs are free but a few nights it was a couple of euros just food if they had a party.
THE RESORT
I went into the resort a few times but really you could spend the whole time in the hotel. we went to a few restaurants, which were nice for a change of scenery but of no better standard than the hotel. the town had a lot of nice shops but more expensive for clothes etc than you’d pay here. The market on a Saturday was good - we got lots of lovely cherries and a pair of gorgeous sandals for just 5 euros.
EXCURSION
Beware! We went on the local life excursion. We were out of the hotel for a total of 8 hours - 6 of which were spend on a coach!!! So if you have young children do not take them on this trip.
First we had to stop at all the resorts from our hotel to heraklion. then you get just an hour (after being on the coach for 2) at the market. The market is no better than the one in ierapetra. it is just masses busier.
Then we went to the raki factory and got to taste disgusting raki. It comes from the left over’s of wine and is known as firewater. If you like wine don’t drink this. every glass of wine you have for the next month will remind you of raki. You also get a plate of cheese pies, which were gorgeous, and the best we’d tried. You stay here for about 15 mins then move on to the wine factory, which is quite a drive away. In the wine factory you watch a 12 min video about wine making then you can eat your packed lunch while trying some disgusting wine. after about half an hour here you will go another drive to a pottery factory to watch a man make a pot then you have the chance to buy some touristy pots!!! After about 20 mins here its 2 hours or so drive back home!
To spend your Saturday and money wisely. I would suggest go to Ierapetra Market then head to one of the gorgeous Tavernas get a few glasses of wine and some cheese pies then go back to the hotel and drink all the free raki your body can handle. The cost of this would be about 5 euros instead of the 100 euros that we spent!!!!
The hotel and complex were fabulous. My daughter cried when we left and we will definitely return in the future.