Welcome - We arrived later than expected at the Petra Mare and although the main restaurant was closed, their staff had saved us a delicious Greek supper - very welcome after a long day's travel & a great start to our holiday. The Resort - During our stay in May 2023 most of the guests were either German & Polish, mostly small families with pre-school children. We did see a very few French people there during our week's stay but I think we were the only British guests. However English was the main language used. Outside - Plenty of comfortable sunbeds on both the decking and on the real grass lawns, plus a convenient poolside snack-bar that served food & drinks all day. The main swimming pool was large, clean & reasonably warm for May, with plenty of space to swim lengths, plus a very good kids pool too. Easy access to the sea with more sunbeds, tables & sun shades on the beach. Food - The Petra Mare consistently served a remarkable range of international dishes at every meal - the food was always well prepared, nicely presented & very tasty - so much better than we might have expected at an all-inclusive hotel. Drinks - The self-service beer was always on tap throughout the day & was perfectly refreshing. Their own-brand Rose & the cocktails were also perfectly drinkable. There were also plenty of good self-service coffee & soft drinks dispensers throughout the day.

The own brand red wine was not very pleasant, but the white wine was slightly better & we liked the Rose. Our week's stay included one complimentary meal that we had to pre-book at the in-house Chinese Restaurant and we were looking forward to something special. Although the staff did make an effort, and the quality of the food was good, we thought the menu was very limited & the service was quite slow, so it really did not feel like a special occasion. The location of this restaurant is outdoors by the main entrance & we felt it was in the wrong area with no view - to improve the ambiance the management might want to consider moving it to the terrace overlooking the sea?

Friendly staff, main restaurant was very good for all inclusive hotel. Sea view rooms had really nice view. There were many sofas and chairs at the lobby area & general areas of hotel, which I liked.

Furniture in the room need renovating. It's children friendly hotel. So you would always hear kids crying, screaming..... The spa at the hotel was too expensive. 1 hour massage over 90 euros.

The hotel ticked most of the boxes one would like to see on a family holiday. The staff were consistently kind, professional and friendly throughout our stay and it felt really genuine. The quality of the food in the buffet was very good for an all inclusive. Moreover the kitchen staff were kind enough to cook some food on the side for our baby which had no salt even though they were very busy. This is something we really appreciated as the buffet does get busy. The property itself is large enough to feel that you have space to move around and have different settings but neither was it too big so you do not feel you are in massive resort. There are a lot of activities for the children to enjoy and a nice bar with a a very capable bartender to unwind in at night. We had booked a suite with a sea view which was very nice but upgraded to a larger room to have more space. The hotel's proximity to the beach means that you can hear the waves in your bedroom. The hotel is on the edge of the town so you benefit from a peaceful environment but can easily explore Ierapetra on foot. Would definitely recommend without hesitation.

The view from the room is gorgeous! it's definitely worth the money! The rooms are cleaned every day, the staff brings water. The food is suitable for anyone: the choice of dishes is so huge that you don’t know what to choose! The menu changed every day which was very nice. fruits, desserts, freshly squeezed juices, different types of meat and seafood, vegetables and side dishes - you can find all this in this hotel! the beach is wide and there are many free umbrellas and sun loungers. The entrance to the sea was cleared of stones, which was a pleasant surprise! Next to the breakwater you can observe the rich underwater world of the Mediterranean Sea! the beach is clean, the bars have everything you need! city ​​center and supermarkets within walking distance. This is definitely the place you want to return to!

Excellent animators, good programs for kids and adults as well (dance, pool activities, ping-pong, darts, tablefootball, etc), dedicated children creative club activities. Plenty of beach beds available both at the sea and at the pool. With the all inclusive, continuous eating and drinking available at the restaurants and at the pool (wide variety of cocktails, soft drinks, coffee, etc).

Pool is too cold (24-25C), some of the pool facilities does not work. Sea is not the sandy one but rather vulcanic, black tiny rocky one - use of seashoes recommended.

The location was beautiful , south of the island allowing maximum sunshine and sunsets. Lovely views of Ierápetra and nearby supermarket and gift shops were only a few steps away if needed. The choice of food was always great and the restaurant looked out over the sea creating a marvellous back drop. The hotel catered really well and thoughtfully for families. We were a couple and were offered an adult only section for dining which was also thoughtful.

We stayed just before the season finished and we noticed that the nearer we got to the end of the holiday the amount of food and choice diminished so it was better to eat earlier than later which wasn’t really our preference.

This place is a DREAM for every kid. We were there with 3 kids (2, 4, and 8 years old) and each one of them had lots of fun. The swimming pools are great, as well as the beach, and the kids playground area. For adults, the bar is a great option for drinks, cocktails and beer. We enjoyed the room with beach view which was relaxing and romantic too.

The food buffet is ok, but we only enjoyed greek food. Both the pasta and the pizza were not good! I believe this is a poor choice, because people would love to eat both - and they are cheap food to make, which means lots of savings for the hotel. Finally, we really disliked the stupid hotel rule of “do not bring any food outside of the buffet area”, since we wanted to allow our 2 years old girl to have dinner with us at the three other restaurants (bbq, asian, greek): due to this rule, we could not get even a small food plate for her, and this did not allow us to have dinner at the other three restaurants.

Very nice hotel, friendly staff, nice facilities, variety of food.

the resort was mainly kids oriented, as i was traveling with 3 other adults, we felt it was not the best vibe for our vacation. as well as the entertainment being mostly kids oriented with little regard to the adults. We booked the largest suite for 4 people, the bunk beds were uncomfortable as i suppose they were meant for kids not adults. the bed sheets did not change for 7 nights. Until we requested for it specifically on the last night. The pool towels can be changed only once every 3 days, we think this is unhygenic.

- very modern and stylish furniture / decor in the building as well as in the rooms, mostly with sea view - tall ceiling in the first floor - access to a nice beach with sun beds and umbrellas - beautiful entrance area with a spring - spa area with indoor pool and gym - the food was very very good (everyday there was a wide variety of fish, meat and vegetables) - very friendly and helpful staff

- the arrangement of furniture in our room was not very smart, we had only little space to place our clothes or personal belongings - the alcoholic drinks included in the all inclusive offer were not good, if you want to drink a neat aperol Spritz or a good wine you have to pay for it

Nice and stylish interior design, kids pool with slides, big infinite pool. The sea is amazing - the water is clean, beach is small, but nice and cozy. The food was excelent with variety of meat and fish dishes, fruits and vegitables. Drinks are usual - softdrinks, local beer and wine - all are included in AI.

It would be great if kids/alcoholfree coctails were included (at least some). In mini club printer did not work and so there were no pictures for coloring.