The Petra mare is a lovely hotel with friendly helpful staff.

The location was not the best. The other side of Crete have much better beaches and the town did not have a great deal to offer.

Rooms were standard but extremely clean there were maids working round the clock.

The food was good with lots of choices it drives me mad to see people eating chip sandwiches when there was so much more to be had. My children ate everything and my little boy even tried the snails. There was fish and at least 2 types of meat served every evening along with pasta, mash, rice, chips plus vegetables ending with desserts to die for.

A lot of the reviews I read before and since the holiday have been very mixed with regards to the entertainment we all thought it was great we participated every night and ended up with 29 of us on one table every night with people we met who also joined in with us.

The people who have complained about the staff were the ones who did not join in. These people seem to expect the reps to be pro dancers and singers and as they had not paid for two weeks of theatre standards cannot understand how they can complain. They were friendly, funny and all tried their hardest to entertain. we all got to know them and they are all really nice people thanks to vicky, natalie, nick and of course our favourite Gareth for making our evenings our kids adore you too. Also thanks to holly and Leon, when my little girl broke her finger holly came to see her even though it was her day off. The kids club was the best one my children have ever been to thanks to Dan and Antonia. (Hope the legs better now Dan x)

We made some good friends and our children have also come home with loads of addresses and numbers. The watersports on the beach are great and we would recommend them to all.

This hotel is clean beyond clean.

Maids work very hard 24/7. Clean sheets every few days and towels daily.

Rooms are really spacious however our bath was broke but not a problem we reported it to reception and it was fixed within an hour now that

Jaki, Mick, Sam 7 years and harvey 2 years travelled to Crete in August 2006.

The hotel is really lovely and clean, room was nice with a lovely sea view - maid was in every day tidying up our mess, Bless!!

All pool areas were brilliant, kids loved it and they were occupied all day and Sam never really felt the need to go in the kids club, preferring to be in the pool. Kids club for Harvey had to be paid for which was a bit of a bummer but excellent child care by the first choice rep, Sam. Slides were excellent for both kids and adults.

The food and drink were not exactly great but hey, they filled a gap. Snack bar was nice, drinks area near baby pool was kept lovely by the Suzy from Big Brother lookalike who was so nice, always mopping up my kids' slops.

I would go to this hotel again as the kids are kept well occupied which is what you want. Reps work very hard from morning until night, don't know how the hell they do it!!

Just got back from our holiday Sat 2nd September. We arrived at the hotel after a very long night travelling.

The check in was efficient and the gentlemen checking us in was very friendly considering it was 5.30 in the morning. The room was basic but very clean.

The view of the sea was breath taking, and my husband and I had many a few nights sitting on the balcony having a drink and putting the world to right while listening to the sea lapping on the beach. The view of Lerapetra at night is fantastic.

Our group consisted of 2 adults, an 18,16,15,7and 5 year old. The older ones had plenty to do either sunbathing by the fantastic pool ( which was cleaned every morning ) snorkeling in the sea ( it is well worth paying a couple of euros in the hotel shop for snorkel sets as the fish were fantastic )or spending time on the water slides.

Although the smaller ones didn't attend the fun clubs, I overheard parents saying how fantastic they were. Mine were contented to swim in the pools ( one was a toddlers pool with little slides and a lazy river where they could use their inflatables ( also sold at the shop and filled with air for you)or paddling in the sea.

As a family we found the food OK. It must be very difficult to cater for a wide range of nationalities but we think they got it right.

We would definitely consider all inclusive again as it saved us a fortune on drinks and snacks. The snack bar was nice, the food fresh ( plenty of melon and salad as well as chips and pasta ).

I never met one grumpy hotel staff and you always got a smile. The reps were fantastic and worked very very hard. The entertainment was Butlin,s style but enjoyable all the same. The couple of shows the reps put on during the week were excellent.

Nick was very funny as was Gareth's naive charm. The girls all worked hard to get the party atmosphere going.

We have just arrived back from a fortnight at the Petra Mare and had a fantastic time.

Check in at the hotel was smooth and the rooms were pleasant and clean. Be warned though if you are in room 246 as the wind whistles through the door as it has got a gap around it and it sounds like a force 10 gale. We didn't have a sea view but the view wasn't too bad.
The room was spotless, the maid came everyday and I have to say that we had clean towels and bedding everyday too. She even made the top sheets into shapes such as bows and fans.

The pools were fantastic especially the kids pool and the slides were great, the lifeguards were excellent with he children.

The kids clubs were great, I have never had such a quiet holiday. Sarah in the bugs Bunny club was the favourite of our youngest and Daniel in Wavelength was a star.

The entertainment was a bit hit and miss but bingo with Gareth is a scream

Overall a great holiday, we never struggled with the food but there were some complaints about repeating certain foods.

We would return in the future

We arrived at The perta Mare by taxi which was great, as we had a great driver george (who we go on our return also). Lovely man and full of information.

The food over the two week period was ok, good variety, would have liked more plain food for our 5 yr old son as he likes plain pasta etc without sauce. Was very disappointed with the all inclusive drinks. Drank mainly beer or soft drinks. Wasn't impressed that you had to pay for cocktails, and other imported drinks Triple sec, (peach/melon liquers etc).

We have been on numerous 3/4 star all inclusive and never had to pay for cocktails or triple sec before. We paid brochure price for this holidays and we had high expectations. They were not met.

The location was lovely as you could walk into town along the 'Promenade'some nice bars and a lovely man doing henna tattoo's. Both kids got tattoo's and he offered to touch them up agin for free before we went home. We would also recommend going to the go carts, get reception to call someone will come and collect you and take you home for free.

Hotel's entertainment was ok the would have been better if first choice gave them a better budget and could get in professional entertainment. I have to mention Teresa the swimming teacher as she was brill.

I am in my 30's and I have had numerous swimming lessons before and still couldn't swim. I learned to swim on this holiday. She was fantastic, I never believed she would have got me into 12 ft of deep water. But she did!

If you are thinking of using swim kids for either yourself or you kids I would recommend Teresa. The pools were lovely and having the slides within the complex was an added bonus.

If you have small children (under 8) they need to wear armbands when using the slides. The kids pool was great for the kids they were happy playing there all day, only problem was you had to set your alarm to get up to reserve a sunbed.

On the downside, I would like to mention that my daughter cut her foot in the pool and got an infetion on her toe. As like a previous report she ended up with impitigo. Pools did get dirty, even thought they were cleaned every two weeks, maybe weekly would be better.

Would recommend the trip to Chrissi island, went with the rep and all in all had a great day on the beach.

We wouldn't visit this hotel again as i wasn't inpressed with the all inclusive as the drink and kids food on offer was very basic.

The hotel was very clean and tidy and kept that way - even down to the loos, which were kept spotless, if a little smelly, but that wasnt the hotel's fault. It was just the drainage system on Crete. Overall, our room was lovely, we even had a double bed, and the kids beds were large singles. Excellent airconditioning too, which was a godsend when we returned back after the night out, as the temperature was high.

The food was plentiful and tasty, and there was a good variety. I enjoyed trying new things, including snails, and the lovely little sweet concoctions which I really should have left well alone!!!

The location was about 2 hours from the airport - quite long, but nothing really too bad on a a/c bus.

From the start, the hotel staff were very cheerful, friendly and helpful and nothing was too much bother. I was so impressed by their calm professionalism.

Entertainment was excellent! The reps - Gareth, Nick, Vicky and Nat were superb; friendly, approachable, lovely to talk to and very helpful. It was nice to sit and talk to them after their show had ended too. Speaking of, they all worked so very very hard in the shows. They rehearsed during the day when they werent involved in lots of fun activities, of which I realised I was completely useless at! Although I did very much enjoy the waterpolo.

The kids enjoyed the kids clubs, and we hardly saw them, so it was very much a holiday for us as well as them.

Definitely would visit the resort again, as I found it relaxing, peaceful, entertaining, and very very friendly.

GO VISIT!!

Hotel - very nice, food - very good. Pool area was excellent, beach not so good. We met some great people so had a good holiday overall.

Now for the BUT! But I can't believe that some of the people on here can honestly say that the First Choice entertainment was even acceptable - it wasn't, it was rubbish! A bunch of egocentric wannabes (but never-will-bes) prancing around, attempting to sing and getting stroppy with the audience if anyone wasn't riveted by their "performance". They kept banging on about how hard they were working, but hello? Isn't that what you're paid for?

Sack 'em all, bring in some decent ones and watch the reviews improve by 100%!

The hotel was very nice and we were very impressed with the Tweety Creche. The pool area is great and especially the kids pool area if you have young children.

The food was fairly good. I know you can't please everyone, but "proper" bacon would have been nice for breakfast, instead of frying some ham! And they could do with a better range of soft drinks for children.

We found the hotel staff to be nice, but the First Choice staff were not. I thought the entertainment was awful. It was like watching bad karaoke, and bingo every night didn't exactly show much imagination. I was also shocked that First Choice staff were rude to children during the mini disco which is held every night - if they don't like children, why employ them to do this job? Children were playing on the (empty) stage, and were ordered to get off it, having been encouraged to get on it just an hour before!

It's a shame the First Choice staff were as a rule rude and full of themselves. They seem to forget that we are paying customers and that we shouldn't be treated as an inconvenience!

The maid service was daily with fresh towels the maid were great they tidied up more than I did.

The food was repetitive but I find it always is when you are all inclusive for a fortnight but we always found something to eat. A short walk along the front takes you to a cluster of bars and shops all the bars are very friendly and welcoming.

The hotel staffs were always friendly. The entertainment team Gareth, Nick, Nat and Vicki were great with our kids and for the hours they had to work I don