Golden Mare Resort

Having just returned from the Golden Mare I feel I need to write an honest review based on a family experience with two rooms in the main hotel. Upon arrival which was late at night we were met with an irritate night receptionist who firstly asked for the tourist tax and then ushered us into the dining area to be met with a pile of plates wrapped in cling film, which meant the cheese, ham and bread contained within was warm and sweating... Once into the rooms which were basic but clean we noted one of the rooms had no safe, no big deal as the other room had one, this room also had mould on the roof of the toilet. Both rooms had a complimentary bottle of water but anymore you need to pay for, also both had working fridges and air con. Our rooms were serviced every day but this just meant towels were changed and bed made, not cleaned and never were cleaned for the week we were there. Although the entertainment, which was poor finished at around 23.00hrs it was not really appreciated that the TV room which was right next to our rooms decided to show the world cup games at 0300hrs. The food is very much hit and miss and often the main choices were on the cold side, there is plenty of choice but not if you are a vegetarian and also labelling is not good if you had allergies. The staff in the dining room worked extremely hard and did a good job however, the man and woman employed in the pool bar area need training on customer service, we felt that every time we ordered drinks we were an inconvenience to them and several times I was muttered at in greek or tutted at. The day reception team were fantastic and helped us order a hire car and sorted out a late check out for us. The hotel is in a beautiful location with a handy bus stop a very short walk from the front door but be warned it's on a very steep hill. There are lovely bars, restaurants and cafes near by which is handy for when you can't face the same buffet food night after night. The hotel has maintenance issues and needs a tidy up in several areas, it also suffered from multiple power cuts on a daily basis but was quickly restored. You need to buy water from the hotel shop as the water as part of the all inclusive package tastes salty. This hotel could be fantastic if the owners hired a few more staff to take the pressure off the hard working staff they have and also fix the broken tiles by the pool, give the pool a good clean and apply a lick of paint to the hotel. Another final gripe is having to pay a 10 euro deposit for a thread bare pool towel.Its listed as a 4 star hotel but in reality it's a 2/3 star but has the potential to be a true 4 star.

At a glance it looks beautiful, but be sure not to look too closely! I would never return here again

Rooms The rooms leave alot to be desired, general cleaning is very poor which is a shame as we had a junior suite and potentially it could be beautiful

Nearby activities Nice area, very hilly if you've issues walking etc. Beautiful views and some beautiful restaurants to visit, highly recommend Starlight and The View

Safety Safe was broken when we arrived, we were told it would be replaced but it never arrived. Door to the room was broken with a loose handle which we had to ask to be fixed. There was damage to the door which looked like the door had been previously pushed in

Food and drinks All inclusive, very poor selection and variety was limited. Breakfast was OK, lunch hit and miss and dinner was lunch recycled in my opinion. Cocktails are cheap and cheerful, no prosecco available if it's your go to

Noteworthy details - Booked a junior suite The hotel is advertised as luxury but it is far from it, let down badly by cleaning, not enough staff for the people being catered for. Broken doors, broken safe, bathrooms flooding , black mould, no hot water until the morning we were flying home (7 night stay), just to mention a few things we encountered. Ive been travelling to Greece for 20 plus years and this is the first time i can genuinely say I dont be back to this hotel. The hotel has potential but needs alot of work before it's anywhere near a 4☆

This is hopefully a fair review and I hope the owners take note of the things myself and other guests have said as this place could be really amazing, especially with the location being perfect so close to the bus stops, beach and several great restaurants and coffee shops. The employees seem to work very hard and long shifts, however there simply weren’t enough staff to cope with the number of guests. Room: Mould in bathroom/ drawer under sink and a large buildup of limescale and rust on the shower. Daily bedroom “clean” is just the beds being remade, towels replaced and floor swept, no amenities like toilet roll or handsoap are replenished and the sink/bathroom are not cleaned as you would expect. We had to request more toilet paper from the front desk. Two days we were left without hand towels. TV in the room didn’t work the entire time, we over heard other guests saying theirs didn’t work either.

The food/dining: Plates at the buffet are always so wet you can pour the water off. Several times we had to wait for plates and cutlery to be available. The glasses were very watermarked and so gave the look of being dirty. Eating outside would be lovely, if not for the wasps. Could the hotel invest in some citronella to try to deter the wasps from people eating? For the food itself, we always found options we wanted to eat and were ok. Some items could be on the cold side. The water from the taps wasn’t to our taste so we purchased a lot of bottles from the gift shop. Entertainment: The WiFi doesn’t reach all rooms, we could only access WiFi in the main communal areas of the hotel. The night entertainment singers are varied and good, however they are outside by the pool and therefore are very loud and heard from our room which is disruptive if you were wanting to sleep before 11pm, which when you’ve got up at 3:30am for your flight that day is more desirable than listening to some incredibly loud music.