Aldemar Royal Mare Village Hotel

“ well if we would have been put in the Hotel we booked first it would have been great, just 3 days before we were due to go you changed to this one which was no way as good as the capsis out of the blue, so after being a loyal customer of yours for at least 8 years and booking between 2 and 3 holidays a year you now have lost my custom because i will never use you again,

“ Lovely 5* hotel but unfortunately the food is not 5*. Didn't have 1 warm meal in 6 days.

“ Top Tip: Nice reasonably priced bar at entrance to hotel, Called Goldren Dream.

“ First impressions count for much, and after a longish trip arriving late at night, first views on approach were reassuringly impressive! Also, it was great for the ego to hear the remaining passengers on the transfer bus vocalise enviously the clear difference in quality between this hotel and the others visited along this part of the coastal strip. [Shallow thought I know, but hey, that's human nature for you!]
The favorable impressions were maintained throughout; the reception and management services were excellent - professional and efficient ; a late meal was organised in the a la carte restaurant [without the normal supplement]. The standard room was spacious and with an excellent range of drawers and cupboards; the bathroom had separate bath and shower cabinet, plus bidet and wc alcove; air-con which worked adequately; and a reasonably sized balcony.
The main restaurant is buffet style, with a wide-ranging if somewhat repetitive menu; cooking quality was adequate although almost everything quickly became lukewarm, as lids were more often open on the serving trays; superb range of salads, fish and fruit. Wine is all Cretan/Greek, and expensive [whites are not up to similarly priced international wines you would get at home/ reds can be closer]. A fortnight's worth of this buffet would become tedious, but I doubt if the a la carte restaurant or the on-site "El Greco taverna" is worth the substantial premium. Restaurant staff were friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, there is little competition off-site locally, and Hersonnisus /Malia seemed to be at the rough end of the market - no doubt there will be a gem or two in there if you can see past the tourist / nightscene tat.
This hotel is at the top end of the range outside of the Elounda set, with excellent facilities and staff; ambience is classy, quiet, a bit sedate [at least when we were there, late season] Clientele is cosmopolitan, with a wide range of guest nationalities [UK would be fourth in number] but it's all so personal and well integrated that there were no tensions/issues - English is the default language for all, and it's perfect for practicing converational Russian [they seem to be buying up Crete!] Guests seemed mainly in the over forties, with a sprinkling of mature parents with toddlers and pre-teens; it's far too quiet for teenagers and the disco-set to enjoy.
The grounds are spacious with the buildings well designed and sympathetically laid out in an excellent garden environment, running down the steepish slope to the beach [there's a golf cart service for luggage and the seriously unfit] The beach is more soft grit than soft sand but seems to offer good bathing- we had rough seas for half our stay. I would expect the beach and two large general pools to be well used in high season, and would choose the "room with shared private pool" option if returning.
Hire a car locally - there's expensive Hertz on-site, and three named franchises nearby; otherwise it's taxis everywhere, as the hotel is too remote for frequent public transport.

“ excellent food but very expensive prices for e.g. drinks