Grecotel Marine Palace & Aqua Park

Greece , Crete
RETHIMNO, Panormos
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50 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

11 Nov 2025

Mariana

Wonderful place very friendly staff excellent food and services. Come back again.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Nov 2025

Lea

Fabulous property! Great room, huge buffet, lots of areas to relax, great beach, helpful staff.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

17 Oct 2025

Marie

We just had our second family holiday at Marine Palace and were once again very happy with everything. The location, the food and service is great!

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

22 Sep 2025

Jan

We have had a great time at this hotel. Plenty of great dining options, multiple swimming pools, sea access was great. Perhaps the biggest highlight was the staff, they were lovely and super helpful any time we needed anything.
The only slight negative we found was the lack of lactose-free yoghurt, which was surprising given the multitude of options otherwise. It would have been nice to be able to try the yoghurt, but sadly this made it impossible for us.

Leisure Family_with_children

4/10

Poor

25 Aug 2025

John

Property was large and visually beautiful. Staff was nice overall with the exception of reception who were not helpful and insensitive. Food is only buffet and subpar. You only have 1 reservation available at a non buffet and have to pay for others. Restaurants accessible on property are buffet only. Food is sub par. Wait staff are very nice and professional. You only get limited towels and have to track to main pool each day to switch them out. Beach is crowded and water is cloudy compared to rest of island due to fine sand being kicked up by guests. Hotel is too big for a Greek island and is run like a large Caribbean resort which loses that Greek family feel at other smaller hotels. You’re better off at a smaller hotel and going out for meals. Plus there are many hidden fees from room fee for each night, to transfers, to additional on premise restaurant reservations . It’s just overrated.

Leisure Family_with_children

6/10

Pleasant

17 Aug 2025

Alexa

Beautiful hotel, do not recommend if you do not have children. Hotel is meant for families. Missing activities in the evenings

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

14 Aug 2025

Geoff

Great pools and dining options

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

10 Aug 2025

Lesley

Lovely hotel for a family holiday. Between the pools, water park and beach our water babies were in heaven; with the inclusively priced cocktails we were too!

Delicious and great range of food in the buffet. Do book on arrival if want full choice of alternative dining options. Appreciated being able to get snacks for the kids during the day. Highly rate the beach BBQ.

Would have enjoyed some music in the bars in the evening, but beside that couldn’t fault our stay.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

10 Aug 2025

Julie

Good but not great. Nice enough for families, great options for pools. Our kids loved the waterpark and hitting the football pitch each night with other kids from around the world.

Food options are limited and grow tiresome eating at the same restaurant for every single meal except one night in seven meals. Even on the one night that we booked the day we arrived, there was only one option available which was just another buffet.

The front desk staff were very welcoming, prompt, and gracious. We found the concierge to be surprisingly unhelpful so we had to find and book adventures on our own, which was odd.

Housekeeping did a great job with our room! The pool towel situation where you could only trade them in every couple of days but then they didn’t have enough was disappointing.

Highly recommend reserving an evening in Panormo for dinner! A very short walk to the small village.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jul 2025

Jan Erik

Nice stay

Great staff, great hotel for families. Can recommend.

Very good buffet (better than theme restaurants).

Easy to get sun bed. Plenty of things to do in a family vacation (free rental of pedal boat, men

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jul 2025

Ram

It was more than perfect. The hospitality exceeded expectations, all the employees were pleasant, smiling and helpful. The food was good and inviting, the hotel was clean and I have no doubt that I will return again. Thank you.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

03 Jun 2025

Barbara

The resort was lovely, may need a face life, wish I was warn its more of a kids resort lol but the staff was amazing and helpful

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Sep 2024

Abrham

Everything is amazing in the hotel it is very suitable for families there is good service and great food, everywhere you go in the hotel the staff are very understanding and kind. The only thing is that there could be more air conditioning as in the room it is quite hot. We had a great time we recommend it to anyone

Family_with_children

4/10

Poor

02 Sep 2024

Verified traveler

Not a great experience for the price.

For the high price, they cannot compete with other resorts in terms of quality. Seems a bit run down, old school style all inclusive resort.

Customer service was terrible. Employees seem unhappy and burned out. The checkin process tries to be fancy, but the first think we heard was the security guard yelling at us not to bring our bags inside the hotel, like we had to leave them on the steps of the hotel by themselves. Pool staff behaves like kings, and are rudely talking to guests across the board. Unacceptable.

Rooms were run down, cleanliness was fine. Railings are brittle/unsafe and flooring is not designed for rain, making it extremely slippery.

Food was basic, mostly fried foods, little Cretan and Greek food. They promise ONE a la carte dining per weeks stay, but requires multiple days of prior reservation if you don’t just want a subset of the main buffet menu. Avoid the Italian buffet as it’s just pasta/pizza from the main buffet.

The “all-you-can-drink” / all-inclusive drinks are subpar to anything I have experienced so far. Beverage a generally given out in tiny, not reusable, plastic-lined 0.15ml (5oz) cups. The quality of drinks tastes water down. Additionally there are time restrictions. All around not great. I guess the highlight was that can order 3 beers at a time to fill into your own glass to not run to the bar after each sip.

Kids club was basic, the first day they went to the water park which was fun, after that it was just drawing/sitting around.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

27 Aug 2024

Martina

The stay was excellent

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

22 Aug 2024

Sarah

Great resort for families. The buffet dinner got a bit repetitive and many of the outside tables were under a roof, but no ceiling fans, so it was HOT. The directions to make reservations was confusing and our one reserved dinner at another site was a huge disappointment. I called the front desk to express my concerns. They said someone would call back but they never did.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

09 Aug 2024

WALTER

VERY OLD FACILITIES AND VERY LOW LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR THE PRICE PAID. I EXPECTED SOMETHING OF MUCH BETTER QUALITY

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jun 2024

Edward H

Hotel catered to families with children.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

27 Oct 2023

Nick

We had a wonderful stay at Marine Palace, it was easily accessible and we had a 5 month old plus pram in tow, pool selection was great and the food was excellent, lovely choice and highlight was the BBQ by the Sea! Staff were all very helpful and bonus of a WhatsApp number to message if had any problems, the rooms and all outside areas were kept to a very high standard of cleanliness, very impressed.
The village of Panormos was only a 7-8 minute walk away, very small but lovely village with bars, restaurants and a few gift shops.
Would definitely return!!!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

17 Sep 2023

Marianne

Perfect

Perfect with kids. My 5-yo was sad that we needed to go back home 😃

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

24 Aug 2023

Kostas

I can only speak about my room but it was not reflective of the Grecotel reputation. It was in old condition and looked like a room in a much less expensive establishment. The food was mostly mediocre. It is not fine dining at the restaurants at all. It’s just ok. For the money I give this place a 2.5. I would not rebook here because although we had a good time here I feel for the money I can choose better.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jul 2023

judith

Each staff member was just exceptional nice

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jul 2023

Vikram

The Grecotel Marine Palace is a great place for a family holiday. It has great facilities for the children including a great aquapark. The resort is spread across a wide area The pools are great and well spread acorss to cater for all accomodations. The main restaurant served excellent food with a good variety and variation everyday day. There are three ala carte restaurant which we did not try as it was fully booked up for the days that we stayed.The resort is located about 1 hour drive from the two airports and gave us the option to explore the island in either direction. Most of all, the staff were extremely friendly and welcoming. Overall, an excellent holiday and I would highly recommend it to my friends and family.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

22 Sep 2018

Verified traveler

Marine Palace is a very nice resort. Food is excellent and there is plenty to do.

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jun 2018

Ann

Wonderful all inclusive family resort. I was worried the beach would be rocky, but it was sandy and water was clear. Staff were friendly and attentive. Although the resort has several restaurants, all meals are served in a main dining hall. The food was still excellent and there was enough variety even for picky eaters. We were also given a choice to have one dinner at another restaurant. Room was spacious and clean. There are also 4 pools located throughout the resort and an Aqua Park. Nightly entertainment. Sports activities also provided.

Family

8/10

Excellent

01 Aug 2017

Verified traveler

Nice hotel, staff are very kindly

Excellent, close to the beach but far from the airport.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

24 Oct 2016

Robert

Fun for the kids!

My family and I live in Crete and wanted a staycation and we enjoyed the amazing water slides and pools.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

28 Jul 2016

Karsten

Hotel did not live up to what was promised, should be more clear if possibility for dining, we only choose the hotel for this and we had to dine outside, as we could not choose restaurant at the hotel and we were not happy with the large restaurant we had to use 5 out of 6 days. If we have known this from beginning we would never have chosen the hotel and think it would be fair to let guest know this from beginning. Especially considering it was a all inclusive hotel, so we paid up front but have to pay again when we went out, of-cures this was our own choice, but we did not want to ruin our holiday eating at a bad resturent.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

29 Aug 2012

Emma Mum of boys.

overrun with little children.

The hotel had nice swimming pools and a private beach with plenty of sunloungers.
The food was good on the whole but the restaurants that you could book and have table service were disappointing as the service was very slow and amateurish. The buffet alternative would have been preferable other than it being overtaken with very young children with no table manners or idea how to behave in a restaurant. This was not the exclusive 5 star hotel, represented by their brochure. Unfortuneately, I'd booked it for a last family holiday with 3 boys aged 17,15 and 12. We never went somewhere like this when the boys were little and really didn't want this now!
The hotel situation was good as it was a short walk to Panormo, with several lively bars and restaurants. Also, it was a quick and easy bus trip to Rethymno. Taxis are very expensive but bus service is very good.
Great place for relaxing holiday with nice pools and beach. Would be good for families with young kids but not the best for restless teenage boys.We had a good time because we made the best of it but wouldn't recommend it.

Family

8/10

Excellent

22 May 2012

Diego

The staff are the best

Very good ratio quality / price. The staff is always smiling and ready to help you.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

25 Sep 2025

Malte

Urlaub zu zweit als junges Paar in einer großen Anlage für die ganze Familie. Neben vielen Familien mit Kindern ist hier auch ein Urlaub zu zweit gut möglich, es gibt ein riesiges Angebot auf der Anlage, die sehr weitläufig ist. Der Strandzugang ist super und nicht überlaufen.
Das Buffet und die Themenrestaurants sind vielseitig und bieten für Reisende, die auf glutenfreie Angebote angewiesen sind, viele Möglichkeiten (Pizza, Brot, Muffins, Pancakes, Nudeln, Sushi mit Sojasauce) an. Die Lage ist super, gut für kleiner Ausflüge in der Gegend mit dem Mietwagen gelegen.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Sep 2025

Corinne Rosa maria Nunes

Très bien. Chambre spacieuse. Plusieurs piscine et tout proche d une petite plage avec transats
Et parasols gratuits. Seul bémol le buffet très bruyant

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

07 Aug 2025

Sourena

The hotel offered full board, but the quality of the food was very poor. They often served leftovers from previous days repeatedly. There was a so-called “thematic restaurant” that you could book for an additional fee, but it was never available — you had to reserve it 3–4 days in advance.

Don’t trust the food pictures on the website or Expedia; they are very misleading.

Cleanliness was another major issue. The pool water was extremely dirty — I would strongly advise against using it. Room cleaning was done only once, and we had to constantly remind the staff to change towels or clean properly.

The rooms were old and worn out. At least ours looked nothing like the photos. It was not child-friendly at all. We have a 20-month-old baby and a stroller, but they gave us a room on the upper floor without any elevator, and right next to the kitchen’s exhaust hood.

This is definitely not a 4- or 5-star hotel.

Leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

16 Jul 2025

Emanuel Engelbert

Das Hotel war in Ordnung

Leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

09 Jun 2025

Lucas

Es war sehr laut durch viele kleine Kinder, wir waren als Paar dort und hätten uns am Abend zumindest an der Bar etwas mehr ruhe oder schöne Musik gewünscht. Die Zimmer waren sauber, das Essen sehr lecker. Wir würden tatsächlich das nächste mal mit unseren Kindern wiederkommen. Als Paartime jedoch eher nur bedingt zu empgehlen

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 Jun 2025

Carolin

Essen war wirklich top, an den Bars wurde man immer sehr zügig bedient, es war von allem immer genug da.
Kinderbetreuung wurde nicht genutzt, da englischsprachig.
Die beiden Sportplätze hätten eine Erneuerung verdient.
Strand relativ klein, aber völlig ok!
Unser Zimmer (Familienbungalow mit Meerblick) war geräumig und gut.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

07 May 2025

Abderraouf

Superbe hôtel au bord de la mer, très propre service impeccable, personnel gentil et au service des clients. Particulièrement hôtesse d'accueil au Spa.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

05 May 2025

Marvin

Wunderschön!!

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

30 Apr 2025

André

Not bad but..

Fomos recebidos pelo que aparentava ser a manager que não foi das mais simpáticas.
Pouco flexível no que toca a reserva - reservamos por 7 noites e devido a um imprevisto tivemos de deixar o alijamento 1 dia mais cedo, sem possibilidade de refund.
Comparativamente com as fotos o alojamento demonstra alguns sinais de idade. A
Ginásio com 4 passadeiras porém só 1 um funciona bem.
Pagamos extra por quarto com vista mar, que na verdade tinha uma vista muito parcial do mar - foto abaixo.
Buffet bom com bastante variedade, porém não varia muito de dia para dia na ementa.
Talvez boa opção para famílias mas muito barulhento se procura descanso.
Staff simpático na generalidade.
Provavelmente da próxima vez vamos escolher outro local.
Localização muito isolada sem grande coisa à volta - se fosse hoje teria escolhido por exemplo a vila de Bali, cerca de 15km Leste.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Apr 2025

Martin

Alles tip top, gerne wieder. Nur der Flug von Heraklion ist leider immer eine kleine Katastrophe.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

19 Apr 2025

HUGO

Avec ma femme et mes deux fils nous venons de passer une semaine au Grecotel.
Le personnel a été aux petits soins avec nous, très agréable, souriant, très accessible et très arrangeants .
Les nombreux services et activités que proposent cet hôtel sont formidables.
Buffets variés, du choix, et de la diversité tous les jours. Restaurant grec, vraiment top, de la très bonne cuisine. Les piscines, l'aire de jeux ainsi que l'accès à la plage nous ont permis de passer de bons moments.
Continuez comme ça, nous espérons revenir pour notre prochain passage en Crète.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

19 Apr 2025

Linda

Stort, snyggt hotell med flera pooler & matställen. Hade inte bott här utan barn. Mindre bra var att äventyrsbadets pool inte var uppvärmd & var 13 grader, gick inte att vistas där. Servicen var undermålig, incheckningen tog flera timmar, stor förvirring i personalen kring var badhanddukar fanns. Kallt på rummen i april när kvällstempen var kring 9 grader. Fanns mkt mat att välja på men ingen variation från dag till dag så tröttnade snabbt. Hårda sängar. Dåligt nätverk. Trevlig personal overall.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

21 Sep 2024

Ali

Food and beverages very Good. Very clean.
Unfortunatly small beach…

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

11 Aug 2024

Ruben

Agostos 2024

La experiencia ha sido buena, las instalaciones comunes muy buenas incluido el parque acuático, comida excelente, personal amable y servicial, nos ayudaron en todo, personal de animación excelente a destacar Sheila.
El único punto a mejorar fue que los colchones no eran cómodos

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

09 Aug 2024

Doris

Sehr gepflegte Anlage, jedoch sehr weitläufig. Strandabschnitt für die Anzahl der Gäste relativ klein. Essen sehr gut. Personal sehr freundlich und hilfsbereit. Zimmer sind schön.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

01 Jul 2024

Svitlana

the structure is very beautiful but a little out of everything. and then the swimming pools open until late with children in the water while you're at dinner, a few things to look at. suitable for families with small children, because all of them have low water!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

19 May 2024

Inga

Very nice hotel. Big and clean rooms. Frendly and helpful stuff. We stayed in the middle of may, so weather wasn’t the best. We didn’t get to use watter park because water there was very cold. But main pools were warm and nice. So kids got to swim abit.
Very nice sand beach.
Food was good, alot of vegetables and fruits. Very good coctails.
Nice kids club. We used international one. Girls who works there are very friendly and knows how to work with kids.

Leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

27 Apr 2024

Michele Renée

Bel environnement, les locaux sont très gentils, agréable

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

14 Aug 2023

Daniel

Alles super, bis auf die üblichen Liegenreservationen der Hotelgäste (obwohl bei jeder Liege steht, dass es nicht erlaubt ist). Das Hotel unternimmt hier nichts.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

03 Aug 2023

Aurelie

Tres chouette hôtel déjà fait il y a 5 ans et refait en 2023. Qqs points négatifs : les transats et parasols deviennent vieux et abîmés. Il faut se lever à 7h pour avoir un trasat. Les gens bloquent les transats et arrivent parfois a midi...

Leisure Family