Неподражаемый Крит Inimitable Crete

We rested in Marilena, yesterday we just returned. Quite nice overall, although a 4 star Greek hotel (as Marilena says on most sites) is comparable to a 2 star Northern European hotel. Two years earlier we were vacationing in Scandinavia, moving every day, staying in different 2-3 star hotels, the service was better, to be honest. But the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea and Greek soulfulness redeem a lot.
About the beach. We didn't know where he was at all. We came to a civilized beach somewhere behind Agapi Beach (the hotel is opposite Marilena across the road). We were immediately demanded 5 euros for each of the two sunbeds, plus 5 euros for an umbrella. We asked where the Marilena beach was, they vaguely waved our hand somewhere to the left, but there was only a narrow strip of dirty sand along the fence, where our compatriots were roasting on mats in the sun. We turned around and went to our friends on a beautiful beach next to a very modest Armonia hotel, a 15-minute walk from Marilena. We stayed there all the time of the holiday. No one demanded money from us there either for sunbeds or umbrellas, although it was stated that you had to pay for both.
About food. I read a lot of reviews before the trip, most complained about the monotony of the dishes. Alas, there is such a problem. Especially dull at breakfast: you can list the entire menu with your eyes closed, without even going into the dining room. At lunch, the choice of dishes is better, and at dinners, sometimes the chef performs a sacred service right in front of everyone - you should approach him with a plate. The Greeks cook lamb especially amazingly. Rarely is pork, almost every day - fish (though not very tasty). But there is no beef at all: on rocky Crete, there is nowhere for cows to graze, and imported beef, apparently, is too expensive.

Tea and other drinks are a separate issue. For those who cannot imagine their daily life without a cup of tea, I advise you to bring it with you. Preferably with a kettle or kettle. For in Greece (not only in Marilene) tea is drunk only in the morning. And the choice is small: tiny bags of some kind of gray disgusting dust disguised as black tea, or relatively normal chamomile tea. This is for breakfast. During lunches and dinners, baskets with tea bags and titanium with boiling water are closed, but even if you get to them, the water usually cools down in the morning. Boiling water again does not occur to anyone. As well as turn on the coolers (there are four of them - two in the dining room, one in the lobby near the bar, one in the pool bar). So cold water - at least get drunk, but with hot water - it's problematic. In connection with the above, you simply experience tantalum flour: desserts, as a rule, are varied and very tasty, but you want to drink sweets with hot tea, and not with sour wine, sweet soda or cold water. After a few days, we completely abandoned desserts and switched to fruits. By the way, if you still eat sweets, be sure to try Cretan honey, it has a very special taste.
More about drinks. All inclusive assumes that you can come up for drinks as much as you like at any time. But if you expect to get enough of free alcohol - do not flatter yourself: strong drinks are mercilessly diluted. They manage to do the same even with soda. Only local drinks are relatively normal in taste: wine (dry), beer, crayfish (grape vodka) and ouzo. About ouzo, we tried for a long time to find out what kind of thermonuclear drink with a strength of 46 degrees. The Greeks assured us that it was an aperitif. We tried - and really an aperitif! It has such a strong anise flavor that it's hard to take more than three sips at a time. But it's worth it!
About the contingent. Approximately half of the hotel's population are Russians, slightly less than Ukrainians (two youth groups of Ukrainian boys and girls changed during our time, who lit not like a child, so during their stay I would not call the hotel quiet). Settle in the hotel and other Slavs, as well as the Germans. The Greeks, by the way, strongly dislike the Germans. For many reasons, from the time of the Second World War to Angela Merkel's statements about Greek lazy people who do not want to work, but still want to stay in the European Union. In general, the Greeks blame the Germans for all their troubles, including the crisis.
About staff and service. Everyone is very nice and kind, they speak a funny mixture of English and Greek with a little Russian interspersed (they try! : )) But at the same time they don’t go out of their way in service. In our room (the room was good, spacious, two large beds and a separate pretty couch for our 11-year-old daughter) they were nominally cleaned every day, but at the same time there was a layer of dust under the bed all the time, tables and bedside tables were wiped a couple of times in 12 days , linen and towels were also changed a couple of times (linen was far from new and for some reason different sizes). The maid is supposed to leave a coin in denominations of 1-2 euros on the bed every day, which we did; but this did not affect the quality of service, although a friend from Armonia (3 stars, tiny rooms) said that for the same tip the bed was changed daily for him. Soap was given once at the beginning and the day before departure, when a tiny remnant of the original three pieces remained. Toothpaste and brush, shampoo and shower gel are not supposed in principle, so bring your own. Perhaps this is a conscious policy: in souvenir shops, locally produced natural olive cosmetics are sold at every corner - apparently, it is assumed that tourists, by buying it, will support the local industry. Cosmetics, by the way, are not cheap. I do not advise taking a bathroom in the room at all, despite the fact that it is there. I took a chance and regretted it. Firstly, the cork does not close tightly, and as soon as you turn off the water, it begins to seep and leave. If you still managed to get a full bath and lie down in it for a while - do not pull the cork back, otherwise all its contents will begin to pour onto the floor through a hole in the floor. Leave the cork loosely closed - the water will go away by itself, and you will be saved from the flood. This is such a tricky system.

And lastly, entertainment. The hotel really does not have them, so look for them elsewhere. We ignored organized excursions, took a car for five days and drove everywhere ourselves. Cretan roads and driving style is, of course, extreme, but if you are confident, it is worth it. M
225 euros for 5 days - and the car is yours. Plus insurance for everything. The car was perfect, we were satisfied.
And lastly, communication. For low-cost calls to your home country, look for Dynamit calling cards - they are sold at a kiosk at a bus stop near Marilena. 5 euros - 300 minutes of conversation if you call to mobile phones (if you call landlines, it will be enough for a much longer period). But I do not advise buying local SIM-cards: the Greeks themselves do not really know either their own operators or tariffs. We paid 5 euros for the card itself (! ) and put another 5 euros into the account. The money on the phone ran out on the fourth day, although we only called up a friend from a nearby hotel and in total did not talk for an hour.