Ierapetra, Petra Mare Hotel

This was our first holiday in three years since my husband had become disabled and we were worried that the travelling would prove to be a huge problem. We normally travel with Olympic Holidays and as this was our first holiday with First Choice we were not sure what to expect

We booked this holiday to relax and unwind and that's exactly what we did. We don't usually return to the same hotel but we are already looking at the prices for September at the Petra Mare

On arriving at Gatwick we Joined the enormous queue outside the terminal with Hubby in his wheelchair and me with the luggage trolley. Within seconds we were removed from the queue and whisked straight to premier check in even though we hadn't booked premier. So within 10 minutes of arriving at Gatwick we were sitting in the departure lounge.

We had booked assistance to get to the gate but I was happy to push hubby myself so we made our own way down. We were transferred to the plane which was on the tarmac in a disabled minibus and from there onto the ambulift and onto the plane. We had been given front seats on the plane right next to the toilet and these seats had extra legroom. On arrival in Crete we were met by the ambulift at the planes front exit by a nice Greek man who had hubbys wheelchair ready for him to get into. This lovely man also pushed hubby into the terminal as well.

After collecting our luggage we ventured outside to find the First Choice Rep waiting for us who helped us to the coach and we were given the front seats as we had requested. On arrival at the Petra Mare I was impressed with the fast check in. I have never seen anything like it. There are 3 lifts at the Petra Mare each with room for hubby in wheelchair and 2 large suitcase and me. Our room was on the 3rd floor it was spacious with loads of drawers and wardrobe space and a huge balcony with fantastic sea view (well worth paying extra for). The only down side of the room was the fact that the shower is in the bath and hubby couldn't have a shower the whole time we were there, having to make do with strip washes using the sink.

The Hotel staff are friendly and the cleaners are constantly cleaning and mopping floors (can get a bit slippery)

The Reps are extremely helpful and friendly

The inside restaurant is no smoking but nicer to eat outside anyway where you can smoke if you want to. The food is fantastic plenty of choice don't just dump everything in site on your plate daily and you wont get bored with it. I put on 10lb on this holiday and enjoyed everything I ate. Most lunches by the second week were salads from the snack bar washed down with a pint or two of wine

Meals in the restaurant consisted of

Breakfast =choice of cereals, Greek yoghurt's, cakes, biscuits, doughnuts, salad cold meats and cheese bacon, eggs fried scrambled boiled, sausages, beans, tomatoes, fried potatoes, French toast(not what I would call continental)

Lunch + evening meal=brilliant choice of salads, soup, chips, mashed roast jacket potatoes, at least 3 different veg, pork, chicken, lamb, rabbit, burgers, fish,chicken nuggets, fishfingers, meatballs, mousaka, stuffed aubergines, stuffed vine leaves, stuffed tomatoes lots more but cant remember them all. Puddings to die for with a huge choice and I never ate the same one twice.

The Snack Bar food and drinks from 10 am until midnight. Bread, Rolls, Ham, Chopped Pork, Salad, Pasta, Pizza, Hotdog Sausages, Chips and 3 different cakes. Soft drinks,Water,Lager, Red and White Wine.

All other spirits available not self service though

The Greek night was really good lasting an hour. This was the only time we went out to the pool area for the entertainment but whenever I passed by the kids seemed to be having a really great time

Accessibility

3 lifts

Easy access to inside and outside restaurants

Ramp to outside pool area

Ramp to snack bar exceptionally steep needing 2 people to push wheelchair up it

Ramp to outside piano bar ( long way round via the pool area)

very steep but just about managed to push wheelchair up myself

Public toilets are all in the basement via lift bit difficult to access with wheelchair so just as easy to return to room for toilet which was a bit of a pain

The Promenade from hotel to town centre is so well paved and flat that I was able to push wheelchair one-handed and smoke with the other hand. There are lots of benches to sit and rest if needed.

Problems arose when trying to go off the promenade onto the side streets as was expected with hubby having to get off wheelchair and use crutches to cross roads only to find that we couldn't get very far.

On our return journey the First Choice Rep made sure that the same front seats were reserved for us. She also phoned ahead to the airport to make sure that we were met at the coach. On arrival at the airport we were indeed met and one rep took one of the suitcases from me and another pushed my husband inside the terminal bypassing the huge queue outside. We were taken straight to check in and once again we were sitting in the departure lounge within 10 minutes of arrival at the airport. This time enjoying a cigarette as smoking is allowed in the designated areas.

Hubby was wheeled out to the ambulift by the same Greek man and we had again been given front row seats.

On arrival back to Gatwick hubbys wheelchair was waiting at the plane door but unfortunately had been given to someone else to use even though it was labelled with our name. The confusion was sorted straight away but if I hadn't left hubby and got off the plane when I did I think we would have said Tata to his wheelchair.

Tips

Alpha Bank no charge for cashing travellers cheques

Defiantly take your own plastic cups and glasses and tray

Buy your bottles of water from the little supermarket outside the hotel. They were only 2 euros for 6 bottles but in hotel shop it was 4.20.

Great for the kids, excellent safety measures around the pool areas. Snack buffet, food the same every day and closes when it feels like it.

Good all round hotel only a few minor teething problems, probably due to being the beginning of the season

Its a wonderful place and has wonderful facilities I would seriously go there again

An absolutely lovely place, the entertainment was ok despite all the bad reports but always crowded and impossible to find a seat if you arrive late. The First Choice reps weren't the most helpful people but can still answer whatever you need to know. Definitely recommend cafe on the rocks along the front, brilliant food and brilliant cocktails. Cafe Acropolis few doors down (the one with the parrots outside) was terrible, probably the rudest guy ever as we interrupted him during the football, tried charging us double in the end. The souvenir shops are great but I'd recommend going in when theres a lot of other people as the assistants harass you non-stop, they won't leave you alone until you buy something.

Chrissi island was nice but nothing special, after the long journey there we found the bar then decided to see what else the island had to offer, sadly it was absolutely nothing the bar was the only building on the island, the rest was all sand dunes, nowhere stable to walk so did become quite tiring eventually.

The town towards the fortress is quite nice although its not the touristy area so the locals didn't seem too happy to have us there, there is a pet shop somewhere near the fortress but the animals are kept in terrible conditions and being a pet shop manager myself i found this extremely distressing.

Everybody gets around by moped but a lot are kids and inexperienced riders, I even saw some which had four people on. Nearly got hit few times crossing the street.

All-in-all I'd definitely go back, what the hotel lacks, the town makes up for. This time I'd rather go for 2 weeks.

The Petra Mare Hotel is situated on a fantastic location. Excellent for the kids with plenty of pools to choose from. Wish I had booked 2 weeks in Crete now instead of 1!

We have just returned from the Hotel Petra Mare and we all had a fantastic time.

We found the first choice reps very friendly and they are always around to answer any questions and just for a general chat.

The entertainment is great fun, if you get involved.

The El Paso bar, which is on the resort is great fun, has a fabulous DJ and is a great way of getting to know all your holiday reps.

We would recommend this holiday to all people, who want to have a nice holiday and wind down.

Having arrived at the Petra Mare Hotel in Ierapetra, Crete hours after the tragedy of the Hogan family, I have to say, things could have been handled better. We were left to find out about the incident from poolside gossip and the papers. The reps did not offer any explanation, and guests present when the little boy died, seemed to be struggling to cope, again resorting to reading the papers and confiding in new arrivals, who weren't all keen to hear the intimate details. Very sad episode, but the Hotel cannot be blamed for this. It still stands that this is a lovely hotel, in a beautiful resort, staffed by friendly people, and I can't wait to make my return visit.

We stayed at the Petra Mare Hotel in Ierapetra, Crete for 2 weeks with 25 family and friends, and we had a fab time. We got great tans, and enjoyed the reps entertainment. Yes, it could get a little naff, but all in all, if you're willing to join in you'll have a great laugh, especially when the guys call the bingo (coconuts). You can't go wrong with this holiday! Just remember you're on a Greek island and it's not like home. Go there and let your hair down and have a ball.

The Petra Mare hotel in Crete is a brilliant Hotel for families. The facilities might be a bit old and worn, but they provide everything you need for a good holiday. The facilities for kids were brilliant; meaning we could enjoy our holiday as well, and my boy has not stopped talking about some of the kids rep's since he got back. They were great. The entertainment was brilliant, meaning we hardly left the hotel in the evening.

The hotel is looking a bit old, but it is clean and we had everything we needed. The food did get a bit repetitive over two weeks, and it would have been nice if there were other drinks for children, other than the fizzy drinks and water available, although we resolved this by buying a big bottle of orange squash!

It was a great holiday, and I would recommend it to anyone with a family that wants to get away to somewhere hot and be able to relax. We had a brilliant time overall. Thank you to all the staff and reps at the hotel.

I would definitely go back to the Petra Mare Hotel in Crete. We really enjoyed ourselves. I would also like to add that it may be good to buy some water shoes which are on sale in the nearby supermarket and in the resorts shop, because going into the sea is a little slippery because of the rocks, and people did sometimes cut themselves. However, this didn't stop us going in the sea every day and having fun!