Marea Suites, Valamar Collection

The location is very clean , quiet and relaxing . The staff is very friendly , kind and nice . The girls from Maro club are more than nice , always ready to play with the kids and they have lots of activities for them . The food is excellent and the staff from the kitchen are very polite . A very pleasent experience ! We'll come back !

We absolutely loved our stay at Valamar. The hotel staff is friendly and helpful, the rooms are very good size, the facilities are great, the food excellent. We never do resort holidays and this was such a great first experience. We came with our 4 year old son, who had a hell of a time! He enjoyed spending some time at the kids club, the staff there was so brilliant, my son adored spending down time at the end of the day there, away from the slides to do some art and craft projects. The hotel is perfect for family with small children, lots of activities to keep them entertained in a safe and lovely environment.

We had a great time. Our room was on the ground floor and we could walk out directly to the pools and had a great view of the sea. Our room was a 2 bedroom suite so perfect for family. Service was excellent, in particular Rafael, Bruno and the rest of the team in the restaurant. Great kids activities for our grandchild (5 years old). Everything we asked for was delivered with smiles, polite, friendly service, including the cleaning staff.

This was our first visit to Croatia and certainly will not be our last! This hotel was one of the best we have ever stayed at. Upon arrival at 9.30pm with 2 small weary children, the concierge were on hand to take our luggage to the room and provided us with room service meals before we flopped into bed. The room was exceptional, modern and clean with the kind of 5* luxuries you would expect not to mention the ‘choose your room scent’ option! We had a ground floor room with the only downside being it was next door to reception and the lobby so quite noisy in the evenings as there is a small soft play. The hotel and staff were always on hand, very friendly, nothing too much trouble and they even provided nappies and oat milk for my little ones when we had run out and couldn’t find any in the local shop. Top Tip, the local small supermarket on the same road is not well equipped especially if you have young children, we discovered there is a large Plodine supermarket nearby. Upon leaving the front of the hotel turn left then immediately right and take that road uphill to the end. Then turn right again and you will see the Plodine a little further down that road. It took about 5-10 mins to walk. They provide oat milk and many others, nappies, swim nappies, wipes and everything else you would want from a supermarket. The small beach outside the hotel was lovely and not too busy in May. It was a bit too cold for swimming but paddling and looking out on the stunning waters and view was wonderful. The food at the hotel was divine! We were astounded to be served fresh filet steak most nights in the buffet and everything tasted delicious. We often eat out when on holiday due to the ‘samey’ often dreary food on offer but this was absolutely not the case. We ate in the hotel every night for 10 days and enjoyed every night. The breakfast seems a little bit Scandinavian with German type sausages but there was so much else to choose from including fresh fish, oysters, selection of breads and croissants, fruit smoothies, a baby food section, childrens section and alternative milks. Also the children’s section was at a lower level with ikea type plastic plates, bowls and cutlery so the older ones could serve themselves. It was a very pleasant dining experience without the chaos we have sometimes experienced elsewhere. The Maro club room is within the dining room so our children could go and have a play while we finished our dinner and had a drink but being able to check on them through the glass doors. Upstairs on the 3rd floor is a fantastic family playroom that was always quiet. Filled with a playkitchen, busy board on the wall and numerous other things included board games, it was a great way for the children to have some chilled playtime. The soft-play in reception was a great hit with the children but having to walk past it at bedtime was tricky at times! :-) The afternoon snack hour was a brilliant idea between 4-30 - 5.30 serving a small selection of snacks, sandwiches, coffee, cake, biscuits, ice cream and prosecco! The little bar snacks and juice available freely through the day is also a lovely touch. A huge thank you to Alem who went above and beyond to make us feel welcome from our very first night arriving with food to our room. He made our children’s stay very enjoyable. Also the evening concierge knocked at 6.30pm to check if we needed anything else for the evening or a turn down service and provided chocolates. To was a lovely touch. Cons: The only negatives which are not a reflection on the hotel itself and would not prevent us staying again were the main pool was very salty and something about it affected both our childrens skin making them cry out. They didn’t want to go in that pool after trying twice more, it didn’t affect the adults but it was very salty but is a heated pool and wasn’t advertised as sea water unlocked the beach bar pool. Our room was cleaned every day during the first week with fresh hand towels, replenished coffee and lovely touches with my childrens teddies tucked in to bed which delighted them! However the last few days were disappointing as we had no cleaner for 1 day followed by a cleaner who made the beds but nothing else. The balcony wasn’t swept or mopped which was much needed as we found the birds enjoyed leaving their mark! The inside floors were not cleaned, nor the bathrooms, no fresh hand towels or coffee and our balcony door was left unlocked. I checked to see if they were still half way through but they had moved on. I reported this to reception and the next day we had a thorough clean however our balcony door was left wide open! We had planned to go out for the day and luckily I needed to pop back to the room otherwise it would have been left open all day on the ground floor. We were not worried about security during our stay at all, in fact it felt the safest of places we have ever visited but non the less, it was a cause for concern and was reported. The Maro club was good but many of the events advertised on the app during the day didn’t happen. I asked the staff but they didn’t seem to know anything about it. May be it was because it was still early in the season but with the app sending me a reminder of the events, it was disappointing for the children. The hotel provide small bikes and scooters in reception presumably for outdoor use but children were riding around the hotel on them which was a little precarious and noisy in the evenings, particularly as the children’s room within the room is by the front door. The Land train wasn’t up and running during our first week and it was 20 euros for a taxi into Porec. This was not the fault of the hotel though and purely being early in the season. Porec old town was a beautiful place to visit and the walk back was very relaxing with the beautiful scenery. We will absolutely be back and want to thank the team for a wonderful stay xx

Wonderful holiday super hotel Really friendly and the staff especially Rafael are so kind and helpful. Nothing is too much trouble. Will be coming back