"We stayed at this hotel at the 27th May - 3rd June for a family holiday with our two children (aged 4 and 7). Overall, we had a mixed experience, with some genuine positives but also several issues that impacted our stay.
We arrived very late at night after a 2 hours transfer from the airport and received a packed lunch on arrival, which was appreciated after travelling with two tired and hungry children. The resort itself is large and we were taken to our room by golf cart on arrival. Our room was a family suite which was spacious, with both a bathroom and separate shower room, and a pool directly outside the room, which was lovely and great for the kids.
However, what we weren’t aware of before booking was that the resort would not be operating at full capacity until mid-June. Our room was located quite a distance from the main restaurant, bars and entertainment areas (at the furthest part of the resort). While the quieter location was nice, after a few days the walk became difficult for our children, who started to lose enthusiasm for walking back and forth several times a day for meals.
The issue was that many of the facilities closest to our room were not yet open. The nearby pool bars were closed, and the beach snack bar, which would have been only a short walk away, was also shut. As a result, we didn’t feel we were able to make the most of the all-inclusive package we had paid for.
We spoke to reception about this. There was a restaurant called Rizes located almost directly outside our room which was open and some guests could access with a different wristband. Unfortunately, we were told we couldn’t use it, even if we paid extra. Reception did try to help by offering us a room move in the main hotel block, but this would have meant packing up again and changing to a very different style of room on a higher floor, so we declined as this would have been a room downgrade to the “family suite” room we was in. We also spoke to our Jet2Holidays representative, Milly, who was nice and took our concerns to management. As a goodwill gesture, we were offered an additional à la carte lunch, which was appreciated and the hotel also suggested we call for a cart whenever needed. While this was helpful in theory, on the first evening we tried to use it, we were told there was only one driver available and a coach of new guests had just arrived, so there was no indication of how long we’d be waiting and dinner could have been finished before we would arrive, we opted to pay for room service this evening instead.
The buffet restaurant was probably the weakest aspect of the holiday. The food wasn’t particularly varied, the choices remained largely the same each day, and there wasn’t a great deal aimed specifically at younger children. The snack bar served pizzas and gyros, but after several days the options became very repetitive.
On the positive side, the à la carte restaurants were excellent and improved our experience. We enjoyed the Greek restaurant, which was temporarily operating from the Marina restaurant, and the Italian restaurant, La Pergola. The food was very good, and the staff were friendly and attentive. In fact, all of the staff throughout the resort work incredibly hard.
Unfortunately, we also experienced a significant problem with ants in our room (1015). By day four, they seemed to be everywhere. We found them in wardrobes, drawers, on clothes hangers, inside our luggage, and even in my handbag among loose change. Eventually they were appearing on the bedside table, headboard and even in pockets, which made it difficult to relax and sleep. We reported the issue to the cleaners and someone came to spray, but the treatment was only applied near the patio doors and didn’t appear to resolve the problem. Guests in the room next door told us they were experiencing the same issue. While trying to investigate where the ants were coming from, we moved the bed away from the wall and discovered mould behind it, which was disappointing.
The location itself is beautiful. The beach is stunning and the sunsets were one of the highlights of the holiday. The entertainment team also worked hard and seemed enthusiastic, although we didn’t make full use of the poolside entertainment as we spent most of our time near our pool area. One thing we found unusual was that the evening entertainment venue didn’t have its own bar, meaning guests had to walk back to the Apollo Bar near reception for drinks during shows, which wasn’t particularly convenient and the bar was very busy here it would take a while to get served as they had live music playing here, this and the bar made it a popular place to visit.
We only ventured out of the hotel once and went to the port Katakolo, we got a taxi for €40 return, a lovely man who is one of only 2 taxi drivers locally, the other is his wife. He recommended Kavos resaurant to us, which was also lovely. The port is good to visit when the cruise ships are docked as thats when the shops will be open.
We did think about getting a car but it was €175 a day and after speaking to other people staying at the hotel, they advised they didn't think it was worth the money.
Overall, the hotel location is beautiful but the hotel itself could be better, it isn’t a 4.5 or 5* hotel and it is quite dated in places, we appreciate it is a big space to upkeep. The hotel is probably better, later in season when more things are open, but I assume it would also mean it is a lot busier too... The à la carte restaurants were excellent. It would have been good if it was advised that the hotel was only partly opened before we booked as for us this significantly affected the value of the all-inclusive experience."
