"The oom was well appointed. On first inspection appears spotless, but just a few minutes in barefeet and my feet were filthy. They give slippers, but I am not keen on wearing slippers that my granny might have aspired to wear in the 1970s. To be crystal clear, this is not down to the maid, she worked blooming hard, it is very definitely down to the quality of the cleaning materials she is provided with.
Breakfast is the absolute jewel in the crown of this hotel. As is often the case, there is a buffet breakfast, but the thing that makes this hotel stand apart from its compeitors is the seperate menu, where you can order omelettes, waffles, pancakes etc. The staff are incredibly warm and welcoming & they made for a wonderful start to the day, every day. A particular shout out to Kostas, who was truly wonderful.
The grounds are lovely, and the pool is ginormous. No sunbed wars here. However, it severely lacks atmosphere. As a 5* hotel, I had presumed there would be a lifeguard, but I presumed incorrectly. It is not clear how to order drinks from your sunbed - I think you either go to the bar or order room service. Although there are bar staff walking around, they only do this a couple of times each day & they don't seem to want to interact. I know this might seem like I am expecting to be treated like a princess, being waited on hand and foot, but when a soft drink is between 20 & 40% dearer than restaurants in town, you do expect a superior service.
This hotel is an approx 30min walk from the main restaurants in Lambi and Kos Town. There is a bus stop right outside of the hotel. I have seen that people mention that there are frequent buses - they run approximately every 45 mins (which I do not consider to be frequent) and are dangerously over-filled when the bus reaches the next hotel - the tube during rush hour is less crammed. Taxis are a better option and can be ordered by reception, costing €10 (one-way).
Our tour operator described the hotel as having a private beach, which I assumed meant that it was owned by the hotel. They also listed WiFi as being available in all areas. It is not available on the beach. The 'private' beach is unkempt and dirty and sorely lets the hotel down.
The hotel can arrange car hire, which we utilised. Not the cheapest, but the service was extraordinary. There is onsite parking, but this quickly gets taken up and was not helped by the selfish parking of a staff member's Range Rover.
We requested and received a late check-out room (the extra charge was worth every penny). This was truly appreciated.
All of these points were mentioned to the hotel when we completed a paper survey about half-way through our stay. No-one came back to us, despite the survey requesting our name & room number - if I were cynical I might think that the survey was 'filed' in the bin.
I know I have griped, but we did have a lovely stay as we made the best of it (when life gives you lemons & all that) but we will not return to this hotel (or its sister hotels). The facilities may tick the 5* box, but the poor atmosphere, dirty beach and poor transportation links means that it's a no from us."
