"Firstly the positives ...
The hotel and grounds are very clean, the staff are friendly and the views from the pool out over the Ionian Sea are simply stunning.
The food at lunch and dinner is good too ... don't expect the huge choice often available at all inclusive hotels or chicken & chips but there was always a decent salad bar and 6 hot options of good, tasty food which is more local style rather than english food abroad, which I liked. We tried dishes that we wouldn't have chosen before and enjoyed the majority of them.
The pool area is well maintained with plenty of sunbeds (some good, some seen better days!), with plenty of parasols and tables. The pool itself is a decent size but was so cold that we didn't use it.
Now the negatives ...
The hotel needs a LOT if work to bring it up to a standard of the 4 stars it is billed at. Due to the 4 star rating, the visitor tax was 70€ which seemed excessive.
The communal area is soul-less with the entertainment corner consisting of a massage chair and BMI machine! The seating is extremely low (especially considering the general age of guests) and you were lucky if you found a seat that didn't have a spring poking in your bottom or the foam falling out the base of the seat! Unfortunately the weather was awful throughout our stay which meant we spent the majority of our week in this area.
You pay a 10€ deposit for pool towels (which is pretty standard) but also have to pay a 3€ laundry fee for each towel which I have never seen before.
The hotel is extremely isolated up in the hills. This would have been fine if the weather was good as we would have been happy by the pool but if the weather turns (as it did with us) you are literally stuck in the hotel with nothing to do and without even a comfortable seat. It is so far out that taxis even for a short distance are really expensive. A lot of people ended up hiring a car to escape out - I just wasn't confident enough to do the same!
There are a LOT of mosquitoes! I have never been bitten so much! Lots of wasps around too.
The rooms are very basic. We moved rooms twice. The first time because we were given a small double bed instead of twin beds as requested. The second move was because the twin room we were give (106) could only be likened to a prison cell! It had very little natural light with a single small window facing a wall. The outside seating space was a plastic chair the walkway. The shower was good though! I asked if we could be moved as I knew the weather forcast was not good and I couldn't face spending any time awake in this room. We had to wait a day but did get moved to a better room with a bit more space and an outside seating space. In all honesty if we hadn't have been moved, I would have gone home rather than stay.
I am not someone who usually causes a fuss or complains but this almost broke me.
Looking at videos on social media of the rooms since returning home, I have seen no resemblence of any of the three rooms I saw. Maybe they only show off their suites and more expensive rooms?
They provide a shuttle bus down to Keri beach but it is not as frequent as advertised. It runs at 10am, 1pm, 3pm & 5pm meaning if you go down to the beach (where there is only so much to do) you are there until the next bus comes down.
This hotel definitely needs a lot of work doing to bring it up to the standard it is billed at. If you want any kind of nightlife or places to visit, it probably isn't for you. if you want peace and quiet and don't mind VERY basic, it might be for you!
The average age of guest is pretty old! I am 51 and felt like I was one of the youngest there! My first call home decribing our hotel was its like a retirement home with a pool!
Definitely not one on my list to return too but hasn't put me off visiting the island again! Just maybe not in October!!!"
