"We have just finished an amazing 11-night stay at the Achtis Hotel and, perhaps the best recommendation we can give, we have already booked to return next year.
From the moment we arrived
We booked the hotel’s private transfer from Thessaloniki Airport at €90 each way and, for us, it was absolutely worth it.
We waited only around 10 minutes before Christina arrived to collect us. She greeted us by name and welcomed us into the VW Buzz, where we were both offered a lovely cold bottle of water. Christina was incredibly friendly and the conversation flowed all the way to the hotel. It was a wonderful way to begin the holiday.
On arrival at the Achtis, Lillia welcomed us with a drink and took time to tell us about the history of the hotel and her own history working there. She was genuinely interested in how we’d discovered the Achtis and in getting to know us as people. We were even given a choice of room.
By our second day, staff knew us by name and were asking how we’d settled in.
That personal service continued throughout our entire stay.
The staff are the heart of this hotel
Every single member of staff we encountered was fabulous. And we really do mean everyone, from the handyman and groundskeeper to housekeeping, waiting staff, senior staff and the owner.
The housekeeping team were particularly attentive, but what struck us most was that the warmth wasn’t limited to one or two members of staff. There seems to be a genuine culture of hospitality throughout the hotel.
This is one of those increasingly rare hotels where you feel like a guest rather than a room number.
Our room
We stayed in a spacious ground-floor triple room which was spotlessly clean and nicely decorated.
Outside we had a small patio area with seating and a clothes airer, which was very useful for swimwear and towels. It also became a lovely little place to sit and relax.
Beautiful grounds and pool
The grounds of the Achtis are absolutely beautiful and exceptionally well maintained. The botanical-style gardens are a huge part of the hotel’s charm.
The pool area is spotless and even the sun loungers are cleaned daily. The loungers are soft and extremely comfortable, and there’s plenty of choice about where to spend your day. You can settle beside the pool or find a quieter spot amongst the gardens.
And wonderfully, there are no sunbed wars!
Guests are asked only to take a lounger when they’re actually using it rather than reserving one with a towel and disappearing for hours. During our stay this worked really well.
One thing families should be aware of is that the swimming pool is quite deep in places.
Breakfast and dinner
Breakfast is buffet-style and caters for varying tastes and requirements. It’s served in the beautiful restaurant area overlooking the pool, which is a lovely way to start the day.
Dinner is also buffet-style, but don’t let the word “buffet” put you off.
It is by far the best hotel buffet we have experienced.
Food is freshly prepared, including dishes cooked in the hotel’s wood-burning oven, and the evening restaurant atmosphere remains relaxed and enjoyable.
On our very first evening we were personally welcomed and shown the evening’s dining options, another example of the attentive service we experienced throughout our stay.
Evenings at the Achtis
After dinner, the cocktail bar is a wonderful place to spend the evening. There is a great selection of cocktails and plenty of places to sit, both inside and outside.
Music is played in the evenings and occasionally you might be treated to a Greek night. Other nights are simply good music, drinks and perhaps a little dancing.
The whole atmosphere is relaxed rather than overly organised or forced.
Who would we recommend the Achtis to?
During our stay, the guests were predominantly mature adults and couples, with only a small number of young children.
We wouldn’t describe the Achtis as a hotel specifically designed for families looking for lots of children’s entertainment. There isn’t a huge amount for very young children to do within the hotel itself and, as mentioned, parts of the pool are quite deep.
That shouldn’t necessarily put families off, but it’s worth knowing before booking.
For couples and adults looking for a peaceful, relaxing hotel with beautiful surroundings and genuinely personal service, however, we think it is very difficult to beat.
Afytos
Don’t spend your entire holiday inside the hotel because Afytos itself is beautiful.
It feels like a traditional Greek village rather than a purpose-built tourist resort, with supermarkets, an amazing bakery, restaurants, bars, gift shops and interesting historic and cultural buildings.
The local beach can be reached on foot through the village and takes approximately 30–40 minutes.
There is one important point to know about the location. The walk between the Achtis and the village includes an unmade road which can be quite steep. Anyone with mobility difficulties may struggle with it.
This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy Afytos. Reception can arrange a taxi into the village and there is also a taxi rank in town for the journey back.
If exploring beaches is an important part of your holiday, it’s also worth speaking to the hotel staff. Some of the area’s really good beaches require travelling further afield, potentially up to around an hour by car.
One thing we’d definitely pack
The lush botanical gardens are beautiful, but all that greenery does have one downside: mosquitoes and small biting midges can be a problem, particularly during hotter weather.
If you’re someone who tends to get bitten, come prepared.
We would recommend bringing a good insect repellent, something to treat bites afterwards and a plug-in mosquito repellent for your room. We wish we’d been better prepared for this ourselves.
Leaving
Checkout at the end of our 11 nights was completely smooth and our private transfer back to Thessaloniki Airport was arranged and ready for us.
It rounded off the stay in exactly the same effortless way that it had begun.
Would we return?
This is probably the easiest part of the review to write.
The Achtis is a real find.
It’s beautiful without feeling pretentious, peaceful without feeling lifeless and exceptionally well cared for. But ultimately, it’s the people who make it special.
From the moment we were greeted at Thessaloniki Airport to our final morning, we felt genuinely welcomed and looked after.
There are a few things potential guests should know: the walk into Afytos may be challenging for anyone with mobility difficulties, the hotel isn’t primarily aimed at young children, and we’d definitely come armed with mosquito repellent.
But none of those things came remotely close to spoiling our stay.
We loved the Achtis so much that we booked to return next year before we’d even checked out.
That probably says everything. 🇬🇷❤️"
