"Our stay could probably be summarised with a story from the first hour of arriving. At 1.30am we checked into a room with stains of a dark red blood-coloured liquid on the bedsheets. The phones in the room didn't work, so I went down to reception to ask for a fresh pair (not wanting to cause a fuss -- I was happy to change them myself), but was told that they don't have access to spare sheets. He said we would have to 'just sleep in it and get a shower in the morning'. In sheets with blood on. I couldn't believe they didn't have access to any spare bedding, and asked what would happen in cases where e.g someone was sick on the bed; he said they would just have to deal with it. That probably tells you everything you need to know about this hotel, but... More comprehensive details below!
------ ISSUES -----
- The hotel is very outdated, and the photos are misleading. A lot of things in the rooms were broken -- the phones didn't work, the curtains were stuck wouldn't move, the sheets were stained, the steps were cracked and broken, there was a rank smell of sewage at multiple places around the hotel, including some peoples bathrooms. After 9 nights there, we didn't see a single person use any of the three pools outside our balcony, despite the hotel being full, because the pools were so dirty you couldn't see the bottom.
- The main pool on the hill plays cheesy 90s music as loud as a nightclub until 11pm. This is one of the biggest shames, because the views from the top pool were amazing -- one night there was this incredible sunset, but it was hard to enjoy when the "macarena" was blasting out next to you. Why not follow the example of all of other tavernas in town by playing something more relaxed (like a chillout playlist) to create a better atmosphere? We overheard other hotel guests also complaining about this, and we saw several getting drinks from the bar to take back to their rooms just to avoid the music! Such an easy problem to fix. What a waste.
- There s also noise from a nearby hotel that plays loud music until up to midnight some nights. The walls in the rooms are paper-thin -- you can hear every word of conversations in both directions, so if you have neighbours that talk even a little loudly, good luck!
- The drinks in the all inclusive package were very cheap. Other hotel offer wonderful fresh cocktails made with juice, but these were made with things like cheap fizzy orangeade and lemonade and spirits that tasted like paint-stripper. Even the Coke were not official coca cola, but the cheapest 'cola' imitation that you could buy. It was like costs were cut everywhere, and everything apart from the beer was undrinkable (the beer was actually fine though).
- In addition to the drinks above, the atmosphere at meal times was unfortunately ruined by the managements reluctance to deal with wasps. I realise that wasps are present in Greece at this time of year, but the tavernas in town had effective ways of managing them (e.g. using smoke as deterrants). Porto Demo just did nothing, and as a result there were thousands -- literally thousands -- of wasps crawling in and out of the jams, pastries and other food at meal times. As well as making the food unpalatable, we found ourselves wanting to finish eating and get back to our room as soon as possible. Compare this to the tavernas in town where you can relax with ice cold drinks and a wonderful atmosphere, with a view of the sea, good food and no wasps -- we cut our losses and only ate at the hotel twice, despite having all meals included in the price we paid. This is also a shame as I believe the chefs work hard (their BBQ night food was tasty!), but it is totally wasted because the management can't be bothered to do anything to help the wasp problem. This needs dealing with, and bothered all guests without exception.
- On the food, the breakfast options could be easily improved. Why not supply greek yogurt and fresh fruit? Or proper fresh croissants (rather than the small, very sugary croissants that you might buy from a petrol station)?
- There is so, so much single-use plastic/waste. All drinks are served in plastic cups -- estimating that there are 100 hotel guests using at least one cup a day, the hotel is producing tens of thousands of cups to landfill every holiday season. There are a few water bottle coolers that we used to refill our own metal bottles, but on several occasions these ran out or were positioned a long way away from some rooms. Some of the customers have thrown them over the fence in a pile on the way to the beach. It's surprising that the hotel is doing so little to mitigate it's effect on the local environment.
- Anyone with a mobility issue needs to stay somewhere else, period. We met one couple who were there for a wedding anniversary but were unable to climb the stairs to eat. The stairs are steep, slippy and generally out of maintenance.
------ POSITIVES -----
- Agios Georgios is beautiful. The beach is stunning, and there is plenty of good restaurants and tavernas to eat and drink at. We would strongly recommend visiting, but go self-catering or to a different hotel for a much better experience! The sea is warm, even in October, and everybody in the area is friendly and helpful. There is fun hiking, snorkelling, SCUBA diving and lots of places to unwind. Unfortunately, the hotel is not one of them, but I would 100% return to the area."
