Hotel Samos

"I really liked everything, and especially the delicious food prepared by this chef."

"Very disappointing for a “four-star” hotel Unfortunately, our experience at this hotel was really disappointing, particularly given that it is advertised as a four-star property. We arrived in the middle of the night, so the following morning we chose not to have our room cleaned as it was our first night. Later that first day, while using the shower, we discovered cockroaches in the bathroom and there was also a terrible drain smell throughout the room. The hotel contacted us around the second or third day to ask for feedback. We explained the situation and, to their credit, they offered to move us to another room, which we accepted because the first room was so unpleasant. However, we were told to check out of our original room and report to reception at 1pm, only to find that the replacement room wasn’t ready. We ended up hanging around for a considerable amount of time, which effectively felt like we had lost half a day of our holiday simply trying to sort out a room because of the smell and condition of the original one. This was far from ideal. The rooms themselves are very small, basic, dated and somewhat poky. They are generally clean, apart from our experience with the first room, but the amenities are extremely basic for a four-star hotel. There was a plastic chair in the room rather than anything particularly comfortable, no kettle, and the TV had only a handful of Spanish channels. There was no ability to connect your phone, mirror content or log into streaming services such as Netflix. There is a small fridge, which is useful, but overall the facilities don’t feel particularly four-star. We stayed on a bed-and-breakfast basis. Breakfast had a reasonable variety, but the quality was fairly average. The coffee was probably the highlight. My wife also saw cockroaches roaming around. Another major frustration was the constant feeling that you are being charged extra for almost everything. Even using the luggage scales comes at a cost. The safe and spa also incur additional charges, and some of these costs aren’t particularly obvious before booking. Air con isn’t particularly effective. The pool experience was particularly uncomfortable. We were aware from the signage that outside food and drinks weren’t permitted around the pool, but on one occasion I had been to the supermarket and was simply carrying three cans of Coke and four bottles of water in a plastic bag on my way back to my sunbed before returning to my room. A security guard approached me in a very intimidating manner, demanded to see inside my bag and repeatedly told me that I wasn’t allowed to have the items there. The way this was handled left me feeling extremely uncomfortable. I’ve read similar reviews about the security staff being intimidating. I repeatedly witnessed the same security guard acting in a very unprofessional and intimidating manner, pretending to fight with colleagues. Being on holiday this is the last thing you want to see or experience. I think he’s in the wrong job. Drinks around the pool are also expensive — a Coke was around €4 in a very small cup, with a €2 deposit required for the cup. We also saw a security guard removing white hotel towels that guests had brought down to the pool, leaving them without towels and seemingly requiring them to rent towels from the spa at around €20 each. Overall, we found the experience really disappointing. The hotel seems to have a policy of charging extra wherever possible, and the overall standard of the rooms, amenities and service simply doesn’t match what I would expect from a four-star hotel. In my opinion, the property feels much more like a basic three-star hotel, maybe even a two star, than a four-star one. There were some positives, particularly the staff’s willingness to move us when we raised the issues with our original room, but unfortunately that turned out to be a major and wasn’t enough to make up for the overall experience. Based on our stay, I would not choose this hotel again. I would recommend looking for somewhere else."

"Excellent value and location. It’s very handy for the beach, bars and restaurants. The buffet breakfast and dinner have lots of tasty options. Entertainment is good. Rooms are cleaned to a high standard. Would definitely stay here again!"