Athina Palace Resort and Spa

"We stayed here for a week in October and, overall, had a bit of a mixed experience. The positives: The hotel itself was lovely, clean and well maintained. Our room was cleaned daily, with fresh towels provided every day, and the cleaners were always pleasant and said hello when they saw us. We also had a lovely sea view from our balcony, despite not paying extra for one, which was a nice bonus! The buffet food was generally very good, with a good selection of basic options and some real highlights. The desserts were particularly good, especially the ice cream! Lunch by the activity pool was also lovely, with beautiful views and a nice change of scenery from the main restaurant. There was a good choice of drinks, including several cocktails, although some were very sweet. The beer was nice but quite weak, and we weren’t keen on the wine. The pool area was attractive, and the beach area was lovely too. There is a shuttle service to the beach, which is useful given how hilly the resort is. There were also plenty of nice spots for photos around the hotel. The negatives: Unfortunately, the biggest downside for us was the atmosphere and the language barrier. Most of the guests appeared to be French, and the activities and evening entertainment were conducted in French. We often felt excluded, as there was little effort to involve English-speaking guests in the activities. We also found that staff generally interacted more with other guests, while we rarely received the same friendliness or engagement. There were a couple of lovely staff members, but overall, we didn’t find the service particularly welcoming. We spent most of the week keeping to our own group and didn’t really get the opportunity to socialise with other guests. The à la carte dining experiences were also disappointing. The Greek taverna wasn’t to our taste, with some dishes we didn’t enjoy at all. At the other restaurant, the service was good, but the food itself was a let-down. My beef fillet arrived raw, which I personally couldn’t eat, and the plate was very sparse. We also noticed that some of the vegetables had an unpleasant smell, which put us off our food. We much preferred eating at the buffet. The pool area was lovely, but the water was absolutely freezing, although this may have been due to visiting in October. There was no poolside drinks service, and the single pool bar could be slow. Although advertised as opening at 10am, it often seemed to open closer to 11am. All-inclusive drinks also finished at 11pm, which felt quite early, particularly as the disco was very quiet. We felt that extending the all-inclusive hours might encourage more guests to use the disco and create a livelier atmosphere. The snacks available between meals were nice, but the selection was limited and largely the same each day. The resort is also very hilly, with lots of stairs, so it may not be suitable for guests with mobility difficulties, although the shuttle service to the beach is helpful. Overall: There were definitely positives to our stay. The hotel was clean, the views were beautiful, the buffet was good, and the desserts were excellent. However, the language barrier, lack of interaction with staff, disappointing à la carte restaurants and quiet evening atmosphere affected our overall experience. We still enjoyed our holiday, but based on our experience, we wouldn’t rush back. I’d recommend considering the points above before booking, particularly if you’re an English-speaking guest who enjoys getting involved in hotel activities and evening entertainment. We visited in October, so some aspects of the experience may differ during peak season."

"Booked superior sea view room and it was we had great view and a very nice terrace with plants and nicely sheltering the wind but still catching the sun Let down was the Food and beverage The food was ok but definitely not in the 5 star bracket for similar resorts but it was ample Beverages where terrible and even worse was the attitude from the bar servers in the main bar in the evening really not welcoming or friendly Also a little disappointing if you wanted a zero alcohol beer it was not included strange in today’s world Overall we had a good stay but it should sell as a 4 star to remove peoples expectations based on Food / Beverage /and service"

"Hotel very pleasant, room adequate, food very good. Reception staff were excellent and very helpful None of the pools were heated, and so too cool to use in October. Our room was described as a superior with sea view. The trim was very plain, with no fan for the bathroom, and the sea view was actually only a side view. The resort is on a steep hillside which meant using the hotel shuttle bus to get from our room to reception and restaurants. This consisted of a ratty old Mercedes Mini bus with its door strung open even in cold and wet weather. The biggest issue was the unheated pools. The upside was great and plentiful food (albeit in a large canteen). Also, drinks and snacks were available throughout the day in various locations. The smallish beach attached to the hotel was wonderful, and the sea clear and refreshing"