"We booked Cayo at the last minute after our original hotel unexpectedly closed early for the season. I was genuinely excited when we booked and thought perhaps our original hotel had done us a favour, as Cayo looked fantastic.
Unfortunately, despite some wonderful staff and lovely moments, we left feeling incredibly disappointed, particularly with how the hotel handled the end of its season.
The good
Firstly, the staff deserve a huge amount of credit.
Communication with the reservations team was excellent, and reception were incredibly helpful throughout our stay. They kindly accommodated our request for rooms next to each other, as we were travelling with my parents to celebrate my mum's 70th birthday and my son's first birthday.
There were some really lovely gestures. A cake and fizz were delivered to our room for my mum's birthday, and on my son's birthday, the restaurant staff sang Happy Birthday, presented him with a cake and wrote a lovely note. These were thoughtful touches that we really appreciated.
Unfortunately, my son became quite unwell early in our holiday, and we had to make an emergency trip to hospital. The hotel staff were exceptional. They offered to drive us there and showed genuine kindness, compassion and concern. We were incredibly grateful for their help during what was a frightening experience.
The housekeeping team also went out of their way to help us with our baby, providing a bottle steriliser and even bringing a play mat for our room. Again, such thoughtful gestures that made a real difference.
The food was also a positive.
We had booked half board, which isn't something we would usually choose as we're not particularly fond of buffets. However, travelling with a one-year-old, we thought the convenience would be worthwhile.
Breakfast offered a good selection, and the evening buffet was varied, well-cooked and of good quality. It was certainly one of the better hotel buffets we've experienced.
The hotel's location is excellent, too. Plaka is lovely, with plenty of good restaurants, and is easily reached on foot or via the hotel's complimentary shuttle.
The rooms – lovely views, but not quite five-star
We had two Executive rooms, both with private pools.
The beds were large and comfortable, the private pools were lovely, and the views were absolutely incredible.
For a short stay, I think the rooms would be perfectly adequate. However, for two weeks, particularly with some rainy and cooler weather, we found them less practical.
There is nowhere to sit and eat inside the room other than at a low coffee table. The outdoor seating is lovely when the weather cooperates, but when it doesn't, you're rather stuck.
We also weren't fans of the bathroom design. The doors are see-through, meaning you can actually see someone sitting on the toilet! The drains frequently smelled unpleasant, and the shower flooded the bathroom floor every time we used it.
Storage wasn't great, with no drawers, just open shelving and hanging rails in a wardrobe. Again, probably fine for a few days, but less practical for a fortnight.
The television doesn't offer access to streaming apps, which normally wouldn't bother us, but when the weather is poor and you're spending more time indoors, it would have been appreciated.
Housekeeping was a bit of a mixed bag. The staff themselves were absolutely lovely, but the standard of cleaning wasn't what we'd expect from a five-star hotel.
I don't believe our terrace was properly cleaned once during our two-week stay. With a crawling baby, we were particularly conscious of the dirt and debris accumulating in corners. The outdoor table and indoor coffee table were also frequently left uncleaned.
That said, when our son was sick late at night before our hospital visit, housekeeping came to change the bedding without hesitation, which we really appreciated.
One minor frustration was the kettle. Our first one blew a fuse, and the replacement leaked badly, as had the original. We were boiling water several times a day for our baby's milk, so this became rather annoying. Not a major issue in isolation, but another small detail that didn't feel particularly five-star.
Where the hotel lets itself down
One thing Cayo really lacks is somewhere comfortable to enjoy lunch or spend time when the weather is poor.
There is no cosy indoor dining option for lunch, which seems like such an obvious omission for a hotel of this standard. On rainy or cooler days, you're left either going out to find somewhere or ordering room service, which brings you back to the problem of having nowhere suitable to eat inside your room.
However, the biggest disappointment by far was how the hotel handled the final days of its season.
We weren't told when booking that the hotel would be winding down its operations during our stay, nor was there any meaningful communication about what this would mean for guests.
A couple of days before departure, we received an email and a note through our door informing us that breakfast would be served in our rooms for the final two mornings.
We weren't asked whether this arrangement suited us or offered an alternative.
On the first morning, it was raining, so eating outside wasn't an option. Instead, we found ourselves sitting on a tiled floor around a low coffee table, eating a cold breakfast.
No highchair was provided, so I was trying to eat while preventing our one-year-old from crawling around. Unsurprisingly, it was a disaster. He ended up choking and being sick.
It was stressful, uncomfortable and a far cry from the five-star experience we'd paid for.
Then came the final two evenings.
On our second-last night, we arrived for dinner to discover the buffet restaurant was closed. Nobody had told us this would be happening.
We were directed to Sage & Thyme, the à la carte restaurant, but nothing was explained. We had to ask what was going on.
The meal itself was lovely, aside from finding a hair in my main course, which was promptly replaced. But again, the lack of communication was frustrating.
On our final evening, we assumed we'd be dining at the à la carte restaurant again.
We were wrong.
Instead, we were taken into what appeared to be the hotel's end-of-season staff party.
I genuinely couldn't believe what was happening.
There were only two other couples staying as guests at this time, who were seated off to the side, while we were placed right in the middle of the celebrations.
It was absolute chaos.
The music and noise were incredibly loud, staff were moving around us constantly, and people repeatedly bumped into and kicked my son's highchair as they passed.
I don't blame the staff for wanting to celebrate the end of their season. Quite the opposite! They absolutely deserved to enjoy themselves. But why on earth would hotel management think it was appropriate to seat paying guests, including a family with a one-year-old, in the middle of their party?
It was incredibly awkward. We felt completely out of place, and some of the staff seemed equally surprised to see us there.
Our son became overwhelmed by the noise and commotion and started crying. Frankly, we were all overwhelmed.
The food that evening wasn't particularly good either, although I barely managed a mouthful before we had to take our son out.
I eventually explained to a member of staff how uncomfortable the situation was. To their credit, they tried to accommodate us by moving us outside the room, but the noise was still overwhelming, and by that point, the evening had been completely spoiled.
We ended up taking a plate of food upstairs for our son and abandoning our final family dinner.
And this is the part that genuinely upset me.
My husband, son and I live in a different country from my parents. We don't get to spend much time together, and we won't see them again for several months.
This was supposed to be our final evening enjoying a lovely meal together as a family after two weeks celebrating some special milestones.
Instead, we all went back to our rooms feeling upset, angry and incredibly disappointed.
It was such an unnecessary and thoughtless way to end what should have been a wonderful holiday.
Final thoughts
I really, really wanted to love Cayo.
There were moments when I did. The views are spectacular, the location is fantastic, the food was generally good, and some of the staff showed us extraordinary kindness, particularly when our son was unwell.
But having been fortunate enough to stay in many five-star hotels, I don't believe Cayo consistently delivers a five-star experience. For me, it feels much closer to a four-star hotel, with some lovely luxury touches but too many shortcomings in the practical details and overall guest experience.
What disappoints me most is that so much of what went wrong was entirely avoidable.
A little communication, some consideration for the guests who were still staying at the hotel, and a proper plan for the final days of the season would have made an enormous difference.
Instead, it felt as though the hotel had effectively closed around us while we were still paying to be there. (To the point where we could see mattresses piled in certain areas).
I cannot fault the kindness of many of the staff, and I want to make that absolutely clear. But whoever was responsible for managing the end-of-season arrangements seriously let both the guests and the hotel down.
I started this holiday thinking we'd stumbled upon somewhere wonderful. I left feeling angry and disappointed.
And unfortunately, based on our experience, I couldn't recommend Cayo.
(After the staff party incident we were leaving at 3am but my parents were there until later the next day and they did manage to speak to the manager. He eventually offered to refund us for 1 dinner and 1 breakfast and while it's something it does little to appease how I feel about the situation we were put in)."
