"We have just arrived home after a week at the Oceanis Hotel. It has been a superb experience.
The views from the (sea view) rooms are magnificent; quite simply the most beautiful and impressive mountain-and-sea panorama you could wish for. Yes, the ferry to the Greek mainland docks immediately below the hotel, but this was in no way intrusive. The ONLY negative (which is clearly flagged up) is the hotel being on top of a very steep hill; this is, of course, one of the reasons for the spectacular views, so you can’t have everything! The hotel runs a regular minibus service down to the village and, crucially, back from it, so a bit of planning works wonders.
If your tour operator offers a guaranteed sea view at an extra charge (as TUI does), my advice is to pay it; you will not regret it.
A plus for us is that Poros is a much quieter village than others we have visited, and has retained a much more local feel than others. It is also significantly cheaper to eat and drink here as well.
Some people had commented on the rooms and facilities being basic; ours was traditional, and contained everything we actually needed, including fridge (good value with an honesty box system, and restocked daily), en suite bathroom, television, with a reasonable standard of furnishings, fixtures and fittings. The room was spotless, the cleaners turned up everyday and provided a higher standard of cleanliness than any others we have visited across the Greek islands.
The hotel, as has been pointed out by others, is family-run; Alexander (the son) worked tirelessly and was unfailingly helpful and courteous, as were his parents. Aurora, who primarily looked after the pool bar, was charming and also extremely helpful. This all created a warm and friendly atmosphere.
Breakfast was excellent; this was definitely more local, rather than being the ‘full English’ that other resorts tend to thrive on. There was a wide selection of fruit, eggs (fried on request, otherwise scrambled or hard-boiled), pastries, bread, hot / cold drinks, and so on. The buffet was unlimited so provided a very helpful start to the day. Snacks and drinks are available by the pool and again are very good value. We were able to buy decent bottles of wine for the room (bar service ends around 9pm), again at a very low price.
Poros has a good selection of bars, cafes, and restaurants so there is plenty to do in the evening. We particularly recommend Agrapidos; family run, good choice and value food and drink, and the same lovely views as Oceanis as it’s 100 yards along the road from the hotel.
The pool was a good size with plenty of sunbeds; no dawn rush to reserve them, and the water was pleasantly warm. There were also seats in the shade for when the sunshine becomes a bit on the warm side (this was July and the temperature averaged 35C for the duration of our stay.)
Wasps were present, though in small numbers at this time of year, and did not prove much of an issue. Mosquitoes did feature, but not overwhelmingly, so again consider bringing repellents, cream, or antihistamines as required. Poros is not unique in this respect.
Would we go back again? We can’t wait to do so!"
