"We recently spent a week at the Astra Village Hotel & Suites on a family holiday. The hotel is located in the Svoronata area of Kefalonia near Ammes Beach. The hotel is a short distance up the hill from the beach but is in walking distance. In the local vicinity is a supermarket (reasonable prices and a decent range of items), various bars/restaurants and the nearest bus stop if looking to head into Argostoli (2.50 euros per person a trip, bought from the driver).
Ammes Beach is lovely and clean; the water is clear blue, with not many rocks and plenty of fish to look at. The hotel's surrounding area is under development and in need of a clean-up, not the hotel's responsibility, but it's a shame others don't take as much pride in their island. We visited other bars in the area and found the food and drinks to be very good and reasonably priced; we walked to them all, as most were within a 20-minute walk.
The hotel rooms were nice, the bed was comfortable, and the balcony had a lovely view of the sea. The air conditioning unit was a godsend and wasn't as noisy as others we've encountered on similar holidays. The shower unit didn't seem to have a cold option, no matter how much we adjusted it. There was a small kitchen unit that could be used for preparing lunches, but we chose to use the hotel bar, as everything on it was good quality and well-priced. We left a couple of doughnuts in the kitchen area, and it attracted a lot of ants, so we didn't leave any food after that.
The pool area was kept really clean, and the pool itself was cleaned every morning and was immaculate. The loungers are quite simply the best and comfiest I've ever come across, and there are plenty of them, so I never needed to scramble for them in the mornings. The bar itself offers a very wide range of drinks and cocktails; all we tried were delicious and cooling. There's an option to buy at the bar or to add to the room, which probably led to my large bar bill, but that's what holidays are for. The bar area also has pool, table football and chess. The area was very warm by mid-afternoon, so drinks were definitely required.
As we were on half board, we used the restaurant for breakfast and tea time. Both meals had plenty of choice, with local delicacies a particular favourite; the Greek salads needed more feta, as some guests seemed to make a point of taking it all before we got a chance. The staff were very efficient at restocking plates, so you never had long to wait.
Special mention to all the staff at the hotel; I spoke to them all across the week and found them to be very helpful and pointed us in the right direction. The bar staff didn't even need to ask my room number after a few days and made us feel very welcome; dare I say they even enjoyed my Scottish banter.
We travelled into Argostoli a couple of times during the week; it's about a 30-minute bus journey. There are a number of bars, shops, restaurants, etc. The ones we used were friendly and not too expensive; the feta cheese pie was amazing!! The best part was being able to walk along the pier and view the turtles swimming in the bay, well worth the trip.
All in all, an amazing holiday at a relaxing and well-run establishment; hopefully one day we will return. It was our first time in Kefalonia, but hopefully it won't be the last."
