Mandraki Village

"It markets itself as a boutique hotel (and charges like one!) and it certainly looks like one. The grounds are beautiful, the service is friendly, efficient, personable and familiar and the facilities are individually styled, clean and well maintained. The small assorted buildings give a villas vibe. However sound echos around them and they are not sound proof inside so it’s not quiet. The main downside is it also works with Jet2 package holidays which brings a type of guest (some, not all of them I stress) completely at odds with the boutique vibe. I’m not criticising anyone who takes a Jet2 holiday. If you want loud, brash, drunken type of holiday I will book that without any complaint. However on this occasion I did not and it’s not what you expect when you book this kind of Boutique Hotel. Be warned if you like to sleep before 1am then it’s not the place for you unless you can sleep through large extended family groups of drunken Brits singing cheesy holiday hits too loudly late into the night. Despite the Boutique branding they have a singer/band straight out of 80’s Magaluf/Blackpool end of pier style who belts out MOR cliched guitar hits till midnight. There was one large extended family there who seemed intent on ticking off every Brits in the sun package holiday stereotype there is and to hell with any other guest. One morning breakfast was an absolute bun fight with a few of these large extended families taking over the dining room like the owned the place and pushing and shoving there way to the buffet. In fairness the day after they checked out was much more chilled and pleasant. None of that is the fault of the staff who are impeccable. Probably you can go outside school holidays and be fine. The food is average. There is only one coffee machine at breakfast and it can’t cope with the demand. The pool is clean but small and a bit dated. The loungers are comfy but the space on the patio area is small so many have to sit on grass. There is a small play park for kids There is free WiFi and it works well throughout the property. There is free parking and it’s easy to find. It’s only 10 minutes walk from Koukanaris Beach which is one of the best on the island (go there rather than the pool) and about 25 minutes drive to Skiathos town. You need a hire car to stay here unless you want to take the overcrowded bus and risk being hit by the oncoming traffic as you wait for it (no safe place to wait at bus stop). However there is two small mini markets within 5 minutes walk (imagine Tesco Express type size and range but with stray cats wandering in and Happy Shopper corner shop from the seventies decor). Skiathos itself is a juxtaposition of absolutely stunning natural beauty and some high end facilities mixed with tourism a bit unchecked, chaotic organisation and in places almost third world facilities (check out the car parks in the town), beautiful upscale facilities (eg Plakes restaurant) combined with trashy party boats full of Love Island wannabes singing to Dancing Queen. It’s like having Benidorm and Capri in the same place! In summary Mandraki Hotel is a beautiful place with amazing staff, good location and nice, comfortable, clean facilities. But the behaviour of some of the other guests and the average food compromise it and so the VFM is not the best and the way it’s marketed is a bit misleading (in school summer holidays at least)"

"Fantastic stay - Miranda and her team could not have been more welcoming or attentive. Perfect location for beach lovers with Koukanaries and banana beaches near by. Breakfast lovely, rooms spotless. Thank you all for a wonderful week 🫶"

"This hotel is a 3 star at best. Aesthetically it is beautiful... the colourful buildings and the flowery grounds. However the reality of it is that it needs a renovation on the inside. Rooms are small and basic. We weren't too bothered about this as they were very clean but not much floor space when the suitcases are in. Photos are largely deceiving as per the other reviews I would agree the images make them look bigger better and modern but they are not. The staff are all smiley until there is a problem. The pool! It is not clean. Our first day we had noticed a green slimey film on the surface which again mirrors another person's review. My husband put his hand in and it was green. My bikinis and other guests bikinis also turned green. I contacted jet 2 who addressed the situation straight away by demanding an updated pool report as the last one was completed in may and tests were completed regarding hygiene. Funnily, the day jet 2 were due to come which the owners knew about, the pool was hoovered and cleaned. However this was very much surface level. The vents in the pool are only on one side which means the pool is not getting filtered properly. When we spoke to the owners they were very quick to blame sun cream and lacked accountability. Now as I am well travelled I can 100 percent say that I have never experienced this at a pool before in Greece. The owners attitudes quickly changed, again echoing previous reviews when there was a problem. From the stage jet 2 came they then 'cleaned' the pool (wiped the sides with a dirty sponge making the algae then go in the pool and used the same dirty net to hook out bugs). We only went in the pool once the tests came back safe but again, not pleasant to be in having to dodge the algae floating about and throwing away swim wear. Pool needs to be emptied, scrubbed and to be honest retiled. The food is fine but the drinks are very expensive. Happy hour is in the evening however many guests were saying that if they did it in the day then people would be more likely to buy drinks as opposed to going to the supermarkets next door to buy drinks and use the bakery which is better and much cheaper as skiathos is very expensive. Location is good. Busses are easy but get very very busy. Skiathos town worth a visit. Boat tips are also recommended. Breakfast fine. Exactly the same thing every day but you know what you are getting. If you like variety you won't like it. I would not consider this hotel to be 4 stars. Having been to other 3 stars in Greece I would say that they were better than this '4 star' hotel. They go cheap on things from the lack of chemicals in the pool to keep it clean which jet 2 advised them with, to the paper thin toilet paper in the very 90s like rooms. Would not go back to this hotel again but skiathos itself is worth a visit."