"We have just returned from our first stay at this hotel and were very pleasantly surprised. We travelled as a family of four with a 9 and 4 year old so this hotel ticked a lot of boxes on paper. Upon arrival the reception area was lovely, a large, clean, air conditioned space and the staff on the desk were very friendly. We were very lucky to be given a free upgrade to the new block and the room was lovely. Spacious, clean and with a fridge, tea and coffee facilities and air con. Safe was available for €30 for 10 nights and the tourist tax was €100.
The housekeeping staff were brilliant, so friendly and helpful and our room was cleaned every day with beds made and fresh towels. Our balcony view was of the pool and partial sea which was lovely but it didn’t only have sun for the first half of the day, not an issue for us but if you want to enjoy a drink on the balcony in the afternoon sun this wouldn’t be the best room. The bathroom was large but did tend to flood after all four of us had showered.
We were located next to the pool by the restaurant and it was lovely, never very busy. We did try both other pools but found them to be a bit busier and impossible to get a sunbed. Unfortunately people were leaving towels on sun beds from the early hours of the morning, we did see a small notice saying sunbed reservations from 9am only but this was not enforced so on some days all the sun beds had towels but the area and pool was empty. Again, not an issue for us as our balcony was close enough to store our towels and we were mostly in the pool and not on loungers. We did manage to get loungers in the late afternoon by our pool but there were never any free at the front pool with sea view. This is a pet hate of mine and I do think more hotels should enforce the no reservations rule.
The breakfast room was large, clean and tidy. Breakfast stops at 10 which felt a little early for us as we were often out until late and our kids slept in. The room filled up from around 9 and was very busy towards the end of service however around 8am it was lovely and calm. Good selection of hot and cold breakfast foods including cereal, eggs, breads, meat, cheese, pastries, fruit, yogurt etc. The food and drink were fine for us but we did eat out a couple of mornings for a bit of change.
The splash park for under 12s was good. We found it not too busy most of the time and there’s slides for all ages. Our 4 year old hated water when we arrived and by the end was going down the big slides! The only issue is the tiles are very hot and there was some broken flooring near the side of the pool where our daughter ripped her toe nail off which wasn’t very nice and caused issues for us swimming the next few days. I would suggest this is repaired as it is right on the route kids are running to slides. The lifeguard was very attentive though and she wore beach shoes for the remaining visits. A lick of paint on the slides would brighten this area up and maybe remove or repair the broken clown shower. Splashpark closed at 5pm which seemed a little early.
Other facilities include a play park next to the splash park with two frames however the larger frame was in direct sunlight all day so too hot to use and again, closed a little early. This area could probably use a bit of updating and more shade. We rarely saw it used by other children. There’s lots of open space for ball games but unfortunately we encountered a lot of people smashing balls around on the beach and in the pools with no consideration of smaller children. There’s a shop on site selling everything from drinks and ice creams to beach toys and inflatables, reasonably priced and very handy.
The pool bar was lovely with a good selection of snacks, slightly pricier than other restaurants but that’s to be expected for the convenience. We often stopped here for drinks and ice creams. The music was quite loud and often intermittent as speakers seemed to be dodgy but otherwise good.
We didn’t have dinner at the hotel but the local area of alykanas had more than enough choice of restaurants and bars and was very close to walk to everything. There are a couple of small arcades and, unlike English ones, we actually won some bits on the claw machines! Many places to book trips very close by, we did Zante town and shipwreck beach, both great trips!
We got back late most evenings and the hotel was calm and quiet. There’s no evening entertainment for kids or adults and the pools are closed from 7pm which was all fine for us as we headed out for dinner shortly after this.
The hotel is right on the beach front so takes only minutes to walk there. The beach is perfect for paddling, sand castles and sunbathing. There is a gentle breeze and the sea is mostly calm with some waves on choppier days. Overall the best beach we could have hoped for with younger kids. Plenty of space to put your towels down and stay for a long time.
On our last day we had a later flight so checked out of the room at 10am. There was space to leave our luggage at reception and courtesy rooms and towels to continue use of the facilities until your transfer. We chose to go for lunch in town, walk to the harbour and then rest in the lovely reception area.
Overall, the hotel and facilities were lovely, with some small upgrades and changes needed here and there to really make it 4 star. Every member of the staff was friendly and helpful and we will definitely stay again."
