Ella Elissa

"My husband and I stayed at the Ella Elissa from 2 - 9 May and we can honestly say this was the worst hotel experience we’ve ever had. We booked specifically because this was advertised as an adults only, 5* all inclusive plus resort with premium branded drinks, Moët champagne, unlimited à la carte dining, luxury facilities and high-end service. In reality, much of what was advertised was either unavailable, inconsistent or nowhere near the standard being sold. The initial red flag came immediately on arrival. You are taken to the bar for a welcome drink so we ordered a glass of Moët, only to be told it wasn’t included. This was a direct contradiction to what was advertised on EasyJet’s website when we booked. We weren’t provided with a hotel map and had to call reception for the Wi-Fi password ourselves. Perhaps, small details in isolation but they set the tone for the disorganised experience that followed. It also quickly became obvious why no one was keen to highlight the facilities. The majority of them simply weren’t open. There was only one evening bar operating for the entire hotel. The biggest disappointment was the so-called “unlimited à la carte dining”. Despite trying repeatedly through the app and guest services, we couldn’t secure a single reservation for our entire stay. Our “luxury all inclusive plus experience” became breakfast, lunch and dinner at the buffet restaurant, every. single. day. The drinks situation was chaotic. What was included seemed to depend entirely on which staff member you asked or what time of day it was. One moment something was included, the next it wasn’t, with no explanation or consistency whatsoever. When we raised concerns with guest services, the bar manager of Siana approached our table and said “What’s the problem?” - hardly the level of professionalism you’d expect from a 5* hotel. On another occasion my husband asked for a can of beer to take back to the room as the draft beer was undrinkable, the cans are the one’s in the mini bar and he was told by the same bar manager “No cans. You can have draft beer in plastic glass, or an actual glass if you bring it back”. Needless to say, we declined. The bar operation itself was one of the worst managed setups we’ve ever seen. Staff wandered around aimlessly carrying trays while actively avoiding eye contact with guests because they apparently weren’t allowed to take orders. Other staff stood at the end of the bar doing nothing except waiting for drinks to be made, while one overwhelmed bartender tried unsuccessfully to keep up. It was not unusual to wait 10-15 minutes just to be acknowledged. Cocktails were poor quality, ingredients constantly ran out, and the fridges behind the bar often looked practically empty - more like leftover stock from the previous season than a premium all-inclusive resort. At one point, I ordered a bottled drink, had already started drinking it, and 5 minutes later a waiter arrived with a receipt to sign because apparently it was chargeable - despite absolutely no warning beforehand. Service throughout the hotel was consistently below even basic expectations never mind 5* standards. Around the pool, we were told table service was “policy” yet the system was completely dysfunctional. Staff had no coordination, drinks took forever - if they arrived at all - and on one occasion a waiter not carrying a tray properly dropped an entire beer into another guest’s beach bag! The main pool bar waiter taking orders had zero ability to retain information. He would ask what you wanted, proceeded to look into space, tap his ordering device that clearly didn’t work then ask you to repeat your order. Staff don’t know any of the table numbers, they walk around asking “Did you order this?” “Is this yours?” Why, when a pool bar is managed so inefficiently, can I not walk to the bar to get served even basic items such as water? If you value sleep, avoid this hotel entirely. We had a week of awful sleep, either due to noise from a business conference that took over the hotel for the evening, housekeeping entering our room for turndown service at 10:20pm while we were already asleep (!) and a power cut that caused the lights in our room to repeatedly switch on and off during the night, the room phone wasn’t working so at 1am I had to walk to reception to report the electrical issue, only to met with a shrug and a smirk while being told “It’s the hotel, not an issue with your room. Nothing we can do”. By the end of the holiday, we were more exhausted than when we arrived! Other issues included birds creating nests directly above our room entrance light causing constant noise and a mess. Every time you left your room, the birds would swarm over your head. Pool towels were unavailable for several days which resulted in people having to use their bath towels by the pool, which is completely unacceptable. As our flight home was in the evening, we enquired about keeping the room longer, we had to chase for a response several times. We were eventually informed at 9pm the night before that we could keep the room until 3pm. There was no mention of a charge until we checked out and found out it was 90 euros, after all the issues we experienced and given the hotel wasn’t even full, we found this shockingly overpriced and again, zero transparency that there would even be a charge. I do not buy the excuse that the issues are due to it being early in the season. If a hotel cannot get the basics right when not at full occupancy, how on earth will it function during the peak season?! This hotel survives on aesthetics and social media marketing. Yes, it looks nice. Yes, it smells lovely from the fragrance pumped around the hotel. Yes, there are 11 pools they proudly advertise, albeit we couldn’t use them once because of the Baltic water temperatures and if you want a heated pool, you’ll need to pay 35 euros for the privilege! Fundamentally, this is a hotel with serious operational and management problems. We have never been so relieved to come home from a holiday. Do not be fooled by the marketing, influencer content or tour operator descriptions. This was not a luxury 5* experience - not even remotely close. Save your money and book elsewhere."

"Thanassis at Istrio bar has it all going on. Amazing guy!!! The staff Dimitri and Michalis fantastic barmen. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"

"My husband and I stayed at the hotel from 4th–11th May for our honeymoon, following our wedding on 2nd May. Unfortunately, our experience fell significantly short of the five-star holiday we had expected and paid for. Our arrival experience was disjointed from the outset, with nobody greeting us at Reception. After waiting some time, a member of staff eventually asked if we had been helped and instructed us to follow another staff member for our welcome drink. However, as she was already assisting another couple, we were left waiting in the bar before returning to Reception ourselves. We were eventually shown to our room, but it transpired it was the staff member’s first day and he was unfamiliar with the hotel layout, meaning my husband had to help locate the room. This was not the best first impression, particularly as no map, hotel tour, Wi-Fi information, or check-out details were provided. We had booked a shared public pool room, which was pleasant overall. However, the replenishment of the minibar lacked consistency. Water, soft drinks, and one can of local beer were provided, while crisps and nuts were restocked sporadically. We spoke to another couple whose minibar included wine, which added to the confusion regarding what should have been included. The reservation app was not functioning, meaning we had to queue at Guest Services repeatedly throughout the week. The earliest restaurant reservation we could secure was for Wednesday, only for us to receive a call that day advising it had been cancelled due to overbooking. We were then encouraged to dine at the sister hotel “to promote the sister hotel,” despite already having a booking there later in the week due to a gala event. We ultimately retained our reservation at Masari, where both the food and service were excellent, but the situation did little to inspire confidence for the remainder of our stay. The buffet offerings were generally good, particularly at lunchtime, while breakfast was average aside from the fresh omelette station, which I enjoyed. Evening buffet options were also varied and enjoyable. Several advertised facilities and venues were unavailable during our stay, including multiple à la carte restaurants and bars, the tennis courts, and seemingly the cinema despite advertised schedules. We also only discovered the paid shuttle service to Lindos on our final day, otherwise we would have made use of it. We had reservations for Breakfast Stories on 10th and 11th May, but later received an email advising the venue would not open until the 11th. This required yet another visit to Guest Services to confirm our reservation. During the meal itself, we were informed no menu was available and were instead served a selection of continental items which was nice and an egg white omelette, of which we could have had in the buffet. Drink service at the main bar was consistently slow, often requiring orders to be repeated. Cocktail quality was average. There also appeared to be inconsistency regarding what was included within the all-inclusive offering. For example, my husband was served cider one evening without issue, yet I was later informed the same drinks carried an additional charge, only for my husband to obtain them moments later at no extra cost. Similarly, Moët was not available or included despite being advertised on the EasyJet website. Room service was convenient when using the loungers by our room, although food was sometimes served cold and used crockery was frequently left overnight until collection was specifically requested. On our final day, my husband ordered a vegan lentil burger and was mistakenly served a beef burger three separate times. Fortunately, he is not vegan, but this could have been a far more serious issue for another guest. We raised this with the Front Office Manager, although communication surrounding the matter remained unclear. At Kavos restaurant, the wine service initially felt underwhelming, with choices presented simply as “red, white, or rosé.” However, after hearing another guest mention the sommelier, Gregory, we specifically requested him. Once involved, the experience immediately reflected the level of service we would expect from a luxury resort, and he deserves particular recognition for his professionalism and expertise. Upon returning home, my father informed me that he had contacted the hotel in advance of our stay to ask whether anything special could be arranged for our honeymoon, and he had been assured that something would be organised. Unfortunately, nothing materialised. Overall, we did have a lovely holiday and made every effort to focus on enjoying our honeymoon rather than dwelling on the issues encountered. The hotel itself was exceptionally clean, which is certainly a positive worth highlighting. However, in hindsight, we do wish we had chosen a different destination for such an important occasion. We did raise some concerns during our stay, but have now formally submitted a complaint to EasyJet and will also be contacting the hotel directly."