"We stayed at Alykanas Beach Grand Hotel by Zante Plaza and honestly before coming I was quite anxious because of some of the reviews. I’d read about cold food, wasps, no hot water, rock hard beds and all sorts, so I came with fairly low expectations. In a strange way, that made the holiday even better because we actually had a really good experience.
The staff genuinely could not do enough for you. Everyone was friendly and helpful throughout our stay. Maryanne from the kids club deserves a special mention because she was absolutely brilliant with the children. There were always different activities going on, from arts and crafts to water fights, and our kids aged 4 and 6 absolutely loved her.
The food was perfectly acceptable. It’s not the best all inclusive food I’ve ever had, but definitely nowhere near the worst either. Yes, some dishes could be a little lukewarm at times, especially the meat dishes sitting in the trays, but you could tell it was freshly cooked and I think they maybe just need slightly better heated serving trays. Whenever fresh trays came out they were piping hot. Also, by the time you’ve walked around getting drinks, salad and extras, food naturally cools down a bit anyway, and I’ve experienced that at most all inclusives. There was usually a chef carving fresh meat in the evenings too, and the salad selection was genuinely really good.
One thing I was worried about from reviews was wasps, but honestly we hardly saw any during our stay. That could maybe be more of an end of season issue rather than when we visited.
The hotel itself was very clean and staff were constantly clearing away plates and cleaning tables. One massive positive was there were always decent sunbeds available and plenty of room at meal times too, which makes a big difference on a family holiday. The bar had plenty of choice and hardly ever any queue, which was another bonus.
The swimming pool was really well kept and the lifeguard was fantastic, always cleaning around the pool, keeping an eye on everything and joking around with the kids. He even helped some of them build confidence in the water, so big credit to him. The little park/play area could probably do with a bit of an upgrade though, as when the kids were on the swings the whole thing shook a bit, but our children still enjoyed using it.
The location is excellent, right on the beach, and the sea there is honestly some of the warmest water I’ve ever been in. Soft sand, clear water and hardly any seaweed. There’s also a lovely walk down towards the little fishing marina where, if you go early enough, you can even spot turtles without paying for a turtle excursion.
The hotel is only a couple of minutes walk from shops, bars, restaurants and car hire places too. We hired a car for 6 days and managed to do loads including the water park, animal park, sulphur beach, olive oil factory, boat trips and pedalo rides. It really turned into a fantastic family holiday and the hotel ended up being a great base for everything.
One random thing we noticed was a few stray dogs wandering through the hotel grounds from time to time, which was a first for us abroad. They completely minded their own business though and just wandered through peacefully, occasionally getting lucky with scraps from hotel guests.
Only small negatives were that our room could get a little hot and the air conditioning didn’t seem the strongest, although we only mentioned it when leaving, and the pull out beds were definitely firmer than the main beds, but still perfectly sleepable.
Overall, after reading some of the reviews beforehand, we came away pleasantly surprised and had a brilliant family holiday here."
