The Island Hotel

We have just arrived home after a week at this hotel. Having read the reviews regarding the food, we amended our booking to B&B only, and I’m so glad we did. More on this to follow. We arrived quite late and were shown to our room quite quickly. It’s never good arriving in the dark, but, immediately realised it was a dark room, with trees infront, and a tiny sea view. We had paid extra for a sea view room but felt disappointed what were given. We spoke to Olha the Manager of the reception the following day. She was extremely helpful, but as the hotel was full we were only offered a suite as an option to change, but the following day. It was a pain living out of our suitcases for 2 days but worth the 50e a day extra for a beautiful suite, and with 3 adults, was perfect. Lovely and spacious, with a double balcony and 4 poster bed. The hotel grounds are beautiful, and the decor inside the hotel is modern with a contemporary twist. There were 3 pools, and a small shaded pool. We chose the ‘Relaxing Pool’ as it was quiet, and no smoking. However, this wasn’t the case, people regularly smoked around the pool, and didn’t seem to care that it was supposed to be no smoking. No staff member challenged this, despite it being their rule. We never saw any of the pools being cleaned, and you couldn’t see the bottom, which isn’t the best indication of a clean pool. There were white bits floating around, which I wasn’t too sure what it was. I didn’t venture into the pool despite the very hot weather. The infinity pool had white pebbles around it, but these were green. Again, not clean. The tiles around the pools were dirty, and on a couple of morning there were plastic bottles lying around which I can only assume were from the previous day. I never saw the tiles being cleaned as they do in other hotels I’ve been to. Pool/beach towels could be changed daily in the spa, but always seemed a battle with the staff in the spa, who were reluctant to exchange towels. Restaurant - You had to wait to be seated. We were a family of 5. The staff were extremely rude, and refused to put tables together. It wasn’t allowed!! Most days we were offered 2 tables of 2 and my daughter expected to sit on her own. Again, this felt like a battle, everyday. A couple of the waiters were pleasant but many appeared to be smirking, especially after we were told we couldn’t all sit together. We did observe other guests having tables put together for them, by staff members, which was contradictory to what we were told. There was only one of the restaurants open, which was the buffet resistant. Non of the Al la carte restaurants were open, which is one of the reasons we chose this hotel In the first place, together with good reviews. Where did it go so wrong? Breakfast Buffet - All of the food was served cold, and on many occasions the heat was turned off. Eggs were ok if you asked for fresh ones. No omelette station but omelette was offered but pre cooked. Limited chloces, no fresh fruit/bananas other than melon, and tinned peaches. No granola and just a couple of cereals on offer and a few pastries and cake. The Greek yogurt was quite nice so that is what I had each day. The coffee in the machines was awful, very strong. As we were B&B only not sure on the evening meals but a couple of returning guests told us it was the worst it’s ever been. The bar staff were nice, and always pleasant. We didn’t eat in the bar but the food we saw coming out looked lovely and the menu was varied. The beach - located just over the road which was good, however, the sun loungers were dirty, old, and so uncomfortable. Desperately needed replacing. The beach was dirty with an abundance of cigarette ends in the artificial sand, and the thought of these between my toes didn’t cut it for me. The sea was ok, but very rough due to the meltemi winds, which peak around August. Outside the hotel, there were lots of nice restaurants, but, the area was neglected, and needed serious attention. It wasn’t pleasant walking around, and part of the road eroded and dangerous due to no sea defences. The local government really need to look at this, and a serious cash injection is needed. We asked for a late check out, but were told it was 150e for our suite, or 30e to shower in a room with 45 minute slot. We were offered to shower for free in an outdoor block which was filthy dirty. I have photos. This wasn’t an option for me as with a newly replaced hip, I was scared of falling. I have photos, but, are far too bad to post on here. We informed Olha, and again she was brilliant and sorted this out for us. She is an absolute asset to the hotel, professional and understanding. I could actually see her making changes to the hotel if she was given half the chance. She manages the reception perfectly and is customer focussed. This hotel could be so very different, and much better, it needs changes, and needs them quickly. It’s a shame as the grounds are beautiful but there’s just so much wrong with it. TUI sell this hotel in their Platinum Range, 5 Star. 5 Star it really is not. They sell the hotel offering Al la carte restaurants, there aren’t any, only buffet. The hotel in my opinion is 3/4 star. The grading needs to be looked at by TUI as what they are selling and advertising really isn’t what the customer gets. Completely miss sold. I hope the Hotel Manager sees my review, and also TUI as really they need to do something about what they are advertising. Despite my review, we enjoyed our holiday, but this could have been so much more.

LOCATION AND GROUNDS: The hotel is located almost directly on the seafront, with a beach just across the road where sun loungers are available free of charge. The hotel grounds are medium-sized and include two outdoor swimming pools.

There is also a small pool next to the main pool with various hydro-massage jets. However, I was not particularly impressed by it: some of the buttons did not work, and the water did not seem especially clean. There is also an indoor pool, although we did not use it during our stay.

Interestingly, there is a sign by the pool stating that reserving sun loungers by leaving towels on them is not allowed. Unfortunately, the staff do not enforce this rule. Some guests leave their towels on the loungers and disappear for several hours, while other guests are unable to find a free place. In my opinion, this is one of the more significant drawbacks of the hotel.

The hotel grounds are reasonably well maintained. Some areas could use a little more attention, but overall everything is clean, tidy and safe.

FOOD: We stayed on a half-board basis, with breakfast and dinner included.

Breakfast was very good, with a fairly wide selection of food. There were also several drinks available, including water and around 4–6 different kinds of juice from cartons. No soft drinks were available. There were several coffee machines, although coffee lovers may be disappointed, as the quality of the coffee was only average.

Personally, I would not recommend paying extra for dinner. Drinks are not included with dinner, meaning that even water has to be purchased separately. The food itself was quite good, with options such as pizza, soup, pork, chicken and salads.

It is also worth mentioning that there are many cats around the hotel grounds. I am an animal lover myself, so the cats did not bother me at all. They all appeared clean, well behaved and used to people. However, the number of cats might be an issue for guests who are not accustomed to having animals around.

SERVICES: There is a shop inside the hotel offering surprisingly reasonable prices, with basic essentials as well as souvenirs.

The hotel also has a SPA offering a variety of treatments. During our stay, they were offering a 20% discount on some treatments, although we did not try any of them.

There is also a car rental desk at the hotel. Its opening hours vary, so it is best to ask at reception.

The hotel has several bars and restaurants, although none of them particularly impressed us. The one thing I can definitely recommend is the Island Paradise cocktail.

There is also a small library near the reception area and a luggage storage room.

One thing that is missing is a drinking-water refill station. However, the hotel does provide one litre of complimentary drinking water per room every day.

STAFF AND ROOM: We stayed in a double room with a sea view, and the view was excellent.

The room itself was clean, although we missed having a drying rack for clothes and swimwear. You have to dry your clothes either on the chairs or over the balcony railing. Room was cleaned daily.

The bathroom has an unusual open-plan design and is not separated from the rest of the room by normal walls. If you are travelling as a couple, this may not be an issue, but if you are travelling with a friend or someone other than your partner, the lack of privacy could be uncomfortable.

The staff speak both German and English. Everyone we dealt with was helpful, friendly and smiling.

It is also worth mentioning that during our seven-day stay, I did not see any children anywhere on the hotel grounds. This may be because the hotel does not accept children, or simply because there are very few facilities or activities designed for them.

SUMMARY: Overall, the hotel is clean, has a very good location, decent food and friendly staff.

However, in my opinion, it does not quite meet the standard expected from a true five-star hotel. It lacks attention to detail, a wider range of services and some of the additional comforts and amenities that I would normally expect from a five-star property.

My personal rating would be 4 out of 5.

Despite the shortcomings mentioned above, I would consider staying at this hotel again.