Kolymbia Bay Art

Booked this for 4 nights for my birthday. Booked a shared transfer which took around 40min so not too far. Location is good as it’s nice and quiet and far away from centre of kolymbia where it gets busy but close enough that it’s a 15min walk. There’s a bus stop right outside which we used to go to lindos, old town and tsambika beach etc (however the bus for Kalithea springs never came and we wait over 1.5hrs) There’s a shop “attached” to the hotel which was very useful for drinks and snacks.

Now to the hotel, yes, there is still building works opposite the hotel and it’s definitely not nearly done. Didn’t affect us with noise or dust even though our room “faced” the sea. There was one time when we were by the pool a very loud lorry was parked right outside with its engine on doing stuff which was annoying. Talking about the pool area, plenty of sunbeds available however they did need cleaning as the beds had stains all over (even glancing at the swim up pools, not a very pretty sight for people walking by). The pool was clean and good music playing. I did notice the small pool that the tile had fallen off on the slope that falls into the large pool.

The room 505 now; they do new updating and modernising. There were exposed wires, patched up walls and fixtures looked tired. Our room was right above the entrance/reception so not much to see especially with the building works to the sea. The aircon wasn’t strong/working so we had to keep the blinds closed throughout the stay to keep the heat out. It’s definitely not suitable for the hot weather.

Bathroom was small and very annoying as you have to manoeuvre around to close the door. The shower did not need to be that big and was just wasted space. It was also very tired looking. It looked like they attempted to put a new show floor but the flooring wasn’t long enough so was patched up. First night there was no power in the shower and the rainfall shower head was clogged up with limescale that only 5 holes were working. We complained about the pressure the next morning and it improved, still not the best. The shower head was cleaned.

Disappointing that the first night I found toothpaste on the side of the sink, it was still there on the last day….

Little petty things like no soft closing wardrobes or toilet seats, the iron was useless as it wasn’t steam, the room could’ve been organised as it was a tight path between the end of the bed and table.

The good points. -The staff were amazing and friendly both in the hotel, restaurant and bar staff. -Buffet was decent. A nice selection and a rotation on the hot food (they need to cover the fruit as there’s flies flying on them) -having beach towels available was useful as it saves space in our cabin bags.

• they have a cute veg patch at the back on the way to the pool

-nice size room and balcony with a cloth dryer.

• location. There’s a shingled beach just behind the building works. There’s a nicer sandy beach at the end of eucalyptus road (sunbeds 2 for €15)

-it’s adults only! -the tabby cat that lives at the hotel was well looked after!

Overall I had very high hopes due to the pictures. It does look lovely at night with the lights on but it does need some tlc. You can see it had potential in the pass (it won best hotel in 2015). Would I stay again.. unfortunately not as I would choose a more modern hotel.

Where do I start. Got "upgraded" on arrival to the "luxurious" swim up room (603). The entrance was a basement-like alley, where trash bins and cleaning trolleys were stored. The room was dark, AC not working, one of the beds broken, old furnishing and as a cherry on top, bathroom FULL of ants. The pool was dirty too, also it is below a road, so anyone who walks/drives by looks into your "private" pool, as well as construction workers these days. First night, the room was 38 degrees, my partner had to sleep on a sofa due to the bed problem. Next morning we asked for another room - had to pack, leave our luggage at reception and got another room in the afternoon. No refund for a terrible first night and not having room for half of another day (which was paid for!). Got a drink voucher only.

At check out be prepared to be asked to pay unsure amount of money as "tax and fee", firstly we were told it is 5€/day, then another receptionist came to tell us it is 10€/day. That was not mentioned anywhere in the reservation.

Staff was amazing though, receptionists, breakfast staff, bartender. Great people.

The staff at this hotel are what make it. Nothing too much and always friendly. The food is also very good with plenty of choice at breakfast and good value in the cocktail bar. The hotel is a little tired in places and parts could do with a makeover but on the whole if you're not expecting marble foyer and grand staircases, but wanting clean rooms this is a lovely place to stay.There is building work opposite but all the time we were there (middle of August) we didn't hear any noise.