- Greece Holidays
- Agios Sostis
- Castelli Hotel
This is an environmentally-friendly hotel that cares greatly about sustainable growth that has a unique approach to hospitality located in Agios Sostis in Laganas Bay. The hotel is within easy walking distance of the 9 km sandy beach, one of the longest in the Mediterranean, and perfect for exploring the rest of Zakynthos. The place is also conveniently located for the town shopping centre (500 m.) and just 6 km from the airport.
The friendly staff will help guests to hire bicycles or rent a car to see the protected nesting turtles and visit the beautiful landscapes of this, the 3rd largest Ionian island. Otherwise visitors can just sit and relax by the pool and enjoy cold drinks and snacks. A home-made breakfast is provided with freshly-baked bread and cakes, free-range eggs, oranges and plenty of olive oil. Guest's special events are celebrated with a free bottle of wine.
Pamper yourself with on-site body treatments and facials. You can take advantage of recreational amenities such as a hot tub, a seasonal outdoor pool and bicycles to rent. This property also features complimentary wireless Internet access, concierge services and bike parking.
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
The background story of the hotel is lovely. Spiros, the owner, used to meet his wife, Anastasia, in secret under the large eucalyptus tree which still stands and the main hotel was built around it ❤️
The images on the hotel and holiday company websites portray a beautiful, idyllic boutique hotel. However, the reality, unfortunately didn’t quite live up to the impression created by those images.
Overall, we had a mixed experience at Castelli Hotel. I think the key is to arrive with realistic expectations and take the hotel for what it is. There are certainly some positives, but there are also areas where we felt improvements could be made.
On arrival, the reception staff were very welcoming and friendly, and check-in was quick and straightforward. We were shown to our room, although it would have been helpful to have been given some general information about the hotel, such as meal times and what is included within the all-inclusive package, rather than simply being directed to a notice board. A small information booklet or leaflet in the room would make a big difference for guests arriving for the first time.
Our room was in the 'newer' block, which is quite a distance from the main hotel, restaurant, bar and pool. The room itself was nicely presented and had tea and coffee facilities, a fridge, safe and TV, although the choice of channels was very limited. There was a slight musty smell when we arrived. The shower was particularly awkward for anyone taller due to the sloping roof, and the water temperature was quite inconsistent, going from hot to cold and back again. The bed and pillows were very comfortable.
As we arrived after lunch had finished, the hotel had kindly put some food aside for us, which was a really nice touch and much appreciated.
The all-inclusive drinks offering is quite limited compared with other adults-only all-inclusive hotels we have stayed in. We completely understand that local spirits and beer are often what is included, but the cocktail choices were mainly very sweet vodka or gin based drinks, with other cocktails available at an additional cost. The wine wasn't really to our taste either, undrinkable, and the rosé in particular wasn't what we expected, we think they mixed red with white wine. There was also very little flexibility with the inclusive drinks menu.
The food itself was tasty, but unfortunately we found that it was often not as warm as it should have been. At busy times, finding a table could also be difficult. The same applied to the evening entertainment – if you weren't down by around 8.30pm, you could find tables but no chairs. When we asked if additional chairs were available, unfortunately we were told no.
The waiting staff work incredibly hard and put in long hours, and we certainly appreciated how much they had to do. A little more interaction and friendliness would have made the experience even better.
Around the pool, sun loungers are another area where planning ahead is definitely required! Although the signs state that loungers aren't available until 9am, by 7.30–8am most were already taken, with guests waiting around the pool for them to be put out. There are additional beds in the grassy/tree area, otherwise known as the 'olive garden', although some were in need of repair and the surrounding area could have benefited from a little more maintenance. This area is overgrown, generally untidy and looked like wasteland.
The poolside snack bar is also quite basic, offering small ham and cheese rolls and pastries, so don't expect a large selection of snacks throughout the day.
I think one of the main challenges for the hotel is the additional accommodation blocks, which means there are now more guests using the same main facilities. At busy times, this does seem to put pressure on the restaurant, pool area, sun loungers and entertainment seating. In my opinion, the hotel would benefit from focusing on improving and maintaining the existing facilities alongside the additional accommodation, rather than simply increasing capacity.
Top tip: If you stay here, book the à la carte meal for the ABBA night. We really enjoyed the food and service, and another bonus is that you'll have a table and chairs for the entertainment afterwards. For us, this was definitely the best evening of the week.
We've stayed at several adults-only all-inclusive hotels on Greek islands, including Zante, so we do have something to compare Castelli with. While we enjoyed aspects of our stay and the staff were generally welcoming and hardworking, personally we didn't feel that the hotel represented particularly good value for the price we paid. The 4-star rating also felt a little generous compared with other 4-star adults-only all-inclusive hotels we've experienced. That said, if you go with realistic expectations, you can still have a good holiday here. There are some lovely aspects to the hotel, and with a few improvements to the facilities, food service and all-inclusive offering, we feel it could be a much better experience.
Was an amazing experience. Went there to propose to my now fiancé and the staff were incredibly attentive and helpful with suggestions and ideas. Helped me plan trips and even sent us a card and a bottle of champagne to help celebrate. Cannot fault the Castelli family at all!! We will be back!
We had an amazing week at Castelli. The hotel is beautiful. The staff are the most attentive I’ve ever come across. Absolutely nothing is too much trouble for them. You can have your room cleaned every day if you wish, fresh pool towels, beach towels, packed lunches if you want to take a day trip out, they’ll organise you car hire, taxis, you name it. It’s family owned and run too which is just lovely. Mr Castelli himself (Spiros) is always in reception, greeting and chatting to the guests all day and night. We loved chatting to him and hearing the stories about his life. They’re certainly worth listening to. The food is one of the best I’ve had at buffet all inclusive. There is something for everyone, every day. With themed dinners, always fresh salad, fruit and veg available. We didn’t get bored of it in our week long stay. We had a couple of issues in our room with plumbing and electrics (which were completely outside of the hotels control) and they had no issues swapping us to another room and were so apologetic. The beds at the pool do get filled up quickly so you need to get down there about 08:30 to get some. The entertainment in the evening is definitely worth staying at the hotel for. Even though it’s only a short walk to the strip, you don’t hear any of the noise from it and the clientele at the hotel are not such that would be coming home from the strip at all hours of the night keeping everyone up. The entertainment is worth staying at the hotel for too. If you’re looking for a beautiful, peaceful hotel in the area, Castelli is worth a visit. Mr Castelli had the hotel built many years ago and it’s lovely to know that you’re visiting a hotel that the owner cares so much about and isn’t a chain where you’re just a number. To all of the staff at Castelli, thank you so much for a wonderful stay!
I aren't usually one to write a review as i just get on with it and put it all down to experience, but after the price to quality ratio i feel this is to help people not get suckered in by the lovely photos, so here goes,
Arrived on the 4th of september, outside of the hotel is nothing short of the inbetweeners hotel, Off in we went greeted by the owner and a lovely blonde lady, soft drinks or arrival and a quick run down of how things work and how it operates etc.
The Room
VERY small room, air-conditioning when i turned it on smelt of dust (albeit, did clear after a few hours), the whole room and bathroom smelt of sewage due to drains, the bathroom is 1.5m x 2m MAX, and the shower head is almost central to the room, when i say everything gets wet i mean EVERYTHING Your toilet roll, your towel, your fresh clothes, and toiletries and your toothbrush. My wife showered and then we built a blockade with her towel,to stop the water going out the room when it was my turn, and we kept a spare towel for the toilet to keep the seat dry. Absolutely horrendous design, not only that it sprays out the top and onto a light switch and an open socket, and all down the mirror rendering it redundant.
Quick trip reception, all showers are like that but they'll do something about the smell of sewage. Fair play this was sorted (for 3 days then the smell comes back). Everyones room had the same smell and the same dreadful shower, We asked for an upgrade and it was 100 euro a night, we checked the upgrade, its the "new hotel" a 5 minute walk, the new hotel consists of No bar. No pool, No amenities, 6 Sun loungers outside and weeds growing between them, we promptly declined and i feel bad for anyone stopping over there. Speaking to guests they confirmed it was terrible and one group called it "the ghetto" So if you book, absolutely make sure you are in the main hotel.
FOOD.
Buffet style, i found something most days, meat was lean most of the time but very basic, and very cold throughout all food. Apart from the breakfast juices, they were warm.
THE POOL
The pool consists of 40 sunbeds, the hotel we worked out had 80ish rooms across both blocks, 2 people minimum to a room doesn't take a lot to work out the bed to person ratio, as you can imagine there was a 7.30am scramble. And once all that is over and you have a bed, the pool is rather small, especially for the 31 people i counted in it on one particular day. Average around 20ish, nowhere near big enough to actually do a length in if there's more than 10 people.
THE "OLIVE GARDEN"
An overgrown bit of waste land next to the pool separated via a hedge row which consists of a few olive trees, overgrown grass, 8 loungers 5 or 6 tables and enough bugs to bite you to make sure you only stray into there once.
EVENING
The pool gets cleared each evening and a bistro style table and 2 chairs get set out. 15 tables with 2 chairs, again the maths isn't mathing. There's physically nowhere else to sit so your forced to eat your dinner and go bed, or go out. (Outside is a short walk through Beirut and into civilisation) we spoke to a lot of people who went out each night because of the lack of space.
One couple spent 180 euros down the beach on rented sunbeds some dinner and a few drinks as the space was Nil.
Cleaners do there job and thats all fine, however our side of the hotel was road facing,so when they come in and leave the patio doors open once finished anyone could pop in. (Even though we leave them closed for security) Wife's designer bags are on the side as they won't fit in the safe, fortunately nothing was taken.
One day my wife was poorly and was sick, sadly some of the sick went on the towels we used from the night before soaking up the shower, my wife apologised to the cleaner when she took the towels directly to her and the cleaner was so understanding and helpful and really apologetic even though she did absolutely nothing wrong, she was amazing, so absolute credit to her friendliness and approach to the situation
You can't drink whilst at the edge of the pool which is fine, but when there's nowhere to lie/sit then your forced too, otherwise you have to go out to relax elsewhere. Pre "new hotel" i can imagine it was lovely, and peaceful but with greed comes consequences; and that is over half your guests are unhappy and missing out.
The cases on departure or arrival are just left at the bottom of the stairs and aren't secure at all, and if you have a late flight home they are then just left all day, a little room would be ideal.
This isn't just us that had these issues. Every other couple we spoke to, had the exact same issues and would not return, I would say I'm a well travelled person, and for the cost, this definitely isn't up there in any way shape or form. The 4 stars are obviously made up, AT BEST It would be a 3.
One positive THE MAIN STAFF in the dining room/behind the bar are all an absolute delight and most work so hard all day, an absolute credit to the hotel.
Have i felt relaxed all holiday ; No Was it worth the money; Absolutely not Was the drinks good; Satisfactory Would i return; if it was 5/600 PP and there wasn't as many guests then possibly.
Take this as you will, but I'm sure you'll think I'm the usual "moaner" and decide to book it anyway.
Good luck
What a beautiful hotel Castelli is. The staff are so welcoming and nothing is ever to much trouble for them. We booked a swim up room at the front of the hotel which was perfect, we had the sun all day, there is an under cover terrace if you need a break from the sun. It was pure relaxation, the room is very spacious, the only issue is more storage is needed and the bathroom gets so wet due to the shower! But this was a small issue to us. The food is outstanding, they have themed nights and work so hard to put on different dishes every day. Mr Spiros is such a lovely man, he genuinely takes time to speak to his guests and treats you like friends. It is a pure slice of luxury and we will not hesitate to return.
