Kefalonitis Apartments

What a lovely place to stay, the place was spotless, and the staff were very friendly. Lily in the pool cafe was really happy and friendly, and couldn't do enough for you. The weather was hot, so the air con in the room was very appreciated. Rooms were cleaned 4-5 times a week. As it was a family run hotel, all the guests got on well with each other, we made so many friends. Lots of bars and restaurants about. Would go again.

My partner and I along with our two young children recently stayed at the Kefalonitis apartments for a week and overall it was absolutely brilliant, I do however have a few very minor recommendations for improvement which I hope management will take on board :) We arrived late at night and the children were understandably exhausted from travelling, we wanted to get our keys and check in immediately to our room, however the man behind reception (I think his name is Ted and from reading reviews he is the owner?) was a little abrupt and not particularly welcoming. I went to reception and he asked for my name and told me to sit in the lounge area (no welcome to Cyprus etc etc) he then told us we would need to wait until he could show us to our room/ show us around but we were tired and instead made our own way. Needless to say his demeanour was not friendly/ welcoming / helpful BUT this is the only negative thing I can report regarding this hotel. I think he just comes across like this! (grumpy old man syndrome!) Having said that, when we went up to our room and it was immaculate- the reviews stating that the rooms were damp / filthy etc are not what I observed or experienced at all. Our room was basic BUT there is everything you need and is very safe for the children (mine are aged 4 & 6). The kitchen is well equipped with plenty of bowls, plates, cutlery etc. There is a fridge microwave/ hob oven which can be used to prepare snacks - if you just go bed and breakfast (which we did) you wont need to use much in the kitchen as there are lots of nice local places to eat. We highly recommend the Italian called Nuomo (not sure If that's the correct spelling) but you leave Kefalonitis and turn right and its on your left past Fat Mama's. The highlight for us in relation to the hotel was the food from the bar. The chef who prepares the meals speaks little to no English but her food is fantastic so I'm not sure she if she understood when I tried to tell her how wonderful her food is. There is another main lady who works at the bar, I didn't catch her name but she is the star of the hotel. She is welcoming, polite, helpful and engaged really well with both my children. She works really hard and is so so efficient!. We ate our full English breakfasts each day which were delicious and the children were given lots of choice (cereal / toast/ cooked breakfast) *with your breakfast you only get one hot or cold drink so take down some change if you want extras*. The food and bar is a little pricey (I highly recommend the toasties which are only 4 euros and are a perfect lunchtime snack). but totally worth it, its all fresh / well presented etc. The complaints about the pool again I think are unfair. The pool isn't huge and yes people put their towels down (but doesn't that happen everywhere?!) The pool can get busy but again if you go down earlier in the morning or at around 5/ 6 after dinner the pool is open until 7 and there is virtually no one around at that time. The pool is a little shabby and in need of a little TLC but I saw it being cleaned/ treated every night and the children had great fun. We did have an issue with the cleaner coming in without knocking and finding my partner unclothed on the bed (I don't know who was more traumatised, him or her?!) however she was very apologetic and we didn't feel the need to complain about this, we laugh about it now. Another positive was one of the ladies who was at reception (I'm not sure if this was Maria?) really supported me when my little boy was having a tantrum by the pool. She went out of her way to distract him by making a paper boat which soon helped soothE him, I realLy appreciated this as he had been driving me mad! She was kind and really engaged with him in a lovely way. Overall I highly recommend the Kefalonitis and we wilL be booking again for next year. A few very minor observations / changes to be made but overall very happy and well done to all the staff! Stephanie Johnston-Ward The cleaning / towl/ linen changing schedule is a little confusing. The notice on the door states that these are changed every three days, however our room was cleaned and everything replaced every single day which was brilliant. Another really small issue was the lack of cups which are appropriate for children. My children smashed a glass as there were no plastic cups in the rooms to drink from (it was the same at the bar, adults glasses being given with juice in for the kids) I was constantly worried about them breaking the glasses and hurting themselves so perhaps providing two small plastic cups in the family apartments would be good? *parents take a sippy cup for the kids then you can fill up before you go*, again this is a minor issue and from what I observed this hotel mainly attracts older couples rather than families with young children.

What can I say about the Kef that I haven't already said? It was great to be back after staying at the Tasmaria last year, after a run in with an over friendly staff member. I wanted to take the rest of the family with me this year and I'm glad to say they have fallen in love with Cyprus and everything about the Kef too. We had a very spacious apt for the 5 of us which as normal was spotlessly clean. From Nikos and family, to all the staff especially the wonderful Dee & Ted, it was great to be back. What made it the best ever? The life long friends we made this yr. We're all hoping to meet up again next year and that's the beauty of the Kef. A place that people come back to yr after yr.