Constantinou Bros Athena Beach Hotel

This was our 8th visit, and always we have stayed for 3-4 weeks. On check in we were asked to sign a form, on which it asked about previous stays. It said we had 2 previous visits. We said that was wrong, and were told it was because we had changed address and the system didn’t recognise this. This was a problem because after 10 visits the discount increases from 15-20%. Because we stay for long periods, we have been there for 23-24 weeks, but were still only given the 15% discount. After discussion with management we were given 20%, but this should be looked at. We know many people who stay for long periods, which equate to more than 10 one week stays. We went to our room, to discover it was one of the smallest balconies in the hotel, the room is very tired, needs a refurb. Carpets dirty, bathrooms dated, with clingy shower curtains over the bath. A few years ago some of the superior rooms had plunge pools added, but to us that was a mistake! Three are 3 other hotels on the same row which are higher rated, so anyone requiring plunge pools could have gone to one of those. Money would have been better spent updating the whole hotel. Talking to other guests we found some first time visitors were upgraded to sea view rooms, after booking standard rooms, as loyal customers returning many times we were disappointed never to have been offered an upgrade! This year there were lots of stray cats around, not helped by some guests feeding them! They were fighting and leaving calling cards around the beach area! Being longer stay guests we choose b&b, because we can’t eat full 3 course meals for a month. The Leda restaurant does a light lunch, but evening it reverts to Italian style, and a fairly limited menu, the same every evening. It would be nice to have some local Cypriot dishes on offer, e.g. Mousaka, meatballs, stuffed peppers, even a meze to share. We visited local tavernas to experience local dishes, especially Gennadious but think it should available in the hotel. We asked Dimitri the manager of the Leda if it would be possible to have mousaka one evening as it had been on the lunch menu, we were told yes it was possible, but it was not normally served on an evening. We felt uncomfortable asking, as it was not on the evening menu, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. We ate off the menu a couple of nights, but found the menu quite limited . The spaghetti bolognese was fine! Then we risked asking for something off the lunchtime menu again, chicken and chips, and baked potato with tuna! The baked potatoes came, that was all there was on the plate, no salad garnish at all, and chicken and chips again with nothing else! We both looked and were disappointed. The potatoes were ok, if not boring, but the chicken was dried out, and disgusting, so not eaten. The waiter came to ask how our meal was, we said the chicken was poor, his reply was “ I don’t cook” ( what a statement) We went to pay but said the chicken was awful so Dimitri the manager came, asked what was wrong, I said I didn’t want to pay for the chicken, to which he started shouting in front of the other guests “ what do you expect when you come in here demanding food not on the menu” many times he said it was demanded. This caused an argument because there was no demand, it was requested! He then said chickens were cooked till 2.30, Unknown’s to me I did not know I was having chicken cooked 6 hours ago. If they are not capable of making fresh food they should say no. We would accept that! However his attitude was unacceptable, there was no apology, so we reported his behaviour to the manager. On 2 occasions our hire car had no parking signs put on the windscreen, parked in front of the hotel, yet staff cars parked in the same place did not! We thought it was for guest parking! Paying our final bill we had items we had not consumed. Somehow our room had been charged with someone else’s drinks, signed for by someone other than us! It was questioned, but not apologised for, and eventually knocked off. On a good note, Thankyou to Miss Odile / Duty Manager , for the email dealing with our complaint, we appreciate it. Also it was a pleasure to see Dimitri the bar manager back, and sorry we missed Flory in reception who was off when we left. After chatting with lots of returning friends, we all thought Anthony, the waiter who is new this year had excellent customer skills, was lots of fun, and a great asset to the company. We had lots of laughs! Dimitri bar manager, look after yourself, it was great to see you.

This was our second visit to this beautiful hotel. The staff couldn’t do enough for us, they are very friendly and always have a smile . There are plenty of sun beds and the pools are never overcrowded. We dined in the buffet restaurant and the choice of food was fantastic, often it was difficult to decide. The view from the restaurants is lovely looking out at the pool area and the sea beyond. The bus stop is at the front door giving great access to the wonderful bus service, at just 1.50 euro per trip. We hope to be back again next year.