Hotel Thomas Bay

Booked last minute through TUI and did not know quite what to expect given the very varied reviews, but we were both very pleasantly surprised with what we found. Excellent resort. Adults only so the hotel is quiet enough, evening entertainment is quite varied to cater for as many people as they can, or you can find your own entertainment in the resort. Simply wonderful staff, in our experience, from Heather right through to the cleaning staff, every one had the main aim of being as helpful and friendly as they could. Rooms were good, simply furnished, very clean, but with a resort such as Agios Stefanos let's face it you won't be spending hours in your room unless you are sleeping. If you are used to and expecting 4/5 star hotels and their service then why did you book Thomas Bay, it isn't 4 or 5 star but it doesn't pretend to be, like other hotels we have tried. It is a good 3 star hotel. Air conditioning is worth it, especially in August (yes an extra like the safe but at 5 euros a day a small price) very good facilities, good bar/lounge area, again wonderful attentive staff. Good pool area providing welcome relief from the heat. Restaurant was simple but did what it says on the tin, continental style breakfast with a very good cooked option, yes it is an extra but lets face it a full cooked breakfast for 2.50 is great value (across the street they were charging anything from 4 to 6.Evening meals were as varied as they could be given the budget of the hotel, 3 courses with some greek and corfiot options, though if you want more choice the resort has enough tavernas and restaurants, all very well priced. Agios Stefanos is a gem, quiet and chilled if you want, enough activities both land and sea if you want, plenty of fantastic tavernas, tourist if you like the main strip and more traditional if you are prepared to walk a couple of hundred meters and take a couple of left turns, most with the most fantastic sunset views. All in all we had a wonderful 7 day break as one of my 60th birthday events, so thank you to all at Thomas Bay for your smiles and friendly nature.

Room 217! Don’t worry, it’s fine! We are on our last day having had a lovely week’s holiday at the Thomas Bay Hotel. For a last minute booking, and for what we paid, we can’t fault it. Having read so many reviews, I already knew the food, the hotel, the location,etc, would be excellent, however, I was dreading getting allocated into room 217. To my dismay we did get it! I think because I was dreading it so much, my mum and I were pleasantly surprised that actually the room was fine. Yes, there’s a dehumidifier in the room but you can switch it off if it bothers you. Not that we needed it for damp smells, but beforehand, I’d armed myself with a lavender gel air freshener (to keep mosquitoes at bay) so our room always smelt nice and fresh! The plus points to this room are: the balcony is cool and shaded all day long, it’s right next to the pool and restaurant, and is based almost at ground floor level with only a few steps for my mum to contend with. It is also on the furthest side of the hotel so noise was minimal. However, the road traffic isn’t a problem so I guess any of the rooms will be quiet once the patio doors are closed. So if you get allocated room 217, don’t panic! If you don’t like it, the staff want you to be happy and seem helpful to re-room when possible. For us, because of mum’s lack of mobility, sitting beside the pool for lunch and taking the ‘full board’ for 7 days’ option was excellent value at €75 for two, (includes a soft drink, glass of wine or beer) The lunches were great and a special thank you to Sophia and Irene for the delicious mezes with all my favourite dips accompanied with either sardines, calamari or dolmades! Also, a little mention to the TUI rep, although we didn’t have a need to meet her, it was clear to see she was very helpful and a lot of fun, she even stepped in to help out in the bar one evening. All the staff make this family run hotel special and we can see why people return. I don’t need to go into more detail about the excellent staff, the plentiful food or perfect location because lots of reviewers have those covered and we totally agree! We will definitely return one day to this lovely little gem of a hotel! The hotel’s veranda is perfectly situated for people watching after dinner and you get a great view of Zorbas restaurant’s nightly Greek dancing too. We went to ‘the legends night’ a few steps away across at the Condor and had a fab evening watching Tina Turner, Whitney and James Brown. The quickest way to the beach is by turning right from front of hotel and then left at the supermarket going down to the Hotel Athina’s beach path.

Granted we were tired after a night flight when we arrived at The Thomas Bay Hotel. Our room was on reception level just through a door off main entrance number 223 which was located at the front of the hotel on the very end. We were given our room key by a chap who was literally just there to show people to their rooms and he refused to discuss our concerns and said wait 3 hrs when receptionist arrived. We didnt unpack. As we were celebrating my birthday and our wedding anniversary, my husband had prior emailed Tui to request room 315 or similar which overlooked the pool. Also asked for extra pillows. On speaking to reception about our room we were informed we couldnt move. We unpacked reluctantly - the room was very dated and dull looking, needs a spruce up. Beds were clean which was something. No extra pillows! Breakfast - continental consists of toast, hard boiled eggs and either fruit cocktail or greek yoghurt with honey. Cooked breakfasts available at extra charge. Became boring after a couple of days. The clientel at breakfast were mainly older couples not many young people or couples for a short time we thought we were on a saga holiday. Not suitable really for young couples or girls/boy groups seeking fun. Evening meal - if you are half board make sure you ask for a menu as they dont offer this but instead give a sheet with the daily specials available. There is a good selection on the full menu. Specials generally Greek dishes which were average. Food was a little bland. Evening entertainment available but didnt stay to watch mainly due to the age of people in hotel. Generally I think this hotel isnt as good as Tui sold it to us and it is in a great need of a refurbishment. It lacks the wow factor, the only good thing is that is in a great location. I wouldnt stay in this hotel again.