Hotel Livadaki Village

If you were to design the perfect hotel to take advantage of the outstanding views then this would be it. Yes, the location is on a steep hillside - easy going down in any direction, but fairly challenging on the way back, but this allows for stunning views from the poolside and from many of the rooms. Our ground floor room (14) was described as having a 'limited sea view,' so we did not know what to expect. When we opened the shutters, we were greeted by a lovely view over the pool to the sea beyond. The room also had the advantage of being able to access the wifi system normally only available in the communal areas of the hotel. The downside to the room was that most people had to walk past it to the facilities and the hotel's cctv system appeared to be pointed in its direction - great for security, but we did feel that we were under constant scrutiny. Others have mentioned the breakfasts. Yes, it is a continental breakfast and that would be fine if the quality was better. Fresh fruit is thinly sliced on a platter and consisted daily of apple and oranges until later in the week when slices of nectarine appeared as an additional option. It would have been lovely to choose unprepared fresh fruit from a bowl. Bread and cereal was very poor quality and the toaster was a challenge - toasting only one side of the bread unless you flipped it over halfway. Also, we found the sandwich maker took ages and even then the bread wasn't fully toasted. Running out of options, we found ourselves with tomatoes, quartered boiled eggs, thin cheese slices and slices of apple as the best option. The orange juice wasn't. It was squash. It would have been nice for it to be served in jugs with lids rather than with a beer mat as a cover. We found that we needed to eat lunch because the breakfast was so poor. Interestingly, the sandwiches at lunchtime were served on soft white sliced bread. Why this wasn't available at breakfast time remains a mystery. Facilities at the hotel are very basic and its main attraction is the pool. Standards of cleanliness around the beautifully designed pool are not what we have experienced elsewhere on the continent. Usually, the poolside and sundecks are thoroughly washed down every morning ready for the day ahead, but we didn't see any evidence of this. There is a very small staff and some of them seem to work incredibly hard and long hours, but more could be done, with additional help, to mop room floors and keep the poolside spruce. Notwithstanding the few issues we felt could improve the place, the hotel lends itself to peace and relaxation. You would be hard pressed to leave here not feeling rejuvenated and content. This wasn't an expensive holiday, so we probably got what we paid for and, all in all, it was value for money.

Simple accommodation, stunning views room 101, 102, friendly host and staff a great cost effective way to see Skala. Can walk into town in 3 directions, take the 5 euro taxi back up if walking is not your thing.