Grand Hotel

Our hotel was changed to this at the very last minute due to the Thomas Cook fiasco. The resort itself is massive, and if like us you your room is at the top of the resort you have to use the on site transportation to take you up the very steep hills. The all inclusive food is what you expect from all hotels of this type, as is the drinks package. We were outnumbered by Germans by about 90% , who we found to have no manners . They would push in front of us at queues, and once stole our parasol while we were at lunch. The all inclusive package, lasted from 10.30 in the morning until 10.30 at night, but live entertainment didnt start until 10.45 in the evening, leaving with us to either pay for more drinks or go to bed. The hotel itself was spotless, the staff were helpful, but all in all we have stayed in a lot better.

We when first arrived it was late, and the restaurant was opened for the guests that had just arrived which we were very grateful for, however the food they put out for us was not to our taste, cold turkey roll covered in jelly, it was rather unpleasant. To get all inclusive you have to have a card with your photo on, and then you had to scan it to go into the restaurant to use it at the snack bars etc, you can only have 2 drinks on one card so if you wanted more than 2 drinks you had to have someone else’s card too, personally I find the wrist bands much easier and less likely to lose them. Our room was one of the furthest away from the main building, we were based in room 1513, a superior room (we rang to check it was superior to be told it was) thankfully there is car/jeep that drives up and down the hill all day long (I know it’s not the most exciting job but one of the men driving was so miserable it actually made me want to walk, the other man was lovely and friendly) but they are gone by midnight, so if you are out late, you will have to walk up the steep hill, we got a lift up to our room with our luggage when we first arrived and the man who drove us was very nice and friendly however upon entering the room we were massively disappointed, the room was horrible, it was just a very beige very dated room, nothing like the pictures that are advertised at all, (hence why we checked if it was definitely a superior room) the room was very basic, and very outdated, we had 2 single beds pushed together with a big gap down the middle and a narrow single bed for our daughter. We did come back every evening to find our nightwear had been made into butterflies or dragonflies which was really sweet as they were laid out on the bed. The bathroom was also very tired and dated and again nothing like the photos advertised, our toilet was right behind the door, so if the door was to be opened while sitting on it you would be hit. The water in the shower was awful, you could not regulate the temperature at all, it was either freezing cold or boiling hot. You have a shutter outside the balcony door which you need to shut at night because the curtains are very thin and the light wakes you up really early, even with the shutter closed it is still bright in the room, the rooms could do with black out curtains. The noise from the rooms next door and above could be heard very loudly too, we were conscious of this and so spent the time in our room late or early being quiet so as not to disturb the other guests. The view from our balcony was stunning, the sun bouncing off the sea first thing in the morning, was absolutely gorgeous. We decided pretty quickly to make the most of it and not focus on the room as we were only sleeping and showering in there in the end, however I do like a bit of luxury when I'm on holiday and we didn't get that. They have an adult only pool and no children under 16 are allowed in it, perfect you think except there were plenty of children in it on a daily basis and only once did someone come and tell the child and parents it was not allowed, then the parents spoke to the man and he allowed them to stay in the pool. The communal showers for when you have checked out were also unpleasant, no privacy what so ever, 2 showers in one room, no locks on the doors and no where private to get dressed, my absolute worst nightmare, not everyone is comfortable with dressing in front of strangers. All Inclusive – The bar closes at 10pm, you can’t go to the bar to get your own drinks and have to be waited on, there are not enough staff to wait on everyone and so you’re lucky if you get 2 drinks in before the bar closes for the night, the staff do work really hard though, it’s definitely not their fault, it would be much better if you could go to the bar and get your own drinks. On one occasion on entering the restaurant, we were asked where we were from and when we said England the waiter walked us to the back of the restaurant to sit us with the other guests from England, we found this really off putting and uncomfortable, thankfully it only happened once, not many of the staff in the restaurant seemed happy and many looked very unhappy, they even argued at some points between themselves. The food was ok, very much what you expect from an All Inclusive restaurant, although at one point I was pushed by a member of staff while she was putting more food out, she didn’t even acknowledge me to say excuse me or sorry, just put the food down and walked back into the kitchen, I found this incredibly rude, I would happily have moved out of her way if I had known she was behind me. Sadly we had no traditional Greek food, which was a real shame. Also, we found that the closest snack bar, the one by the main pool we had to pay for our ice creams, even though we were All Inclusive, but we didn’t have to pay at any other snack bar, I just don’t understand why. The games room, great that they have it, however the smell is awful, not a place I would like to stay and spend time, I wonder if the smell is because it is right next to the laundry room. There are plenty of sun loungers around the adult only pool and you don’t need to get there early to get one, however people did still reserve them with towels and not return for hours, even though you are not allowed to reserve beds. We didn’t go to the main pool at all, but we did have to walk past it to get to the restaurant and the sunbeds were reserved very early, which is probably why many people bought their children to the adult only pool. Entertainment was not great in the evenings, they had a DJ start around 9pm and he finished about 10pm, we were all so shocked, but then the bar shut at 10pm so I guess it was time for the guests to leave. Overall the hotel was clean, the maids were very friendly, some of the staff were absolutely lovely and reception couldn’t do enough for you if you needed them. If you decide to go out of the hotel, the road is really dangerous to cross, however if you walk out and turn right and follow the road down you will come to an underpass, it is a bit of a walk but it is definitely a safer option and it will lead you to the bars/restaurants/shops etc which was a lovely place to walk to of an evening, with a beautiful sunset on the beach. Personally, I would not return to this hotel, I do have high expectations when I have spent that kind of money on a weeks holiday and I am so glad we only stayed for a week as any longer would have been too much for me. At most I would give it a 3-star rating. We made the best of it because we didn’t have much choice and we still had a lovely week spending time together as a family, This hotel just wasn’t the right one for us, however obviously others enjoyed it a lot more than we did. We also did a day trip to Chrissi Island, I would not recommend this either, it is literally a deserted island that has had sun beds and a cafe put on it, yes the water is stunning but also very dangerous to get into. The heat on that island is ridiculous, it made me feel unwell just walking from the boat to the sunbeds. The boat was so overcrowded there was no where to sit for so many people, and it was so hot on the boat. I would save your money and go somewhere else.

Amazing hotel food& facilities and staff couldnt do enough for you so friendly. Adults only pool. As well as 2our pools water slides free. a meal in the geek restaurant a treat. Could not fault the variety and quality of the food .20 mins walk into stalis. free shuttle bus to beach. bus stops right outside hotel main places.