I find it very difficult to rate this hotel. On the one hand the hotel had many aspects I really liked, others will probably prevent me from ever going back. The aspects I would indeed rate 4*, are for instance the fact that it looks really great. Both from the outside and inside. The architectual design was cleverly done, so the hotel fits perfectly into the beautiful surroundings. The reception has that luxury “look” and the rooms really are very pretty if rather cheaply furnished. I had a double room in the main building and the view from the balcony was just stunning. Nothing but nature and the sea in the distance. Indeed, anyone who wants to get away from it all I would highly recommend to visit Vassilikos during the low season. Gerakas beach was amazing, there was hardly anyone on the streets and the tavernas were pretty much completely empty. Obviously, if you want nightlife and a bit of a pulse, stay clear of this area. But for me I couldn’t have hoped for a better place to just relax for a few days. It was all I had hoped for. I also liked the mix of guests and general atmosphere at the hotel. Mostly Brits, Germans & Suisse guests, age mix anything from mid 20s-70s, only one family.

However, the aspects I wasn’t too happy with were for instance the food, general maintenance and service, all in all not what I would expect of a 4* hotel. Just a few examples, when I arrived the black out curtains weren’t properly attached to the curtain railings,hanging down on one side, so you couldn’t properly close them. Hence light was shining into the room as soon as the sun was up in the mornings. After the 3rd night I eventually climbed a chair to fixed the problem myself and reattached the curtain ends to the hooks. It’s such a minor detail that could have been fixed by house cleaning easily before a new guest arrived, but the fact that it wasn’t taken care of, just goes hand in hand with the general impression I got of other areas of hotel management & maintenance. Bathrooms looked very tired although the hotel is only a couple of years old. Cleaning wasn’t an exact science and I had the impression the hair and dust was just moved around the room instead of actually being re-moved. To be honest, I’ve stayed at cleaner basic accommodation in Cambodia than this 4* hotel. I got the impression that several of the guests weren’t too happy with their rooms, as I overheared several people talking about having changed rooms. Also, as some of the other reviewers mentioned I also found the wasps in the various jam/nutella jars at breakfast very off-putting. The breakfast area was partly on a terrace, so I expect wasps to be flying around, but I would also expect the food itself to be in jars covered by lids , so the food is protected. Again it’s just such a minor detail to cover up the food properly, so you are not in competition with numerous wasps sitting in the food everywhere.

Maybe it was partly due to the fact that I visited at the very end of the season, but for a 4* hotel I found staff/service seemed rather amateurish. Not unhelpful if you asked for s.th., but definitely lacking. Other 4* hotels service/maintenance etc. seemed effortless, here it was an effort. Either because it just wasnt there or you had to ask for it specifically. When I arrived I asked for a map of the immediate area which is pretty standard for most hotels and I was told they had just run out. The lady at reception borrowed me hers and made me promise to bring it back. I eventually got my own copy from Joanna, the lovely lady at Mais supermarket down the road, she only remarked that the hotel didn’t seem to have any all season…Finally, just a word about the pool area which really looked great at first sight, but again it's slightly let down by general maintenance. Some of the sun loungers were broken and there isn’t a shower at the pool.

This hotel is certainly not luxury or 4* international standard, but at the same time it offers more than your typical 3* hotel, so it's difficult to give it a rating. It's such a shame because this hotel could really be amazing if just some minor cost-effective adjustments could be made. Get your house cleaning up to speed, improve the food or at least the presentation at breakfast and change the general attitude to service.

I think if you book this hotel with your eyes open, don’t expect perfection and maybe get a great deal, I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful holiday. I highly recommend the area for a relaxing holiday away from it all and unless you want to go self-catering, this hotel is probably the best hotel option in the area as it’s also relatively close to Gerakas beach (10 min walk). I got a fantastic deal and given that it was just 20min by taxi from the airport, it made for a cheap, hassle free (in terms of getting there) holiday. Would I book it on there normal, high season rates? Without any changes to their maintenance, no I wouldn't. However, on another cheap deal I would consider booking it again.