Guest User
June 1, 2024
We just had a fantastic week at this resort. The location is great, you can walk to Xi beach (or what's left of it after recent storms) in under 5 minutes and for a bit more beach you can turn left and stroll towards Megas Lakkos in 15 minutes, though you will need to get your feet wet. For any other exploring, you really need a car but if you don't pick one up at the airport there is a rental company next door. With transport, you're within 30-40 minutes of some great beaches, including Vouti which in my opinion is one of the best on the island, though the road down to it isn't for the faint-hearted. The food was brilliant, a great variety every day and for every meal. Custom omelettes are available every breakfast and pizza-oven cooked pizzas are made every dinner. The poolside snack bar is convenient for a lunch that you don't have to get too prepared for. There are two big pools and whilst the hotel started to fill up in the second half of our week, presumably owing to the start of the UK half term, we didn't have any trouble getting sunbeds for our large party. The cleaning staff keep the rooms immaculate and the grounds team do a fantastic job keeping the whole resort pristine. Whilst it feels like a big resort, everything feels like a brief stroll away regardless of where you are. The majority of the staff are fantastic with a special mention to Yusuf by the pool who assisted our seven year old with an injury she bought back from the beach. Nini the animation lead is a real asset to the resort and my youngest loved the chap who ran the kids disco. The reason I cannot give it a five-star review is the situation with the drinks and the all-inclusive package. I get it that Kefalonia isn't really an all-inclusivey type of resort, but we were travelling to celebrate a family member's 60th in a party that included my one-year old niece, so we thought going all-inclusive would just be easier on this occasion. However, there are two pretty poor aspects to this option. Firstly, it is a very restrictive all-inclusive. You don't get Pepsi or Coca-Cola when you want a coke, it's a vile, cheap alternative that tastes worse than the 40p for 2 litre garbage they sell in Aldi in the UK. You don't get Mythos or Alfa for lager, they serve up some unnamed lager that again is pretty poor and we all thought it was low-alcohol stuff as I could neck back a few and not even feel tipsy, whereas normally after 3 or 4 pints I'm well on my way. As for the wine, the self-serve stuff in the restaurant was truly vile. Other than maybe Jam Shed, it was the worst red wine I have ever tasted. The second big issue, which I believe is connected to the all-inclusive package, is the speed of service in the bars. We went to the bar most evenings hoping to enjoy a few drinks. Whilst they were generally prompt to take your first order after sitting down, it was an absolute nightmare to get anyone's attention for a second round. It didn't seem to be an issue for guests who were pa