Doryssa Seaside Resort

If you are a vegetarian, don´t take AI, because they don´t have any main course ( not even ones) for vegeterians. How that is even possible, because if you eat meat, then you got so many choices.They have every night only steamed vegetables and of course some salads (greek/feta, grated carrots/cabbage like they have in lunch time also ), but I thinks it´s not enough for that price you have paid. It´s not worth it!

Samos is a gorgeous little Greek island, with amazing coastline and interior. There are so many layers of history, delightful tavernas and superb trips either by coach or boat.The hotel is situated on a delightful bit of coast, close to the airport. But it is a very large and rather impersonal hotel - a bit of a holiday machine. The rooms in the main block are white shoe boxes - rows of them, all white inside, no personal touches and very cramped shower/loo/washing facilities for the five stars it claims to be. The white muslin curtains don't keep out any light at night, so if you like dark to sleep you need to shut the shutters - fine but it means moving all the furniture on the tiny balcony to do so. The bed is comfortable but low, and there are some sharp corners to stub your toe or knock into.The maids do a good job in keeping things clean. The bars and communial areas are also so boring, not comfortable to sit in and nearly empty most of the time. Even the staff look bored. If you are half board the drinks are expensive eg 5 euros for a sparking water. Much better to take a 10 minute stroll to Pythagora where there are some wonderful bars, cafes and restaurants. There is very little in the way of entertainment - a couple of nights with a quiet guitar in an emty bar and one Greek night. You pay extra to attend the Greek night - never have I had to pay extra for entertainement in a 5 star hotel. If you are B and B you pay 27 euros - for your food and entertainment but not drinks. If you are foolish enough to be half board, you pay 17 euros - even though you have already paid 23 euros for the priviledge of half board. - so your evening effectively costs you 40 euros. It made me feel very undervalued as a customer. The food on that night in the restuarant is almost the same , so we ate at 6.30 in the restaurant and went round to the village square to watch the entertainment which is very nice. The food in the restaurant was a great disappointment - fine if you like breakfast coffee out a machine, and synthetic orange juice also out a machine - goodness knows how many additives and sugar in the juices. There is a large display of food for breakafast - much of it very nice - such a shame the baked beans, bacon and eggs are all so cold or luke warm - the heaters just don't work. The evening meal is themed - some nights are very good - Greek and Italian expecially. Sady much of food is still tepid or cold - especially the chips and vegetables. The American night is beef burgers and hot dogs, the Asian sweet and sour sauce and packeted spring rolls and then there is also Mexican. The deserts can be very samey - Instant whips in various garish colours, jellies, little cakes and we seemed always to have chocolate or banana icecream. I thought if you went to a small Greek island you could look forward to local food. We got so fed up with the themes, we swapped our eveing meals to lunches ( a bit of a bun fight) and spent lovely evenings in the tavernas with fresh fish and salads served by very warm and friendly staff. The beach is very nice and there are plenty of sunbeds - 7 euros for 2, you also pay for the sunbeds in the hotel garden but not the sardine arrangment around the pool. There is one price only - so if you return late from a trip or pop down to the beach on your first day at 4.30 pm just before your welcome meeting for a quick dip - yep you pay full price for the chairs. I know a lot of people seem like this hotel but it was not for us. When we return to Samos, which we loved, it will be to a small and friendly hotel, visiting the various eateries at night around the harbour in Pythagora which is so pretty day and night.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Doryssa Seaside Resort, 5-12 September. The location was fantastic, staff friendly, food pretty good, the room and hotel facilities were excellent, weather perfect! We would particularly like to thank our hostess, Claire, who welcomed us every breakfast and dinner with a smile and genuine interest in making our stay enjoyable. Always warm and friendly, she would go out of her way to offer us her experience of the island and advice on getting the best out of it. Thanks again, we can’t wait to return!