Kassandra Bay Suites

We stayed at this hotel for 12 nights and the overall impression is that the systems they have in place are flawed to say the least. This account is not a personal attack but a justified and fair personal opinion on the experience we had as paying guests and I will be giving the pros as well as the cons of this establishment. Starting from the positives I will have to commend the following members of staff: Christos, Maria and Elizabeth from the breakfast for always being on the ball, smiley and ready to assist; Apostolis and Kris from the beach for their limitless energy and efficiency for being able to not only serve and tidy up the beach but also try to tackle sun loungers being reserved by people leaving their towels down for hours. If the hotel wishes to have this rule, they will have to employ another person whose sole responsibility would be this and make sure they enforce it and maintain consistency, otherwise complaints are being lodged which then, unfairly, the staff have to listen to and deal with. Another positive feature was the reception area with the staff being nice and helpful. Our hotel balcony was probably the best feature, offering a great view. Moving on to the cons of this hotel I would say that the wifi is too weak, the dinner buffet is too expensive (£24 per person) and the food nothing out of the ordinary. I was in a 5 star hotel in Elounda (Crete) last year (that also lived up to the expectation of 5 stars) and their buffet consisted of delicacies, unlimited seafood and fish choices, countless deserts and a myriad of appetizers and salads for all tastes and diets. The gym is also very poorly presented, tired and dated with no resemblance to their online pictures and with no instructor in sight, which I would have expected in a 5-star hotel! As far as the cleanliness in the rooms I would say that the hotel would have to provide the ladies who clean with hoovers as by just mopping, hairs and bits on the floor get circulated from side to side, room to room but not actually getting picked up. I got fed up with looking at long black hairs on my floor clearly not mine. The taps’ water flow is also an issue, especially when others are using them at the same time. Most evenings there was nothing coming out of our tap other than a drip. My last point about this hotel is the reason why I am giving the whole experience a 1 star. Half way through our stay, we returned to the room and found our door wide open. When I spoke to reception they told me that maintenance had come to check whether the taps had been left running as one of the other guests heard running water. After that we had no official apology from the hotel showing us how little the think of their guests. 3 days after the incident we instigated a meeting with the manager who basically told us that she did not realise that we had the expectation of her getting in contact with us and that it should be enough that somebody from their reception team dealt with it. All the hotels I have visited and known through my experience have a protocol that they follow when things go wrong, but not this one. The hotel failed to understand that we as guests were their number one priority and whatever happens ‘behind the scenes’ as the manager phrased it is none of our business. WE pay to be there and it is THEIR job to get in contact with us to reassure that it would never happen again and that the staff involved had been briefed. Leaving a hotel door open shows lack of thought and respect for guests’ belongings and if we had lost something it would have been an even worse story to tell. I spent the rest of my stay feeling stressed out and angry that I was paying all this money to be somewhere like this. As far as the wine bottle that management sent after I requested a meeting was irrelevant and much too late. We did not drink it and again this is another sign how insignificant the hotel thought our issue was. The moment we really got uncomfortable though was when the manager asked us, after a long conversation, what they could do for us since we did not want the bottle of wine. We were not there to negotiate freebies so if the hotel really cared or knew what they were doing, they would have been ready with their options. So to answer the manager’s question, l suggest next time they fail to look after their guests, they should consider being prepared better with their answers and offers before meeting up with customers and follow some kind of protocol based on how serious the issues are. Do not ask your guests to decide off the top of their head what they want to negotiate, especially after them chasing you up, and do not treat all mishaps as having the same severity.

KBR is an amazing resort and I can’t recommend highly enough. I have visited 3 times - September 2014, May/June 2017 and June 2019. Each stay has been perfect and the team have catered for all ages and various needs to the highest standard. The first stay was as a couple ( mid 20’s ), the second stay as a wedding party of 30 people ( ranging from a 6 week old baby to family members in their 70s ), and the third stay as a family of 4 ( mid 20s / mid 50s ). I highly recommend their wedding planner Konstantina who was so helpful and organised everything absolutely perfectly down to the smallest detail without us visiting the island prior to the wedding. It was so easy and smooth. There are various wedding packages to choose from and the one we chose also included some special add ons which made the stay even more special such as discount in spa, included mani / pedi and treatments for Bride, special dinner for the couple on another night, breakfast in bed the day after the wedding.... and lots more! Nikos, the bar and restaurant manager, runs a fantastic service with his team. They remember your favourite orders, are so professional but also good fun! Nikos is fully committed to ensuring you have the best experience and he ran our wedding party to the highest efficiency ( always keeping a favourite drink in the bride and grooms hands! ) The hotel is always kept to top standard, very clean and the maid service is great. The evening buffet restaurant is by far the best selection and offering I’ve had in a hotel buffet - running theme nights including BBQ, Italian, Seafood, Traditional Greek. The pool bar offers a range of selection of soft drinks, beers, wines, spirits and cocktails as well as a really full and reasonably priced lunch and snack menu. Like the evening buffet the breakfast buffet is very high quality - cooked breakfast, pastries, selection of meats and cheese, large fruit selection and waffle / pancakes. There is a lovely taverna located next to the hotel on the beach which has great fish dishes. The hotels beach is sandy and clean, with an organised water sport instructor. The hotel has 3 pools, one of which is exclusive to the suite section and one which is good for children. Taxis into town are quick easy to order through the hotel and you can also get the water taxi boat from the beach into the town harbour. Both are very reasonably priced. I would really recommend paying the little bit extra for the suite section if you are having a romantic couples holiday / adults only. The suites are really spacious, you have access to secluded and quieter infinity pool and there is a separate quieter area of the breakfast hall. 10/10! Will definitely be going back many more times and looking forward to seeing the team again!

Check-in was a huge disappointment!! A day before arrival the resort called us to ask about our exact arrival time and flight number. We gave them all the details. BUT there was no heads-up that we would not get our room upon arrival right away, nor did they offer us an airport pick-up! They actually just disturbed us with this call! So when finally arriving at the property, there were some guests complaining at reception about the airport transfer - they were mad that the hotel would charge 25€ per person and that the bus was already completely full and would not leave on time, as the driver couldn't handle all the luggage - the guests were all frustrated! My friend and I decided that we would take our own taxi back (which was a limousine, air-conditioned and half the price). The reception staff (all of them) were so busy calming down the departing guests, that none of them could truly take care about checking us in. (Of course, they do have a hard job - so we took it easy) Finally, we were hoping to just go to our room, we were told that we need to wait at least 3 hours (!) - we were confused, because they could have at least mentioned that in the call the day before! If we would have known this, we would have come prepared and put our bathing staff on the top of the luggage to grab that easily. We were told there is a changing room, that we may use and they will call us, once our room is ready! But we were a bit at unease, becaue there is simply no luggage room!!!! We were told to just put our luggage in the reception hall - so as others did - but there was no one taking care of it! So people could actually easily enter the reception hall and take away the luggage. Then, after the really bad experience, it even got worse. Jesu, the bell boy was asked to show us the changing room. He greeted us and since my friend is pregnant he started to ask very personal quesions about her pregnancy. We were trying to change the subject but he would not stop talking about it! While going, he examined me (!) and started to ask, so you are pregnant as well! I told him in a nice, yet distinct way that this is not his business. He continued and told me that I would look pregnant as well and that I should get a baby! At that point my friend and I felt very uncomfortable. He even wanted to enter the changing room with us! We told him, that he should go away and we will find our way!!! In all the years of travelling togehter as besties, something like this NEVER EVER happened to us!! I will not comment on the thoughts, but I wonder how the management can hire such an immature, unprofessional staff? Obviously they lack training in communications and clear rules of what to refrain of. Breakfast - Huge variety, egg and waffle station - unfortunately its only served til 10:30. when coming at 10:30 the place was still buzzling - Its extremely loud, so dont expect a relaxing start into the day (you can be happy, if you don't walk out with a headache) Beach - beach service is given and a huge advantage - Unfortunately drinks, even the hot drinks, are served in plastic cups! So is the food!!! Given the environmental challenges this is a HUGE minus - the water is nice but dirty, swimming there we found a lot of garbage, which is due to all the plastics (plastic cups, forks, anything you can imagine) Staff - the Staff (except the bell boy mentioned) try to work hard; some are friendly; most of them are just tired and overworked - the same people that serve you breakfast, will serve lunch and dinner (!!) Overall this is not a 4-star Hotel - it's the many small things, that shows that they are trying to save money at the expense of experience, service and quality! They may have gotten my money once - but rest assure never again - not from me, nor my friends or acquaintances!