Naxian Collection

The location was solid, breakfast was great, and the staff were friendly. We ended up in the four-bedroom villa, which had a really awkward layout and setup. It was nice to have two outdoor pools, though.

The sea view from the villa was nice, and it sits high on a hill. The beach town is a charming 10-15 minute walk away, but the road is narrow with no sidewalks. Take a bright light if you plan to walk at night. You can get a rental car brought to the hotel and picked up there, and we found one easily. We paid 150 euros for four days. You’ll need a car to get around, since this isn’t an island where you can count on taxis. We hiked mt Zeus, about a 35 minute drive each way, and that was a real highlight of the trip. The owner asked me about this review at checkout. I said I would edit it to mention that the large luxury villa they gave us made things much better, although even that place had too many problems. At the price we paid, the large villa was worth it. If we’d stayed in the original room at its listed rate, we likely would have left sooner and found somewhere on the beach. Seeing the SLH brand makes you assume luxury, but this place fell short. We had prepaid for four nights. After we complained about the first room, the owner offered us an upgrade to a two-bedroom, two-bath duplex villa with a private pool at the same price, and we accepted. The original room cost $400 a night and was crawling with large flies, with gnats by the kitchen window. When we complained, the owner-manager said bugs were inevitable because the hotel was among trees. We told him that sounded delusional. He sent a housekeeper, who swatted at the bugs with a rag and plugged in some kind of citronella device. We said there was no way we could stay in that room. It’s hard to understand why anyone would pay those prices for what this place offers. The villa had stark, ugly furnishings, including a table and chairs like you might find in a Holiday Inn room. Both bathrooms had showers with water temperatures that kept changing. There were no towel hooks, drawers for clothes, or full-length mirror. The pool was nice but freezing cold. On a windy night, the shutters slammed and kept us awake. The dining area in person looked like the same awful Holiday Inn setup as in the online photos, and it had flies too. Breakfast started at 8:30, which felt late. There was no fresh fruit, the coffee was awful, and a kid in jeans and sneakers served it. The dining room felt like a bed-and-breakfast. The in-room coffee maker worked only on and off; there was no milk until we asked, and then the manager brought some. They offered a barbecue dinner for $60 per person, but that was three times what we paid for amazing meals in town with perfect views. The barbecue was at picnic tables with no view. There was no microwave, and the kitchen had so few utensils that nobody would cook there. In town, we saw hotels right on the water that looked much better. One we visited for real coffee had a better buffet and a self-serve coffee machine for guests, right by the beach. We were told to visit their sister property for beach loungers, but passed because its restaurant had only so-so reviews and we’re not people who sit in the sun. This place is no luxury hotel and isn’t worth what they charge. There’s no proper lobby, just a front desk, and staff wore jeans or mismatched outfits. The villa’s furnishings were bare and unattractive, and for what you get, the price felt unreal.

The villa had damp and mold on the walls, and the air conditioning didn’t work, so it felt uncomfortable, especially at night. We asked staff several times to fix it, but they couldn’t sort it out during the first three nights. On our last day, they offered to install a new unit, which we agreed to, but after all we’d dealt with, we also asked for a partial refund. We wanted to speak with the owner but couldn’t find him. We paid a lot expecting a great luxury holiday in Naxos with my family, but the stay was very disappointing. It didn’t feel like a luxury experience at all, and there are plenty of better hotels in Naxos. Don’t fall for their scam.

Both mattresses in our villa were a problem, especially the master bedroom one, which was clearly worn out. After our first uncomfortable night, staff turned it upside down so we could sleep. The room also felt neglected, with a broken toilet seat, a bad smell in most rooms, rust stains on the floor, uneven patchy paint, and a worn-down feel that didn’t match the polished photos. Staff eventually put in a bunch of wall plug-ins to deal with the smell. The air conditioning didn’t work when we checked in. We reported it right away, and staff came back twice over two days just to flip the breaker and get it running. After a tiring trip, that was a rough start. We expected more from the hotel’s luxury branding, but ended up leaving a day early and losing a hefty amount we’d paid per day. The staff made things harder. Most seemed untrained or unprepared to help. The front desk people were friendly, but couldn’t resolve problems and messed up basic reservation requests. From start to finish, the maintenance problems, weak service, and lack of responsibility made the stay frustrating. For the rates they charge, guests deserve much better. It felt like a low-budget motel trying to look upscale.