Bozikis Palace Hotel

We felt scammed. For the price, the place was far too dirty, loud and disappointing. The pool bar was a bright spot: drinks were very cheap compared with Laganas, and the staff there were friendly, helpful and professional. The breakfast was decent for what it was and matched our expectations. It was the same each day, with orange juice, water, coffee options and tea bags, plus several kinds of bread, sour cream, sliced hard cheese and ham, butter, peach jam, honey, chocolate spread, tiny hot dogs, fried ham and omelet with chopped hot dogs cut into squares. The food came from outside the property, but was still fresh enough. Our ground-floor room had its balcony facing the pool, so there was no privacy. People could look inside, and the parking was right in front. There was noise from people yelling and parking at all hours, including regular commotion around 4 or 5 a.m. We asked to change rooms and were told one might be available in two days, overlooking the road. We decided that wouldn’t be much better. After looking around the property, I saw some rooms were in the basement with balconies, so we were luckier than those guests. The room also smelled musty and heavy, like it hadn’t been aired out for a year, and there was black hair in many places and thick dust on the small lamps above the beds. The bathroom was tiny, with just two shampoo toiletries and one hand soap bar for a week. The toilet button was odd and took a lot of effort to press. On the fifth day the shower handle broke off, but the owner helped by giving us a replacement. The hotel is on a hill beside the road, and it takes at least 15 minutes walking next to speeding cars to get to the nearest beach that isn’t full of parked boats. The staff didn’t seem to care. I’d read reviews mentioning rudeness, but in our case it felt like they knew we’d be leaving soon and couldn’t spare us the time. I spoke with the owner a few times and got some information, and they helped print our boarding passes. The help with the shower handle was appreciated too. On our last day, the owner was stopping a fight between two guys.

Good value for the price, with friendly staff, a nice pool and a bar. The pool usually stays open a bit later. Cameo Island is a 5-10 minute walk away, and you can easily drive to the strip.

The cleaning was good, and the cleaning lady is a sweetie, but breakfast was the same every day. They wouldn’t let us put two tables together to seat four people. Air conditioning costs extra, Wi-Fi only works in the lobby, and there was no TV connection. We liked that the hotel is beside a quiet beach area without nightclubs. There were lots of mosquitoes!

We stayed for two weeks and everything was fine. The staff were kind, the rooms clean, and the breakfast perfect. There’s a beautiful sea view, and the location is good, close to the sea. A little shop is next door, with nice authentic taverns in the neighbourhood. I recommend it.