Astoria Hotel

The beach was the best we saw on Zakynthos, with clean, clear water that stays shallow a long way out. We stepped straight from the terrace onto the sand, and spent several days there. Loungers and parasols cost €10 a day, and you can get food and drinks from the restaurant or snack bar. The restaurant menu has a good range and the food was all good quality. This is officially a 2-star hotel, so keep that in mind when reading reviews. The room was basic, clean and functional, with a fridge, kettle and hairdryer. You could add air conditioning for €10 a day, but at check-in they suggested seeing how the sea breeze felt first. I liked not being pushed to pay for it, and we didn’t need it. The beds were fine for me, though my wife found them too hard. Rooms look either toward the sea or the mountain, depending on their side of the hotel. The included breakfast is a small buffet, with pastries, yoghurt, fruit, cereal, toast and a few hot items. There was a reasonable variety, and some dishes changed each day, though it wasn’t a huge selection. The attached shop was convenient and reasonably priced compared with other hotel shops I’ve used. The staff, from housekeeping to reception and the bar and restaurant, were all welcoming and friendly. It’s a family-run hotel, so we saw the same faces each day, and everyone spoke good English, which helped this typical British tourist who doesn’t speak Greek. WiFi was free, but my 5G was faster; my wife found the WiFi fine for emails and messages. For a 2-star hotel, The Astoria delivers more than enough. If you’re after a luxury 5-star stay, try somewhere else that costs thousands.

The facilities are a disaster, and the prices are far too high. I only stayed once and wouldn’t go back. The air conditioning is in the room, but you need to get its remote from reception and pay €10 a day, strictly in cash, hahaha, tax evasion. In the kitchen, the waitresses watch your plate and ask why you’ve taken so much if you eat more food. The hotel is run by older women who don’t know how to communicate with customers. Think carefully about the location if you want to explore the island. Public transport only runs in the morning; after that there’s no option apart from an expensive taxi. The infrastructure is a disaster, typical for the Balkans. Zero.

We’ve stayed at The Astoria Hotel in Alykes, Zante, five times, and had a different room each visit. Some rooms seem to have been updated and others not. It’s a lovely hotel right on the beach, with friendly staff and really good food. Breakfast is limited, but fresh.

The bar is the only place where we didn’t have to pay in cash, and nothing else came with a receipt. I wonder why. They charged €40 when we asked to keep the room for another three hours to shower on our last day. A small can of Diet Coke in a Malibu cost an incredible €7, while the local shop sells it for just under €1. The hotel is very tired, despite the great location. Air conditioning was another €10 a day, adding €140, and beach beds were €7 a day. There are only 20 beds for 50 rooms, so unless you get to the beach by 7:30, you have no chance. Breakfast is fine if you like beans and hard-cooked eggs every day. Most staff were fine, though one manager ruled breakfast with an iron fist. When we left, not one staff member thanked us or our fellow passengers. Everyone agreed that was incredibly rude.