Argostoli Marina Suites

We arrived late on 7 July after a long travel day, and the room was filthy: hairs on the sheets, dirt and dust on the floor, a faulty bathroom light and an unpleasant smell. Elisa, the receptionist at the travel agency next door, seemed panicked and couldn’t offer another room. After some back and forth, she arranged for a cleaner to come in. We waited over an hour, with 10pm approaching, before going back in. I stepped into the shower and my foot went straight through its plastic floor. I had a small cut on my foot, and there was a large crack in the shower. That was the last straw. The receptionist denied it could have happened, despite the cut and the crack. She didn’t seem equipped to handle the situation and appeared to have an emotional breakdown in front of several other staff. It’s lucky my partner speaks Greek, or things might have been even worse. To her credit, Elisa eventually pulled herself together and arranged for us to move to their superior partner property, Argostoli Essence Suites. The receptionist there also confirmed that we’d have a complimentary upgrade for our full 3-night stay. It was late, and we just wanted to rest, so we accepted. The next morning, a different receptionist stopped us as we were heading out and said the shower at the old property had been fixed overnight. We could move back, or pay an extra 300 EURO on the spot. We couldn’t believe the shower had been repaired overnight, and it seemed they had misrepresented our compensation. The two receptionists had assured us the upgrade was for the entire stay. Elisa later insisted she’d offered only one night, which was another blatant lie. We would never have returned to a place where we’d nearly been seriously injured. We had no choice but to pay the extra 300 euro, and haven’t seen a cent of it back. The property has also rudely refused to compensate us for the stress and inconvenience. With our extensive experience in the hotel industry, this was by far the worst customer experience either of us has ever had. The handling of it from start to finish was beyond unacceptable. I’d urge anyone reading this to STAY AWAY from this property and not even think about booking it for a stay in Kefalonia. In Elisa’s own words, “you could stay at any of the other many hotels in Kefalonia”, so she knows just how awful they are.

The loft is extremely nice, comfortable and cosy, in a perfect harbour location, and it was cleaned every day. The downside was the noise cleaners made in the corridors in the morning. It also felt like a business only, without any extra hospitality or attention from the hosts.

We’d been looking forward to staying here after watching the property being prepared over the past few trips to the island. We booked two suites, but bad weather on the way out meant our flight was diverted to mainland Greece and then returned to the UK because it couldn’t land on the island. The owner was unsympathetic, kept the full payment and refused to move the booking or offer a discount for a future stay when we could return.

The beds are comfortable, and the balcony has a lovely view. There’s also a little coffee station and a fridge, though no plates or cutlery. But the bar downstairs is loud most nights, often until nearly 3 am. The staff seemed to try to sort it out, but it didn’t really help. If you need quiet to sleep, this probably isn’t the place for you. It’s great if you can sleep through anything.