Semantron Traditional Village

The rooms were dirty when my child's team arrived for a tournament on the weekend of 25/26 June. The sheets were dirty, there was dust all over the floor, and there was no key to lock the door. We complained at reception and were told they would take care of it. Then the cleaning staff confronted the 13 year old children, asked who had complained, and bullied them. They told the kids they shouldn’t complain because they weren’t paying as much as the American tourists staying there. Furniture had been removed from the rooms, and five people were put in a room meant for two. As an American living in Greece, I find this extremely disturbing. The hotel agreed to host all these teams at the prices they had agreed to, yet the children were bullied and told off about paying less than the “AMERICANS.” I urge my fellow Americans not to stay here. There are far better, more professional hotels in the area. They don’t maintain the standards of a 4 star hotel, which is what they claim to be.

There wasn't anywhere to go for a walk or anything to do beyond sitting by the pool all day, and the food was horrible. Some of the staff were friendly, especially the pool staff, who had wonderful activities for children, and the waiters, who went out of their way to help with dining. There were problems with the rooms too. Friends travelling with us had no hot water for more than a day and a half, and our toilet broke on the last day.

The staff made a big effort to accommodate visitors, but there weren’t enough of them. The children's animation program was insufficient, and getting in and out of the big swimming pool was difficult because it had only one ladder. The small pool was always dirty, and its filter system had no protective wire mesh, which made it dangerous for children. We even witnessed an accident! The food was very low budget, with no starters and very poor quality main courses. The same sweets were served three meals in a row. Our room wasn't suitable for a family: an extremely small two-bedroom flat with only one small window. There was no air conditioning in the parents' room, while the air conditioning in the children's room was right above their heads, making the stay unpleasant. Disaster!

The grounds are lovely, with a big green garden, spacious rooms, and old stone buildings that monks used in the past. The new, larger pool is a real plus. I can only give three stars because customer service wasn’t good enough during this period. Improve that and it could be five out of five.