Elafonisos Mare

Our room was on the first floor, with a lovely sea view and a big, comfortable bed. Breakfast was very good, especially the delicious cheese pita, and the room was cleaned perfectly every day. There’s a beach within a short walk, and one of Greece’s best beaches is a short drive away.

We really liked the location and the view during our stay two weeks ago. It was easy to walk to the port. The price felt high for what we got, though: the bathroom smelled unpleasant and had some rust, while breakfast fell short on cleanliness and consisted of basic, poor-quality packaged food.

We had two suites for our family of three and were impressed. The rooms were spacious and comfortable, there was plenty of parking, and the place was just gorgeous. Restaurants by the water are an easy walk away, and the island’s best beach, in our opinion, is only a 6 min drive. I wouldn’t stay anywhere else on the island.

The rooms, pool, hotel layout and views at Elafonisos Mare are all quite good. Our minimalist room was clean and comfortable, and the cleaning and breakfast staff were very nice. But after five nights in July 2022, I wouldn’t come back. A standard room was listed at E120 a night, and the food and service problems made that a poor choice for us. Breakfast was served on a shared shaded terrace in a box of single-use plastic packages, despite the environmental statements. For four days in a row, the box for two contained the same things: two small yoghurts, four slices of commercial bread, two stale muffins, four foil-wrapped commercial cheese portions, two honey portions and two small packets of ham. There were also boiled eggs, two tetra packs of juice with a one-year expiry, and a reasonable pod coffee. Twice, the use-by date on the packaged food had already passed. After I complained, the expired boxes were taken away and the whole hotel got a cup of coffee and a boiled egg instead. I spoke to the owner about the expired packages and the identical breakfast each day. He said they’d arrange a buffet the next morning. On July 13, we were given the same packaged breakfast again, this time dated July 30. That meant it would be at least 18 days old if eaten on its expiry date, and likely older. I don’t want to eat bread and muffins preserved for three weeks, especially at E120 a night. The free WiFi didn’t work in our room, which wasn’t beside Reception. I had to cross the garden and sit outside the reception office by the used staff ash trays to get online. I raised the problem on arrival, but nothing changed during our five days. This place could be good, but lazy management and bad food practices made it a poor option for us. I wouldn’t recommend it or stay again.