Panorama Resort

We stayed from 27th August to 10th September in room 110, which was upgraded to a sea view. We traveled with Jet2, and the transfer there was horrible. It took over two hours in the dark on narrow, winding roads, and I felt travel sick. The return trip was better in daylight, with fewer parked cars to get around. George met us at midnight. He was lovely, cheerful, and welcoming, a credit to the hotel. He introduced us to Grace and Charle, the resident kittens, carried both our cases down all the steps to our room, and explained what we needed to know. Our room was clean and very spacious, with lots of storage and a small equipped kitchen area. Bring your own washing-up liquid and cloths, even just to rinse glasses. The bathroom was a bit dated, with a big walk-in shower, but the shower head holder was broken, so we improvised with a towel peg. We had a lovely terrace looking over the village and sea, with a clothes airer and pegs. The hotel is built on a hill, so the views are stunning from everywhere. Getting back up from Finikounda centre means a climb, partly on a slope and partly on steps within the resort. The pool area is lovely and has an adjoining children's pool, though we couldn't see anything else at the hotel for young children. There were plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas, and it looks like they've added more since last year's photos and reviews. There are also two shady covered areas for sitting or lying down. The pool bar served most drinks, ice cream, and club or toastie sandwiches. They may have offered more, but there was no menu to show what was available. A menu and a list of cocktails they can make might be worth considering. The aperol spritz was good. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the nearest supermarket, 12 minutes to the seafront and village beach, 20 minutes over hills and steps to lemon drops beach, which is a lovely bit stoney, and 20 minutes to the long, quiet beach at Anemomilos. The sea inflatables disappeared at the start of September. Breakfast was surprisingly good, all buffet style: a continental Greek section, cakes, pastries, fresh fruit, and a hot section with mushrooms, fried and scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese pie, and potatoes, plus bread and toast. The peaches and nectarines were huge. In our second week there were a lot more Brits at the hotel. Baked beans showed up on the buffet and the cheese pie disappeared. We hired a car and explored the gorgeous Peloponnese. Nearby Methoni castle is definitely worth a visit, as are the ancient site of Messeni and Pilos. Further afield we went to the other “fingers”, Gytheio, Areopoli, Monavasia, and Mystras. It's a shame there aren't more public transport options and taxis for local trips.