Theano Guesthouse

I stayed in September and wondered if the staff were burnt out at the end of the season. I had a fine visit to Hydra, but the Guesthouse staff seemed indifferent. John, the manager, said we could use the kitchenette, while the other staff seemed unaware of that and didn't want us in there. The directions they gave us were inadequate, and the place was hard to find, with lots of stairs and a sign hidden by vines. Our bottom-level room was clean, and the bed had a firmness I liked, but the bathroom drain gave off a strong musty smell. The room wasn't cleaned daily. It was okay and pretty minimalist, but not somewhere to stay if you want complete comfort.

The reception guys were friendly and very helpful. This is a decent guest house for an okay price, close to the center and port, though it's uphill. The room was clean and spacious, but the mattresses were too hard for us.

I should have researched more. I might have found somewhere nicer, cheaper, and lower down near the port. This place was expensive for what it offered: 210 euros for three nights in early to mid May, with no breakfast included. The hot water lasted two minutes before the shower went cold. The exhaust fan didn't work, and the fridge light came on but the fridge itself didn't. We were cold after the showers, so we never needed to turn on the air conditioning. The dog barking early in the morning added to an already miserable stay, though I suppose the hotel can't be blamed for that. The main room light started very dim and took five minutes to brighten, while the bathroom light came on normally. I'm an Architect and had never seen that before. TV reception was poor, and the internet was practically unusable unless you had two hours just to check email. Everything in the room was small: the room, beds, table, wash basin area, and bedside drawers, which jammed because of poor quality. There was nowhere to put a suitcase except beside the bed. Even the soap was tiny, and they gave us just one for two people. The doors were wafer thin, so sounds from other rooms carried through. The person at the front door reception was disconnected from guests and never helpful. He wouldn't let us leave the key while we were out because he had to leave by 3pm. Hotel transfers were available with 24 hours' notice. I tried calling two days before check-in and got no answer, and leaving a message didn't help. I then messaged through booking.com, but they replied only on the day I checked in, so I no longer met the 24-hour requirement. Getting up there with luggage is a real challenge. The hotel transfers are a definite need unless you're Superman, Batman or Spiderman. It's a twenty-minute walk up stairways, with no other way up unless the hotel confirms a transfer. You might get lucky and find someone with a donkey, but I couldn't find anyone willing to take us once they heard where we were going. The island has no bikes or cars. This important issue isn't made clear. Complaining to reception won't help either, as they just come up with excuses and nothing gets done. Good luck and take care.

The reception guy was very nice and helpful, but the service overall wasn't good, apart from him. We stayed two nights, and the room didn't look anything like the pictures. The TV didn't work, the AC was really noisy, and the shower had no door. You could hear everything from other rooms, including conversations and people showering. There was no breakfast, despite it being advertised a lot in the pictures. The worst part was the location. It was advertised as 800m from the port, but it was nowhere near that. The walk from the port took 15 minutes uphill on steps. I wouldn't recommend it.