Cleopatra Superior

The pool was nice and the location was really good, but breakfast was below basic. We booked for three adults expecting the third bed to be a sofa bed in a separate room, as the website showed. Instead, it was a tiny, rubbish camp bed in the same room, with no sofa or lounge space at all. Getting checked in took ages, more than half an hour just to get the key.

The pool and its view are gorgeous, the place is very clean, and the location is handy for both town and the seafront. There are plenty of sunbeds, and I hope the hotel recognises the cleaners for their work. The bar team, especially the lovely young man and his Mum, were friendly and worked incredibly hard. All the staff were nice, including receptionists who must hear a lot of complaints at check-in. Despite the problems, we had a fab holiday. Kos is wonderful, and I might return now that I know what to expect with check-in, extra charges, the card machine not working and the disappointing breakfast. Check-in was a frustrating way to start. After a long journey, each guest had to enter lots of personal details at a computer, including passport numbers. The passports wouldn't scan, someone had to call for help, and other guests were waiting. We were also told tourist tax had to be paid in cash for legal reasons. There was no legal requirement for cash, and the manager eventually said it was to avoid card fees. I had a few euros left from another holiday, but we had just arrived and hadn't found a cash machine. Air conditioning and a tea tray also cost extra. It felt like corner-cutting, and putting customers off seems like a false economy. Our room was dated. The breakfast had stale bread, cheese, tomatoes and fruit that looked badly bug-eaten. The tea was good, and there was plenty of orange juice.

The hotel is close to the beach and tourist area, and my room was clean and did the job. The shower curtain was something else: it hung in a semicircle like clothes hangers around a tiny shower base. It took me about a week to work out how to wash without flooding the floor. A holiday experience.

We came for five days of poolside lounging and found the hotel suited us well, despite having some doubts from the reviews. It's in a quieter part of town, about five minutes on foot from the beach and the start of the bars and restaurants that run toward the harbour. The place was spotless, the staff were friendly and our basic room was serviced every day. Breakfast was simple, with toast, eggs, fruit, yoghurt and cereal, enough to get going. There are nearby restaurants if you want a bigger breakfast. We had a really lovely stay.