Hotel Merope

The breakfast kept us well supplied each morning, with plenty to choose from, though after seven days the same dishes felt a little repetitive. Still, we’d happily return to Merope Hotel. The shower was a real relief after several weeks of baths elsewhere in Greece: here it was separate, enclosed, and had sliding doors. We also appreciated being lent a kettle and cups when there wasn’t one in the room, and staff offered to bring tea or coffee upstairs if we asked. Everyone was welcoming, and Christina was especially helpful with restaurant and sightseeing suggestions. Her recommendations were all superb. The hotel is close to Karlovasi Limani, with its many places to eat and lively feel, and Karlovasi itself is also an easy walk away. Everything else was fantastic.

The website photos need updating, since they don’t show the current state of things and set the wrong expectations. The rooms are a decent size, but the shower is so small I could barely fit at 5ft9 and 220lbs, and the water pressure was abysmal. You also can’t leave the room card in to keep the room cool. Breakfast was mostly sides, with few choices and no main items. The pool was visibly green, with algae along the edges. We were told it was cleaned at 8pm every night, but after a night there it looked exactly the same. When our toilet wouldn’t flush, staff said it had been fixed, but it still wouldn’t flush when we tried it. The receptionist insisted it was working, so I asked her to come see if she could flush it herself. We were then told someone would come in 30 minutes. There was no apology, and she acted as if I was imposing. They seemed friendly until we had a problem, then showed no respect for us as paying guests on vacation.

The internet was horrible, and breakfast was just eggs and sides, not even a continental breakfast. The furniture is very outdated, and the bed is twin size if you need it split, so a bigger person may need the beds kept together. The room looked clean at first, but looking closer, the fridge had stains inside and dust covered the menus and furniture. We booked partly because of the pool, which was a major disappointment. It was covered in algae. When we asked about the green water, the receptionist blamed the tile, which wasn’t true, and said it was cleaned every night. I could scrape algae off with my bare hand, so it looked like at least a month of inadequate cleaning. I refused to swim. The employees tried to lie to my face, and when we raised our concerns with the manager, he shrugged them off. For the price it’s not bad, but the internet pictures make it look much better and should be updated to show what to expect. I’d never come back.

The service was awful. When we brought up the pool with the manager and receptionist, they brushed us off and lied, and spoke as if they didn’t care at all. It felt like bait and switch compared with the website. The pool was full of algae despite their claim it was cleaned every night. There looked to be at least a month of buildup. The rooms are an okay size, but the beds are tiny, twin size, and the shower was the smallest I’ve ever used, about 2 feet by 2 feet. I kept banging my elbows on the door. The pressure was terrible, like water from a watering can. You can’t leave your card in the slot to cool the room or they reprimand you. I had put a towel on the bathroom floor because of the water, and they threatened not to give us more towels if they found another one.