Avaton Luxury Beach Resort - Relais & Chateaux

The beach, food, and view were all fantastic, and the hospitality was incredible from the minute we arrived until we left. I work in hospitality sales and have stayed at great hotels around the world, but this one stood out. Vasco at reception was kind and always ready to help, Theopola looked after breakfast, and Christos served the formal dinners with real grace. Mr. George Paizis, who runs the F&B show, was top-notch. Couples and families should visit. We recommend it 10/10. It gets quite full, so try the end of May, when the water is still warm enough for swimming.

The restaurant service was excellent, and the food looked lovely and tasted good, though both the restaurant and the breakfast were very expensive. Breakfast was 30 euro per person, which felt outrageous for Greece. When we asked for wine suggestions, staff seemed to steer us toward pricier bottles. The location is the hotel's real selling point, right by the sea, but from our villa we could only see it through the master bedroom's tiny window. The ground floor has no toilet, and the pool is very small. The furnishings were nice and cleaning was really good. The kids club was a glass box that was always dirty and sandy, with nothing for children to do. When the attendant was there, it cost 30euro even if the kids stayed only a short time. Beach service was good, but for what it is, the place is simply too expensive.

The private beach is just a two minute walk away and has plenty of room, so the small pools in some ground floor rooms didn't seem very useful to me. The rooms are clean, spacious, and the atmosphere is good, with nice food as well. I chose half board, but dinner was a la carte and extras cost more, so it wasn't all included. At checkout there wasn't a local product souvenir like some other places offer. You can buy honey, olive oil, olives, and similar things in nearby towns.

The team is what made our family stay stand out. Everyone we dealt with was lovely, whatever their role, and we felt well looked after. It was also great to find a luxury resort that felt welcoming to children. The breakfast buffet was the best we've seen in Greece or anywhere else, and half board felt like good value for the quality and variety of the food. The calm setting, well-appointed rooms and amenities, pretty restaurant cabins, and beach that was great with kids would already have made for a very good stay.