California Beach Hotel - Adults Only

The location is excellent, close to the town centre and near the beach without being right on top of either. The staff were very friendly and helpful. They seemed to know the room was in poor shape as soon as they showed it to us. We hardly spent any time at the hotel during the day, though, so we didn't really get a full feel for its atmosphere. We stayed in August 2025, and I agree with most of the reviews: I wouldn't recommend booking. The rooms are below standard, with rusty shower heads, very old toilet seats and sinks, bare, unfinished interiors, loose skirting boards and poor beds. The air conditioning cost 7 euros a night, didn't work well, and the rooms got very hot during the day. Paying for it in 2025 is outrageous. Breakfast was plain and very basic, far below what I'd expect from a 4 star hotel. We didn't use the pool because it looked dirty. The outdated rooms and poor breakfast bring the place down. At most, it merits 3 stars.

We were very happy with our stay in Zakynthos. The hotel was clean and peaceful, breakfast tasted good, and the staff were extremely kind and always ready to help. We visited in July 2025, though, when there were lots of teenagers in Laganas and some noise at night. That's down to when we travelled, not the hotel. We'd recommend staying here.

The two receptionists and the night porter were very friendly, and the food was decent. Still, our experience was really bad, with dirty rooms and poor service. Think twice before booking California Beach Hotel. At first we were given a room with two single beds separated by a gap, so they couldn't be turned into a double. Reception said I'd requested that, but I asked straight away for a different room with a double bed. We had to wait until the next day. That first room was filthy and badly maintained, with heavy rust on the shower head, tap and rain shower. The toilet paper holder was nearly a meter away, even a stretch for me at 2 meters tall. The mirror was cracked, and the mattresses felt harder than a train station bench. For an extra €150, the next day we moved to a room with a private pool and double bed, which looked a little better. But after returning from the beach the following day, we found a note asking us to go to reception. They said they'd made a mistake because the room was already booked by someone else. We had to pack up immediately while the cleaners were at the door, apparently with the new guests already there. We got our money back and were moved again, this time to an even worse room. It had the same rust, a broken hairdryer that made a loud pop and knocked out power in the whole room, and water came up from another shower drain while I was showering. We reported it countless times, but nothing was done and we were just told to “live with it.”

The room was decent and cleaned every day, which was a big plus, though the bathroom could use some renovation. Breakfast was excellent, and the service was too. The staff were always available to help and give us great restaurant and beach recommendations.