Pomegranate Wellness Spa Hotel

For families with kids, there’s a lot to enjoy: two pools, one seawater and one regular, a great animation team and a lovely playground. The staff were very sweet with children at the beach, restaurants and bar. The sandy beach and warm sea were exceptional. We liked our stay and have no regrets, but we wouldn’t come back. We spent €10k for 10 nights, which is the kind of price you might pay in Sardinia, some Caribbean islands or even an average hotel in Maldives, though this is Greece. The hotel is about 40 minutes from the airport and a 15-minute taxi ride from a decent restaurant at Sani marina. Greek food is one of my top three cuisines, and I’ve been to many places around Greece where the food was exceptional. Here, both the hotel food and local restaurants were quite disappointing, just average.

The staff are kind and always smiling, but the resort felt below average. Without the flashy signs and high price, I wouldn’t have guessed it was five-star. I’ve stayed at many five-star resorts in Halkidiki, and this one was a downgrade from what I’m used to. The hotel itself and service aren’t terrible, but they don’t meet that standard. At check-in, a very kind receptionist said we wouldn’t need to worry about reserving beach sunbeds. After breakfast today, though, we went down and were told there was nowhere for us to sit. The manager eventually brought some beds over from the pool, but we still waited at least 30 minutes in the sun with our beach bags. Other guests were told the same thing. I find that unacceptable for a five-star beach resort. I could put up with average food, smelly sheets and towels or old rooms, but guests should be able to get a place on the beach. I hadn’t expected this, and today’s experience left us really disappointed and ruined our day.

We had a great family stay. The kids club was amazing for the children, the food had lots of variety, the spa was fun, and our well-kept rooms made for a good experience overall. I’m not sure it deserves a four, because the hotel is absolutely amazing, but two things were really irritating and should be dealt with. There were far too many bees outside, making it impossible to eat outdoors. I think the hotel should hire an exterminator to get rid of them. The pools were also much too cold. The infinity pool was especially cool, though I understand it’s meant to be seawater. The regular pool was uncomfortably cold for no reason.

The hotel and its facilities are lovely, the staff are super friendly, and our room was cleaned twice a day. It’s one of the nicest places we’ve stayed. But we came with a child and couldn’t relax on the beach because of the sunbed situation. People put towels on beds early in the morning to reserve them, and if you don’t get there early, you may not find a place. Even towels didn’t protect your spot. We saw other people lose theirs, and ours disappeared while we’d gone to the pool upstairs for just 15 minutes. The pool was full too. You’re politely told to stay there or pay 80/150€ for a larger sunbed. This morning a staff member couldn’t find another solution for us. The hotel lets guests behave this way, so the experience felt like a cheap two-star apartment, nowhere near a five-star hotel. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who expects to get what they pay for and unwind at the beach.