AKS Porto Heli

The room was clean, had a nice sea view and balcony, and the king-size bed was comfortable. Breakfast was okay, with quite a lot of variety, about 7/10. But after two nights and three days, I regretted choosing this place. It seems more suited to conferences or families with kids who want pools, which isn't us. We picked it because it was close to the sea, but the beach was poorly maintained, with large rocks all along it, so shoes are best for walking. The harbour is too close as well. Reception didn’t explain where breakfast was or tell us about activities or anything else. The service felt lazy, and we speak Greek fluently, so there was no language barrier. In the room there was no kettle, tea, coffee, cups, or anything like that, just two plastic cups sealed in plastic bags for drinking water. Very old-fashioned. The air conditioning also didn’t work. It was 26C when we arrived; we set it to 20C, but the room went up to 27.5C. I complained the next morning and asked for a room where the AC worked. Staff said maintenance would look at it while we were at breakfast. When we returned, the fan was higher, but the temperature was still 27.5C. My husband got very sick from the hot air being blown around the room. For the money, I’d look elsewhere. I’d rate it 4/10.

The balconies all have beautiful views, and there’s plenty of free parking. The room cleaners and some other staff were super friendly, especially at the pool bar. But the place is a kid universe, so if I didn’t have a toddler, I’d have left after five minutes. It’s the worst place to be childless. Kids can scream and run wild alongside a hundred others, they run the territory. The beach was messy and dirty, with cigarettes all over the sand and no services available. The playground where I took my one-and-a-half-year-old was rusty and dirty, with sandy patches on the ground, and open to anyone coming in from the street. Breakfast was awful: the same food every morning, messy, seemed unhygienic, and just unpleasant. Some staff, especially at reception, were unfriendly and barely answered questions. I get that they’re exhausted with all the kids and frustrated parents around, but we’re paying too, and it would be nice to get a smile or an answer longer than three words.

In my opinion, the price doesn’t match what the hotel offers, and I wouldn’t recommend it. The breakfast was okay, but coffee outside the machine cost too much. The AC was also a problem: staff openly admitted it wasn’t working properly, and we had to change rooms twice, nearly a third time.

Including breakfast and dinner worked especially well for our large group with children, and the food was great. We spent a few days at Aks Porto Heli, which was perfectly convenient for catching ferries to the islands across from there. During our stay we visited Speces and Hydra. It was a great experience.