Samos Blue Sea

I’ve traveled to thousands of hotels for work over the years, and this is by far the worst one I’ve stayed in. I’ll start with the location. It’s said to be in Pythagoreon, but it’s actually about 5 kilometers from town. Without a vehicle, walking 10 kilometers there and back just to have a drink in Pythagoreon is impossible. There’s nothing nearby to buy food, and no supermarket, convenience store, café, fast food place, or bar. Even getting to the hotel is difficult. The only way in is a small dirt track with rocks and bushes that gave my ATV trouble. The ads showed the property on the beach, just feet from the waves, but the beach is almost a kilometer away. The advertised pool table, jacuzzi, and swimming pool were all out of order, judging by the photos I took, and probably had been for years. Our double bed was nearly falling apart. Even though we were a couple, they gave us a single-bed sheet that was torn in places, probably as old as Pythagoras himself. The bathroom had a used bar of soap and two tiny bottles of who knows what. The owner’s wife handles cleaning. On the third day, when I asked if they planned to clean the room or change the sheets, she joked that I was too nitpicky and that they usually do it after each guest leaves. I was flabbergasted. I asked if we could at least have a double-bed sheet since there were two of us, and she joked again that I could “handle” it until she got around to it. Breakfast was a couple of slices of cheese and ham with bread. When we asked if there was anything else, she said she didn’t have time to make more, but could make an omelet. Without us even asking, she quickly added that she wouldn’t boil eggs because it was too much trouble. While we waited, we watched her “wash” the dining area surfaces with an old rag that had turned black from dirt and a small basin of dark water. When the rag fell on the floor, she cursed, picked it up, and went back to wiping the tables people were meant to eat from. There were spider webs on the bed and elsewhere in the room, with dirt, grime, and dust everywhere. My photos also showed stains and dirt on the bathroom porcelain and window. They were rude and unaccommodating, and tried to get more money from us. We’d agreed on the price by phone before arriving, but then they tried to add various “new taxes” and “amenities” charges. When I refused to pay more than agreed, they told us to leave, even though we’d paid half up front. It felt like an attempt to extort us, since it was peak summer and they knew it would be very hard to find another place to stay. Still, we found a great opportunity at Hotel Artemis, which I’ll review separately. If I could give this less than one star, I would. The worst hotel in the world.