The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort

The course is beautiful and the staff are friendly, but golfers should book tee times months ahead. I booked a week-long golf holiday at The Romanos about six months in advance. When we tried to reserve tee times three weeks before the trip, there was nothing available except a few late afternoon slots on three days. I could hardly believe it. Once there, we found that organized golf tour operators had booked all four courses, leaving hotel guests without access to normal tee times. Otherwise, you could find yourself at a beautiful golf resort and unable to play.

Simply put, this doesn’t feel like a five-star place. We paid several thousand for a room with a pool, but it got less than an hour of sunlight a day. The pool was freezing, and the porch stayed too chilly and shaded for sunbathing. The sunbeds, apart from those at the main adult pool, felt cheap and not luxurious. Same at the beach, which surprised me. They looked like bargain garden-centre loungers. The rooms smelled mouldy, my feet were black after walking barefoot, and the shower smelled and looked a bit mouldy too. We didn’t get a sunbed at the main adult pool until the penultimate day. We left for just over an hour to get lunch, and when we came back our things had been taken away in a paper bag and given to other guests. Staff said it was the rule, but that same day I’d seen other guests leave their bags on sunbeds for well over 1.5 hours without returning. At the bigger family pool, attendants just ask if you’re coming back, which avoids having your belongings removed. It felt unfair and really irritating. The resort seems to favour families who are very rich or have the most expensive rooms, even though entry-level rooms cost thousands too. Staff at both pools ignored us while other families got lots of attention and attentive service. When I asked an attendant where the showers were, he stared blankly and said, “what?” Just no charm or manners, in my opinion. Some parts of the breakfast area are reserved for special guests. We were turned away when we tried to sit there on day one. It felt like staff cared about those guests and not the rest of us. There’s more, but we had told them before arriving that it was our honeymoon. We’d stayed at the W down the road a few weeks earlier for the first part, then came back to the Romanos for the second half. The W left us a lovely card and a bottle of champagne and checked in on us often. That wasn’t expected, but it made us feel special and excited. At the Romanos, there wasn’t even an acknowledgement. I mentioned it on the second day when I called reception about a noise complaint from the family above us. I think it’s satisfactory if you’re here with small children, but as an adult couple it isn’t worth the money. If you’re spending that much, go to the W down the road. It’s 1000000x better, with better facilities and rooms, more attentive and friendlier staff, much more quiet, and a nicer, more respectful vibe.

I was here with my family for a week at the beginning of July. The resort was full, but you hardly noticed in the common areas, at the beach or in the restaurants. The pools were perhaps the busiest spots. Our room was spacious, had a nice view and was close to the beach. The beds were very comfortable, and the infinity pool was a great way to handle the heat. There were plenty of sunbeds on the lovely beach, and the shared areas felt like a garden. The resort has several pools and a very nice beach. We ate at several restaurants, and all were great except the buffet at Morias, which wasn’t worth it. Prices were reasonable for what was offered. We also went to a few bars, where some days had live music with a very good lineup. I especially want to mention the excellent service throughout the resort, from reception and housekeeping to the restaurant waiters and beach bar staff.

The rooms are spacious, high-end and nicely appointed. The staff took excellent care of us, the food was very good, and the breakfast buffet was especially great. If you find an off-season rate of $400/night, that’s a great deal. I took off a star for three serious problems. The pools are a centerpiece of the resort, but they’re only open seven hours a day. Having no morning or evening access seems like an inexplicable disregard for what guests want. Food and drinks are also incredibly overpriced. I understand some resort markup, but dinner inside costs literally five times what it does outside. On top of that, a private party on the lawn by the pools played loud music until 11pm, disturbing us in the room and at all the open-air restaurants. One more thing, the extra 15 EUR per night “climate tax” wasn’t disclosed until checkout. Shame on them.