Maistrali Hotel Zante

The food was very hit and miss, often a miss, and even after I complained it was never consistently hot. Most dishes weren’t labelled, apart from the baby potatoes. There was only a handheld shower, no blankets, and no phone in the room, even though the welcome sheet said to dial 9 for reception. We had two water outages in six days, one lasting four hours and the other nine. That’s completely unacceptable. I’ve visited Greece for 35 years and never had a water outage before. It’s been two weeks since I got home and nobody has contacted me about my complaints. Never again.

The pool was clean and pleasant to relax around, but the music ruined it. Whoever ran the pool bar had extremely loud music playing from 8 am to 11 pm, sometimes heavy metal. It should have been a relaxing atmosphere, not a nightclub. The men’s and women’s toilets by the pool didn’t even have seats. We arrived needing a shower after travelling, but there was no water in the morning, so we couldn’t wash or flush the toilet. The restaurant had no water either. You’d think they’d offer each table a complimentary bottle, but people were queuing for flimsy plastic cups. A red warning light was flashing outside the restaurant the night before and was still on in the morning. Reception blamed local road works. The night before checkout, the light was flashing again, and there was no water again in the morning. We saw a tanker arrive to refill the water tanks, and the light went out. How does a hotel run out of water? Reception gave the same excuse about road works, but we walked that road every day and never saw any evidence of them. The bedroom was large and clean, with a nice steel-framed four-poster bed. They seem to want guests to eat at their restaurant, so there were no plates or cutlery despite the small kitchenette. There were only four coat hangers, the phone didn’t work, and there was no wall bracket for the shower head. The restaurant was okay and had a good variety, but the staff were unwelcoming and sometimes rude. Getting cereal meant reaching past swarms of wasps on the open preserves and honey. There’s a handy, reasonably inexpensive little supermarket opposite, and a bus stop for Tsivili, about 12 minutes away, and Zante Town, about 24 minutes away. The hotel is poor for a four-star rating. Rooms 307, 306, and 205 have sea views, though 306 has only a slight view and 205 a limited one. Room 307 has the proper sea view and also looks over the mountains and pool. I’d never return. It didn’t feel like the usual Greek hospitality we’re used to.

The Tragaki public beach was just a couple of minutes away, and the hotel was in a calm setting that suited us well. The bus stop is very close and buses run fairly often, so it isn’t completely cut off. It’s a lovely hotel with a good location. My family and I stayed nearly two weeks. The staff were helpful and polite, and the restaurant food was really good. There are two bars for guests, and we mostly went to the one in front of the restaurant. The young Polish barman, I think his name was Cyprian, was very nice, made jokes, and was easy to talk to. He was always polite and smiling, even when very busy. We liked our room too. The bathroom was modest, but everything worked perfectly. We enjoyed our stay very much :)

Stela was so kind and helpful, and the food was tasty. We had a wonderful vacation here and were really happy with the hotel. Nice place, nice staff.