Hotel Kaos

The pool was fabulous, the weather was superb, and the Temples are close by. But you really need a car to get anywhere, and finding the hotel is difficult. When looking for Avenue Giovanni Gentile, watch for a gap in the hedge. Staff were pleasant and helpful, though a few could use a little more charm. The air conditioning leaked water all over the floor, and having 150 coach tour passengers there made for some interesting times in the restaurant.

The view was nice, but our room was shabby and the staff didn't help. We booked a Standard room expecting one of the renovated rooms shown in the pictures. The room we were given, which staff said was Standard, looked more like the old Comfort room. The curtains were broken, the bathroom was tiny and dirty, and the air vent that was meant to bring in fresh air was disgusting. I raised the mismatch with staff twice. They said the room in the photos was Superior, though the website hadn't mentioned that at all.

The hotel seems like it was grand once, but it isn't anymore. The pool is great and the staff are nice, but the menu is poor. Without a car, you feel stuck at Hotel California. The bathroom was very nice, though the rooms are dated and the beds are poor.

The pool is great, but its middle reaches 3 metres deep and the floor drops away steeply, so keep a close eye on small children. The sunbed area nearest the children's play area also needs serious structural work, as much of the support underneath has crumbled. We came with Riviera Travel, and although the official rating is four stars, our experience barely merited three. The hotel has an old section and a newer one, designed by a Swedish architect with some odd ideas. There are lots of steps, which several older people in our group struggled with. Our bedroom was large and basic, a bit like IKEA, and faced a wall. The balcony view wasn't much better. The bathroom had a strange wooden floor recovered from a boat. It flexed quite a lot in the shower and was slippery. The area around the hotel was terrible. There was plenty of food, but it was repetitive. Alcoholic drinks were very expensive and the cocktails were poor.