More Traveller Reviews of Koukounaria Hotel
Very nice for greek hotel
from Laura-GoingPlaces
We arrived at the hotel and found the lady on reception a bit rude and seemed put out if you asked her for anything. The room I had was very big, it slept five people easily. The rooms were clean for a greek the room needed to cleaned with some cleaning products to make it feel cleaner. The grounds the hotel was set in was very pretty and it was only a short stroll to the town centre and the beach. overall this hotel was graded at a 4star - on the whole I would go along with this - but remember this is greece and a 4 star is not a spanish 4 star.
Nice place shame about the chickens
from LolaEssex
The Koukounaria over all was a very nice hotel/apartments, all the rooms were spacious. The pool was gorgeous and the views out of this world. However..... we had to leave an 80 Euro deposit on arrival to cover any breakages and if you wanted a kettle or toaster they were at a fee of 15 euros each per week, as we had booked self catering I expected these as standard. There was the added let down of free range chickens which were nice to look at however there were cockerals which like to say hello at 2 in the morning and would continue until night fall. The hospitality of the bar staff the and all the other people was fantastic but I would probably not visit this resort again.
hidden extras
from puffone
basic room very clean and a lot of hidden extras like kettle tv toaster a/c also the 80 euros you have to pay before you have to go to your room nice clean pool if traveling in september beware of moany OAPS
Typically Greek
from wotnow
I found this typically Greek hotel/apartments /Villas via the web when booking a holiday at short notice. Luckly they had just recieved a cancellation and were able to accommodate us. They cater for mainly British and Greek holiday makers. It is clean comfortable and convienient for both the beach and centre of Alikes. A taxi from the airport is €21 set fares are displayed at the airport about a 20min journey They have lots of different size rooms but our was a 4 person studio which was adequate. The bathroom was modren and spacious although I am lead to believe some have a smaller bathroom. Three of the rooms have no balcony and face out of the back onto a park, and I know that at least one of these rooms complained about their view. It is a slight incline to the hotel not a hill as such but for the less fit it may be a problem. Booking with the hotel direct we found that enjoyed better facillities than those who booked via an agent. which charged extra for buffet breakfast, air condition (which is an absolute must have) kettles, tea/coffee/milk, safety deposit box and remote for TV, which were all included for direct bookings.. There is no maid service on Sunday unless paid for extra but again included for direct booking. The hotel is quite near chickens and geese and these can be heard especially in the morning. It is prodominetly a family hotel, witha games room for teenagers. The snack bar food was cheap and quite good, with homemade chips.. Plenty of sun beds till around 11.00 to midday every day so no need to get up at the crack of dawn to get one. The hotel staff are very friendly. The hotel does not as such have entertainment in the evenings but they have a bar which sometimes has Karoke nights and a huge TV showing all football games and music videos. Overall we had an excellent holiday and would recommend it , at least two families we met had been they year before with more including myself promising to return. Howewver I will book direct again.
Excellent Holiday
from cp4eva
This hotel is clean, in a good location, staff are helpful and friendly. The pool is excellent and spotlessly clean. We had a self-catering appartment which was spacious. The kitchenette was stocked with all the necessary delf, cutlery, pots and frying pan. Anything else is extra e.g. kettle, toaster, microwave. We knew this before going so it didn't bother us, but some other guests were disappointed. For €10 you can get the TV working, however the only proper english channel was SKY news, everything else was in Greek. There is hens, roosters and geese in the surrounding area, which do like to crow in the early hours, this could be very annoying to some people but we got used it. The resort itself is small and this was perfect for us, there is plenty of restaurants and bars for different choices each night. The beach is sandy and you can walk along to the neighbouring resort which is very very close, again there is plenty of choice here too. We hired a jeep for two days. To hire it through the hotel would have been €50 a day, however if you hire through the office in the resort it only cost us €45 a day. The island is very easy to get around and even though it is small there is plenty to see on your own. There is some fabulous beaches with the clearest, bluest water. We went on the Athens trip and throughly enjoyed it. It is a long trip but an excellent experience. I think if you choose this island and this hotel you will have a good holiday.
Best holiday to date!
from beccahobson
Me, My Mum and Aunty have just spent a lovely week at the Koukounaria Hotel in Alykes. The journey to the hotel was a complete nightmare as the bus had to stop to drop off 2 or 3 couples in each village. This resulted in a 1hour30min bus journey. In reality from the airport to the hotel should have taken 20 mins - we will get a taxi next time! On arrival at the hotel we were asked to pay an 80 euro deposit for breakages etc. We gave our credit card number and the slip was torn up on our departure, so not as bad as originally thought. Our room (212) was lovely and spacious and the view from the bedroom was gorgeous. We had to pay about 70 euros for air con for the week and 20 euros for the safe, which was a bit expensive but worth it! We found all the staff very welcoming and the standard of cleanliness was superb. There was never a struggle to get a sun bed in the mornings and mattresses for these are 1.50euros. The apartment had self catering facilities, however we didn't use these as breakfast and evening meals were quite cheap. We hired a car for 3 days which was a great way to see the island. If you get the chance take a drive up to the lighthouse right at the top of the island near Blue Caves. Don't stop in the town before it where all the people will try to sell you trips out to the caves. If you carry on to the lighthouse you will not be disappointed. Here you can get the boat to the Blue caves and Smugglers Cove for only 15 Euros. 2 Brothers take you and it was the best experience of our holiday. You get on an uncrowded boat and have the experience of a lifetime! Smugglers cove has the bluest sea that I have ever seen and the sea is impossible to sink in as there is so much salt. From here you can swim out and explore the little caves. Once back on the boat (after 45 mins) we were taken to the blue caves. We were taken inside numerous caves on the boat and you are given lots of chances to get in and swim. One cave in particular lights you up as you swim! All in all it took about 3 hours. Many of the other boats are huge and crowded, so try to avoid them if you can. Another must if you get a car is a restaurant set high up on a mountain just the other side of Alykanas. Follow the road from Alykes through to Alykanas. You will go past numerous petrol stations and just before one of them there is a turning to the left that heads of up a hill. The restaurant is signposted as Lofos Pizzeria. This has got to be the best restaurant on the Island. The views are breathtaking. Be careful on the road up there though - I can guarantee you will have never seen a bend like one of the ones you have to go round! The food was fantastic and the trip here was definitely worth it. I would recommend the Koukounaria to anyone that is considering going here. The Island, people and views are all sensational. Only sad I had to come home!
nice hotel but lots of 'extras'
from kdem
Hotel is in a great location for the beach and centre of resort. Air conditioning charged at 79 euros per week (or part of week as we discovered). Very clean hotel ,friendly staff and the pool is lovely. Very basic kitchen in the apartments but plenty of good restaurants nearby. We hired a car for the week and saw most of the island, liked alykes in comparison to other areas.
Loved the hotel!!
from DanSm
I have just come back from staying at the Koukounaria Hotel in the resort of Alykes in Zante and I had a thoroughly wonderful time as far as the hotel was concerned. I take on board the other comments of the fact that you have to pay for the air conditioning yet this did not ruin the holiday as I felt that it was good value for money as the unit did work and in some cases got too cold so we had to turn it up!! The staff at the hotel are extremely friendly and couldn't do more to help us. The receptionist was really helpful, both during the day and night and was always happy to help. Granted the towels were only changed once during the week's stay, but they were sufficient as we were also provided with a towl to step on for when stepping out of the shower and this meant that water did not go all over the floor. I did hear the peacocks but they were not too much of a nuisance and I also thought that the maid was extremely good and kept the floors clean through washing them daily. Moreover the room was big enough for us. The pool was fabulous; there was a fabulous energy that came from the pool staff which meant that they made the stay more exciting who spoke a whole array of languages which helped multiple groups of people. They were only too hapy to oblige with any problems or requests that we had. The only thing that I would say about the pool is that there appeared to be an abundance of sun loungers around but they tended to be at the very very edge next to bushes which harboured midges or alternatively did have a somewhat pungeant smell, but this was not a real issue as we didn't sit in those areas for lengthy periods of time.
Hidden charges and poor room spoiled stay
from mod_mark
On the surface the hotel has a nice location a short walk away from the centre of the town and affords impressive pool views of the surrounding hillsides. However there were problems during our stay which overshadowed the Koukounaria's good first impression. 1. Before you even get to your room, you are forced to pay an €80 deposit which you are not warned of before arrival. This makes for a poor first impression and you can't help feeling the management are being unreasonably suspicious for what is mainly a family hotel. 2. Hidden charges. Although self catering, there is very little facilities included in your holiday price. We had to pay extra for the Air Conditioning, Safety Deposit Box and even a kettle! Also beware if you are traveling with infants as you are charged for a cot! We had chosen this hotel because of its facilities and did not expect to pay again to use them! 3. Beware if you unlucky enough to get rooms 305-308 in the pool block. They had no balcony, an occassional smell of sewage on the little seating areas and the annoying noise of peacocks squaking at each all day and night sometimes until around midnight from the Alykes Park Hotel Compex directly at the rear of the Koukounaria. 4. The walls of the hotel were paper thin and we had 3 days of noise disturbance from the neighbours on one side which further stress. 5. On one occassion, the maid cleaned our room and left the door unlocked all day. Although the management were apologetic, this was a serious breach of security. All in all what is largely a pleasant hotel with (on the whole) helpful staff was seriously let down by poor rooms and poor customer service. I would definately not book the Koukounaria Hotel again.
Nice location
from swalsh
These apartments were in a nice location with lovely views all around. Our studio was quite large and fairly clean, but a little basic. The resort of Alykes was pretty quiet, but with plenty of bars and restaurants and a good beach. The apartments had a large pool which was kept clean, and plenty of sunloungers. The downside of these apartments is that guests are expected to pay for everything as extras. Air conditioning, TV, safe, kettle and hairdryers all were chargeable as extras and this worked out quite expensive (AC for example, was 39 euros for the week). Guests were strictly not allowed to use their own electrical equipment due to the hotel's "health and safety " regulations, and this was policed by the houskeeping staff, so there is little choice but to fork out the cash! Also, the towels were only changed once during a week's stay. This was totally inadequate as we had to use towels to mop up the floor which flooded every time we used the shower, due to the (typically greek)absence of a shower curtain. All in all we had a pleasant and relaxing holiday, and found Zante quite nice for a week's stay, but would probably not stay at the apartments again.
More hotel photos
My friend and I have just returned from a 7night break at the Koukounaria Apps and think that people should be made aware of the hidden expenses that you have to pay before you even unpack your suitcase.You are asked to pay a breakage deposit of 80euros, 10 for kettle,10... more