Maria Anna Hotel

The Maria Anna hotel is a nice, small hotel. We arrived, and were shown to our room. Althought the room was small, it looked clean and comfortable. Unfortunately (we found out later), it looked out over the pool and the pool bar. This meant a lot of noise at night - some nights we were kept awake until 3:30am by the owner (Gregory), (bar person) Lee and some guests sitting at the bar drinking and laughing. One particular lady (Laney?) was extremely rude, jeering at guests in the next hotel when they politley asked them to keep the noise down at 2am.
That aside, the daytimes were great. The breakfast was nice, although I personally would have preferred self-service. The omlettes were brilliant! The room was kept clean, and we always felt safe.

If you are after a relaxing holiday, this will be very ideal for you. The sea view (if you get the room) is wonderful, looking over towards Zante and the coast is a brillaint scenery at any time.
A big pat on the back for Gregory/Jenny/Peter and Lee, they made the stay very enjoyable when they could. ( Sorry Jenny for plotting the idea into Gregorys mind of you getting pushed into the pool half way through the day, with all your clothes on :-)..... ) I would recommend the BBQ night plus Gregorys salads and Pizza's.. Scrummy!
If you are booked through Olympic, i would defiantly recommend the BBQ Beach Cruise where you get the chance to see dolphins and have a mint day out on the boat and on the beach.
As everyone else have said, hire a car if you want to check the whole island, you would never ever see me drive on those roads at any time....!
All n all, brilliant resort with a great team behind the place. Thanks so much for a wonderful stay.
P.S... Case D'Blue restaurant is georgous, i would also recommend this place for a bite to eat at night.....!
Oh and try Peters Cocktail.... Lethal ;-)

This is one of the most friendly hotels we have stayed in. The staff are second to none and the service brilliant. A farewell party with free meal on the Monday which was our last night was great. Gregory the owner is a fantastic chef and Lee the english guy who runs not only the bar but almost the whole hotel is a fantastic host. The whole set up is amazing and I would dis believe anyone who did not enjoy a stay here. We will certaily go back in the future.

Had a brilliant holiday yet again. Staff lovely, very friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Spotless and clean rooms and facilities looking forward to going back next year. Hotel is situated on the hillside with fantastic views of the sea and neighbouring Zakinthos. Need to be quite fit to walk back from the beach (down to the beach is a piece of cake!)Would recommend hiring a car as the rest of the Island is well worth a visit.

1 reader found this review helpful

The only dissapointment for us was not having a room with a view. However, everything else was perfect. Gregory, Jenny, Peter, Lee and background staff could not have done more to make everyones stay enjoyable. The BBQ quiz night was fun thanks to Rhianna's organisation and the food excellant thanks to Gregorys great cooking. The Pool Party was great fun thanks to Lee's great idea of having lilo races! (I would have won if i hadn't pulled Al out of the hat!!) Gregorys Keleftico was the best we've ever tasted, delicious. The resort has a good selection of Tavernas and resturants to choose from and after a great meal out, what better than to come back to Maria Anna for a few drinks at the pool bar with the other residents, who were a great friendly crowd.
It is well worth having a car for a few days to check out the rest of the Island, the views are breath taking.
We would like to thank everyone at Maria Anna for making our holiday so very enjoyable and we would certainly recommend it to anyone.
Sheree and AL.

1 reader found this review helpful

My friend and I arrived very hot and tired after the plane journey but we were greeted by Rhiannon, the lovely Olympic rep at the airport and were shown to our air-conditioned bus.
We had a quick transfer to the apartments (approx 20 mins) through mountainous scenery and once we had arrived, we were taken straight to our room, assisted by the owner's son, Peter and Lee who works behind the bar.
Our apartment was perfect-beautiful sea view, fridge, clean and lots of plug sockets. There is the option of paying extra for a/c for the week. We went straight to the pool which seems to be cleaned almost daily and is a great size.
Breakfast each morning is served by Jenny (and sometimes Peter) and consists of fresh bread, jams and butter with oj. Then you have the choice of tea or coffee and cornflakes, museli, greek yoghurt and honey or omlette (omlette definitely recommended)!
The rooms are cleaned daily with fresh sheets and towels every 2 or 3 days-the cleaning lady is also lovely.
There is about a 20 minute walk to the nearest beach (Kanarli beach), down hills and along a stone path so be prepared for this, though it is possible to reach the neighbouring beach (trapezaki) by car, if you have one.
Other reviews suggest it is absolutely imperative that you hire a car, but we managed for one week without one and had a lovely time. Though, if you want to see and do lots, hiring a car is probably recommended but you must be over 23 years old. However, if you don't hire a car, the trips run by Olympic holidays seem to cover all the main places and attractions. You could also use the bus service, which does not always run to time, as we were told to expect, but the one day we used it, it was only 10mins late and it took us to Argostoli (main city) where there are shops, food markets and a lovely harbour (where we saw some turtles!) The bus service is in-place for those commuting to work so returns at funny times from Argostoli (we left at 10 form Lourdas and came back at 2pm) but this was enough time to do all that we wanted at a slow pace.
There are about 10 local restaurants which serve nice and reasonably priced food (I would recommend La Mer and Olive Lounge). The hotel also has a weekly bbq (I had fish which was amazing) and quiz which was fun and gives a chance for everyone to interact.
We had only one problem-our shower broke but the 'handy man' who coud speak no English came to our room straight away and fixed it with no fuss.
This holiday is perfect if youre looking for a very relaxing holiday (i.e. pool, beach and meals out) or if you have a car, the chance to do some sight-seeing and trips to beaches further away. If you are looking for clubs, then probably best to stay in Argostoli or Lassi which is where the main nightlife is. Or pay 50 euros return for a taxi from Lourdas.
Thankyou to all the staff at Maria Anna and to Rhiannon the rep-they are all very concerned with making the holiday as special for you as possible.

I booked a last minute "allocation on arrival" holiday 3 days before departure. With these kind of holidays with Olympic, you accept that there is a strong likelihood that you will be moved to other accommodation (possibly in another resort altogether) - I spent the first few nights at the Buena Vista studios in Lourdas and was then moved to the Maria-Anna.
The hotel is very laid back - the rooms are a bit basic but immaculately clean and well maintained. There is a great pool area, a well stocked pool bar with good food and the owners Gregori and Jenny are wonderful. The lady who does the cooking and cleaning is lovely and nothing is too much trouble for any of them.
The majority of the rooms have wonderful views across the bay although if you are near the pool bar or in one of the 4 rooms with balcony's facing inland, you may get some noise from the bar/restaurants a little way up the hill. There is a lovely breeze around the pool area which you definitely need as it's incredibly hot - I paid locally for the air conditioning and it was money well spent.
Definitely join in on the Thursday night barbeque - food is excellent and well worth spending a little more than going to a restaurant.
There are a good selection of restaurants within easy walking distance - I highly recommend The Orange Cafe which is just at the top of the lane above the Maria-Anna.
The food was delicious and excellent value compared to some of the other restaurants, although the food is not really authentic Greek, but it was by far the best in the resort.
Look out for the daily "specials" ..... superb !
I would definitely go back to the Maria-Anna - it was a trek down to the beach but who needed it when you had such a lovely pool.
Special mention to 2 people :
Peter - Jenny's teenage son - he was fabulous with the kids and got them all joining in games, including the shy ones.
Rhianon - our Olympic Rep - she was wonderful and so passionate about the island of Kefalonia ...... her love of the island and it's people came across so strongly and genuinely .....
Thanks to everyone - I had a fab time - totally relaxing and chilled.
Kay

2 readers found this review helpful

This was my first time to Greece and I cannot express enough just how magical the Island was for me and my partner Luke, & most importantly, just how much we recommend The Maria Anna Hotel to anyone who is considering going there. On booking this cheap holiday we were informed that we could only have an inland view hotel room but to our utter amazement we were put into a room with the most incredible views, such a joy to wake up to every morning! We were greeted by a lovely guy called Lee who was friendly and helpful to us throughout our weeks stay. The owners Gregory and Jenny were very hospitable and went out of their way to make you feel comfortable and happy. The room is basic but extremely clean and has very good air conditioning. The breakfast was lovely: fresh bread and jam, muesli with yogurt and honey or an egg and bacon omelette, everything we tried on their lunch menu was really good too. We would also highly recommend trying one of Lee's cocktails!
Just below the hotel rooms you will see a vegetable garden that is looked after by Jenny, she actually used some of her home grown vegetables in the BBQ night - delightful!
The pool was fine as were sun beds, plenty to go round!
Look out for the hotel kitten Polly, 4 months old and very playful!
Aside from the hotel the only thing I would advise against is the BBQ Cruise trip (glass bottom boat) the picture of the large traditional wooden boat shown in the brochure is not true to the boat you actually go on, the boat is very overcrowded and there is no where for you to sit, let alone lay down and sunbathe, it was pretty dismal and seriously expensive at 60 euros each. It was a fun day out but it was just the boat itself that we found a complete let down. We also hoped for traditional Greek music to be played on the boat but ended up with music from back home - exactly what we were trying to get away from!
Kanali beach is magical, seriously, we went down there and found that we were the only ones on it! (it's nudist also), clear blue seas, white sands with a little shingle. The walk down to this beach from the Maria Anna is about 20 minutes, it's steep and you kinda dread heading back up it, but it keeps the blood pumping and even in 40degree heat we really enjoyed it!
We couldn't afford a hired car but wish we could have because there is so much to see on the Island, it is highly recommended that you hire a car.
A lovely couple who were on their honeymoon gave us a lift to the wonderful pretty cosmopolitan fishing village Fiscardo the day before we were due to leave (if you two are reading this THANK YOU so much for your kindness, we'll never forget it)
Fiscardo was like a dream come true for me and I recommend everyone to visit there, it's about 1.5 hours drive and is right at the top of the Island.
There's so much that we didn't see! Hmmmm.... looks like I might be heading back there next year!
Rhiannon the Olympic Holidays rep is bubbly, extremely smiley and very helpful.
I could go on forever but I'll stop there.
We had the best time, that's all I can say :)

We did not know quite what to expect when we got off the coach. The slope looked a bit daunting and we wondered,had we done the right thing in this last minute booking?
We need not have worried the place was great. We had a lovely welcome from Lee the hotel manager and the next day we met the family who owned Maria Anna.
If you want a great holiday peace and quiet and liked being spoilt this will suit you. The rooms are small but clean and the Air conditioning was quiet, the view from balcony was wonderfull We had many a fun evening before bed drinking, and chating at the hotel bar with a lovely group of people- Linda Robin-Angelina Andy and Lily to name a few. The pool is a good size and had plenty of sunbeds and sun shades its bar is open from 11ish and try Gregory's Tuna salad at lunch time UM.
A car is a must in this area but buses to the beach do run but its GMT (Greek Maybe Time)Maria Anna gave us a great send off with a good bye meal on the house which was a nice touch so give it ago we might see u there next year

We have just returned from the most WONDERFUL week at the superb Maria Ann Hotel in Lourdas.
After having read the comments of Linda Freestone prior to arriving at the Maria Anna we were slightly worried about what we would be arriving to. We only read her awful review after having booked the holiday, and had we read it before we would not have booked at the Maria Anna. However, on arrival, to our utter amazement whom should be staying at the hotel (after writing such a review) ....but Linda Freestone. This woman had the audacity to return to the hotel on another holiday ?!?! By not taking legal action against this woman for her cruel and unfair review, and accommodating her again, simply illustrates what lovely people the proprietors, Gregory and Jenny, are.
The family whom run the hotel (Gregory, Jenny and Peter) are the most welcoming and hospitable people. They will do all to make sure everyone is felt welcome, and ensure you have a comfortable and enjoyable stay. Lee, who also works at the hotel, is delightful, and an encyclopedia of all the info you will need on Kefalonia! As is Rhiannon the Olympic representative, who is always smiling and can not do enough to help.
The hotel is spotlessly clean, and very comfortable. There is a great pool and bar. Lee makes the BEST cocktails, and Gregory is the best cook, in Kefalonia ! The views from the rooms are magnificent - what a view to wake up to in the morning !
All in all, this a lovely hotel, with the most welcoming and friendly people. We can not wait to return !