Athos Palace Hotel, Kallithea Halkidiki, Greece
Hotel Information
Recent Price: £106
Hotel Class:
Hotel Description:
A luxurious all-inclusive resort situated on a marvelous sandy beach of the clearest waters imaginable, on the pine dotted cape of Kassandra. The hotel is enveloped amongst endless colorful gardens located only 2 kilometers from the lively town of Kallithea (meaning beautiful views). The peninsula of Kassandra is only at a 75km distance from the international airport Macedonia of Thessaloniki. loading...
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Athos Palace Hotel Reviews
" This was the first time my partner... "
Submitted By: Miss K Baker
This was the first time my partner and I had gone all inclusive and based on this holiday will probably do so again.
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The first thing which we noticed was how far outnumbered we were by the German holiday makers. Whether this is usual or whether the Germans tend to take their holidays in October when we went I don’t know.
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We had a room with a view over the Olympic sized swimming pool and beach which was fantastic. Other couples we spoke to had rooms on the other side of the hotel which they weren’t so happy with. There were four lifts for use which although the sign inside said would take 10 people were quite full with just five. However, it was never too long to wait for the next one.
<br><br>
The room was quite clean and airy although a little basic considering it was a 4 star. The maid service couldn’t be faulted. Bathrooms were cleaned on a daily basis and clean towels delivered at the same time. There was a small fridge for you to keep drinks etc cold. Water had to be purchased either in the small hotel shop or one of the small ‘supermarkets’ outside the hotel grounds.
<br><br>
The brochure advises satellite television but most channels were German or Greek with only the News channel certain to be in English. Some Greek channels had English films with Greek subtitles.
<br><br>
The food was one of the best things about the holiday. Meals were served as a help yourself buffet and help ourselves we did. My seriously expanded waistline pays testament to the quality of the food ! There was a big enough choice to cover all tastes and to encourage you to try things that you might not have if you were paying for it.
<br><br>
The service levels seemed to vary depending on where you sat so my advice is that if you don’t seem to be getting served try a different end of the dining area. Although you serve your own food, drinks are served by the waiters at the normal leisurely Greek pace ! The only problem with the dining area is to be expected when serving so many people. If you like to eat your meal in a quiet atmosphere you probably won’t be able to here. We found that it was quieter and more relaxed if you sat at a table on one of the balconies outside.
<br><br>
We weren’t sure what was covered by the all inclusive deal that we had taken and found that the best thing to do was just ask. The bars all had lists of what drinks were available and listed only soda under soft drinks but we could also get coke, sprite etc if we asked. There was a main bar in the hotel itself which didn’t open until later in the day, a tropical bar which never seemed to be open, a poolside bar which also served sandwiches and some light meals throughout the day and a beachside taverna which is not covered by the all inclusive deal.
<br><br>
Just across from the beachside taverna is the area where they hold the Greek nights. We paid 10 euros for this and were disappointed by what we got. The posters seemed to advertise an open air BBQ, Greek dancing etc. What we actually got was the same food as we had in the main dining hall with burners under the pans keeping it luke warm !
<br><br>
One word of advice, if you go in October, as we did, take a coat with you if you plan on sitting outside in the evenings or taking moonlit beach walks. I guess October could be considered out of season which might account for the lack of entertainment we experienced. There was a night club where once again we could get drinks under the AI deal but the bands, discos etc were not great. As already mentioned there was also the main bar but this was quite smoky.
<br><br>
As the hotel is just outside Kalithea there is only a couple of tavernas outside the grounds as well. Kalithea itself is only about a 20 minute walk up the road but as there are no real pavements it isn't really advisable to walk there and back in the dark. I’m told that a taxi can be arranged at a reasonable cost though.
<br><br>
Daytime activities seemed rather half hearted as well. Canoes, pedaloes etc which we had expected to be included were actually payable on the beach as were beachside sun loungers. I can’t speak for the children’s entertainment as we don’t have any. We also didn’t go on any of the organised excursions although the trip to Mt Athos sounded good from conversations.
<br><br>
The main swimming pool is Olympic size but you have to get down there reasonably early to ensure a sun lounger. You also have the use of the swimming pool at the sister hotel next door which we thought was nicer and seemed to be more popular with the Brits.
<br><br>
The beaches near the hotel were clean and either white sand or soft shingle. Although I have indicated a few points that could have been improved on, if you are looking for a nice relaxing holiday on which you can soak up the sun by the pool with a good book, eat great food and chill then you can’t go too far wrong.
<br><br>
The first thing which we noticed was how far outnumbered we were by the German holiday makers. Whether this is usual or whether the Germans tend to take their holidays in October when we went I don’t know.
<br><br>
We had a room with a view over the Olympic sized swimming pool and beach which was fantastic. Other couples we spoke to had rooms on the other side of the hotel which they weren’t so happy with. There were four lifts for use which although the sign inside said would take 10 people were quite full with just five. However, it was never too long to wait for the next one.
<br><br>
The room was quite clean and airy although a little basic considering it was a 4 star. The maid service couldn’t be faulted. Bathrooms were cleaned on a daily basis and clean towels delivered at the same time. There was a small fridge for you to keep drinks etc cold. Water had to be purchased either in the small hotel shop or one of the small ‘supermarkets’ outside the hotel grounds.
<br><br>
The brochure advises satellite television but most channels were German or Greek with only the News channel certain to be in English. Some Greek channels had English films with Greek subtitles.
<br><br>
The food was one of the best things about the holiday. Meals were served as a help yourself buffet and help ourselves we did. My seriously expanded waistline pays testament to the quality of the food ! There was a big enough choice to cover all tastes and to encourage you to try things that you might not have if you were paying for it.
<br><br>
The service levels seemed to vary depending on where you sat so my advice is that if you don’t seem to be getting served try a different end of the dining area. Although you serve your own food, drinks are served by the waiters at the normal leisurely Greek pace ! The only problem with the dining area is to be expected when serving so many people. If you like to eat your meal in a quiet atmosphere you probably won’t be able to here. We found that it was quieter and more relaxed if you sat at a table on one of the balconies outside.
<br><br>
We weren’t sure what was covered by the all inclusive deal that we had taken and found that the best thing to do was just ask. The bars all had lists of what drinks were available and listed only soda under soft drinks but we could also get coke, sprite etc if we asked. There was a main bar in the hotel itself which didn’t open until later in the day, a tropical bar which never seemed to be open, a poolside bar which also served sandwiches and some light meals throughout the day and a beachside taverna which is not covered by the all inclusive deal.
<br><br>
Just across from the beachside taverna is the area where they hold the Greek nights. We paid 10 euros for this and were disappointed by what we got. The posters seemed to advertise an open air BBQ, Greek dancing etc. What we actually got was the same food as we had in the main dining hall with burners under the pans keeping it luke warm !
<br><br>
One word of advice, if you go in October, as we did, take a coat with you if you plan on sitting outside in the evenings or taking moonlit beach walks. I guess October could be considered out of season which might account for the lack of entertainment we experienced. There was a night club where once again we could get drinks under the AI deal but the bands, discos etc were not great. As already mentioned there was also the main bar but this was quite smoky.
<br><br>
As the hotel is just outside Kalithea there is only a couple of tavernas outside the grounds as well. Kalithea itself is only about a 20 minute walk up the road but as there are no real pavements it isn't really advisable to walk there and back in the dark. I’m told that a taxi can be arranged at a reasonable cost though.
<br><br>
Daytime activities seemed rather half hearted as well. Canoes, pedaloes etc which we had expected to be included were actually payable on the beach as were beachside sun loungers. I can’t speak for the children’s entertainment as we don’t have any. We also didn’t go on any of the organised excursions although the trip to Mt Athos sounded good from conversations.
<br><br>
The main swimming pool is Olympic size but you have to get down there reasonably early to ensure a sun lounger. You also have the use of the swimming pool at the sister hotel next door which we thought was nicer and seemed to be more popular with the Brits.
<br><br>
The beaches near the hotel were clean and either white sand or soft shingle. Although I have indicated a few points that could have been improved on, if you are looking for a nice relaxing holiday on which you can soak up the sun by the pool with a good book, eat great food and chill then you can’t go too far wrong.
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- Date of Holiday:Oct 2004
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomas Cook
To start with, (and this seems only completely necessary to do it justice) was the food. Oh the food! When I first arrived at lunchtime I walked into the dining room and was simply amazed by the food placed in front of us. I had a four course meal for lunch! there's just such a range it's rather unbelievable. The hotel also seems to be able to range to different nations as well as doing certain foods "Greek Style" which I think is a great feature. My only complaint is the lack of fruit there seemed to be, there was plenty of plums and peach slices and the odd time a few water melons (but believe me you had to fight to get it sometimes) but that was it. Perhaps it is just me, but I always think of foreign places and lots of fruit, though of course it may just be the certain climate that made it unable to grow.
The room was more than satisfactory, one member of our party had a sea view which was lovely and the rest of us had a mountain view, which though not amazing was perfectly adequate. The facilities were o.k. ( we all took our own kettles though), but we did have a few problems with the shower, it seemed to regurgitate shower water on to the floor once or twice, but apart from that the room was very good, enough fro our needs anyway.
Throughout our stay we stayed near the pool with the bar and it was lovely to be able to go and get a drink whenever we felt like we needed one (remember this was an all inclusive!). We did have a slight problem with the fact that when you order water though, it came from the tap, half of us continued to drink this and seemed perfectly fine, but to get bottled you had to go to the hotel shop or the supermarket outside the hotel.
The hotel shop varied completely, in regards of prices, some things could be very cheap whilst others would be ridiculously overpriced. My tip would be to check the prices in the hotel shop and the local supermarket before buying anything expensive.
The maid service was very good, until one day one of us lost something very important (which would cost £65 to replace). She seemed confident that it had been on the sink and that the maids had thrown it away, but when we asked someone about this, who asked the maids they couldn't remember anything, and were not very helpful.
The service was very good and there were only a couple of drinks you couldn't get all inclusive. The entertainment at the beach was varied on each night, though we preferred the mini disco afterwards, which seemed to be more open to adults. We went on the pedalos twice and enjoyed both times and the see was gorgeous, though there was just plain fish to all you smokeless out there.
All in all, it was a fabulous holiday which each and everyone of us really enjoyed, all fro different reasons. And if I've not mentioned the outside world, it’s because I don't need to, everything you want is inside the hotel or around the local area. A truly fantastic choice and I would certainly go again with out a shadow of a doubt.