Ionian Blue Hotel

We have just returned from the Ionian Blue Studios Zante having travelled the last week in July 2011. In our experience it was a great hotel, the room and hotel in general was clean and spacious, with plenty of sunbeds and only a short walk to the resort (pack a torch..!!).
It does seem to be a bit of a lottery as whether you have a great stay or a dreadful stay, as the basement rooms (101/104 etc) are not pleasant. we read some disturbing reviews before we went (having already booked) and were really nervous... then pleasantly surprised by our 4th floor room... however, we did overhear complaints to the rep from those in the basement rooms. As it is exclusively a Thompson hotel (for UK) then they really do need to address it. For us - a great stay, I hope you experience the same.

Me and four of my friends stayed here for a week on the 26th June and we loved every second of it! We were put on the top floor and the rooms which have recently been re-furbished were absolutely stunning! The bathrooms were gleaming and very posh and the kitchenette and living/sleeping space were very clean and modern :) The balcony was very spacious, all five of us could easily fit onto it and the views were stunning, from all angles!
Pool area and the pool itself are fab, decent size and although it was a little cold it was by no means un-bearable, just fine after you've been frazzling in the sun! The hotel food was really nice and decently priced although we did decide to play it safe and stuck to toasties and burgers so cannot comment on all the food available. The owner was so lovely and was more than willing to help us out when we needed to order taxi's etc and even allowed us to stay an extra night due to awkward flight times :)
Would 100% go back, deffo deserves a four star rating at the least! Oh and its right near the beach, a well-stocked Supermarket and only a five minute walk from the centre of Kalamaki! :)

2 readers found this review helpful

This place is amazing, having been to Zante in 2002 we tried it again in 2007 with friends.
We were looking for a place that was away from the manic nightlife but was in reaching distance if we wanted it.
Kalamaki is ideal for that and Ionian Blue is perfect for what WE wanted.
The bars and restaurants are close by, I do recommend Zepos, Micahelos & Diaz for eating though.
Denis,Maria & Georgina have always been very welcoming to us each time we have been there.
Only gripe is the aircon, and having to pay for it. But as I have seen in a previous review, this is a way for them to making money, which can't be faulted.
Although the rooms are basic they do have everything you need for a self catering holdiay!
Me & the wife love this place, this is why its our 5th year in a row roll on June is all I can say.
Hope you enjoy your holiday as much as us!

5 readers found this review helpful

Have just come back from holiday staying at the Ionian blue and it was brilliant, staff were friendly and helpful, everywhere clean and tidy, everything well looked after.Pool was a good size, if a little chilly, food was nice in the pool bar and they did different types of smoothie which was fun. Room was nice and our terrace overlooked the pool area, the only thing is where we had our terrace we were in a corner and the room next to ours their terrace overlooked ours so if we all sat out you didnt really have any privacy but it didnt matter too much. Kalamaki is a lovely place, nice beach and you have to go the the mermaids for drinks and food, it was my favourite place to eat. Buses are very erratic and they kind of pick up from either side of the road which is a bit confusing and if you go to Zakynthos town you get dropped at the central bus station but its not very central because you have to walk down a hill into the town but you get the bus back from the town and we found getting from Zakynthos to kalamaki at night by taxi is quite safe and cost us ten euro's. Visited Laganas and walked back to Kalamaki along the beach, beach along there is full of seaweed and lots of rubbish everywhere and bits of glass and some of the sand was quite sinky, Laganas is the place to go in summer if you want to party as there are many clubs and pubs and not much else and most of these places were closed, just tourist shops open.Kalamaki beach is a five-ten minute walk from the hotel. If you go in October take a raincoat as we had lots of storms and downpours which lasted for a while and it does get a little chilly sometimes in the evening. Everyone is so friendly and they really welcome you into the food places and they remember you if you go back again, we went to the mermaids about 5 times for meals and drinks and they always remembered us and shook our hands. Nothing is too much trouble for them. Would stay here again. sian walker

2 readers found this review helpful

Has to be one of the best places to stay in Kalamaki. Opened in 2005 and the high standards are maintained on a year-to-year basis. Dionysios & Maria are wonderful hosts and go out of their way to ensure their guests are well looked after. Likewise, all therir staff are very friendly. The rooms are furnished to an unbelievably high standard and contain many home comforts. Everything about the building oozes class not always found in Greece. The gardens are perfectly maintained.
The pool bar is a great place to relax and offers an extensive snack and light meal menu.
Situated in a quiet area of Kalamaki close to the beach but within easy walking distance of the main roads.
For those wanting a quiet relaxing holiday in beautiful surroundings look no further......you won't be disappointed.

2 readers found this review helpful

Me, my husband and 11 year old daughter have just returned from an 11 night holiday. We can only have praise for the staff who run this complex, Denis, Maria, Ellern, Poppy and a few others. They work so hard to make sure your holiday is the best you can have, the whole area is spotlessly clean and the rooms are more than adquate. Sheets and towels are changed regularly. There are plenty of sunbeds so no need to get up at the crack of dawn to put towels down!!! There was a good choice of food in the snack bar by the pool. People are right in saying the reception is quite often unmanned but you only need to go to the pool bar where the staff will do everything to help, change money etc. The Ionian Blue is set in its own grounds surrounded by fields and mountains, there are a few buildings but this does not distract from the views. The beach is about a ten minute pleasant walk away. Main Kalamaki strip is 5 minute walk from the studios, we found the Mermaid restaurant a great place to eat. Also there is a fantastic Patisserie on the main stip, try out the Ferrero Roche Cake it's to die for!!!! We would definitely recommend these studio's. Thank you to you all for making our holiday a relaxing one. The Rawlins Family

10 readers found this review helpful

Michael and I stayed in the Ionian Blue for the 4 weeks in June 2009, we had the best room 301 overlooking the pool and the view of the hills all around, Maria and Dennis are wonderful host, the chamber staff are very pleasant and do a great job.
The Tavernas around the apartment's are so friendly with really good food and reasonable prices, Escape Taverna at the end of the road we favored, and the Iguana Bar for a better light meal, and now with the roof top area opened it makes a lovely setting to eat and sunbath at the same time.
The small food van at the beach is fantastic, clean and friendly.
The Ionian Blue offer a varied menu at the pool side bar, and 6 pack's of bottled water to save their guest having to carry it from the shops.
We had such a good time we have booked to go back for the first 2 weeks October 2009, hope to get as good a room as last time. Anne and Michael, Scotland.

4 readers found this review helpful

My husband and I have just returned from a two weeks stay at the Ionian Blue Hotel with my sister in law and husband and we could not have wished for a better hotel. After reading some of the previous reviews we were a bit apprehensive about picking this one. The studios we had were on the top floor,very clean and had enough kitchen equipment for our use as apart from breakfast we eat out. The linen was changed regularly and the towels changed every other day. The reception was unmanned except for arrival day but the manager Dennis or Helen was always in the pool bar area. The pool was great with plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas but we like to go to the beach which was a 15 minute walk away and only used the pool twice. The restaurants and bars are a 10 minute walk the other way so this hotel is perfectly placed. The manager Dennis, his wife Maria, Helen at the pool bar and the cleaners were friendly and hospitable. We ate at the Kalamaki Beach Taverna at lunchtimes and a different restaurant each night and never had a bad meal. All things considered Kalamaki and the Ionian Blue ticked all the boxes for us and we would not hesitate to go back. We have been to many Greek Islands and studios and this holiday was one of the best

5 readers found this review helpful

We came back from one week’s stay at the Ionian Blue Hotel. And we found everything to be fine. We paid a little bit more to stay in one of the rooms that was slightly larger. It was on the top floor with a lovely large balcony overlooking the pool area (Room 310).The room was spacious and cleaned daily with fresh towels and bed linen and no insects.
You have to pay on arrival for a safety deposit box in your room (can’t recall how much that was) and a further 50 euros a week for air conditioning which you really need in Greece. Even though it rained and was cloudy for some days (mid June – go figure!) the temperature was still hot though.
You get a toaster, kettle, microwave, fridge, oven with two hot rings. but they could have done with more utensils and glasses. The crockery was fine. Even though it was self catering, I am not one for chaining myself to the stove when on holiday, so I would say it seemed ok for me. There was a wall mounted TV, which, on perusal seemed to only show greek programmes, but I didn’t go to Greece to watch TV, so I wasn’t overly bothered.
Whenever we passed through reception, there seemed to be no one manning it, but it is only a short walk to the pool area to grab someone, so not really an issue.
The pool area and bar are again just fine. Kept clean and tidy. I saw them clean the pool itself once with some sort of surface vacuum cleaner. Lots of sun beds and umbrellas, so there is no need to get up at the crack of dawn and do the ridiculous placement of towels routine. In fact, nobody did that once whilst we were there.
We had a couple of English breakfasts at the pool bar, which were fine and generally a sandwich or so for lunch. All the food seemed fine. My only little criticism was that it veered so much towards English food at the expense of any greek food being offered. But I guess that is what their clientele want.
The pool bar is reasonably large and so sometimes to escape the sun at lunchtime, we sat in under the shade, and every time we sat there, the manager immediately put the massive TV on for the cricket or news. So we had the radio blasting one ear and the TV blasting the other one. They should take note, that some people don’t need constant noise whilst eating.
Having said that, if you do want peace and quiet, then Kalamaki is a lovely resort. We purposely went when the kids were at school. The hotel is well placed and a short stroll to the sea and the main touristy strip. There is no music pumping out keeping you awake at night. It’s not that kind of place. So if you want to lie back in your sun bed and look up into an azure sky and listen to the birds chirping and flying over head, then yes, this could be the place for you. And we intend to return next year to this resort and hotel.

1 reader found this review helpful

On arrival we were placed on the lower ground floor, even thou we paid extra with Thompsons to be on the top floor (4 Other guests stated the same story) The room was very small and compact and had basic cooking tools, not enough to cook normally.
The resort seemed to be very basic and reminded me of the developing countries abroad, with bad roads and pavements. The tours operated by Thomson were expensive and could be found for half the price within the resort saving nearly £25 for each trip. It was also very expensive in the shops for food, with a small tub of butter costing £2.20 and a very small loaf of bread for £2 etc etc.
It rained for 4 days out of the 7 we were there and of the remaining 3 days 2 were cloudy and unable sunbathe except for 1 day and then only for 2 hours.
The beach is only 10 meteres wide from the shore and you can only walk the first 3 meteres due to the nesting turtles who have nested on the beach.
Overall the holiday was ok, relaxing and quiet. The hotel was impressive, except for the rooms which i expected more of concidering the price i paid for myself and my girlfriend (i've had so much better for cheaper in portugal)
Others will say its the best, some will say they will not return, for me i will be going to Portugal next year. it's all down to your own expectations i guess.
If you go out to eat then you have to go to THE TEMPLE restaraunt, WOW fantastic food, you pay a little extra but its worth every Euro believe, and i am a fussy man but that place was the bees knees, very classy and you feel a million dollars sitting in the place. Also the food van by the beach does nice food for a reasonable price too. My girlfriend went there every morning. A nice holiday but could have been better!!