Princess Hotel & Apartments

I read the reviews on here (after I'd made a last minute booking for a week at this hotel) and I was a little concerned but thanks be to the person who wrote a gushing review because they are absolutely right. The hotel is good for its grading of 3*. My brother and I stayed in one of the studio rooms and our only complaint was that we waited a long time (about 6-7 hrs) for our room. However we did arrive at about 7am and check in is not til 12 and when shown to our room it was a lovely double - but not what we wanted, so we had to wait a bit longer for another room to be cleaned. The staff at the pool bar are incredibly friendly and the bbq greek dancing night is a must - but watch out ladies if you are prone to dizziness don't volunteer to be spun! Tsilivi itself is a lovely place. Ok it may not be especially 'greek' but there are plenty of greek restaurants and tavernas and it's up to you if you choose to go on holiday and then visit english bars. Our favourite restaurant was The Olive Tree - great service and great menu, also Piero's was a nice place to eat but there were plenty of others all reasonably priced. There are some great bars. We only discovered the Paradise Bar on our last night after a couple we met took us, which is a shame because it's a great laugh - perch on a stool and put on a hat! Things to do: Go to the waterpark and behave like kids for the day - great fun! If you go to the beach turn left and walk down nearer to the water sports (great fun too!) it's quieter down there but for the best beaches hire a car and go west just a couple of miles and have a beach to yourself or of course south of Zante town. We didn't have time to do a boat trip but after speaking to others forget the turtle trip (there weren't any to see) and only do the day trip if you can swim (it's a long day on the boat if you can't get off to cool down). I haven't travelled much so prefer to go to new places but I'd definitely consider going back. (I just wouldn't share a room with my brother again - unbelievable snoring!)

My hubbie and I were victims of the Gerry McMahon travel company collapse, and so even though we had booked to go to Cyprus, we spent that Sat morning on the phones trying to get something to salvage our holiday. It was VERY last minute, but this is where we ended up. We had very little choice in the matter, and it was quite a bit cheaper than the other holiday we had booked [which made me a bit nervous], but we went for it any way. In my opinion and experience the Princess Hotel is NOT a 4* hotel. [We had been told by the travel agent that it was] but it does not come anywhere near what I would consider a 4*. The following are some of the reasons why: - No toiletries provided in bathroom - VERY basic rooms [I'll attach a photo] - Towels not provided for pool area - Housekeeping staff do not knock before entering the room [I had a very interesting, almost naked, experience following an afternoon nap one day!!] - "Do Not Disturb" signs are not provided on room doors. - The breakfast is not very good, and even though I love my brekkie I gave it a skip most mornings. The "juice" is not fruit juice but that diluted sugar loaded crap. The fruit salad is tinned [although some fresh fruit is provided] and other than that it's bread, ham, cheese [processed] and cold hard boiled eggs. The surprising thing for me was that if you bought your breakfast from the pool bar they could do a lovely brekkie - even a very good fresh fruit salad. It made me feel that unless you were handing over extra money for it, you were only going to get crappy food from this hotel. - The NOISE! If you are planning to stay here, be sure to get a room at the back of the hotel. Music is played [loudly] from the bar area until the wee small hours of the morning, and kept me from getting sleep most nights. We complained to no avail. Also there was a dog chained up in an arch under the room we had for the first week. The poor fella howled and whined all night long [again, not condusive to getting much sleep]. Again, we complained and they did someting [not sure what] and it improved. Also, the night porter would clear up the bottles from the bar at about 5 am - unfortunately for us the bottle storage area was just outside our room [ground floor at the back] and so we were treated to about an hour of what sounded like a loud empty bottle waterfall. Yet again, we complained, and this was put off until about 8. We were up early most mornings as we go Scuba diving, so we needed to get a good night's sleep and i can honsetly say that in 14 nights at this hotel i feel like i got one good night! At the end of our first week the aircon [which you need to pay an extra €5 per day for!] in our room packed up, and we were moved to another room - this time second floor back of the building [we refused a room overlooking the pool due to the noise from the bar i've mentioned]. This room was a bit better noise wise and slightly bigger than the first. One other thing on the aircon - it's hooked up to the balcony door so that if you open the door the aircon switches off. Good idea. No problem with that. The problem arises when you leave your room in the morning and put the a/c on so that it will be nice and cool when you return... the housekeeping staff leave the door open when they're finished so the a/c will be off when you get back. Accidental? Maybe it's the cynic in me, but I don't think so. Also be careful of leaving any valuables in your room [you can rent a safety deposit box at reception] as the housekeeping staff often left our door both open and unlocked [there are two doors the outer one is louvered to keep out the sun - this was the one left unlocked] therefore making the rooms easy to break in to. Now, having said all that it's not a bad place to stay. it's in a good location, it's clean, and the staff were lovely. Provided that you realise that it's not going to be very luxurious. Would i stay there again? Probably. Knowing what i now know, it's a decent 2-3* and priced accordingly. Not a bad hotel, so long as you know what you're going to.

I have to admit, for the price we paid for our holiday, I was worried that it would be a bit of a dive, a case of "you get what you pay for". How wrong I was! We pulled up in the coach and were immediately welcomed by Vicky the receptionist and Freddie the legendary barman! The room was clean and the balcony (each with table, chairs and an airer) overlooked the pool and bar. Air conditioning is available for 5 euros a night - we thought we wouldn't need it at first but after a couple of nights we desperately needed it as there was a heat wave! Fridges and safe boxes also available for a fee. The pool area was great, lots of sun loungers available - watch out the day after change over day though, it gets busy! There's decking around the bar and there's tables in the shade, where you can eat your meals. The food and drink is good value, the cheese rolls were a favourite for us: a large cheese salad roll, and chips for 2.20 euros. We only ate breakfast/lunch there and ventured out each night for our evening meal. Tsilivi has loads of restaurants/tavernas. Our first night we went to The Olive Tree and, although I can't fault the service as our waitress was lovely, the food was awful. Majestic wasn't much better either. We tried quite a few different places but both loved Benikos Taverna so much that we ate there 5 times in 2 weeks. There's not much on the nightclub side, Jokers was good but if the PR guy starts rapping again, run out the door! Magdalena’s is a good bar for playing pool but as soon as you hear the words "Tonight is Karaoke night" please leave if you value your ears - the girl who works there sings every other song if no one else is volunteering and she was terrible, especially when singing "Toxic"! If, like us, you don't want to miss Big Brother, go to Basil's Bar (turn left out of the hotel and follow the road round). Basil is a legend! Anyway, back to the hotel - this hotel was lovely, would recommend it to anyone (couples/families/older people) who want a chilled out, relaxing holiday. The staff (Freddie, the 2 Louise’s, Vicky) could not be more welcoming or friendly, it has a great atmosphere. We'll definitely be going back next year! 10 out of 10!

This small hotel complex in the heart of the town, close to all types of restuarants is very deceiving. When we arrived at around 9pm, the receptionist showed us to our rooms which were in the rear of the complex overlooking a lemon grove and a quite a distance from the main road, so we were not disturbed by the noise of traffic, which could be a problem if you have a room in the Princess Hotel section of the complex. we went back down to the bar and were welcomed by the 2 waitresses who seemed to work every night. (Jo, who was from Surrey and Eva who was a local girl). I have read several reviews and they all seemed to mention Freddie - what a great barman, who certainly know how to make a great cocktail (which were far cheaper than the bars just outside the complex). the Pool was quite small, and usually very clean, but this particual week had a problem with the filtration sysem, although the pool staff did work very hard to keep it clean. The pool rules were always enforced, swimming was allowed before 9am but because the pool was so close to the apartments children were not allowed to make any noise. Then there is quiet time between 3pm and 6pm and then the pool shuts at 7pm, if you have teenage children you would be better off walking 600m to the beach. The bar is small but well stocked and stays open until 2:30 in the morning, the surprising thing is that you see lots of traffic going past, but the noise is minimal. If you go self catering, there is a large supermarket 50m up the road which caters for all your needs (except you can't buy baked beans for your breakfast LOL). Eating out in the evening I would thoroughly recommend Fiorentino's which serves the most fantastic Greek food, and is very good value for money, I would also the recommend the Family restuarant opposite the complex entrance, and also the Mexican. Although we did not try it the Indian/Chinese restuarant is also great food, One restuarant to avoid is the Majestic, my son's chilli con Carne was cold mince beef mixed with tomato sauce and all greek food was served with chips and not greek potatoes, it was also very expensive!! If you want to book any trips go to the travel agent opposite Fiorentinos ( they are half the price that the rep charges). We only stayed for one week but really could have stayed for another. I don't usually go back to the same place twice but on this ocassion would make an exception, Definitely 10 out of 10,

After spending a week at the Princess Hotel, Studio Rooms, we must say that we were very disappointed. Tsilivi is a lovely resort with an amazing beach and lots of good bars and restaurants but the hotel we stayed in was apalling. After a night flight, we were very tired when we arrived at 7am and, upon trying to check in we were told by the Receptionist (who could speak absolutely no English) that we weren't booked in at the Hotel. We supplied both of our surnames (as I'm not yet married!) only to be told that neither was what he had down on his scrap of paper. After waiting over half an hour on our own while he blindly tried ringing the managers (to no avail) we took the paper off him only to find that my name was actually down on the list but he couldn't understand it. After this misunderstanding he took us to a room which had used sheets on the bed and had obviously been occupied but not yet cleaned. He then informed us that he had given our room to someone else who arrived at the same time as us. After another 10 minutes of waiting around growing more tired he shoved us into another room, which (looked) like it was clean. We finally made it to bed and were settling down for a few hours of much needed sleep when we realized there were ants crawling all over the bed, the floor and in my can of Fanta! We couldn't face being kept up any longer so decided to tell the Rep later in the morning, which we did, only to be told by the Receptionist that ants weren't a problem- because she had ants in his bed too! They did offer us another room which was smaller and much more basic than the one we were in and didn't even have a fridge (we were self-catering and felt this was essential) so decided to face the ants. When taking a shower we found that the basin was inadequately deep (2 inches from the floor) and the shower curtain length came to our knees- as you can imagine when we showered water spalshed absolutely everywhere on the tiled floor and it became very dangerous. We therefore took to putting towels on the floor to try and mop some of the water up only to be left a note on the third day that if we continued to use these towels every day as we were (and expect them to be changed daily) we would incur a 3 euro charge per towel! We found the staff to be very pushy, expecting you to buy drinks and meals at the hotel until when they realized that we weren't spending any money there they decided to ignore us completely- not even a hello- while totally sucking up to guests who spent money there! We are a young couple but really wanted more of a relaxing holiday so usually went to bed about 12.30am (which isn't that early!) and were treated to banging music played at full blast (proper 90's house music at times) for the next few hours after that, courtesy of the bar staff who stayed up as long as there were people at the bar. We were often woken at 3 or 4 in the morning by this music, and one time by shouting and laughing from the hotel staff as they threw people into the pool. At any decent establishment you would expect the staff to try to keep the noise down for other guests but this was the type of people they were- as long as there was someone paying at the bar they would forget about all other guests totally! On the one but last day we were told by the Receptionist that we needed to get out of our rooms because somebody else was booked in there for that night (bearing in mind this was Thursday at 10 in the morning and we weren't flying until 6am Friday morning- we had paid for 7 nights but had only spent 6 nights there! We were then told that if we wanted to stay the extra night we would have to pay 35 euros, even after all the problems we had experienced. We were told by the Receptionist that it wasn't her problem that we didn't have a room so we called Adam, the Rep from First Choice, who was absolutely useless (as he was all week). When he spoke to the company office on the phone at the hotel he told us it would be free of charge. We asked him to stay until we had confirmation from the Receptionist that this was ok but he simply said- 'If you need me, call me' to which we said 'yeah, we need you right now until this is sorted' and he ran away!!! Proper legged it and left it to us to sort out! When it was (finally) time to go the coach picked us up almost an hour late, so we were left standing in the street at half four in the morning waiting for it. Whose fault was it?? Adam's.....as he had slept late (yes he actually admitted it to everyone. As we've said the resort of Tsilivi itself is beautiful but this hotel was the absolute pits!

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU BOOK OR CARRY ON READING THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS!!! do not let them put you off!! Me and my Boyfriend stayed in Tsilivi July '06, absolutely fantastic. Officially the best week of my life (no exaggeration). We stayed in the Princess Hotel on a B+B board basis. The Hotel- The rooms were extremely clean and cosy. It is a shame that you aren't allowed to flush toilet roll down the loo, due to poor sewage system on the island ( feels unhygienic putting soiled tissue in a little bucket) Although the hotel staff emptied this every day! I believe our room was tidied most days, towels prob every three days? Our room was quite untidy with our belongings anyway, so couldn't really tell too much! Very clean tho. The breakfast really wasn't anything to shout about- ham, cheese, bread, toaster, fruitini style fruit salad etc, continental.(Although most days we were out so early that it didn't matter!). If it works out cheaper to go self catering, i would prob do this. Please note- i'm not really a continental breakfast person, need bacon and eggs for breakies! The Pool- Very clean, slightly cool (very refreshing in the hot weather!). Plenty of loungers, even in the middle of summer! The pool bar, although small is very nice. Does cocktails! (with all the trimmings, will let you wait and see! very nice.) Also poolside pool table and air hockey. Freddie (bar man) even challenged us to a match for free! :) The service- The English receptionist (can't remember her name! sorry.) was sooo wonderfully helpful. She gave us directions to get to Zante town, told us amazing places to eat etc. Really helped us make the most of our trip (thankyou .x.). She helped us find a place to hire bikes and told us a beautiful spot to ride up to to get a beautiful view over the capital (Zante Town). Definately recommend if you like views, you see most of the island! To be honest, saw our actual Thomas Cook rep once? maybe we were out too much? By my use of first name terms, we are not even the type of people who go on holidy to make 'friends'. The staff were just so friendly and helpful! The greek night- is a must for anyone who hasn't been to one before (as I'm sure they are prob all the same?). The hotel do a BBQ- chicken, pastas etc. I'm vegetarian and still had a wonderful time. The dancers dance around fire and invite the guests to dance too. The area- WOW. (one word). There are several little shops/ stalls to arrange trips round the island etc. (WARNING-don't go with the rep, they rip you off for exactly the same trips!!). Beach was nice, clean and tidy (not sure why someone else has complained about it). The amount of shops and restaurants was overwhelming! Although the shops etc were quite repetitive, found myself looking around them all. Very enjoyable experience! Beautiful little outdoor restaurants, especially a little chinese near the hotel- can't remember the name! Also, AMAZING little bakery next to hotel, try the funny shaped choc cakes with mousse inside-YUM! Nice 54 hole (?) crazy golf course up the big hill past popeyes restaurant. Three courses in one, we did them all! Nice bar joint to it. Just down the hill from that is a bar with all footy shirts hanging up, nice for cocktails. Quite youthful- sky sports etc. The Boat trips- (a must do!) TAKE PLENTY OF SUNCREAM!!! Trip around the island- Very nice all day trips, you visit the Keri Caves, Shipwreck eta (about four stops along the way to swim, amazing to swim and cool off!) Becareful not to get sunburnt, very easy when lounging on top of a boat all day (like i did!). Also the water is often slightly deep. If you are a panicky/weak swimmer, like me, you may struggle a little. WOULDN'T HAVE MISSED IT FOR THE WORLD THO. The shipwreck was a slight let down, just because it felt like the highlight of my hol, then when i saw it, it was a rusty boat (still amazing, i just over anticipated). The shipwreck beach is a slightly weird sand, slightly gritty (not stony). You normally get around fifteen mins at each small stop, and an hour at the main sites.Don't think i'm being picky, it was stunning, i am just trying to be informative! Make sure you take a snorkelling set/ googles! Saw sooo many little fishies! The water is extremely clear! The Keri caves are nice, it's easy to get carried away with the camera! Some smaller boats go into the caves so you can swim in there!(did this on a different day was really nice!) Turtle hunt/ glass bottom boat trip- Was guaranteed to see turtles or money back! Saw about six!! and saw them nesting on the beach, although the boats aren't allowed to get too close to the nests/ nesting turtles. Beautiful creatures. Even saw a lady diving in the sea, she was swimming along side a turtle stroking it!!!amazing! Unfortunately, there is no point taking photos through the glass bottom (don't come out!) but often the turtles surface!! We also went to Turtle Island, a little island just off the coast of Kalimaki that resembles a turtle shape. This island is a little turtle reserve! It has the most amazing beach, and snorkelling here is a must- saw flat fish and loads of little ones! Nothing too colourful but very nice. Patrolling officers circulate the island to stop people treading on the eggs!the take the turtle preservation very seriously, which is also nice. There are even trips to Athens for three days and a day trip to Kefolonia (would have loved to do these, too much to do in such little time!) If anybody has commented badly on this resort or hotel, do not pay attention. They honestly must be extremely picky/ arkward people! This resort is stunning. Perfect for adults, couples, youth, families (prob with older childen, not too much to entertain little uns!). I will def go back one day! However, there are so many places in the world to explore out there it seems a shame to repeatedly visit the same place! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions you feel would help you, i may be able to send some pics? Found this site as i was just looking at my booking for this year in Fuerteventura. I feel so strongly about this resort i have taken nearly half an hr to type this! I hope this helps your decision! Have fun!

Haveing read the reviews we were shocked has we have stayed at this hotel 4 times and are going again this may the owners and staff make your stay a great one. we have had no problems when we stayed there we have stayed in the hotel and apartments rooms and pool area are always keeped clean carla and john savage

Our trip to Zante was a last minuet booking and it far exceeded our expectations. On our arrival, we were greeted by Freddie, and he never forgot our name nor our chosen drinks our whole stay. He is the bar manger and was supported by a good team. During our stay there were two young ladies both called Louise from the UK. The two ladies receptionist, Vicki and Sarah were always only too happy to help at anytime. The hotel was clean, fresh décor and good services all round. I would have no hesitation in going back and would highly recommended this hotel for all the above and it’s location.

We just spent two weeks at the Princess Hotel during August. We did not pick this hotel ourselves, but were overbooked in the Mavrikos so were given the Princess as a second option. First the positives: The best thing I can say about the Princess is that is very very clean. We had clean sheets every couple of days, bins emptied & beds made every day. The pool area is also scrupulously cleaned every day. The overall look of the place is pretty and there is a nice atmosphere in the evening at the pool bar. The staff are all very friendly and did make all guests feel very welcome and put on a great night for Greek Nights. On the downside, we complained about the toilet in our room on a daily basis, as it did not flush. We were first told that this was typical for the island, then that it was a problem in the hotel and after we had checked with other guests we were told it was a problem just in our part of the building. Whatever the real reason was, no solution was offered or actioned at any stage during the two weeks, so we had to use the public facilities at the pool at all times which is just unacceptable. The hotel advertises fridges in every room. We requested a fridge and none ever became available so we had no facility to keep water, cosmetics or medication cold! We also requested a kettle in our room which we were told we could hire for €2.50 per day - You must be joking!!! The air conditioning cost €70 for two weeks but worked very well and was much needed, as temperatures were climbing to the 40s. The room itself was nothing special - very little usable storage space for two people. It faced onto the pool area, as most of the hotel rooms did, so there was often a lot of noise at night as the pool bar stayed open till the very early hours. In general, I would recommend Tsivili as a brilliant resort for families & couples. There are lots of fabulous restaurants and bars etc. However if we went back, we definitely would not stay at the Princess again. Even allowing for the fact that it was peak season and very busy, a fridge and functioning toilet are necessities, not luxury extras and the Princess did not come up with either.

The Princess hotel is only a 2 star for a very good reasons, - the rooms are shocking. We should have guessed that our stay wouldn't be perfect when at our welcome meeting 6 hours after arrival, our tour rep opened the meeting with the question "Who's bathroom has flooded yet?" At this stage no ones's had so we all said no, to which the rep cheerfully replied "Don't worry it will at some point during your stay here" and she was right it did flood - repeatedly!!! We stayed in 2 different rooms during our week, both of them had the "shower" fixed to the wall at knee height so you couldn't actually take a shower properly, you had to try to wash yourself with one hand and hold the shower head with the other, there were no bath or sink plugs either. The shower curtain was so flimsy that you could have spat through it and it seemed to be made of fabric rather than any waterproof material??? so that the floor got flooded every time you tried to take a shower. In addition there was a drain on the floor and each and every time we took a shower, water from the pipes flowed up through this drain and flooded the floor again. In addition our toliet dripped constantly a fact of which the owners were obviously aware as the cleaners thoughtfully put a rug underneath it every day, but as the drip was quite bad the rug was soaked with 2-3 hours, and the bathroom floor was like a permamen skating rink. The air con for which we paid an additional 5 euro a day was not very cold and the air con in our second room was so noisy that if we had it on the noise kept us awake, so we had a choice as to whether to be kept awake by the searing furnace that was the room or by the noise of the air con. The wardrobe was bizarre it had one hanging rail with not many hangers of course and one shelf at ankle level and another shelf about 10 foot up but their was nothing to stand on so we couldn't use this shelf at all. Neither of our rooms were anywhere near as nice as the photos on their website and the blankets were badly bobbled and smelly. Don't expect to be able to get near the pool during the day unless you get up at 6 in the morning and put your towel on a sun lounger, we were told on arrival not to do this as the mangement would remove towels that sat there without people. This did not happen and we were not able to get a sun lounger the entire week we stayed, despite being out before 10am. The hotel bar is the one sort of saving grace for the princess although it is quite a bit pricier than the pubs/ restaurants/ and other hotel bars in the resort. Freddie behind the bar is without a doubt the biggest asset to the hotel and is fantastic, he made us feel very welcome. He is the only reason that I have given this an OK rating rather than terrible. Me and my husband are both early thirties and have been to loads of 2 star hotels for our holidays as generally we are not too fussy about rooms and just want something clean and reasonably OK, the rooms in the Princess whilst clean are far from OK, and are definitely the worst 2 star rooms we have stayed in. I would not recommend this hotel unless you willing to put up with hugely uncomfortable beds and permanently wet floors.