Reviews of Giakalis Hotel, Marmari

when i just came on holiday i new what it was like for being a kid even my sister new it was rubbish no one at reseption only uniil 20minutes finally she casme how igrnent she was we looked at the bpool looked like no ones ever cleaned it just frogs and toads who have pooed in it the room was 1,0000000,000000times worser bo in every room no on flushed the loo the cleaners never camed the were not washed propley(they were never changed no attractions no freeser and fridge no attractions absulty rubbish

What can i say this hotel is discusting!!! i went there for my 18th birthday and was extremely horrified.

Breakfast was ham, cheese and a boiled egg which didnt fill me up,

Lunchtime and Teatime was unexplainable as the food was sloppy and looked like something a dog wouldnt eat.



Around the resort was a farmyard which all of us were woken up every morning to the disgusting sound of the animals going crazy, There was only two little shops nearby, any where else you wanted to go required having to pay taxi fare, It was extremely boring and there was no entertainment but ourselves...

All inclusive drinks was only wine, beer, ouzo and soft drinks anything else you have to pay for the soft drinks wernt even genuine they were a cheap imitation.



The rooms were dirty and had very low watt bulbs which you could hardly see what you were doing, towels were rarely changed.

The swimming pool was green and someone had to come and check it before we could get in.



If i had the choice to go away for my next birthday it certainly wont be here it was a dissapointing holiday and an appaling price my mum paid for us all to go it is certainly the worst place i have ever been and probably the most worst in my life, i only rated it a 1 because there wasnt a lower rating.



very dissapointing 0*

Well what can I say? I've travelled to many places and stayed in all different types of acommadation but I honestly have to say I would rather have slept on the side of the road in bangkok than go back to the Giakalis!!



The food was disgusting, I wouldn't even feed it to my dog! To be honest I don't think my dog would even go near it!



We arrived in the early hours to be greeted by a drunk man - presumably the owner - who thought the most polite way of communicating with his guests was by grunting and pulling faces! He pointed the way to our rooms and absolutely gasping for a drink after a day of travelling we were denied even a small bottle of water - not a great 1st impression!



Shock hit us when we finally managed to get into our rooms. It smelt of BO, there was mould in the bathroom and the air conditioning was something to be desired (there was none). Beds were extremely uncomfortable and squeaky - it was more advisable to use the balcony for any bedroom activities!



The swimming pool was fine for frogs and fish to live in but not the most hygienic place to cool off from the hot sun!



I have given this hotel a rating of 2 because I did like the lager and for the last 2 days we booked into a much much much nicer hotel - where all inclusive meant all inclusive!



Anyone thinking of staying at this hotel needs their head read.

We had read the reviews for this hotel AFTER booking unfortunately, and when I read them I cried! My partner and I agreed we would give it a chance as may not be as bad as expected and there were some good reviews.



We arrived at 1.30 am after taking a taxi from the airport (only 20 euros and highly recommended over pricey transfers). We pulled up and I thought 'hang on this is lovely'. We went into reception to be met by a grumpy old man who could only grunt and point. After about fifteen minutes of standing there and pointing at my name and him just looking at me, he gave us the key and pointed and that was the only help we got to find our room.



When we arrived at the room I was extremely disappointed. I have read the reviews on here and people saying 'we only paid this much' and 'people expect too much', but the fact is we may have paid for a last minute deal but I had paid for a hotel room not a self catering room. The room was very basic and when I looked into the bathroom, the 'shower' was just a faucet over an open sewer in the floor. The bathroom was also filthy. The sink and ledge for putting toothpaste on was covered in toothpaste and about an inch of dust. The toilet had brown muck all over the inside and it stunk. On the plus side, the bedroom was clean but extremely hot with the shutter closed and no air con. We opened the shutter and left the mosquito’s catcher closed, but due to numerous holes in it we were feasted on during the few hours’ sleep we had. The beds were like lying on concrete and we were woken up at 5 am by about 3 cockerels giving us the 'cock-a-doodle-doos'.



We got up at six and had a look outside. On the plus side the grounds are nice and the pool is lovely. We always were able to get a sunbed, but did suffer from the mosquitoes and flies biting. My boyfriend and I were constantly itching from the number of bites. However, we went out of season, end of Sept/beginning Oct and there were no more than 30 people at the hotel. I can't imagine how they can accommodate a full hotel with sunloungers in peak season.



We spoke to Lisa the receptionist about the room and she was extremely helpful and friendly (as she was throughout our stay) and moved us to another room. This room was marginally cleaner and had a nicer balcony as was at the front of the hotel. However, I was very concerned about the plug socket for the TV which was hanging out of the wall.



The food here is appalling. Not in the sense that it made anyone sick but it was just so boring and monotonous. One of the guests described it as school dinners which is about right. You eat it just to keep going and it was not as someone on here described 'tasty', it was absolutely 'tasteless'. I would have loved some Greek specialties, instead of burgers, chips, plain spaghetti and oily Bolognese sauce. It became depressing eating there. This hotel is Full Board it is not All Inclusive. There are no snacks served between meal times and if you missed breakfast then you faced a long wait till lunch at 1pm.



The drinks for all inclusive were a joke - no fruit juice, NO WATER and no spirits (unless you count their ouzo). That said my boyfriend liked the beer and I found the wine to be perfectly drinkable. There is NO entertainment at night save for sitting outside by the bar and getting eaten alive.



The island of Kos is beautiful but Marmari is NOT a holiday resort. It is basically farmland and cuts quite a depressing landscape actually. We spent somewhere in the region of 150 euros on taxis alone during our stay. We also ate out most night after having a look at what was on offer in the hotel. Highly recommend 'Spyros' restaurant in Tigaki which is cheap with excellent food and really good service (something sadly missing at the Giakalis).



I have an 11 month old daughter and I would have ended up changing hotels if I had gone here with her. The playground is a death trap and I wouldn't have dreamt of feeding her the food on offer. Plus, although water is cheap to buy, you shouldn't have to for all inclusive.



Would rather walk on hot coals than return to this hotel.



One other thing, after five days we were told that we were all being called to a meeting with the owner. We didn't go as we had other plans. But apparently, the gist was that he would be chucking everyone out as he hadn't been paid by the tour operators. This didn't happen but BEWARE.



The 3 points is for the friendly staff (particularly Anna at the bar) and the lovely pool (which would I imagine be overcrowded in peak season).

I gave this Hotel a 1/10 because there was not a 0 to choose!



We were greeted by an old gentleman who just pointed roughly where our room was. We tried to find it in darkness at approximately 5am as very few light were on.



We had no light outside our front door and balcony which we reported to Reception and only the balcony lamp was replaced.



We went to the dining room to find very little choice for breakfast; the cooked breakfast was cold, as the Bain-marie didn't work. Food was either over cooked and dried up or food just didn't go together most of it was not edible, no food was labelled so you had to guess or ask the chef if he was around, so we were very disappointed and found ourselves dinning out every day which cost us Taxi fares there and back.



Even when requesting a Taxi from the Hotel it cost us a phone call each time, it seems that this Hotel was penny pinching. All bar snacks, most drinks, Tennis, Pool, and Crazy Golf had to be paid for. There was no entertainment what so ever. How this Hotel could be a 4 star is beyond me, A 1 star and that’s pushing it.



There was a big problem with mosquitoes, the bar area had a mosquito zapper which was unplugged all the time we were there, they had a lovely fountain which was never on either, it seems to me that this hotel wanted to save as much electricity as they could.



Towel and sheets were changed twice a week unless you paid the maid extra.



We would not recommend this hotel to our worst enemy.

I have to sadly say that I actually agree with most of the negative reviews for this hotel, I have read other bad reviews on holidays I have been to in the past, and was always pleasantly happy once I got there, so I guess I was hoping that this would happen again this time round.



There was four of us that went, 2 couples all in our mid 20’s, we arrived early hours of Sunday morning, was greeted by a not so happy receptionist, who just grunted at us, and pointed us to our rooms, it was pitch black and was kind of funny trying to get the key in the door without making too much noise and using our mobiles as lights.



Once in the room it started to get worse, the bathroom was so dirty there was toothpaste in the sink from the previous occupants, the shower curtain was full of mould, and paint seemed to be peeling from the ceiling on to the floor, there was soap scum on the soap holder in the bath, along with a lizard! Interesting!



We only had our sheets and towels changed once in the week we were there, which was a bit of a shock factor for me, especially when we put our towels in the bath to be cleaned on the 3rd day, to return to our rooms that evening to find that the cleaner had removed them from the bath and aired them around the furniture in our room only to be used again!



I have to say that the day staff are lovely, Lisa the receptionist was really helpful and happy, and the guys working the bar throughout the day and evening always made us smile! Be prepared to make your own entertainment, as there is nothing going on at this hotel! We spent most of the evenings in Tigaki, because of this. If you like Ouzo then you will love this place, as that is all you get in your all inclusive deal along with wine and beer.



With all this, we did have a fab holiday visiting different places, the beach nearby is lovely. Just a shame that the resort wasn’t up to much, I defo would not rate this as a 4* I would say the complex was a 3* but the rooms are a 2* at best!



Oh and the mini golf in this resort is hilarious – Crazy.

Give this Hotel a wide berth the grounds are the only good thing about i6t.



We booked an all inclusive holiday advertised as 4* this hotel is struggling to be 2*

plugs hanging off the wall numerous requests for lights to be fixed never actioned.



No locks on toilet doors in the pool bar area and doors at least 8feet from the toilet so the door could not be held closed.



The food served was absolutely disgusting the chef could not even warm beans we only had one warm meal, that was on a morning that we were going on a trip and had to leave early.



Breakfast was supposed to be from 7.30 but we had to wait until 7.50 for the food to be brought out and the beans were still cold.



On All Inclusive holidays drinks have always included all local spirits not just one.



The Manager if you can call him that, was ignorant. The television in the pool bar was for his sole use only. The only entertainment was him watching basketball. once a game had finished he turn the television off.



Some guests wanted to watch a football match but could not have the television on because The boss wanted to watch basketball. He wanted guests to go out so that they did not cost him any money for drinks.



The only nice people on the staff were Lisa in reception and Anna in the pool bar.



We ate out most evenings and this meant a taxi into Tingaki or a bus to Kos Town.

I researched the Hotel before I arrived, and I knew exactly what to expect. Myself and my partner only went for a week, but most of the people that went for 2 weeks paid £380, or thereabouts, and they were expecting utter luxury, with English food and all spirits for this price!! These moaning minnies did their best to ruin everyone's holiday. They complained constantly, and tried to get everyone to join in. It was embarrassing.



We went away for a week of sunshine and to get away from the daily stress of working and domestic chores. This Hotel delivered just that. Unfortunately to really benefit from the holiday you must switch off from the Brits who go away for burger and chips and try and enjoy some of Kos.



The problem with AI holidays is that there is a tendency to stay at the Hotel to get the most from the AI deal. Thankfully the moaning minnies drove us out and we really enjoyed getting a bus into Kos town which is lovely daytime or night time. Tigaki was close by (8 euros taxi, or an hour's walk - you would not want to walk there and back) and we had some lovely meals in the tavernas there.



The Hotel is basic. Greece is simple, and it is not a rich country. There is always something to eat. The food tended to be 'samey' and after a couple of days you knew what was on the menu. But it was all edible and tasty. There was nothing there that looked disgusting.



There were no deserts but always some fruit, usually melon, but grapes and pears as well. I never left feeling hungry and did not feel I had missed out on anything. Greeks are not big on breakfast - but I did enjoy their fruit, Greek yoghurt and honey at breakfast. Lovely.



The rooms were cleaned daily, but towels changed every 3 days. If you know this, then hang your towels out to dry each day, then it is not a problem. I would have preferred them changed daily, but hey - this is a minor complaint.



If you have booked to travel to this Hotel, you will enjoy a simple relaxing holiday. Don't let the moaning Brits get you down. They nearly did with me, until I realised what was happening and switched off from them.

Very disgusted with this hotel. Like many people was told this was a 4* hotel, it’s more like a 2* at a push. I and my friends were looking forward to a nice break but really we couldn’t wait to get home.



Some of the Staff were nice; Anna who works on the pool bar was a pleasure to talk to along with Gustas (the owner’s son) who works at times up to 20+ hours a day. All the staff work everyday - min of 8hrs a day. If you don’t get into the restaurant bang on meal times then don’t bother because within 15 mins the food is cold. We noticed that the saladette was turned off, when I noticed and turned it on to my horror it’s was 13c and we was all eating from it. Cool food is meant to be kept under 4c.



The surrounding gardens are very nice and well maintained but basically there is nothing to do . It is 8 euros in a taxi to the nearest town which is ok, not great. Kos town is 18 euros which has the night life - you have to grin and bear it.

What are people complaining about? The only real problem with our holiday was 80% of the other guests complaining and trying to drag the other 20% into their daily whinging!



Basic and isolated it is, but if you go on holiday ignorant, as most other guests did, what do you expect? We checked exactly what we were getting before we left and were pleased with what we had when we got there.



Complaining all the time to the owner about being mis-sold a holiday when it is not his fault and then spending the entire holiday moaning just ruins yours, and others time; take it up with the holiday agent when you return.



Food is simple and basic, yes, our 3 fussy kids did have to eat snacks some nights and we chose to go out and eat a couple of times a week anyway. We don't go on holiday to eat brit junk, as it seemed most did, and were not expecting a gala banquet to be laid on for us. Pork is big in Greece so be prepared - it's not just at this hotel but everywhere. The drinks are basic and there is no free spirits.



Rooms are comfortable and clean with room cleaning daily and towels/sheets changed as necessary or every 3 days, whichever comes first - how responsible in an ever environmentally conscious world. The air-con is a extra, you need to book or wait and pay extra for it when a room with it becomes available. For 16 euro you can buy a 16" fan at the local supermarket which is fine, alternatively you can leave only the mosquito net door open and benefit from the onshore breeze (we were lucky to be on the top floor). The grounds and pool are immaculate; the pool water is fed from the natural mountain spring and every 4 or 5 days the pool can get green from the algae, this is easily remedied overnight and back to normal the next day. No one was ill at this place so there really isn't anything to worry about.



Mosquitoes are not the owners problem and are a pest worldwide, I suffer allergic reactions to bites but did not get one in 2 weeks - I was prepared to buy a plug-in deterrent, some tape to repair the mosquito net holes and spray (total 5 euros!)



Marmari is a German resort but the Giakalis was all Brits. The bus is close, cheap and goes in to Tigaki hourly (5 mins) and on to Kos town (20 mins) if you wish. Tigaki is a typical 'Brit' holiday town with gift shops, bars, restaurants, exchanges etc.. Small but with everything you need. It was great to get in to the noise and bustle, but we loved the rural isolation of Marmari.



Weather is amazing, as is the countryside and beach (5 mins away). If you wish to go out on tours and visits, go by bus, taxi or (if you have one) a car or bike; it is much cheaper and hassle free. Zia in the mountains is well worth an evening visit, the water park is close and great fun and the natural springs the otherside of Kos town are amazing with 40 degree seas!



We looked for the cheapest, last minute, guaranteed sunshine holiday for the last 2 weeks in August. We got this for £360 each; £200 was the flight ticket, so for £12.50 per day for bed and full board was fantastic; the value was amazing. Greece is quieter and more relaxing than most med places; it's as clean as Spain, the Balearics or the Canaries but vastly cheaper once you're there.



5 of us were perfectly satisfied with what we had, it was never going to be the ultra inclusive Caribbean or gala quality of 4* Spain. The 3 kids never complained about anything once (if that isn't a good review, I don't know what is!)



The most relaxing holiday I have had and I really enjoyed it once I learnt to shut out the complainers - easy if you take a book and your iPod!

Upon booking this holiday we were told that we were getting a fantastic deal, a week’s All Inclusive for a total of £1,545 for our family of four. We were also told that this was nearly half the price it was since we were late bookers. Being our first holiday as a family and our honeymoon, we snapped the offer up.



Our excitement turned to shock however upon entering the hotel. It was old and tatty in reception - but we had seen nothing until we got to our actual room itself.



It was filthy dirty (the bathroom was never cleaned during our stay and I don't believe it was probably cleaned before we arrived) the bathmat and shower curtain we're all covered in mould and the bath was slippy and grimy with grease, disgusting.



I felt dirtier after showering than I did before. The room was all falling apart; the light fittings were hanging off and looked incredibly dangerous, the plug sockets (the ones that worked) were shifting about in the wall. With two young children I was constantly on tenterhooks. Everybody could see into the shower as they walked past our window, really sets off the romance on a honeymoon!



The food was dismal - I am NOT a fussy eater by any means but I could only just about eat it. My children had to go without; I would not have fed my dog on the food they supplied.



We could have drinks up until 11pm but only one at a time and only, coke (rola cola), lemonade, beer, wine, ouzo, all other drinks had to be paid for. The kids were allowed two little scoops of ice-cream once a day nothing more, nothing less.



There was absolutely no entertainment and nothing for the kids to do, which wouldn't have been so bad had the pool been useable. The pool was swimming with green algae, but with no air conditioning in the rooms, and the sun glaring down on us, we had to cool down somehow - which resulted in a nasty ear-infection for my new husband.



Being a young family we will probably not be able to afford to go on holiday again for years to come, although this experience would put anyone off going on holiday again. We ended up spending an extra £450 in food and drinks, money we did not have to spare and which when going all inclusive you don’t expect to have to fork out. The staff were rude and cold.



All in all definitely not a 4*. Hotel of horrors.

Bellboy? What Bellboy!!! Towels and sheets were changed every day!!! Ours were not. Food wasn't Greek, it was English done in a very sloppy way, pork every day mixed with a few tomatoes and whatever else was left over from the day before. Soup was water and onion or water and broccoli, no desert apart from watermelon covered in flies. The food was awful.



This place only deserves 1/10 and that’s only because there is a nice beach nearby.

To call this an all inclusive hotel is completely misleading. The food is inedible and the rooms do not have air conditioning, we had to go out and buy fans at extra cost yet again.



Luckily we had taken extra money with us for emergencies, we had to use this and it was a 16 euro return journey every night to get decent food.

The hotel itself is not too bad, but the beer, and wine are so watered down they are barely drinkable.



Don’t take kids there at all as the food is so bad they will starve. There is nothing for them too do no entertainment at all whatsoever.

The rooms are quite clean, but the shower was a joke, just a hand held contraption stuck to the wall that went all over the place when you put the water on.



All in all don’t even think of going here if you want to enjoy your holiday.

When arriving at this hotel we were greeted by a gentleman that never explained anything to us, he just grunted at us gave us our key then pointed at the apartment which we had to find ourselves in complete darkness.



When we got into our apartment it was fine, good size, basic but clean, just abit dated!



We couldn’t really see the surroundings of the hotel as it was in complete darkness, so when we woke up in the morning our first impressions where that it looked nice, the gardens where well looked after. The gardener was there all day, every day looking after the gardens.



The hotel reception and dining room was also very clean and well presented apart from the size of the dining room.



We were all inclusive so we got up to go for the breakfast on the first morning, we were not impressed the food wasn’t covered up, there were flies every and the selected was very minimal, so needless to say we never ate much of the breakfast, so we tried to lunch then the dinner and the same problem.



The food also didn’t taste fresh most of it was clearly re- heated maybe from the day before! After trying it for the first day we didn’t eat there again so a complete waste of money paying all inclusive. The snack that you had to pay for at the snack bar however where very nice.



At the bar all you got for your all inclusive was coke, Fanta, sprite, beer, wine or ouzo. The variety was poor if you wanted any other drink you had to pay 3 Euros for it. All the drinks were clearly watered down even the wine was topped up with lemonade as well as the beer, the beer was 2% and you would have had to have drunk it for two weeks straight to get drunk from it. I have to say though the bar staff are very friendly.



The pool area didn’t have enough loungers for even half of the people staying there, most of them were lying on the grass until the gardener started shouting at them and moved them on! The pool did not look clean for a couple of days there were people constantly taken water samples away to test it as it was constantly a funny green colour which we were told was peoples sun cream.



There were a lot of angry people that were constantly complaining about the service, children only got an ice cream at 4pm and 1 per child.



The hotel was located in the middle of nowhere, we were woken up into the morning with a cokadoo or by mooing cows. You were a ten minute walk from a beach and about an hour’s walk to any town, there was only two shops nearby that sold very little. We had to hire a beach buggy just to get us away from the hotel and into the nearest town for some descent food.



In the buggy we could get there within 10 mins which was actually fun. It was 18 Euros in a taxi to Kardamena which has some lovely restaurants, which I would recommend.



There was no entertainment at all in the hotel and no pubs around to escape so a couple of nights the holiday makers tried to play games and entertain themselves, which was a good laugh.



Also if you have booked up to this hotel because it is in the middle of nowhere it is infested with mosquitoes so make sure you have repellent with you. I have to say the Greek ones are the best! Some people where covered in them.



This was definitely not a four star and definitely not all inclusive. Good Luck.

The hotel was lovely, rooms were quite basic, but the pool and surrounding area were lovely.



My friends and I all found the food very enjoyable, the main reason people were complaining was because the food wasn't "English" enough, e.g. there wasn't chips and burgers every day, but the fact is you are in Greece! We found every meal lovely.



All the staff were very friendly, especially the two bar staff.



The lack of selection of free drink was disappointing but the wine was very drinkable!



The beach is a 5min walk away and Tigaki, for nightlife was only 8euros in a taxi away.



We had a fab time and would defo go back!