Hermes Hotel

We booked over the internet with Travel Republic. We had never booked over the internet before so were quite apprehensive.
We were even more so when we read the reviews on Travel Republic after we had booked, but we have to say they were very good at alleviating our concerns, and it all turned out well.
The hotel was excellent, everything we hoped it would be. We had looked on the website and chose this hotel specifically and we were not disappointed. It is situated above the town with fabulous views of the town and the bay.
All rooms have a sea view and even though we were on the ground floor we still enjoyed excellent views from our balcony. The standards were high with maid service and fresh towels daily. The staff were friendly and very helpful.
There is a bar and lounge area with free internet access. The breakfast room has fabulous views over the town and bay, as does the pool area. It isn't a big hotel, its friendly, clean, and well run. The breakfasts were a little monotonous but there was a good choice and something for everyone.
The pool area, terraces, and balconies are all well furnished with cushions on the beds and chairs.
The hotel and town are quite near the airport, only a 5-10minute taxi ride at 6euros so don’t waste your money booking transfers which would have cost us £40. There is a small fridge in your room and a safe, both very handy. But if you are like us and want a cuppa when you first wake up take your travel kettle.
Now for the negatives of which there are only two. The hotel is situated on a busy road on a hairpin bend, and has mopeds are the main form of transport on the island it can be quite noisy.
The other one is that it is more than a 5 minute stroll into town, 15 minutes uphill maybe a little less downhill. The walk down into town is quite steep though pleasant if you keep off the road. The walk up though is not for the faint hearted however after two days we realised the best way to tackle it was to walk down and get a taxi from the harbour back.
At 3euros it was well worth it, and highly recommended, the difference between getting into your room and collapsing onto your bed, and getting back to your room and enjoying a drink on the balcony.
The bus service is good though you can’t get a bus back to the hotel. It does go past and you can catch a bus outside, but for some reason you can’t alight the bus. There seems to be a set fare of 1.20euro single fare, but you can go virtually anywhere. They run regularly from early morning to late at night from the bus terminal in own.
The beach at Plati Alos is good with loads of beach side bars and restaurants. You have to pay for the sunbeds and brollies at 8euros for two beds and a brolly for the day.
You must go to Ajios Jiannis where they filmed Shirley Valentine it is so peaceful there. Sit on the beach or in one of the two beach side bars and forget.