Costas Apartments

We spent a week in Costas. The room was very basic and unclean, with ants in the kitchen area. We had a shared balcony and spent the first 2 days listening to our neighbours very loud music. The pool looks very appealing, but the very loud "boom boom" of the constant music is off putting, so we never went to the pool. The music from the pool area continues until well past midnight. Every night there is entertainment, karaoke, bingo, etc, and the loud music goes on. We complained to our Thomas Cook rep, who was worse than useless, and said the doors at the pool area were closed at midnight. This wasn't so!!! Eventually we stayed out of our room in the evening and didn't return until 1am, when it was a bit quieter. The staff were not friendly, especially if you didn't spend money in their bar.
The towels were changed twice, and the bedding not at all! The toilet bin wasn't emptied everyday either.
Kalamaki is very English, and if you want traditional Greek, then this isn't the area to go. If you do go, check out Zepo's Taverna (near Crystal Beach), this is traditional and well worth the visit.

Just got back from Costas Apartments paid £1200 for two weeks self catering and we stayed in costa 1 apartments room 203 which was basic with old furniture,fixtures and fittings wardrobes and dressing tables looked pre war,electrical sockets were dangerous, beds were made from wooded slats many of which were missing,no air con and fans which you could hire could not handle the 35 degree heat on a night.
The first night there we were woken by the Venue disco just behind the apartment playing music still 2am in morning. when this stopped the dogs started howling and barking still 4am when the roosters started.This happened every night.
We asked our rep (Thomas cook)for a move she told us that there were no other rooms available and to see her on the Sunday 2days after we first complained also spoke to hotel staff but they did not seem bothered either.
Entertainment was poor, do it yourself bingo and kareokee,greek night was O.K but again no air con so far to warm.There can not be many apartments where there are
rein deer, Guinee fowl,rabbits,goats,chickens,cage birds Hourses&donkeys which are left out in sun all day.The place stinks at times beware!!!!!
staff make up for a lot but not for the fact that the bar area looks like a low cost super market and the acommidation is poor.

9 readers found this review helpful

me and my wife have just returned from costas pool bar in kalamaki and what can i say other than absolutly amazing if you are thinking of going there the following will be what to expect , when we arrived we were greeted off the coach by a young gent named gaz (more to follow about the staff shortly) with a fantastic smile and well represented clipboard in hand asked us who were were and he would show us to our rooms .on this he did so with great confidence and even gave us a run down of the area i.e where the shops were the way to the beach etc. and invited us down for a drink as soon as we were ready . on this we got to the rooms which are basic in b block but its greece and you dont need no more. the beds were clean comfy and well maintained shower and fridge with a two ring hob absolutly perfect for what we needed no more than sleep a shower and maybe a quick drink or a roll from time to time. once we had settled in and unpacked we headed down to the bar as of which we were gobsmacked by a bright red building very modern looking and well set out inside the same very modern but relaxed at the same time we were then greeted by another member of staff named jo once again very polite to us welcomed us to zante etc . so the holiday began and you couldnt ask for no more a very well maintained and clean pool clean and comfy sun longers we did spend a lot of time round the pool listening to a variety of music from 50's to modern day to greek so you never seem to get bored of the music then there was the food we asked gaz who cooked and we found out it was the costa family mother adrianna and oh my what a cook she is the food is absolutly fantastic the stifado a must!!! day and night the meal quality never changed from superb on spending more time round the pool we then meet the main guys dennis and takis . takis a tall thin gent who never seems to stop working hes always doing something if it isnt serving he seems to be off fixing things around the hotel or having a chat with people and as for him with the children he was fantastic, then theres dennis the more watch full eye a slightly more stocky built gent compared to takis but is commonly found at the end of the bar or the table at the end but once again is always smiling absolutly fantastic with the children once again and a pleasure to talk to then theres jo .... well what can we say on our first impressions she was a fantastic girl but by the second day things seemed to change she prodomantly flounces around in a bikini top and skirt which in our eyes isnt a professional look at all in all due respect yes its a pool bar yes its greece but still put a vest top on or something jo didnt speak to us much through our holiday inless she wanted to sell us something it seemed if you wernt a family that had been there before or a group of lads she wasnt to intrested in speaking to you she could come in to work most mornings and walk past every one and not even say morning sorry but even if your not a morning person your at work and that was definatly not the right frame of mind to be in she was never off her phone and it was never usually any further than an inch from her body at any time jo seemed to do more so the entertainment which was slightly better but was deffinatly boosted by takis's and gazes antics behind the bar from skirts on greek night to homer masks and other various gimmicks between them always causing a chuckle and even some serious laughter at the bar but over all jo really seemed as if she had to be there not because she wanted to be,but then the big changing factor from making our holiday go from a holiday to a holiday that will never be forgotten..... GAZ !!! what a gent a young thin guy looks greek other than his highlights haha when we arrived in his rundown he did say im here pretty much all day every day any problems please come and find me and il sort out what i can as soon as i can and oh my god was he not wrong that young man is something else , he works all day literally with a few hours off in the middle of the day but generally seemed to be called back in for various jobs but if he isnt cleaning down a table changing a table cloth sweeping up stocking up hes on the bar and what a bar man he is a true show off but deffinatly a good thing he always smiles at you even if hes just woke up from a sleep and his eyes are not even open properly you still get a smile and a hello guys you ok his knowledge of the bar is fantastic and he deserves so much more than just a barman job in greece but all that saaid he suits the bar at costas and if he isnt playing up as we ended up calling it behind the bar hes chatting to absolutly everyone young old and any thing in between this young gent made our holiday something else and i really cant stress this enough an absolutly fabulos young gent!we did tend to spend more time around kalamaki and have a wonder round but always pop back for a drink or the nights entertainment but over all it was a fantastic holiday where even the cleaners who speak very little english were amazing we can guarentee if you are going to costas you wont regret it and as a closing comment to the bosses of costas if you read this ask jo to put a smile on here face and not crave attention from the lads and get her to put a top on please !and ask gaz to stay for at least another year if not as long as he possibly can he makes your bar!!!!!!!! but we both really cant say enough to how welcome we were and what a fantastic place to stay costas is thank you for an amazing holiday and we will be back next year.
many thanks bob and anne x

7 readers found this review helpful

when me and my partner last minute booked it we only payed 330 pounds from cardiff, so we wasnt expecting a lot for our money but when we got there ......
we arrived at the hotel its actually called (COSTAS POOL BAR) we were very suprised , it was set just off the main strip of shops in kalamaki , took 2 min walk to get to shops , anyway we arrived at the hotel and went up to our rooms it was basic but we did go self catering , there are no tvs in the room , which we thought was a bit of a downer but we had plenty to occupy us while we were there , we had the biggest balcony in the hotel (rooms 202) and the view was very nice , the pool was nicely set out and the staff were truly brilliant , they made u feel like one of the family the minute u arrived , the 2 brothers are called dennis and takis , they sat and chatted to you and if u had any problems they were there straight away to sort it out , i have read reports that the hotel was expensive and was overpriced , which is complete rubbish , we had quite a few meals there as well as a few in the local town laganos and the hotel undercut every other resteraunt we went in , u can have a nice english breakfast in the hotel for 4 euros and the most expensive meal was around 10 euros (which was still cheaper than elsewhere) even drinks in the hotel were cheaper than everywhere else , u could have any cocktail drink for 2.50 euros and beer was about 2 euros and cokes and other soft drinks were 1.80 euros , they had events on most nights whether it was karaoke night or bingo night or even the amazing greek night ( that is something that has to truly be seen )the greek night had proper greek dancers in and plate smashing and dancing and also dancing in fire as well which they got everyone there to join in, the 2 brothers went out of there way to please everyone , nothing was a bother for them , u could even go in the hotel grounds and pick lemons and oranges off the trees , they had a little farmyard around the grounds to let the kids see as well , the only thing i wasnt sure about was the toilet system over there, u dont flush ur toilet paper down the toilet u have to dispose of it in a little bin by the side of your toilet , i thought this was weird but its the way to do things over there so we just ogt on with it , they also laid on free food nights for the people staying in the hotel , which was a bonus as well the staff there were just as equally brilliant they would come over and sit with you and chat with you for ages to see how u were and what u had been upto on ur holiday ( big up to louise SHES AMAZING :pCYA REAL SOON HUNNY :))
DEFINATLY GOING BACK AGAIN
would recommend this hotel to anyone its truly a brilliant experience and well worth going to we are already planning to make a return in the next couple of months :)
right now for the other things about the island :
most of the resteraunts and bars on the island will wait on the pavement outside the resteraunt and entice u to come in with free drinks with ur food and desserts and stuff like that , one of the other best places to go is a resteraunt called robin hood in laganos , they are so friendly and there prices were cheap ( not as cheap as costas but cheap enough) theres loads of resteraunts down there as well , also to rent a car over there ur looking about 35 euros a day for a open top jeep or roughly 28 euros for a car per day , we rented quad bikes which were 15 euros a day and they were good fun to have , we went all over the island on them , ( u need to hand in ur drving licence to get a quad bike and same with a car , then u get it returned when u hand the bike or the car back in )
we went up to nicholas point at the top of the island and u can go on boat trips and see the shipwreck on the beach up there , it was 5 euros to see the blue caves ( they call it the blue caves because of the crystal blue water that flows in there ) wasnt my cup of tea but still went all the same , u can get boat trips to the shipwreck BUT u have to stay on the little beach for roughly 90 mins b4 they set sail again ( that didnt appeal to me ) but u can actually drive to the cliffs above it and take pics looking down on it which is amazing , once u arrive at costas DO NOT buy any of the trips that the reps offer they are over priced , and a 5 minute walk round the corner on the strip there are quite a few places offering u excersion trips for much cheaper , the beach is literally 5 mins away from the hotel and if ur lucky on a night u can see turtles laying there eggs on the beach as they rest for the night on there , while we had the quads we explored literally the whole island going thru all the little towns as well and it was truly amazing seeing all the little old greek women sat outside there little houses with tables selling olive oil and homemade honey and almonds its well worth seeing , to get a taxi from the hotel to the nearest town laganos it will cost u 8 euros and if u fancy going to zante town (zykinthos) it will cost u 10 euros , the buses run every 3 hours or so from kalimaki to laganos and one way ride costs u 1.40 euro.
we also went down to a place called nicholas beach one of the farthest southern points on the island and it was lovely to be there but the this is where they had all the water sports going on , (this place is about 20 kilometres from the hotel )
the prices were very expensive as well for 15 minutes on a jetski it was costing 60 euros and to go on the banana boats it was 13 euros and there had to be 13 of u on ther boat b4 it would go anywhere , to go paragliding ur looking at 80 euros for about 10-15 mins in the air , and for scuba diving it was 80 euros as well , some of the excursions on the island were abit pricey as well , for instance to go from kalimaki to the blue caves ur looking at about 25 euros but if u travel up the island in a car u can get it for 5 euros lol
now with the quad bikes u could fill there tanks for about 10 euros and u could do 100 miles + on them and the island really aint that big lol
you can also get a mean kebab from a shop called munchies in laganos for 2 euros (well worth checking out ) to buy ciggarettes and tobacco over there ur looking at 21 euros for 200 johnplayer special (they the cheapest) and if u smoke golden virginia or old hoburn ur looking at roughly 7 euros for a 50 gram pouch or 80 euros for 10 x 50g pouches of tobacco , OVERALL OPINION OF THE ISLAND AND THE HOLIDAY:
AMAZING everyone is so friendly there and they go out of there way to help and to plz you , the hotel again was brilliant , dennis and takis mother adrianne makes all the hotel meals proper greek style and is something to definatly try and taste, so yes another big up to DENNIS TAKIS AND LOUISE ur made our holidays brilliant tytytyty :)
i have tried to give an insight to the island and the way it is over there sorry if i missed anything out but i have just got bk and im writing this report already lol

2 readers found this review helpful

we have stayed at costo's now for the last 5 years ,yes they are basic but come on all you holliday makers you 'r in a different country .Takis ,Dennis ,Adriama [momma]and Costo's[poppa] always give us a real friendley welcome .The cleaners Athina and Lisa work realy hard and nothing is too much trouble for them .We have been to other countries but ZANTE is home to all my family .Our son got married there last sept 09-09-09 . Dennis decorated the bar for the reception and Adriana cooked a beautifull meal everyone had a fantastic time .A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE FAMILY . We are going back again this Sept to meet up with friend's that we have made on previous hollidays" cant wait". Maureen,Joe,Nigel,Sammy and Faith Evans. Walsall West Midlands.

1 reader found this review helpful

horrible place staff are horrible stop aug 09 you are looked after if you spend money in the hotel only. Joanne is a horrible and so are the other staff selfish beware nasty place to stop just want you to drink in the bar had accident never seen the rep only at nite on the pub crawl dont go if you know whats good for you waste of money and you wont enjoy your holiday unless you pay in there bar everynite its horrible like a farm yard

7 readers found this review helpful

brilliant holiday ! absolutely loved it.
zante is a lush island &costas was a fabulous place to stay.
perfect actually. just around the corner from the strip, cant complain(: ¬ far from laganas or the beach.
made so many friends here, people i still keep in touch with today.
at first, when we arrived at the hotel, i saw the pool &thought it looked lovely &the field with the horses, so sweet. then we went up to our room and i though, oh my gosh, what the hell.. the bathroom was awful, so tinyyy ! and the kitchen.. just a counter with, i dont even remember what on it. but it was awful small. then i thought, hey, big deal. im not going to be cooking anything here, as long as there's a fridge to keep the drinks and stuff cold it's all good. and the bathroom, doesn't take long to get used to. it was just at first sight, didn't look great that's all, nothing at all wrong with it.
the both bedrooms were really good sized. a big wardrobe in both, which is always great. great view from the balcony aswell(:
at the end of the day, all im going to do here is sleep &get ready to go out.
after a week of staying here, we had to move rooms for some reason i can't remember.. that was rather annoying, but then when we saw our new room, we really couldn't complain. i thought the room we had was good, but this new one, waw.. amazing ! it had a big kitchen - not a counter, an actual kitchen type thing. it had a living room, with two beds i think it was.. a dining table and a coffee table. then the two double bedrooms, fabulous !
and last, the bathroom was beautiful ! it had a bath ! and much bigger than the other one. also, two balcony's which also had lush views.
we felt so lucky:P &glad we had to move then, although i wouldn't have complained staying where we were.
so yes, to sum it all up, it was AMAZING ! i'd definitely go back there again(: not this year though, but sometime in the future, for sure !
thanks to all the staff for being so friendly and welcoming. αντίο(: xxxxxxxx

14 readers found this review helpful

I feel I have to post this if only to reiterate the comments from tracy50,
It was our first stay at the costas and can honestly say what a wonderful warm and friendly family the hosts are.
Takis and Dennis offer you along with all other guest the privilege of being an extended member of their family throughout your holiday with them.
The lads who decided to abuse their hospitality not only embarrassed themselves but also caused embarrassment to all other holiday makers,
I found myself apologizing to both Takis and Dennis for their actions,
The posting tracy50 replied too accuses the family of using a shotgun to intimidate the group, I was awake myself that morning and although I did not have a clear sight of the pool area I can categorically state there was no gunshot.
The posting also stated they felt unsafe and unable to enjoy their holiday after the incident,
I suggest this was more out of embarrassment than feeling unsafe as they had been quite close to the group of lads.
If their posting is to be believed Takis and dennis are Basil Fawlty type characters who will either beat you or tie you until you will enjoy your holiday.
Loved the holiday and have booked again for next year if you do get to read to the end of this posting don't be put off by negative postings a lovely and relaxing holiday awaits groups of respectful teenagers and families alike.

14 readers found this review helpful

I just have to say a few things after reading the review below regarding the message 'this place is a health risk'.
Myself and my family were staying at Costas when this incident took place and I was on my balcony and SAW EVERYTHING! After hearing lots of noise through out my holiday from all the youngsters that were staying here at the time, I wasn't getting much sleep. So, I was having a cup of tea on the balcony at about 6am when I heard lots of noise (more than usual), when I looked over to the pool bar, I was horrified at what I saw! A group of yobs had moved all the sunbeds from around the pool and had thrown them into the road, trees and goal posts. The umbrellas has been turned upside down and shoved into grass like javalins. The concrete blocks that hold the umbrellas had been thrown into the pool as had a huge umbrella. I then saw 2 of the boys kicking a door to the pool bar to try and get in. Thats when Dennis and Takis came, I can safely say 100% that NO GUN WAS USED! The boys were swearing at Dennis and Takis and laughing. Dennis and Takis managed to catch the yobs after a lot of running around, and the yobs were then tied up (only so they didn't run away), and the Head Rep from Thomas Cook came and IMMEDIATLEY threw the yobs out of the hotel. This is not the actions a holiday company would take if the yobs were innocent. After what I saw, I feel ashamed to be British and how the Greeks have so much patience with these yobs, I will never know. Throughout their holiday, the boys caused nothing but trouble and had no respect for the staff or the hotel. I know that from speaking to other people around the pool that NO ONE saw or heard a gun being fired, so this story was made up by the yobs to justify their awful behaviour. Myself and other families have filled out reports with Thomas Cook to support this.
What guests in the hotel have to remember is that this is Dennis and Takis' business and livelyhood and will not take disgusting behaviour from drunken louts who have too much to drink and ruin many peoples holiday.
This was my first year at Costas and will be back again, i found the whole hotel lovely and the staff were brilliant. DON'T LET LIES PUT YOU OFF. All the staff are the nicest people I have ever met! And they work extremely hard.
I have photos of the incident and will try and post them on here tomorrow!

6 readers found this review helpful

For the first week of our holidays, we thought this was an excellent place to come on holiday. The rooms were basic, but clean (we didn't expect anything more with what we payed and the pool was excellent, with lylos and balls, etc provided. The location is excellent, literally a two minute walk from the main strip and not far from the beach.
However, after we had been there for a week, a major incident happened at the hotel. Just read the guidelines for this site and it says that you can't put graphic reports of violent criminal activity, which is what happened during our stay, so that pretty much destroys my whole review. As a result, all I am going to say on here is that a group of our friends were threatened with a shot gun by the owner Dennis (one of the staff/owners) and Takis, his brother and, believe it or not, tied up in the field next to the hotel. Yes, you did just read that correctly.
We were then told by our rep that we would be transferred from the hotel, as obviously the owner was unpredictable and dangerous, but this move never materialised after Thomas Cook decided that it wasn't dangerous enough for us to require a move!! How the owner using a shot gun to threaten guests isn't dangerous enough I will never know!!!
As a result of the incident, we spent the rest of our holiday on the receiving end of some very evil looks from the staff and spent our time in the hotel worried about what would happen if anyone put a foot out of place, or if the owner snapped once again. We were told by Thomas Cook that no more people would be taken to the hotel by their comapny as they didn't want guests to be treated in an "agressive manor." We now belive though, that this was a front to make us think that the company were doing something about the incident.
Our rep was excellent, he wanted us moved but the company took no notice and it is on the advice of another Thomas Cook rep from a different hotel that we have done this review as it was him who made us realise that no one else should turn up to the hotel thinking they are in for a safe, enjoyable holiday when, in reality, this could be far from the truth.
Other than the incident, the hotel was great, Kalamaki is a great area. It is a bit less "full on" than Laganas so for any young people, its great to be able to chill out and have a few drinks but be able to get into Laganas for a good night out in no time at all. I would recommend Kalamaki very highly, just not the hotel.