Paspalis Hotel

We had a fantastic holiday in Kefelonia, great view from the hotel, eating dinner and looking out to sea what wonderful view, the rooms were nice and clean staff lovely and friendly food fantastic. i would recommend this hotel do try and get up and see the sunrise its magical.....but dont go on the donuts ouch!!!
Mr & Mrs walker summer 2010

Great resort - people very friendly, hotel good (staff in particular) & clean; previous reviewers have correctly noted the small balconies!
Hotel food ok but not as tasty/refined (if Greek food can be called that) as Skala restuarants - hotel meals' quality varied on different days/nights: again, previous reviewers have noted poor breakfast experience!
Hotel pool very clean & fairly big - beach is shingle & shelved making 'a bit of a paddle' difficult!
Live entertainment on Wed evening - male singer with keyboard/backing tracks - not our cup of tea but ok.
Didn't go on any boat trips but, took our hired car up the coast to Poros - lovely little harbour (ferries to & from Killini on mainland Greece); also, drove over the mountains to Sami - beautiful little restuarants by the harbour serving traditional, tasty food (four in our party had different choices from the menu & all were very good).
On the drive back to the airport we visited Lourdata - a small village right on the beach; what a fabulous beach it is, the colour of the sea/surf is amazing.
Had lunch in a lovely restuarant overlooking the bay, frequented by a friendly cat.
A WORD OF WARNING : the roads are not only tricky to negotiate (mostly used 2nd & 3rd gear) but are pot-holed & generally in poor condition (moutain roads actually a little better than towns/villages!); would recommend hiring in Skala for a few days where tyre/wheel/underside-of-vehicle insurance is included in the price (£130 for three days) - albeit more expensive to hire this way, peace of mind is maintained!
Our Nissan Almira, from CarEconomy - CBR Rentals (whom I would recommend) for the week cost £150 but a hefty excess (£700 debited from your credit-card) for any damage sustained was more than a little worrying.
Restuarants in Skala we enjoyed were:- Aquarius (very good all 'round), Flamingo(souvlaki divine & owner gave us a lift back to the Paspalis as it was tipping down with rain) & Symposium (my wife & I had 'fillet steak' souvlaki which was so tough even a steak-knife wouldn't cut it!!! The waiter was very appologetic, changed this for lamb, which was good & didn't charge us for our two meals - result!).
Bars in Skala we enjoyed were:- Sally's (great welcome), Veto (staff excellent), The Archer (found this one on our penultimate evening - isn't it always the way!?Great atmosphere, mixing with the locals & very nice beer; good music all topped off with the super-friendly Kyriakos - forgive my spelling mate - well worth a visit or three!)
Weather good for first three days then, heavy rain on third evening & into next day; very windy also for remainder of our week.

9 readers found this review helpful

Holiday was one of the best we have had. Hotel was basic but very clean, staff very friendly and the food was very good. There was just a short walk to the beach (50 metres) and we would recommend snorkelling to see the large variety of beautiful fish in the sea.
We also recommend hiring a car or jeep - the island is beautiful and you can go from south to north in a few hours. There are some great sights to see and we found several deserted beaches that were off the beaten track.
There was a great variety of places to eat in Scala and would recommend the Poseiden restaurant and an authentic Greek restaurant which is near the ruins (forgot the name).
Recommend that you purchase plenty of insect repellant and hire the air conditioning unit in the hotel room from day one!
Captain Vangelis's trips are a must, especially the late afternoon trip to Sami.
Finally a trip to Fiskardo is recommended if you like seeing a harbour village famous for the yachts (all shapes and sizes) and the lovely cafes.

6 readers found this review helpful

We stayed in Skala, at the Paspalis Hotel for our 2 week honeymoon from 16th - 30th Sept 08. Overall we loved it, hence the 9 rating, but there are several (not massive) things I would want to pass on to someone else thinking of staying at this hotel and in this resort. So in no particular order :
HOTEL
Breakfast is poor. I wasn't expecting very much to begin with but it is disappointing and I think you could do better yourself and get up when you want to! It's served from 8 - 10 and is cleared away on the dot of 10! There is literally muesli, cornflakes and warm milk on one side and toast on the other. They do extras but you pay extra and the cooked breakfast was very poor (It included one tinned hotdog!) I didn't find the restaurant food in general anything to rave about, though we only had one evening meal there, and it was as soon as we arrived, but lunches really weren't great at all.
Balconies are tiny, and I mean tiny! You have to have the table and chairs in the exact right place to be able to open and close the doors! The rooms are cleaned every morning to a really high standard! There is no entertainment whatsoever, so its definately not the place to go if that's what you're looking for.
This isn't anyones fault but due to the Paspalis being so near the islands highest mountain, it's often covered in cloud. We had cloud every day for 2 weeks. So it's just something to be aware of.
RESTAURANTS
There are probably about 12 restaurants in Skala in total and we tried almost all of them. Without doubt the absolute outstanding one is 'Aquarious', it's past the main road and sea facing, everone will rave about it, we even saw our hotel owner and 2 reps going there one night. The food is probably some of the best I've ever had anywhere.
On the more favourable side we would recommend 'The Scandinavia' - it's on the main road, really good food, good menu and friendly staff. 'The Old Village' does excellent food, it's on the main road and quite small and easy to miss.
On the more negative side 'The Pines' is one of the first restaurants you'll see - we don't recommend it at all - I had lamb there one night and it still makes me feel ill to think about it! There's a chinese and an Italian just before Aquarious - the chinese is quite expensive and I thought fairly average. The Italian is lovely, my only gripe was that my vegetables were cold.

GENERAL
Wasps and mosquito's were at epidemic level and I don't think we had one meal without a wasp visit. I got 9 bites on one arm in about 3 days, we bought a plug-in for our room and I resorted to covering myself in neat lemon juice every evening; it seemed to work!
The beach is stoney and I mean stoney. I'm not usually that bothered by shingle and have got robust feet but it hurts a lot and is really difficult to walk on so if you're a massive beach person - my advice really is don't stay here. Also, if you go in the sea, it does feel quite unsafe, 2 metres in and you're up to your waste.
The excursions are excellent - I really recommend them, however not if you get travel sick as the roads are super super twisty, like nothing I've ever seen!! The coach drivers are just amazing!! The '3 jewels of Kefalonia' trip is well worth the money but it is expensive (120 euro for 2)
Kefalonia is beautiful and I think would appeal to most, it's just so laid back. Beware of the airport on your return - it's a total nightmare! You can't hear any of the announcements whatsoever and if something changes the screens don't change so you just have to kind of work out what's going on - apparently delays on that flight are really common - so be prepared for that.

6 readers found this review helpful

The hotel is in a perfect location, cross a road and you are on the beach. Yes - the beach is slightly shingle but this did not bother us or our daughter, she had those beach shoes on but we didn't find it particularly painful as some people have described on here. Having said that, we did spend the majority of our time at the pool.
The staff in the hotel, in my opinion, made our holiday! Ria, Panos, Amy and ALL the staff were amazing. Yes - some staff at the hotel are more outgoing that others but I didn't find any staff "Rude", and I think its unfair to suggest otherwise. Ria and Panos worked such long hours but really made a fuss of our daughter, no matter how busy they were! The customer service we experienced by them at the hotel was by far the best we have ever experienced.
The rooms are basic and small, as others have commented on. Although the room may have felt smaller as we had a child bed in our room as well as a double bed. We had a family room and unfortunatey these are on the side on the ground floor so no sea views or balcony - just a terrace. The rooms are spotlessley clean as is the hotel as a whole.
As we were in Scala for 2 weeks we ate at the majority of restaurants in the resort....however, the food at the restaurant of the hotel was the best we had!!!! The service, the food, the location of the restaurant (eating dinner whilst looking out to sea) and the price made it, in our opinion, the best there is. The squid is amazing as is the stuffed peppers, the sliver bream, the sardines and everything else on the menu!!!!!!
Ok - so onto Scala as a resort. When I was looking at which resort to choose in Kefalonia, I searched the internet for reviews and other people's opinions. I must say that I have found the Kefalonia forums very lassi biased. When I looked into it, we took the decision that Scala seemed best for us, and we were completely right!!! We hired a car for 3 days and visited the large majority of the island and the other resorts and so I know that I wouldn't want to stay in any of the other resorts.
The centre of Scala is a very pleasant 10 minute walk from the hotel. Along the flat beach road and then up a short hill. The centre is just a street on a slight hill with restaurants a couple of bars and a couple of supermarkets and thats it. How anyone could ever call Scala commercialised is beyond me!!!!
Our favourite restaurant in the centre was Aquarious, just off the main street (follow signs for roman villa) Good food, excellently presented, good service!!!! The worst meal we had was at Flamingo, it looks like a lovely setting, sat in a courtyard but it had zero atmosphere, poor service, bad food and overpriced!!! We weren't impressed with the food at the pines either, but maye we chose the wrong dishes as it seems popular!!??? The biggest disapointment fod wise has to be Symposium!!!!! The setting is lovely (on the same street as our hotel) piano player, linen tableclothes etc.....but the food was no where near as good as out hotel. I can compare quite accurately as we had squid in both places (symposium was tough and rubbery) and I had spaghetti marinara in both places and the hotel was streets head. We would have the same sort of things every night and so can easily compare the price, we would have 2 appetisers to share, a main meal with bread and a litre of house wine and the price varied from 35e to 52e!!! Interestingly the most expensive was syposium followed by flamingo!!! I would have paid 52e for the meal at the paspalis!!!!!
We went on a boat trip with captain vangelis from just outside our hotel, 30e each and our daughter went for free. We went to Fiskardo and Agia Effimia with a couple of swimming stops too, highly recommend it!! Book direct with him, don't bother going with your tour operator!!!
We hired a car from Greekstones for 3 days for 97e. Antonis was better than any travel rep!! He gave us a map and information on the whole of the island, he spent lots of time with us and was really helpful!!!!
We went to Lassi, and it is obviosly personal choice, but it wasn't for us. It is a busy road with restaurants and supermarkets, then down a very steep hill to the beaches and hotels. In my opinion it lacked the village feel that Scala has. I guess if you had a really good hotel that you didn't want to leave for a week it'd be fine. Yes - the beaches are sandy (and busier!!) and its closer to the airport, but don't let the transfer put you off scala - it only took about 50mins!!!! And the scenery is great!!!
We didn't see a Thomson rep for the whole 2 weeks that we were there so can give absolutely zero credit to them!! There wasn't even a rep on the coach from the airport to the hotel, the coach was stopping (in the dark) outside hotels and it was just left for the guests to guess when to get off...............but thats another story ;)
As you can probably tell, we had an amazing time, thanks to the Paspalis, the staff and all the lovely people who stayed there!!! We have never been ones to go back to the same place as we generally believe that the world is a big place.....however,I think that scala and the paspalis may have just changed our minds!!!!!!!

4 readers found this review helpful

Everywhere spotlessly clean.Staff all pleasant and helpful.Breakfast included was quite good,and for those requiring cooked full english,or just bacon and eggs,these were available at a very much susidised price,and were of excellent quality.
hotel in good position overlooking the sea,and a short walk to the main street,although the taverna in the hotel grounds was very good.
Those wanting a lively nightlife either in the hotel or the resort should go elsewhere.

3 readers found this review helpful

This was our second time to the Paspalis. Still the same high standard of cleanliness in rooms, taverna and poolside. Rhea and Georgina make everybody welcome and can't do enough for guests.
I have yet to see the owners wife engage in eye contact, let alone verbal exchange with any guest in the hotel which is a little discomforting when you meet her - guests are quite simply ignored!
Because the Taverna is open to all visitors (and also the pool and sun loungers), there were a large number of non-residents that visited the hotel everyday and whilst there still remained room for everyone, it was much busier (and noisier) than on our first occasion.
Skala has grown slightly and the welcome addition of the new restaurant, The Symposium, really has added significant 'class' to the resort. The food and service here was simply magnificent - but it is much more costly than your average Taverna and be careful, as booking in advance is highly recommended if you don't want to be disappointed.
But in our view well worth it. We also had a wonderful meal in the Italian Restaurant and also in the Chinese Restaurant. The Paspalis Taverna was nevertheless still good value.
The island itself still remains the biggest attraction for us. It is quite simply stunning - a beautiful island.
Do try the day trip to Ithaka - not the boat trip - the bus trip that takes you to Sami then across in the ferry and all day touring this delightful small island with the true Greek character still uppermost.

2 readers found this review helpful

This was my first time in Greece and it won't be my last. Kefalonia is a beautiful Island with magnificent scenery. Plenty greenery and flowers.
The Paspalis Hotel in Skala is in a wonderful location, directly opposite the beach and a 5/10 minute easy walk to the village which has plenty of excellent tavernas and bars. The hotel and the pool are very clean, rooms basic but very clean and ample for what you need. Air conditioning is extra but a must if you visit in high season. The staff are very friendly and the taverna at the hotel is recommended although we did go eating out in the village most of the time as Skala has such a nice atmosphere in the evenings.
The beach is a mix of sand and pebbles which can be a little sore on the feet and the sea shelves steeply so not a great place for kids to swim. There are sandy beaches in the area that are ideal for kids and the not so strong swimmers but you would need to hire a car to get there...other then that I cannot fault the place and will definitely be going back one day.

Stayed at Paspalis twice before. Once via Portland Direct, 2nd time via emailing Nikos the owner-very easy going, good rates and no problem too big.
Staff are fantastic with the kids. Going back again Sept/Oct 2006. Staying half board as food in village is very good but doesn't beat Paspalis - seafood meze! Kids love it, excellent prices, use of kitchen for babies bottles.
Only problem is beach shelves steeply into sea but gentler beaches near by, by car and bus (inexpensive). Kida play area is ok in village, hard standing for soccer usually with the Greek Kids. Roman villa ruins and nice walks around the town (hilly) - Wonderful place and people.

Location - 5 minutes easy walk of the town centre. Right on the beach front.
Rooms - Basic, clean and comfortable.
Hotel - Really good choice and good value for money in the hotel restaurant. Pool and grounds were lovely.
Town centre - Lots of really good restaurants. The Pines was a favourite and the Makis hotel restaurant was really good too.
General - We hired a jeep for the week to get around. Myrtos beach is beautiful. A drive up to Mt Ennos was a bit scary but well worth it! I would also recommend a trip to Xi beach - the beach is littered with clumps of blue clay which you cover yourself with and then dry out in the sun!!!