Exotica Hotel

I've just returned today from my weeks stay at the Exotica. This hotel wasn't as good as I expected. The pics on Thomson's website make the hotel appear much newer and although the buildings look like they've had a lick of paint recently the rest of the building and interiors were dated and shabby in places. The rooms were very small and we had a big problem with ants (but on the plus side this was sorted by the maids in the morning). We had a cot in our room which I found to be broken (quite badly) towards the end of the hol, it was cleverly disguised by the sheets and by being on the wall side. I found this a worry that they would supply a broken cot! The air con charge is on the expensive side 35 euro for one week, 70 euro for two weeks and 8 euro per night for family suites. As a word of warning....on the patio doors there are also outer shutters which is great because it keeps the rooms cooler in the day but be warned that the maids only lock these and leave the patio doors open after they've cleaned the rooms, this put me on edge a bit after I realised this so I was returning to the room after they'd cleaned to shut the doors properly because you never know! In my opinion the entertainment was rubbish. Very lack lustre and boring. The only good thing was the Greek night on Thursday, buffet for 12 euro each (under 5's free) and the food was delicious! The snack bar stops serving food at around 6pm so you HAVE to go out to eat in the evening which is a shame because it would have been nice to have stayed there a few nights especially as it was too hot for my son to play in the play area in the day but it would have been ideal in the evening. The hotel seems to make little effort to encourage you to stay at the hotel because they don't serve food and the drinks are pricey....expect to pay 3.50 euros for a J20 and 1.20 for a can of coke. The snack bar serves food throughout the day and some of the food is lovely but overall it was a let down and overpriced. It seems like when they wanted to put the effort in the food was delicious (I had Pork Soulaki twice, the first time it was lovely and covered in greek herbs as it should be. The second time it was completely void of any herbs at all!) AVOID the childs jam sandwich! I paid 1 euro for it and was presented with a slice of buttterless dry bread and a portion of jam! I was not impressed! Right for the good stuff! The pool is lovely and is the hotels redeeming feature. There are ample sunbeds and the pool snack bar area is large and clean. The exterior of the buildings and the grounds are well maintained and pretty. The breakfast although basic is tasty and plentiful. The location of the hotel is great only being a 10 min walk to the beach and a 3-5 min walk to kalamki's 'strip'. The best restaurant we ate at was Mermaids. It has a huge menu, good nightly specials and a great greek night on a sunday. Some handy hints...... Whilst we were there the temps hit 50 degrees! (temps quoted online etc are normally taken around 10am ish and are in the shade, so take no notice!) Yesterday ( 9th July 08) it was 46 degrees at 15:46 I checked on my thermometer! So for those of you considering going without aircon in july/aug my advice is don't! Although it is expensive it is worth it because it is your only break from the heat! In the supermarket to the right of the exotica (as your facing the hotel venus) they sell 6 1.5 Lt bottles of water for 1.50 euro compared to 1 euro a bottle from the hotel snack bar. Also shop around for things before you buy...my husband brought a snorkel for 5.90 euros but had earlier seen one for 12.40 euros, what a difference! For those planning on travelling and toying with the idea of a taxi transfer I say DO IT! It'll cost around 10 euros and will cut LOADS of time off your transfer time. We were in th hotel pool 20 mins after landing! For your departure back to the UK.... DON't buy the airport food, your looking at 5.50 euros for a roll, 5.50 euros for a tube of pringles (yikes!) and 4 euros for a big bag of lays (walkers) crisps. The supermarket at the top of the road leading down to the exotica sells freshly made rolls for 1.80 euros. Overall it was a good hol and although I may not stay there again I quite enjoyed my stay at the exotica.

We stayed at this hotel from 16th June to 27th June 2008 and I cannot say a bad word. It was excellent, the breakfast was good and the pool was great. The staff were very polite and the rooms were clean. Thanks exotica, will be back next year Liz Staggs Bromley Kent

I stayed here for 2 weeks in July with my husband and 10 year old son. We all had an excellent time. Yes, the hotel rooms were fairly basic. However they were scrupulously clean and we found them fine to sleep in. There was too much to do to spend time in the room. The hotel staff were friendly and helpful. The pool and gardens were well maintained and there were plenty of sun beds. The only 'difficulty' was prizing my son away from the hotel because he had such a good time there. The young entertainer was excellent and my son enjoyed the children's clubs . The beach was perfect - plenty of space and the water was brilliantly clear. We failed to see turtles despite having 4 pedalo outings but did see several on the organised turtle trip. We also went on the boat tour round the island which is well worth while. We booked both trips from local operators rather than through the travel.company . The food in the local tavernas is of good quality and extremely good value. We had such a good time we plan to return next year.

The Exotica location was very good and the grounds and pool area attractive.Hovever the rooms are very basic,and i mean very basic.No room phone so they give you an alarm clock if you have to make an early start the next day.The room on arrival did,nt look very "spicy"or welcoming,the weather was fantastic just as well as there was no TV on site.Mostly geared for families as we found the reps a bit young and childish,silly acting really.The staff at the hotel were nice enough.but i would not choose to stay there again.The resort was fantastic the beach wonderful,we walked to Laganas quite a few times,and on to Cameo island,which was almost magical.Kalamaki was wonderful and i would recomend it strongly, a wonderful holiday.Book your trips with the local agents,half the price of reps trips and as good.we are a couple in our late 50,s

It is sooo hard 2 describe this place in sooo little words i am a 16 year old who loved it and i can also say that my perents and younger brother of 8 at the time tottaly enjoyed. i would love to go back again. Became great ffriends with the owner...Cia ....and also ....Alex we all still keep in touch. Every moring i would wake up early to get breakfast and to get an early start on the sunbathing... but i would sooon be desturbed by the fittest most hyper enjoyable entertainer who helped make the holiday 1 to remember... He would get ever one up off their beds to have fun and yes it borught the whole of the geust together we all felt lk family and as if we had all known each other for ages it was sad to say bye cant wait to visit again i would tottaly recoment this holiday for everyone tyan marie owens xxxxxx

We have just returned from the hotel exotica in Kalamaki, Zante, Greece. The hotel is very basic although clean. It would benefit from having mosquito mesh or netting as the mosquitoes are ferocious. You also have to pay extra for air conditioning and fridges. The breakfast is basic but plenty of it. This is a family orientated hotel so if you don't like noisy children, loud pool music and lots of games like quizzes and pool football this is not the hotel for you. The resort itself has good bars and restaurants with a variety of food for all tastes including Indian, Mexican and Chinese. Expect to pay around 25 euros for a meal for 2 with drinks. Don't take an organised turtle trip, get a taxi (7 euros) or a local bus (1.30 euros) to the resort of Lagunas, the taxi ride is 10 minutes and taxis can be picked up easily at Drunk Corner on the main street. Get the taxi to drop you off at Luganas beach, the bus also drops you there. Hire a pedalo for 10 euros and you will see you lots of turtles. We took a trip (25 euros each for three hours) and a pedalo (10 euros for 1 hour) and saw many more turtles by ourselves as we were not making a noise with the boat engine. You can also see turtles off Kalamaki beach again, hire a pedalo. The trip to Kefalonia is not interesting, a long day just to see a couple of caves, it's also difficult if you have problems with steps. Watch out as you have to pay extra for entrance fees but none of the trips advertised mention this. Overall a good resort for families and couples, Lagunas more suitable if you prefer lots of noisy nightlife.

My husband and i stayed in the exotica hotel this summer, the holiday to kalamaki was unexpected as we were originally booked to go to Sharm el Sheikh, therefore our booking was a last minute deal, allocation on arrival. The hotel is very clean, basic, but comfortable. The pool area is very busy. Although all the guests were from the UK there was an annoying habit of a race for the sunbeds every morning, due to people getting up early and claiming their sunbeds by leaving towels lying on them! so it was a case of if your not fast your last! The hotel was a very family orientated hotel and not really for couples looking for a relaxing holiday (which we were) so all the kids around the pool were pretty annoying. I wouldn't go back unless i had kids. The hotel is really well suited for familys with young children. The staff were really friendly and very helpful. Weather was great and Kalamki is an excellent place for a holiday. The cave bar is fantastic, especially at sunset with a bottle of champagne!

when we first arrived we were unsure of what to expect as we had always been to quite plush hotels. We wondered if we had come to pontins with sun. How wrong we were!!!! The hotel and staff were excellent , although we were not so pleased with the breakfast which was without the usual full english you look forward to on holiday. We found the day and night entertainment extremely refreshing. Our children, three of whom are teenagers, really enjoyed themselves and our youngest, Max, who's just turned seven on 18th Sept. didn't get out of the pool until it was time to go out in the evening. Ryan, the 20year old rep is fantastic, he got everyone motivated , we called him the new Robbie Williams. Cia and Fabien and all the bar staff were really friendly and we had one or two sambucca's with them on most evenings before heading out and then on returning. All in all a truly lovely week with great weather and wonderful people.

fantastic holiday in this lovely hotel, the thompson "reps_ entertainers" were brilliant. it was our third time to visit this beautiful island and by far the best, it was our first time to stay at the exotica but hopefully not our last. the breakfast was slightly basic but was always well presented and fresh, well worth a visit. highly recomended.

Looking forward to coming again!! Be there on 6th August. Fab Hotel. Great location. Staff are really friendly and go out of your way to make you feel welcome. Kids club is excellant and loads fab restaurants around Hotel. This will be our fourth time, we just keep on coming back.!!! see you soon