Achilleas Beach Hotel

1 reader found this review helpful

We (myself, wife and 2 kids aged 12 and 8 just returned on 26th July 2006 from a 2 week stay in the Achilleas Beach hotel.
Like other reviewers, we were slightly concerned about comments made. But we are pretty flexible, have open minds and only went on the most recent reviews - may I thank those persons who wrote those recent reviews - they were spot on.
Now for the review:-
Transfer from airport: We did this ourselves - easy to get taxi's. It was 15 euros which I felt was reasonable enough.
Check-In: Very smooth, no issues. They don't just leave you to find your room, they actually show you - very professional. Especially as the size of the complex is quite big.
Room: We were in a family room right on the beach front. The views were great and it was good having the sunshine in the mornings and evenings. We were in Room 601 on the ground floor of the bungalow complex. The rooms are basic, which was not a problem for us. We had to purchase the air conditioning though - I read on other reviews that they could have switched it on themselves - this is not the case now. You get issued with a plastic card about 7mm thick and no, your credit card doesn't fit!
The rooms were cleaned every day (those maids do a great job), towels were changed as you needed them changed - which was every day for us. Sheets were changed 6 times when we there - great.
Food: Excellent for an All Inclusive. We have been on 6 AI's and my wife said this was the best for food. Sometimes difficult to get a seat but for breakfast if you went in at 8.30 no problem, 9.00 problem, 9.15 big problem. Dinner was the same, if you left it later (which we like to do anyway) then no problems to get a table - the only downside going later is you can't get a seat or table out at the cabaret. Food choice - you would have to be very picky if there was something you didn't like - soup, several different meat dishes, pasta, great salad bar, 5-6 choice of desserts.
Cabaret: We didn't go there very often but the times we did it was ok - nothing spectacular. The entertainment reps were good, with plenty to do for the kids and the adults.
No issues with getting drinks either through the day or at night time. Again, standard European AI types of drinks. There are plenty of waiters and waitresses collecting glasses, rubbish etc through the day and at night.
The snacks through the day were ok. Three different types of filled rolls (baps), pizza, cheese rolls. Ice cream for an hour - ok there were queue's when the ice cream bar opened but leave it half an hour and you could literally just walk up to the girl. Coffee, Tea and cakes also at that time.
The pool was good, just basically a big rectangle! There was a little kids pool but this was used mainly for babies. There were plenty of sun beds. You got the usual though- people putting towels on them - which was not a problem.
There is a gym (which we didn't use - well we were on holiday!), squash court, basketball pitch and 2 football pitches. Games room is ok. 2 pool tables (free but a deposit required) and 2 table tennis tables. Some electronic games machines that were 50cents - I think?
The walk into Mastihari took us 18 minutes along the coastal path. We would tend to walk along after dinner then get a taxi back. Nice walk when the sun is setting.
Hopefully I have covered most things. Feel free to contact me on my email address if you have any specific questions and I’ll try and answer them.

I booked this holiday for a cheap 2 week getaway for me and my girlfriend, and after paying under £1000 in total for 15 nights I wasn't really expecting very much, however I was very pleasantly surprised.
The rooms were simple and very clean, there was meant to be a charge for the air con, but after sweet talking the receptionist she gave us the remote for free :) Daily maid service and bedding changed regularly kept the room fresh.
The pool and grounds were both excellent, very very clean with stunning gardens and views. The staff were all very friendly and chatty if you engaged them. All inclusive drinks were fine, reasonable local lager and spirits, and the staff were happy to make you any cocktail you might fancy... As for people moaning about drink restrictions, this was in place to stop greedy British lager louts from hogging the limited bar staff - and if you smile and show a little courtesy (very hard for some Brits, I know!), the staff would happily serve you with more drinks.
The food was reasonable, a good mix of Greek and continental options, lots of Greek salad, cheese and fish. On several nights we fancied a change so took a very pleasant 15 minute walk along the beach to Mastihari and went to one of the local Tavernas. Here the food was excellent (particularly sea food) and very cheap, and I was more than happy to pay for a few meals given what the holiday had cost! Bar staff in town are very friendly, and will look after you like family if you show a little courtesy.
If you do go, make sure you jump on the ferry to the neighbouring island of Kalymnos (about 6 Euros return), some nice shops and excellent restaurants, a stunning little place and a must see.
If you want a sunny relaxed holiday, around friendly people in laid back surroundings, Mastihari on Kos is perfect and typically Greek... If you are going to whine if you don't get a TV or Sky sports then go to Benidorm, plenty of McDonalds and Pizza huts if you don't like the hotel food too!

Having read the reviews we were a little apprehensive. On arrival to departure we couldn't fault the hotel or surrounding area at all.
The meals were good, the drinks were good the accommodation was good, the staff were all very friendly and there were plenty of activities throughout the day. The view from our beachfront room was breathtaking, and the sunsets wonderful.
Obviously something’s in Greece don't seem to change such as putting the loo paper in a pedal bin at the side of the loo and the crowded airport, but that’s Greece.
I wouldn't hesitate at returning to the same hotel, which isn't something I would do very often.

Beautiful hotel, lovely room - very clean and comfortable. When we checked in we had a ground floor room and asked if we could move to a first floor (personal preference) and this was arranged the following morning.
The food was excellent, lots of choice and dinner served until 9:30pm so no rushing. Being all inclusive you are not going to get the same food as you would if you were self catering and eating out at Greek Tavernas every night but we couldn't fault the food. The daytime snacks were a bit basic (cheese and ham rolls and some hot snacks like pizza and cheese pastries available from the pool bar) along with coffee time each afternoon where cakes and ice cream were served.
The staff were all very friendly and the animation team worked hard day and night but not in your face if you didn't want to get involved. Plenty of local drinks (vodka, whiskey, gin, beer, cocktails etc). The hotel has it's own beach with sun beds which was lovely - would recommend walking along the beach path into Mastihari (took about 15 minutes) and was a lovely walk. If you want to hire a vehicle go into town to do it.
We would not recommend hiring bikes from the place across the road from the hotel. We hired a bike for 6 days and had the bike taken back at 9:15am on the last day so only had it for 5 days. The man running the shop was very rude and aggressive. Basically he demanded the bike back and was not prepared to listen to the fact that we had hired it for 6 days. Again, If you want to hire a vehicle go into town to do it.
Kos itself is a beautiful island and worth exploring. All in all we have had a wonderful holiday and would definitely recommend to others and visit ourselves again.

Best holiday ever!
This was our fourth time staying at the hotel and I would recommend it to any one...
For you that mock it you are just complaining. What do you expect paying low prices.... Also, what can you expect going to Greece- I mean come on it isn’t exactly what you call Hollywood is it...
The hotel is great... Not the best meals but great help, waiters were friendly i recall one the name of Mustafa being a great help. Disco on not every night but still had new beats! Beach clean with plenty of sun beds for all... Clean large pool...
Superb room service- cleaned every day.
This holiday has got to be 11/10 recommend it to any one... Ignore the moaners :) x

I booked two weeks before our travel date. After booking I read the reviews and was so concerned that I tried to transfer to another hotel. I was told by Imperial Travel that it was not possible as it was too late.
I explained that I had originally called Imperial Travel about a holiday in Mainland Greece but had been offered the Achilleas Beach Hotel as being a fantastic deal, that I was very fortunate to get. I asked whether there was entertainment suitable for my teenage daughter and her friend as neither of them would be allowed to go out of the complex. T
he operator had reassured me that there was nightly entertainment. When i tried to change the hotel and was told it was too late I was reassured that there was a nightly disco and that as the hotel was 4 star, I could expect a good standard of food and entertainment. Not TRUE! No disco, worst food ever tasted, miles from anywhere, surly staff, broken window, heartbreaking animals in the zoo (?). Nowhere to buy food (by this time we were starving) so we had to take an expensive taxi ride to a restaurant.
I begged for a transfer after two days. This cost a fortune due to cost of taxi, and transfer fees. We arrive at the Sun Palace (near Kos town) deflated and miserable due to only having three days of our holiday left. Brilliant hotel, food good, staff outstanding. Please do not make my mistake and believe that the people writing negative reviews are just miserable people who expect too much from a holiday.
All I wanted was decent food, entertainment and helpful staff. Not too much to expect, surely. I must add that I have never received an answer to the two letters written to Imperial Travel on our return. Perhaps they are inundated with similar complaints. I assure you that I have never made a complaint before about any holiday I have been on.

The only down side to this holiday were the flight times. Having a 3 year old and having to fly from Glasgow at 21:30 arriving Kos 03:30 and returning 03:30 arriving Glasgow 07:30 was a bit of a nightmare. My advice to any one with these type of flight times Pre book to keep your room on in advance as a number of people we talked to had been refused when the tried to keep the room on.
The hotel it's self was very nice the decor was in good repair and the night staff when we arrived were friendly and helpful, we were shown to our room and when I offered to carry a case the porter would not hear of it. The room was excellent, except for the beds which were on marble bases, we asked for extra sheets to pad our child’s bed and extra pillows to put on the floor in case he fell out of bed. These were supplied without any hassle.
The pool and pool area are well laid out and the pool was clean. The children’s pool had a tendency for the water level to drop, we reported this and it was fixed overnight.
The restaurant was a bit hectic at times and my wife could on several occasions find nothing to eat, although it must be said she is very fussy. I found the food fine and enjoyed the atmosphere.
Overall we had a great time at this hotel and I would recommend it to anyone. We are returning to Kos again in June 2006 and have the same flights as last year but it is well worth it as the Island is beautiful. It will be the first place we have returned to for a second holiday in the same place.

2 Adults & 2 children aged 9 & 13.
Fully Inclusive NOT actually inclusive!!
We were very sceptical as we read a few poor reviews but never take to much notice as we feel a holiday is what you want to make it too be. Never written a report before but felt like had to write this one.
Good points.
The Olympic sized pool is excellent cleaned everyday. The hotel complex is clean and big. Rooms cleaned daily with clean towel. Excellent Gym, squash courts, out door football pitch. Free sun beds on the beach lots of choices. Summer staffs from eastern countries were very friendly and helpful.
Bad points.
Food was awful same food every night, chips, pasta, salad pizza. We hated it so much we ate out most nights. No creek food. Lots of German cheeses.
Ice cream for kids only between 3.30 – 4.30 ONLY with one person serving with
Queue miles long with kids and parents and when 4.30pm arrives they close immediately even if kids haven’t been served.
Limited drinks to two per person including soft drinks. Many nights saw big arguments with parents and Bar staffs as couples can’t get drinks for there children. Must drink was local cheap wine and spirit watered down (ouzo ). No chance of ever getting drunk I’m not a drinker. You have to pay for proper drinks as not included on the fully inclusive lists.
Drinks finish at 11PM and they start charge which is expensive.
Entertainment was awful and some shows alternate nights. The Animation Team was stupid games that my children found boring. Winner of ALL the games gets a free drink… Great at an All- Inclusive hotel.
They have shows sometimes at the beach which was almost 10mins walk to the bar so lots of parents didn’t bother topping up drinks. I later found out from one of the staff that the reason for this was to get the quest away from the complex for a few hours and save on cheap free drinks.
Watch out for restaurant manger. He definitely needed a good charm school and rude to a few guests. No customer service skill what so ever. He runs the restaurant like a military canteen with time slots and we you finish they want you out ASAP and we has always stirring at people and shouted and screamed at a young lady who came to the restaurant in a bikini. She was in tears.
6 euros daily for Air condition. 15 euro for safe deposit box and 10 euro for remote control. No credit card just CASH. Found out later about the switch beside the air condition on/off that you control manually and don’t have to pay 84euro for 2wks.
TV had 5 channels mostly in Germany and creek. The main TV room in the hotel advertises SKY news & sports on website was a lie. Same channels as one in the
Rooms.
The hotel is in the middle of Kos and away from everything. Taxi to Kos town is 20-25 euro one way. Only one bus daily @10am, Mon, Wed, Fri.
If we hadn’t hired a car, and the remote location of the hotel would have made this an extremely disappointing holiday. Car hire much cheaper at Mastihari village, which is 15 mins walk from the hotel through the beach front.
We have been lots of fully inclusive holiday, some excellent, some not to bad but this is the worse to us. In terms of the extras we paid for things and eating out several times and paying for outside entertainment for the kids. My children were was so happy to see rice and pasta.
If it’s a 4 star ALL inclusive you’re looking for, then I’ll advise you think twice before going. It’s going to cost you double. This is the worse holiday of our life the whole family hated it. Don’t waste your money. We spent almost the same as the holiday for things outside the complex i.e. Food, entertainment, day trips to Turkey. Be very warned with the Turks make sure you haggle because some items are the same price in England and don’t fall for the sales charm because they want your Euros!.
Would we go to Kos Island? Oh yes. Next time stay in one of the self catering hotel in Mastihari village with friendly locals which you get value for money.
DON’T GO TO THIS 2 STAR RIP-OFF FULLY INCLUSIVE HOTEL.

On arriving it was very windy, it was 6am, we had a 3 hour plus delay and were very tired. We waited about 20 mins to be taken to our room, by a very quite young lady, she did not talk at all.... On entering the room she gave us the key and went. We looked around and heard this loud whistle which was coming from the balcony door frame. It was the wind blowing in. There was a 1 inch gap where door frame had come away from the building.
We went back to reception to say we could not stay in the room because of the noise, It was like a jet engine! We were asked to wait till 9am when the manager came in to see if it would be possible to change rooms. We said we were very tired because of the delay but was told we could go to breakfast at 730....so we did, almost too tired to eat, but welcomed the drink of tea....
At 9.15 a lady appeared out of the office behind reception and we were shown another room. It was on the other side of the grounds, room 922. This was a much better, bigger room but still one of the most basic rooms we have ever stayed in. We went back to the original room , carried our cases back down the stairs (no bell boys here) and up to our 'new room'.
We had just gone off to sleep when there was a loud banging on the door and before we could answer it, a maintenance man came charging in saying he wanted to turn the aircon off. We told him to leave it on and we would go to reception when we had slept. In our sleepy daze we had not paid for the use of the aircon.
We eventually woke a few hours later , went to reception and paid the fee.... I asked if there was a 'do not disturb' sign to hang on the door. They are not used in Kos so we were given a hand written one, with a drawing pin.....
The Hotel itself was looking a little tired in the reception area. Outside the main reception the fountains were drained and being repaired and repainted. The gardens are lovely with lots of plants and the gardeners are hard at work. The pool was clean and water clear. the poolside area mopped daily. Animation Team were not very animated and hardly got going, they did manage to play the SAME tape every single morning, by the pool..... The fire eaters argued with the lighting man, who had no idea how to work the lights!!! The show did get underway after some delay and although the start was awful it did pick up, and was most enjoyable.
The Greek Dancers were not too good either, they just danced in a circle in the bar.....it was fun.
Meal times were ok, usually luke warm food but there is a microwave by the 'sweet counter' which we used at every meal so we had no upset tummy’s. Food was varied and plenty of it. There is something for everyone.
We had no problem with the pillows, we always take our own, but the ones in the room seemed ok. Bed linen was change, towels too and room cleaned.
On the whole we had and enjoyable week here, we just wanted to chill out and get some sun before winter is here. If you want something lively this really is not it.
Beach was cleaned by a tractor most days and as for people moaning about seaweed this is the SEA good god what do the expect.....There are plenty of sunloungers too, so you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to put your towel out 'a la Germans'.
We did however see a very large rat, near the restaurant, but there is a lot of scrub land nearby, so this was hardly surprising.
I don’t really know if we would return to Achilleas beach.... probably not. There are much better Hotels for the price we paid, we feel it was not up to the standard we expected, and not great value for money.
What a delight it was though, overlooking over the beautiful blue Aegean Sea, the lovely sunny weather, the fresh air, and most of all NO WORK...... Now that’s priceless......

I booked before reading reviews and thought id made a big mistake. I did try to change accommodation but was told id have to pay £500 extra and this was a week before departure! obviously I didn’t change and we arrived at the confusing cramped Kos airport at 5am.
We were shown our room, and I must say I was disappointed, there was no TV or air con and pillows that I can only describe as bags of lumps on a hard bed. In the morning after looking round I then realized that our room was quite good compared to others, It was room No 65 and had a sea view. It was great laying in bed hearing the waves crashing. We never needed air con as the breeze kept our room cool.
The food at hotel was ok and that’s all I can say about it. After 2 days we ate out. There was no or very little entertainment. I went in pool once. When I came out I was slimy with everyone’s sun lotion! I would like to see signs for showers before and after pool use. The beach was lovely although a little dirty and on our last day we did see it being combed with a tractor. My advice is not to pay more than £300 each for this holiday, Then it would be quite good value.
If you’ve been here and have written review or are going to write review, please let people know room number that you are talking about! it would have been sooo much easier to request or decline on arrival. Take your own pillows then leave them there, at least someone will have a bit of comfort and you’ll have more room in suitcase for gifts ect.