Sofia Hotel

Without doubt the freindliest hotel both myself and my wife have stayed in during our many visits to the Greek islands.
Specific menton has to be made about the wonderful hotel staff who clearly have your interests at heart.
The hotel is very clean and child (and adult) freindly
The pool bar is the hub of the hotel, likened to a social gathering area, where you can socialise with Vasiley and his wonderful fiance Angela as well as other guests staying at the hotel.
The Saturday night barbercue is a must.
The resort itself has numerous bars and restaurants in close proximity to the hotel. A special mention has to be madeabout the Angelo restaurant situated a short walk from the hotel, although in all fairness, all of the nearby restaurants are of a high standard.
The resort enjoys a wonderful mountainous backdrop.
Local transport in the form of buses seem to be conspicuous by their absence although local towns can be reached by Taxi.
A visit to the nearby town of Ormos is a must, situated on a small harbour - a 5 Euro taxi ride from the hotel.
In summary, the hotel and resort are highly recommended.

small friendly clean hotel, the only down side was the cleaners were still doing the rooms between 3-and 4 in the afternoon, if you have a long lunch and fancy a lie down in your room forget it Do visit sail away taverna on the beack vangellis is a super chap and his fish at lunch time delicious.

This is our third visit to the Hotel Sofia and once again proved to be a magnificent experience. We hope to return again this summer.
The hotel is very clean, very welcoming and friendly.
We stayed for 14 nights, the room was very clean and had air conditioning, fridge, TV. and a radio.
The restaurants nearby were scrumptious and the beach was across the road. The pool is fairly big but to top this there was a pool bar which had a wide range of drinks.
When we arrived at the airport the dad [Stavros] picked us up for free which was very welcoming.
The breakfast was superb and if you would like a relaxing and quiet holiday, this is the place!
We enjoyed the holiday and you should to!

If you are not a cat lover then you might not find the Sofia Hotel to your liking.
We come into this category and we found the cats a real nuisance. The owners seemed to have adopted lots of cats and as we were on the ground floor they often visited our patio. There were also a couple of residential dogs. Otherwise we liked the Sofia Hotel.
The rooms were basic and the plumbing in the bathroom left a lot to be desired with the bathroom floor taking an age to drain. The breakfast was varied daily and a great poolside bar. The hotel was ideally situated a 2 minute stroll from the beach.
The resort of Kambos and the hotel is for couples who want a quite holiday without lots of noisy bars.
We would have rated this hotel except we found the freedom the cats were given a real negative especially after one of them came into our room and left a "Whoopsie" on the floor.
It can get very windy in Kambos which then whips up the sand on the beach. Car hire is suggested for part of the holiday to explore the island of Samos as there is no public transport in Kambos. Try a meal in Nick the Greeks Fish Taverna and The Muses Taverna.

This was our first visit to Samos and pleased to say that we were not at all disappointed.
The hotel is in an excellent position just across the road to a very long beach which was not at all crowded, sea could have been a bit warmer!! The rooms are typical Greek and kept very clean by the girls, the air conditioning was very efficient (this was payable locally which we were advised of in the brochure). Sofia made a real effort for breakfast giving us something different every day of the week. Stavros enjoys doing the bbq on Saturday when there is plenty of food for everyone. The pool and its surroundings were great. The pool bar was a great place to meet at the end of the evening, Vasilli makes a mean cocktail (I gave him a challenge most nights to come up with something different - he did not let me down) also my husband liked the rusty nail.
I think most people who like Greece will enjoy staying at this very well run and welcoming hotel, we can certainly recommend it.

We have just got back from 2 weeks at the Sophia and we can't rate it highly enough, we had a lovely room overlooking the pool, a few minutes walk to the beach, it was all so good.
I have read some of the other reports on this site and wonder what some people actually want. The hotel was kept very clean and tidy Stavros was out every morning cleaning around the pool, the filters etc.
A good continental type breakfast always with a little extra maybe eggs or fruit some days, and Sunday always Grandma's doughnuts dripping with honey and cinnamon ( to die for).
The whole family are very welcoming and friendly. Thank you Stavros, Sophia and Vasillis for a wonderful holiday, I would recommend your hotel to anyone. Good eating places definitely Rinas and The Blue Bucket
L & R Walmsley

Reading previous reviews we expected Air conditioning to be included in the price. This was not the case and cost of air conditioning was expensive and it added considerably to the price of our holiday.
As we had not budgets for this aspect we were disappointed. We suggest anyone booking at the Sofia hotel clarifies this point when booking. The hotel was in a nice position and had a number of good points.
The breakfast was better than anticipated, a small but nice pool with an excellent pool bar which was open in evenings and was a great place to congregate. Our room was small but basic although the decoration was not too our liking.
The plumbing in the bathroom was diabolical even by Greek standards, We had no outlook from our room whatsoever just overlooking another block. We did object to the number of cats roaming around this establishment which the owners nurtured. The resort of Kambos was low key and free from larger louts. Excellent tavernas our favourites being Nostros, Nick the Greeks Fish Taverna and Angelos.

My wife and I just returned (2/8/06) from a great weeks relaxing holiday and will try to go back next month.
We booked our hotel via eBay direct so a little wary. Booked flight via Fly Thomson and overall cost for a week was very reasonable - wish we had delayed our flight booking as they go down daily!
Stavros the father picked us up at the airport and drove us to the hotel approx 45 mins (no charge) our room was pleasant, overlooking the pool with a good sized balcony. As we booked direct, the air conditioning and fridge were included. The pool is kept lovely and clean, just the right size for the number of guests, we had our linen and sheets changed 3 times, never had to worry about a sun bed as plenty , and you had a choice of those in the sun or under shade, although I would recommend they purchase mattresses if you preferred plastic loungers.
Safe for children with steps built into the pool and it was so peaceful my wife had lots of opportunity to sit 2 or 3 steps into the water (as she cant swim) to cool off. Approx 100 metres from sandy beach and a large number of tavernas both to the right and left of the hotel. There are a number of tavernas actually on the beach and in the evening it was lovely to be able to sit and eat authentic Greek food in a relaxed atmosphere in the holiday peak period, with the stars shining and a cool breeze after the heat of the day. There are a number of bars - most selling reasonable priced spirits and almost all having a large selection of cocktails.
This is an ideal holiday and a great little hotel if you want a traditional Greek holiday, with traditional food and no lager louts or karaoke bars in sight. I would recommend the' Blue Bucket' as my favourite Taverna and without a doubt.

Regards
Arthur Gillett

This was our first time to Samos and we could not have picked a better resort or place to stay.
We have been to Greece many times before and the hotel ranks amongst the best we have stayed in.
The family that own it were friendly and welcoming. The rooms were kept exceptionally clean, breakfast was adequate and differed every day, the pool and bar were top class, Vasilli has a wicked sense of humour!
Kambos as a resort was a real discovery, so laid back. Greece of ten years ago.
There are plenty of tavernas, the best in our opinion being Costas - The Blue Bucket, Rina's, Nick the Greeks Fish Taverna, Leonida's & Elvoinos.
When you visit you must call on Costas at Johnny's Bar opposite Cosmos bar, he is a great character and plays the best rock music on Samos.

Went back again for our 3rd visit, this time taking friends for their first holiday here. The family that own the hotel are still as welcoming as ever!
This is not a holiday hotel, it's coming home. If you ever need a place to chill out among friendly people this IS the place! The hotel is B&B but gives a bit more than the usual continental breakfast. A great pool bar serves snacks, and local tavernas are excellent value.
Nowhere on this island do we feel ripped off! Thanks Stavros, Sofia and Vasilis, see you all again in September.