Kernos Beach

More Style Than Substance

Don’t let yourself be fooled by the pictures – the reality is considerably less impressive.

We stayed in an economy room, and “economy” apparently means providing the absolute bare minimum. The room was basic and certainly did not live up to the impression created by the hotel’s promotional photos.

Unfortunately, the same applies to the overall experience. Mealtimes were anything but relaxing: far too many people, lots of noise, and what can only be described as a daily race to the buffet, with everyone seemingly fighting for survival.

The situation at the beach was no better. If you enjoy getting up early on holiday to take part in the traditional morning towel battle for a sunbed, this might be the perfect place for you. If not, be prepared to go without. There simply did not seem to be enough sunbeds for the number of guests, meaning that sleeping in and then finding a place at the beach was more a matter of luck than anything else.

Housekeeping was another disappointment. On one occasion, our room was completely forgotten and not serviced at all. On another day, the used towels were neither removed nor replaced with fresh ones. I have also attached a photo showing what my bed looked like after housekeeping had supposedly made it – I think the picture speaks for itself.

Overall, the hotel looks much better in the pictures than it feels in reality. Too crowded, too hectic, and lacking the level of service and attention to detail one would expect.

The one genuinely positive aspect was the staff, who were consistently friendly and pleasant. Their kindness made the stay considerably more bearable – and, unfortunately, they were very much needed for that.

I would highly recommend a massage at the Spa! The service was really good and they had very much offers for facial and body massages to choose from and would also give individual recommendations. Also the communication during my session went really well which was important to me as Im in generel more of a tense person. Im a female and my massager was Aris. It was new to me to be massaged by a male but I didnt feel uncomfortable so I could fully relax. Thank you Aris!

We chose this hotel for our stay, but the experience was overshadowed by a major organizational issue, handled in a disappointing manner by the front desk staff.

Overbooking for a Third of Our Stay: From day one, we were informed that, due to overbooking caused exclusively by the hotel, we would be moved to another room, of lower quality than the one we had paid for, for approximately a third of the duration of our stay. What stood out in particular was the "change room" form we received – it was not printed individually for our case, but was part of a stack duplicated in an undefined number of identical copies. This detail removes any doubt that the overbooking was an isolated incident; rather, it appears to be a recurring practice of the hotel, applied systematically to multiple guests alike.

Aggressive Communication and Responsibility Shifted onto the Guest: Instead of an empathetic and transparent approach, the reception staff adopted an aggressive tone, attempting to turn a purely organizational failure of the hotel into a problem that guests should accept without objection, as if it were something normal. This attitude is unacceptable – overbooking is the hotel's sole responsibility, and guests should not be put in the position of having to "bear" its consequences without proper explanations and a minimum degree of consideration.

Significant Delay Compared to the Communicated Schedule: Although the room change had been verbally promised for 10:00 AM, it only took place after more than 3 hours of waiting, and only following our repeated insistence regarding the status of the transfer and the completion of the new room's cleaning. The lack of proactivity and clear communication throughout this interval added an extra layer of frustration to an already unpleasant situation.

One Positive Aspect: It should be objectively noted that hotel representatives did offer an in-kind compensation, changing the original "mountain view" option to a "sea view" one. This gesture was appreciated and partially eased the inconvenience caused.

Conclusion: Kernos Beach has potential (location, the compensation offered), but the overbooking practices appear to be systemic, and the way reception staff handle these situations – through aggressive communication and shifting responsibility onto the guest – needs serious review. I recommend that hotel management reassess its overbooking policy and, especially, the training of staff in dealing with guests who are already in a situation created by the hotel, not by them.

Cristian Cocheci