Meandros Boutique and Spa Hotel

Only 10 minutes drive from the airport and 10 minutes walk to the beach. Plenty of shops and restaurants surround the hotel. Hotel is clean and quiet. Definitely not a 5* hotel though, 4* at a push. Arrival drink was a local tea, but an Ouzo or glass of bubbly would have been a nicer touch. The cold towel on arrival was nice. We arrived and completed the check in form by 2pm, we were told our room was ready but we have to pay 10 euros if we want to access it straight away. Asking for money because the room is available early is bad customer service, 10 euros to get in an hour early is shocking! I wonder if all these extra payments are declared. We had been up since 2:30am so grudgingly paid just to get some rest asap. Room (112) was spacious and clean. Balcony was tiny! Just enough room for a table and 2 chairs, situated on the ground floor right on the main walkway between most rooms and main area of hotel/restaurant/pool - so there were constant people walking past, no privacy to sit there and relax while staring at the high fence that faced onto us. After the 2nd night I asked to be moved as it was affecting my enjoyment of the holiday. We got moved to room 204 which had a much better balcony, a lot more space, looking on to a quiet garden area, and privacy to sit and relax there. Sunbeds always available when we were there, only the odd person would reserve with towels and not be there most of the time. It was handy to have pool towels provided, although they were quite old looking and a bit worn. Food was average and lukewarm, not much traditional Greek foods daily which was a disappointment. Waiting staff were great, friendly, quick service and used plates removed almost immediately. Night time entertainment is lacking and would be nice, only thing that happens is the Greek night which has dancing but only lasts a couple of hours during dinner. The food at the Greek night was very nice and lots of variety, which is what we expected every day to be honest. No decaf tea or coffee available in the restaurant or our room. I have a heart condition so cannot have caffeine. I asked reception on the 1st morning and she said she would try and get some, this never happened. My husband emailed them before we went to ask if there was anything that could be offered to make our stay a bit more special as it was my birthday and our wedding anniversary during our stay. They didnt reply until after we were there, the day before my birthday, advising that reception can help with this such as sparkling wine, flowers etc. We had already made other plans and ate out-with the hotel. To be honest I wasn't impressed with the beach at Crystal Beach Hotel which is the closest one to walk to, it is quite small and crowded so not very relaxing. There were no toilet facilities or showers either. Although we had drinks at the hotel bar there and it was a lovely view (we went back one evening for dinner and it was stunning). We ended up doing a longer walk to a further away beach(around 25 minutes) to Billys Sunbeds which had a lovely thick mattress and were so comfortable, there is also a toilet, showers and a snack bar which was very reasonably priced for food. There is nothing terrible about the hotel, but there is nothing amazing about it either so if you want a luxury 5* break don't stay here. If you want a really nice average break this hotel is perfect.

We expected Meandros Boutique Hotel and Spa to be special and it was. All the staff were so friendly, helpful and extremely polite. Of particular mention should be Rizlyn who was so lovely and happy, and who kept our room beautifully clean and made wonderful towel animals to greet us on our return! Rhina in the restaurant always greeted us with a lovely smile and made wonderful Greek coffee for us. The swimming pool area was fantastic - always clean and tidy. There were always sun beds available and what was particularly good was that the music (which was not intrusive at all) came on when the pool bar opened at noon. I do think they are missing a trick though not opening the bar earlier as we like to have a coffee or drink mid-morning and a lot of people went out to local shops to get drinks then who would probably have bought them from the hotel. Food was buffet style and delicious with a fabulous choice of hot and cold breakfast offerings, and themed evening dinner buffets with both hot and cold food. Lunchtime meal choices at the pool bar were good, and portions were excellent. Location was super; handy for the bus, shops, bars and restaurants and a short walk to Kalamaki beach. Thank you to all at Meandros Hotel for a fabulous holiday - we would not hesitate to recommend you and hope to re-visit before too long.