Gundari — Hotel in Municipality of Folegandros

We wanted Gundari to be our next "Amangiri," before being overrun by crowds and influencers. Unfortunately, Gundari did not live up to its expectations. The resort is located in a remote and desolate part of Folegandros, accessible only by a long and unpaved dirt road. The resort is in an early stage of development. Upon arrival, the main pool was not operational, and was repaired during our stay. The pool bar was not operational. The entrance to the property is relatively barren (e.g., it's missing a real "wow" factor). The views are impressive, but unfortunately overshadowed by the resort's neighboring construction site. The staff does not appear to work in unison, signaling that there may be miscommunication between management and different hotel outlets.

We are not unreasonable or "high-maintenance" travelers. Honest points of constructive criticism:

The staff appeared confused about their own menu and operations. We had to ask multiple times for water and lemon, or simple things that should be done instinctively as part of a luxury resort or a staff person seeing a guest enter a dining or pool area. We asked for hot water each night and the hotel lacked proper glassware to serve it to us. (The clay glassware overheated - at one point the bartender stated management made a mistake ordering the glassware and that they need to replace it). We asked for extra chicken on our salads and were initially told it was not possible. Eventually chicken was brought to us (less than half of a chicken breast).

The resort is marketed as a "wellness" hotel, but it simply is not. When asking for a juice during lunchtime, I was given a non-alcoholic cocktail. The fitness center offers no waters, towels, or fruit. It is covered in dust and not regularly cleaned or maintained. The yoga mats and floors were coated with a thick layer of dust from the outdoors. There were also dead flies in the fitness center. The spa team is so different from the main outlets of the hotel that we thought it was a separate entity altogether. The women are professional and clearly part of a separate team than the staff recruited for other outlets of the hotel. We had a wonderful massage and when attempting to pay, the spa staff informed us that their system was not yet ready to accept payment.

Housekeeping took longer than expected, and the room was not thoroughly cleaned - the bed was made, blinds were closed, but beyond that, service did not include any sort of deeper clean. We received a welcome package with light treats which sat in our room for two days after consuming. Glassware was left outside our door by housekeeping. It sat overnight and the wind knocked over the glassware in the middle of the night. Clothes and toiletries were not organized neatly out of thoughtful service (as seen with most high-end hotels).

Be aware the property is a dust-bowl. Many aspects of the resort are coated with dust and/or dirt. The pools attached to the rooms (and the pool in the spa) contain dirt and sediment. The staff does not appear to be on a regular cleaning regimen and is still learning their way.

Altogether, we truly wanted Gundari to be everything and more for us and were excited to have potentially found an untouched resort or "hidden gem" to return back to - unfortunately, the property lacks proper management and direction.

We decided to quietly and politely leave a day early. We raised some of these concerns to the owner of the property who was on-site and awkwardly pulled us aside (as if we did something wrong), and we were met with defensive responses. It was uncomfortable and unprofessional. Simply not true hospitality.

We did not complain or make a fuss during our stay. Management may comment that we did not "speak up" to allow the opportunity to reconcile these concerns. Instead, we smiled and dealt with these issues as long as we could until contacting our travel agent to help us leave early. The front desk became defensive with us and our travel agent.

I hate to leave this review but it was our...

If you want to watch our full video review, find us on YouTube @travelwithpassionandstyle

Hotel Gundari, located about a 15-minute drive from the port, this is the first 5-star hotel on the island. Opened in early 2024, the hotel is almost fully operational; there are still some services that are not 100 percent operational, for example, the gym. In addition, the hotel is expanding by building new rooms. These works, however, did not disturb our stay.

The welcome at the front desk was friendly and pleasant, nothing surprising but effective.

After check-in formalities, we were escorted to our room. We reserved a 130 square meters Superior Cave Suite with heated infinity pool, but the heater works only in winter or on request. The living room is spacious, with a bookcase and sideboard with minibar, sofa and television complete the room. Very nice vintage touch given by the vinyl player, at the reception desk you can get additional vinyl, in addition to those already available in the room. The speaker also allows the classic Bluetooth connection to the phone. The minibar offers fairly standard drinks with some local products, on our arrival we found a bottle of Prosecco, unfortunately, however, at room temperature.

If you are interested in more details about the room and the hotel in general, check our video review on YouTube @travelwithpassionandstyle

Among the amenities available are makeup remover and insect repellent. During our stay, however, the makeup remover was not replaced. The bed is comfortable and offers a view of the pool and consequently the sea. The curtains, however, do not guarantee a complete blackout during the early morning hours. On our video review, you can see exactly the problem. WiFi coverage in the room is very good, less so on the terrace where we had weaker signal.

Breakfast is shared on two tables positioned in the center of the room, here they serve lunch and dinner as well. Mainly, there are sweet dishes, but also some savory offerings. To conclude the choice, there is the option of ordering “à la Carte.†The daily option proposed on the menu, was never available during the entire stay. Overall, the quality of the products is good, the choice, however, is rather limited.

The hotel also offers SPA service, which we did not use, however, in return we were pleasantly surprised that the gym was already accessible. Not all the equipment is installed but in general it was possible for us to work out.

We dined only once at the hotel. The menu is basic and is accompanied by an interesting choice of wines. We liked the dishes; the presentation of some courses could be improved. The service was up to par and overall, we had a pleasant evening. If you want to see more details, check our video review on YouTube @travelwithpassionandstyle

Gundari is a hotel still under development, some services are not 100% operational and sometimes this causes some minor disturbances. In our case, however, nothing spoiled our stay and we are very confident that if it maintains this philosophy, it will have all the credentials to excel among luxury hotels in Folegandros in the future. We would also like to mention how the staff, was always very smiling and helpful, too often this is not the case in other places. If you are interested in more pictures and details, check out our video review on YouTube...

If you want to watch our full video review, find us on YouTube @travelwithpassionandstyle||Hotel Gundari, located about a 15-minute drive from the port, this is the first 5-star hotel on the island. Opened in early 2024, the hotel is almost fully operational; there are still some services that are not 100 percent operational, for example, the gym. In addition, the hotel is expanding by building new rooms. These works, however, did not disturb our stay.||The welcome at the front desk was friendly and pleasant, nothing surprising but effective.||After check-in formalities, we were escorted to our room. We reserved a 130 square meters Superior Cave Suite with heated infinity pool, but the heater works only in winter or on request.|The living room is spacious, with a bookcase and sideboard with minibar, sofa and television complete the room. |Very nice vintage touch given by the vinyl player, at the reception desk you can get additional vinyl, in addition to those already available in the room. The speaker also allows the classic Bluetooth connection to the phone.|The minibar offers fairly standard drinks with some local products, on our arrival we found a bottle of Prosecco, unfortunately, however, at room temperature. ||If you are interested in more details about the room and the hotel in general, check our video review on YouTube @travelwithpassionandstyle||Among the amenities available are makeup remover and insect repellent. During our stay, however, the makeup remover was not replaced.|The bed is comfortable and offers a view of the pool and consequently the sea. The curtains, however, do not guarantee a complete blackout during the early morning hours. On our video review, you can see exactly the problem.|WiFi coverage in the room is very good, less so on the terrace where we had weaker signal.||Breakfast is shared on two tables positioned in the center of the room, here they serve lunch and dinner as well. Mainly, there are sweet dishes, but also some savory offerings. To conclude the choice, there is the option of ordering “à la Carte.” The daily option proposed on the menu, was never available during the entire stay. Overall, the quality of the products is good, the choice, however, is rather limited.||The hotel also offers SPA service, which we did not use, however, in return we were pleasantly surprised that the gym was already accessible. Not all the equipment is installed but in general it was possible for us to work out.||We dined only once at the hotel. The menu is basic and is accompanied by an interesting choice of wines. We liked the dishes; the presentation of some courses could be improved. The service was up to par and overall, we had a pleasant evening.|If you want to see more details, check our video review on YouTube @travelwithpassionandstyle||Gundari is a hotel still under development, some services are not 100% operational and sometimes this causes some minor disturbances. In our case, however, nothing spoiled our stay and we are very confident that if it maintains this philosophy, it will have all the credentials to excel among luxury hotels in Folegandros in the future.|We would also like to mention how the staff, was always very smiling and helpful, too often this is not the case in other places.|If you are interested in more pictures and details, check out our video review on YouTube...