Golden Coast Hotel & Resort — Hotel in Municipality of Marathonas

An honest review from an honest English holiday maker.

We visited this hotel in August as a family of 4 using Jet2 from Birmingham Airport.

We enjoyed our holiday (14 days) in the sun.

Rooms: It was slightly concerning on arrival as the bungalow rooms are a bit dated and rough around the edges. However, we didn't complain and just persevered with our accommodation, it was okay. The room was probably more like a high 2 star. Toilet was temperamental and we had ants in the bathroom - no roaches or any other creepy crawlies and we were ground floor so not too bad. You can hear upstairs and next door in the bungalows, furniture scrapping, walking and general movement.

Food: Good enough selection, was it amazing, no, was it edible and acceptable, yes. Some odd menu choices but overall a fairly broad menu suitable for most people. We have very selective eating habits in my family and we survived 2 weeks, so you will probably be alright. I think the flies in the restaurants are very off putting, they are everywhere and do crawl on food. It put me off eating anything that was 'fresh', like fruit or salad as they did seem more focused on this area. Plates were hit and miss with cleanliness, glasses were often still grubby. We preferred the smaller restaurant near the beach, get there early to get a table outside. Dinner is very late for kids, starts at 7:30!!

Drinks: Local fizzy drinks are not great, the 'lime' soda is like a strong Sprite which was the most bearable. The inclusive cocktail menu was actually quite good. The juices were high sugar from concentrate, you had to pay more for pressed orange juice, which nobody seemed to buy. The coffee machines were alright but you had to pay more for a proper premium coffee, so expect the generic machine hot drinks.

Pool: The main pool was a bit loud and pretty full, it also gets deep quickly, I'm 6ft and I lost my toes about half way in. Life guard seemed good - he actually dived in and pulled a young girl out during our stay and helped her at poolside - well done to your sir! We preferred the smaller pool near the main one (round the corner) it was a bit quieter and more family friendly. We didn't enter the sports pool near the second restaurant as it is clearly French dominated and you are not very welcome. All music, microphone talking, games instructions and the whole animation team are French and you are felt like an inconvenience.

Animation Team: We went to play tennis on their tarmac courts, which was great! However, the animation team don't all speak English so a French guest was my translator, which was nice of him, but frankly unexpected. The team member had a Union Flag on their badge but clearly didn't speak the language.

Beach: It was nice, overcrowded and very small for the size of the hotel. We walked down the beach and between the sunbeds about 10 mins walk (left out of beach gate) we found a big spot to have a sit down, which was nice. The few bars near the hotel were nice, we had lunch one day and drinks another. It was nice for a break from the hotel.

Location: It is about 50mins from Athens. Plaka is nice and worth a visit, advice is to walk away from the Acropolis and you see more shops etc. You should use Uber to book taxis, they are taxis not private cars and arrive within minutes of booking. Very easy and cost was about €50 each way. I would pay for 'premium' taxis as the cheaper ones don't like putting their aircon on! Egypt monument next door is ok for 30mins or so, it is quite small but interesting all the same. If I could have my time again, I would leave the hotel via the beach gate and turn right, walk for 20 mins for nice bars and cafes. Spotted this on last day hotel pickups - didn't know it was there to visit during the stay!

Final thoughts: French dominated and to a large extent, you do feel like a spare part, like you are invading their space. Rooms below average. Food ok. Drinks ok. Location good for day trips.

We enjoyed our time at the hotel. We wouldn't go back and 2 weeks was probably too long. Overall happy with...

Me and my partner stayed here from 14th -19th July , and we had a great experience .

ROOMS From the moment we arrived until we left I really enjoyed it here , the main reception area was clean and the reception staff generally welcoming . Our room was spacious , had all the facilities we needed and was clean . We really liked how the tv had Netflix and other channels , just have to log in with your account . The air conditioning worked too which was a bonus !!! We were given a sea facing / pool view room which was really nice . All the cleaning staff were really lovely too .

POOLS / BEACH / HOTEL ETC The hotel has three pools Which were lovely , we only used the main one which had the bar / shop and restaurant near by . There’s lots of sun beds available and all close to the pool , some in shaded area and others for people who like to lay in the sun . A lovely part for me aswell is the cats on site which ofcourse are sadly strays that will come and sit with you around the pool . Made a little friend who was socialising with us all most days at the poolside .

It was nice to see some of the staff feeding the cats after restaurant closing , and I saw a couple of takeaway tins left out with water . Most people on site also left food and water , and although I know the cats aren’t their responsibility I think the only thing that would be nice is if proper bowls were provided for the cats with water rather than people leaving lots of cups of water . But it was nice to see they are looked after . They have a beach right on site too , with beach volleyball and sun beds . The beach was nice and right on site .

RESTAURANT / FOOD A big shoutout to Merhab ( I believe that was his name ) I think he was the restaurant manager . As a vegan eating abroad it’s always nice to have someone help you out with what you can and can’t eat etc . After the first night having an issue with vegan options he helped me every night after . The restaurant did have labels on the meals , and I would recommend to anyone visiting with a vegetarian or vegan diet . He’d wait for us at the door , walk me round and show me every vegan option , and what I couldn’t eat too . He had a word with the kitchen staff and made sure there was more options available for me every night after . He was very attentive every night and I can’t thank him enough . He even mentioned how he had been to the shop and looked at soya meats etc for more vegan options , so we will definitely be back for that !!!

FACILITIES / ACTIVITIES The facilities at the hotel were great . We didn’t join in with any of the activities , although they did have activities for all ages , and we did see a big age range joining in . We saw a few activities going on in the main pool , where they had two teams soaking a shirt and filling up buckets , football competitions , aqua aerobics and many more . The only complaints I saw from others were based on this , and how they was all in French . Which was true , so if you have a child who doesn’t speak French it may be hard for them to join in . They had live singers when we was there , they had a life size chess that looked fun . They had lots of water sports to rent , right on the site of the hotel too . All inclusive guests got discount or 30 minutes free with some of the kayaks etc .

LOCATION The location is fine if you just plan on staying at the hotel . Around the area is just shops , including Lidl / AB and smaller shops . Anything more would require a car which we rented from the airport and was easily able to park at the hotel everyday , or the reception does have a taxi service too. Athens main city was an hour and a bit drive away , and other places such as sports bars etc were a bit further away . So I would suggest renting a car if you plan on visiting Athens town , or exploring further . It’s about 30 minutes away from the airport.

Overall we enjoyed our stay a lot , as two 21 year olds it was suitable for our age , but is definitely great for younger and older . We will definitely stay again . Thank you...

Had 9 nights all inclusive in August 2024.

The rooms were fine. We stayed in the main hotel building. Contain a fridge and safe (no charge) and air con. TV had basic local channels - enough to watch some Olympics in Greek OR A German EuroSport whilst my wife and kid were getting ready in an evening.

We'd not paid extra for a sea view but instead had a spectacular unobstructed view of the mountain range.

Hotel staff were excellent. Reception were polite and extremely helpful. They organised a taxi into Athens for us (fixed rate €50 each way) which was massively helpful and the restaurant staff were always very polite and attentive.

Food: Breakfast was a mixed bag. It's served in the big hall like building near the main pool away from the sea. My daughter was happy with pancakes and Nutella every day and my wife was happy with the fruit selection. I was disappointed with the hot breakfast selection. Beans were always available but it felt very random what parts of a "full" breakfast you'd get sometimes little squares of bacon, sometimes "cocktail sausages". If you like your cooked breakfasts, this may disappoint. Coffee machines and juice machines* available but more on the juice later.

Lunch was the best. Large spread of food and different almost every day so after 9 days we weren't bored of anything and there was always something else to try. Great selection of salads too.

Evening meals were hit an miss. Every night is themed. Some such as Greek night, cretan night and Mediterranean night were as you'd expect, the best. Mexican and Asian nights were very weak though and a shame. I get they want to cater for everyone but I go to Greek for Greek food, not for 2md rate takeaway food. The house wine was perfectly fine and the house lager (Cretan and Minos) were good too although don't hold their heads.

Evening entertainment was very weak. The hotel is predominantly French, insofar as they get different coloured wristbands from TUI France and you couldn't help but feel like a second class tourist as all the games and entertainment was clearly for the French tourists. Speaking of, be prepared for a lot of smoking in the outdoor spaces (pool areas and outdoor seating at restaurants - something you forget about in England I suppose).

The kids club wasn't great: the woman in charge didn't speak English and there was only one little girl in their I suspect was her kid who spoke Greek.

Most disappointing was the "all-inclusive" tag. Whilst there was a juice machine at breakfast, it was the mixer vareity; if you wanted fresh orange juice that was €2 a glass. Whilst soft scoop ice cream is available at meal times, if you want one during the day, they're locked in the restaurant and you can buy branded ice creams in freezers next to the bars. The drinks served at the bar? They offer "cocktails" but they're really just a spirit and mixer. If you want an actual cocktail such as a Pina Colada, Mohito etc... That's €8-10 a go. Not cool at all. I expect to not have the best branded spirits, that goes with the territory but it was very limited and added up to putting a dampener on things. Had I known how not "all-inclusive" the hotel is, I wouldn't have booked this venue.

The pools there are 3. They all have fences round them so you can't chuck towels on early. They open at either 9 or 10am. Sometimes this felt a bit late as you wanted to relax when the sun wasn't at its hottest. I understand this comes down to health and safety as they are all monitored by lifeguards. They shut at either 7 or 8 again for the same reasons. They're strangely designed. They all have a very small shallow end and then get extremely deep (2.8m) and yet despite the depth you are absolutely forbidden from jumping in (not just diving). Have fun kids!

This was not a bad holiday. I relaxed. I ate good food. However, I wouldn't reccomend this hotel for the above reasons and wouldn't return here myself. Others may not be quite so irked by things as I was.

The staff genuinely...