El Mar Naxos — Hotel in Municipality of Naxos and the Lesser Cyclades

I encourage reading other low star reviews-they were very accurate. I agree there seems to be many fake reviews. The hotel seems to be pretty new.Given that & housekeeping,the hotel was kept in good shape.Almost everywhere I went in Greece was very clean.The reception staff is friendly-but a previous guest is right when they said in their review "The staff are very nice & eager to be helpful but they come across as incredibly nervous and hovering".Almost an invasion of space when an interaction was unprompted.Was a little awkward. There are many unusual rules(this 1st one is dangerous & a safety hazard to skin): Must shower before entering pool(no sunscreen in pool which isn't safe for your skin) Not allowed to have pool towels in room. Our room had a hot tub & they told us to use our bath robe to dry off,not the pool towels. Gym has to be reserved w/12 hrs notice.Tried to use it when empty & was told no b/c they have to "get it ready". I wasn't sure what they mean by that.All equipment was in there & ready to use.The hotel commented on someone else's review-saying "Our gym equipment is available for use under the guidance of a personal trainer, as clearly stated on our website. This is to ensure your safety & to maximize the benefits of your workout." but, I wasn't able to find this stated on their website & it is very intrusive & totally unnecessary requiring a personal trainer.They didn't mention it at check-in. It isn't allowed to put bags anywhere in the room.We were 3 people, given 2 suitcase stands so one person put their suitcase on a wide built-into wall bench&they moved her bag.The large built in wall cubbies we were told not to put anything in either. If housekeeping goes into the room & they're not happy w/where you put your bag, they will touch your things & move them.Intrusive, unnecessary, & not polite.Odd rules b/c I have previously never had a hotel put my skin at risk of burning(rinse off before going in pool),nor been told to use a bath robe to dry,nor be forced to use a gym w/a personal trainer only,nor be told where to put my personal belongings. Also, breakfast is mediocre.Bread never tasted fresh & the "hot" food was always cold. It was on a device that you can light a burner underneath, but they did not do so.For a "luxury" stay & the price, the breakfast food was terrible.Room keys are hard to use-we had to manipulate them a lot to get the door open. It was also a metal key,not a key card & they only gave us 2 for our 3 guests. They kept our A/C off every time they cleaned our room. I found it to be intrusive & quite inconvenient to cool down when entering the room.The shower in our room is separate from rest of the bathroom (toilet and sink). It is right next to the bed, w/little to no privacy.Very strange & inconvenient set-up. We had an issue w/our safe-found it to have the lock extended so there was no way for us to close the door.We followed all instructions that a staff member told us to do(while they supervised),but it still didn't work.They then sent the owner in, who was unhappy about the situation & seemed to blame us for the issue.They called an expert who fixed it, but it was quite a frustrating experience. We saw a family staying there & after they left the hotel for the day, we saw management & reception go w/housekeeping into their room. Perhaps to check the condition of the room & give housekeeping orders but this is super strange; never witnessed that at any other hotel.Very sketchy & an invasion of privacy.Also, as part of their checkout policy, they have housekeeping check the room after all of our stuff is out but while we're still on site.They claim this is to ensure we didn't leave anything behind but I'm sure it's for them to check we didn't ruin anything. Overall, they seem very uptight w/all their unusual rules.We're clean guests,but constantly were being treated as if we aren't. I would absolutely NOT...

Let me start by saying the hotel is brand new so it's naturally beautiful and in pristine shape. The grounds, rooms, pool, etc. were all super nice and staff was friendly/helpful (both receptions were super sweet). My review is more about the overall experience as there are a few kinks that need to be worked out. First, there were a ton of odd rules: -shower before going in the pool (mainly no sunscreen in the pool which isn't safe for your skin) -pool towels are only avail at the pool (you can't bring them to your room), if your room has a hot tub like ours did you have to use your bath robe to dry off not the pool towels. Why would I use my robe as a towel? -gym has to be reserved 12 hours in advance. My friend went to use it as it was empty (there was barely anyone staying at the hotel, we were like 1 of 2 small groups there) and was told no they have to "get it ready". No idea what that meant as all equipment was in there and ready for use and no one else was using it. Not sure why she couldn't just use it when no one else was at the moment. -you weren't allowed to put your bags/suitcases just anywhere in the room. We were 3 people, given 2 suitcase folding tables so our 3rd put her suitcase on a wide built into wall bench and they moved her bag. There were also large built in wall cubbies and we were told not to put anything in those either. So if housekeeping goes into your room and they're not happy with where you put your bag, they will touch your things and move them themselves. I think they're worried about keeping the condition of their new establishment but they're going to learn soon when they have more guests (mind you, we're very respectful, clean/neat people).

Other little things: -Breakfast wasn't good. For a "luxury" stay and the price, the breakfast food was terrible. It also started kind of late, 8:30AM, most hotels start earlier at at least 7AM. -the room keys were difficult to use, we had to play around with them a lot to get our room unlocked. -sleeping pillows were some of the worst I've ever slept on. Again, would expect more from a luxury hotel. They also turned our air off every time they cleaned our room. -the shower in our room was separate from the rest of the bathroom (toilet and sink). It was literally right next to the bed, on its own with little to no privacy, just strange setup. -the little road leading up to the hotel is a dirt road, not paved. Not the end of the world but something to point out. You can walk it and it's a quick walk into town but we preferred using their taxi service for the majority. -we had an issue with our safe, we couldn't use it at first. When we tried talking with the hotel staff about it, they weren't understanding but probably just language barrier. They had to call in an expert who fixed it so that was fine in the end but a bit of a pain to initially deal with.

Something else we've never encountered elsewhere before. There was another family staying there towards the end of our trip. One day after they left the hotel for the day, we watched management and reception go with housekeeping into their room. I guess it was to check the condition of the room and give housekeeping orders but this was super strange; have never witnessed that at any other hotel I've stayed at. Very sketchy. Also, as part of their check out policy, they have housekeeping check the room again after all of our stuff is out but while we're still on the grounds. They claim this is to ensure we didn't leave anything behind but I'm sure it's for them to check we didn't ruin anything.

Overall, I'm not sure I'd stay here again until they've been around a bit longer and fix a few things. If you're just looking for a nice room to stay in and don't mind the other things,...

First, the hotel is beautiful. Of course it is, it’s brand new. It looks exactly like the pictures. What the pictures do not show you is that it is directly next door to a junk yard. So the view is either gorgeous (if you’re looking at the grounds or out to sea) or shabby. The staff are very nice and eager to be helpful but they come across as incredibly nervous and hovering. They are trying but I get the feeling they are just learning the ropes as well.

There is no restaurant on site. They may be building that but I wouldn’t hold my breath. The complimentary breakfast is brought in from elsewhere, so it’s brought in at 8 (per their response to a previous review) and stored in chaffing dishes, but there is no heat under those dishes, so the food is cold anytime after 8am. Getting there earlier does not help. Eggs do not stay warm on their own for any length of time.

This place has a lot of problems. Big ones include: the wifi works periodically The water is warm periodically The thing about the pool and your private jacuzzi and the sunscreen is true. You aren’t supposed to wear sunscreen in either. But here’s the thing- everyone I have spoken to about the Cyclades islands says you need to wear sunscreen all the time. The sun is ridiculously strong here. So you, what, just can’t use the pool or jacuzzi?

Small problems abound as well: There are no hooks for towels or robes There’s no shelf in the back shower, so all of your toiletries have to live on the floor There’s a kitchen but no cooking utensils; a cutting board but the knives don’t cut, they only mash things. There’s a farm next door with a pack of dogs that wake you up at 5am There’s no safe in the room, so there’s nowhere to lock up your valuables, but you also cannot decline service and not have anyone enter your room because they have to come in to check the jacuzzi daily… for your hygiene.

There are also so. many. rules. This is not a luxury resort. This is your friend’s brand new car that they don’t want you to touch lest you mess anything up. It is definitely not worth the money and the people who think it will be better in a year are generous. I think it will take 3-5 years for them to figure out how to take care of their customers and they’ll be closed by then.

I give this place 2.5 stars because it’s pretty and it was a decent base of operations while we drove around the island. Before today, I would have rounded that up to 3 for review purposes, but I listened to the dogs and they said I...