Ilaeira Mountain Resort — Hotel in Municipality of Sparta

The best thing about Ilaeira is the natural setting, the scenery but especially the wonderful aromas of the surrounding flora. Also, the hotel itself was built to a very high standard, offering a unique sense of luxury in a mountainous environment.

Our first visit in 2018 had been perfect. The breakfast, in particular, had been incredible. Not so this time round. Most hotels offer customers good deals to minimize the possibility of being left with too few guests. Ilaeira pricing, on the other hand, is too inflexible to ensure a minimum level of occupancy. When we visited on a weekday, at the end of June, we were probably the only guests staying for the night. The result was that the hotel needed to make cost savings, and our visit was thereby ruined.

Breakfast was prepared by a person unfit to cook for humans. The eggs served to us (see photo of an entire egg, notice the colour of the "white") were the worst we have eaten in our lives. If we did eat them, this was because we had already waited for them for so long, that our sense of relief got the better of us. By the time the eggs arrived, we had already finished all the sweet elements of our breakfast, incredibly served prior to the savoury ones! Clueless service by personel whose expertise definitely lied in areas unrelated to meal preparation.

Breakfast was not the only problem either. No person was there to serve at the swimming pool up until noon, towels were provided to us by the cleaner. The showers at the pool and in our room had both maintenance issues, while our bathroom sink was nearly blocked. All symptoms of an understaffed hotel.

We hate writting a negative review about a hotel like Ilaeira. There are so many great things about it, as one can easily discover by reading other reviews. But with hotels as with restaurants, it's the whole experience that matters. We decided to spend the last day of our holidays at Ilaeira, to make it a special day. Instead, it turned out to be the most disappointing day of all.

The management of Ilaeira must become more flexible. They can choose to lower their prices, or offer accommodation without breakfast, or keep the hotel closed off-season. Poor service must not however...

We stayed at this resort for 4 nights with 2 kids during august. It was simply fantastic! The staff really go out of their way to make sure you enjoy your holiday. 5 star service and the staff really seem to enjoy working in a hotel (which cannot be said everywhere). A few examples ... one morning at breakfast we asked if they had donuts (since they had them the day before) and they explained they didn’t make them this morning which is perfectly understandable. But then they went and made fresh ones for our two kids just because they loved them so much. Another morning we wanted to wake up early to visit an ancient site which meant we’d miss breakfast... they made us a to go basket with everything you could wish for. The views from the houses are amazing and the houses itself are fine as well. They aren’t new or modern furnished but they are very well maintained, clean and have a romantic feel to it. The same can be said for the grounds and pool. The pool area is really nice with a pool bar that offers good and reasonably priced food and drinks. Towels and fresh water are provided. The only downside of staying here is that it takes 15 min to get up the mountain and 15 to go down so everytime you visit something that adds 30 min to your return trip. The views and service however compensate for this. The only tip I would give the hotel is to add some additional outdoor furniture to the 4 people houses. We only had two outdoor chairs for 4 people (we used the two indoor chairs instead).||All in all great stay that I...

My words echo the other 5 star reviews. This is an exceptional hotel - stylish, immaculate, well thought through and welcoming. It is a 360 degree experience, all outstanding.||The location on the mountain is restful and the accommodation, individual residences, are surrounded by beautiful shrubs and greenery. We sat on our balcony and watched the butterflies. ||Sadly we had just one night in a deluxe family residence with panoramic views, I could have stayed a lot longer. We had plenty of space and the rooms and bathrooms were well appointed and extremely comfortable.||We had a poolside drink before dinner and noticed how pristine all the fixtures and fittings were. Everything is immaculate and well cared for. The pool bar is a lovely place to relax in stylish surroundings. In the other public rooms the style is effortless too.||There are clearly many hiking options nearby, we chose the hotel for its proximity to Sparta.||Olga is a great ambassador for the hotel, she is personable and welcoming, the other staff we met were all thoughtful and friendly. Our stay represented exceptional value for money and we would...