Elinotel Sermilia Resort — Hotel in Polygyros Municipality

We stayed at Cronwell Resort Sermilia 5th-10th October 2019. Last year we were at Mirraggio Thermal Spa Resort (operated by Cronwell) in Halkidiki/Kassandra and there we had a truly first-class and memorable holiday. That was the reason that we choosed another hotel, operated by Cronwell hotel chain. A really bad choice with Cronwell Resort Sermilia and a poor experience, unfortunatelly... It is a good 3+ HOTEL, but no way 5 RESORT as listed. It is definitely not a resort!! The hotel area is very small, the hotel doesn't meet the requirements for a "resort". No concierge, no anyone who could help with luggage, so it was 5 star self service. Minibar - only 2 small bottles of water and 2 juice cartons, other drinks - on request. Area - a very isolated, small village. There is absolutely nothing to do in the evenings, you can walk from one end to another in less then 15 min. A few taverns and souvenir shops, one bigger supermarket, that's all. The view from our balcony exceeded all our expectations- a field full of rubbish and broken vehicles, but side sea view. Inside the room - disgusting fecal odor, that stinks to nausea, 24 hours. Very poor housekeeing service, the daily service means "to take out the rabbish and to change the towels". That was the explanation that we received from the night receptionist, who was not very interested to help and assist guests. No bed making, no cleaning the room or bathroom. The food - always the same and partly salty or sour, not always fresh (especially main courses and dessert buffet). Max. 1/3 of food dishes is fresh prepared, 2/3 of them are processed dishes (another sauce or added foodstuffes). Sardines were never fresh, even they had a bad smell. Salads were same every single day with "0" variations! Fresh salads always consisting of lettuce only. Desserts - always the same, just with another type of cream or added cream. In conclusion - the food was absolutely repetitive and poorly served. Ultra All Inclusive means everything else but not the concept of Cronwell Resort Sermilia. Please see the picture of the "snacks" - no words. When drink is finished, it is finished.. (end of season). Draught wine - the lowest quality, impossible to drink it. No bottled beer or soft drinks at extra charge, just draught beer & soft drinks. Etc, etc, etc.... Spa facilities - All Inclusive means: ONE TIME during your stay you can visit the sauna for ONLY 30 min. between 15-18 h. The excuse was: It is another company that manage the Spa Center and it is only one sauna there. We have to give credit to the staff at lobby bar, restaurant and entertainment team - all very friendly and helpful. Especially Elena, always on duty at evening hours at Lobby Bar, and Alina (Entertainment team). Both ladies always did their job with effort and willingness. We have an understanding that it was end of season. We stayed at Miraggio Thermal Resort last year one week before closing the resort and we didn't feel, at any time, it is end of season. Unfortunatelly we were very disapointed staying at Cronwell Resort Sermilia for our holiday. Price-quality is absolutely not consistent. It is strongly recomended to change the hotel...

Unfortunately, our experience in this hotel was far below expectations. We wanted to spend a peaceful holiday here with our baby, but we had everything except a quiet and pleasant vacation.

The hotel claims to be a 5-star, but in reality, it is nothing more than 3 stars at best. Service is very poor – there is not enough staff, sometimes there was nobody at the reception at all, and when there was, they were often uninterested. Rooms are very basic, far from luxurious. Cleaning is done very superficially – we often found sand in the shower after returning from the beach. The bathroom had a constant sewage smell. Twice we were left without clean towels and had to chase staff late in the evening to get them. Drinking water in the room is provided only once upon arrival, and that’s it. We requested a baby crib and received a travel cot, but the mattress was only a few centimeters from the floor, making it completely unsuitable for a baby. Our baby had to sleep with us, but we didn’t even have a proper double bed – just two single beds pushed together, so we had to put a pillow in the middle to prevent the baby from falling through the gap. Soundproofing is also very poor.

Food was a complete disaster. Breakfast was identical every single day, while lunch and dinner were almost the same, with barely one edible dish to choose from. The food quality was low, mostly frozen products, tasteless and repetitive. The selection of dairy products and cheeses was the smallest I have ever seen in a hotel. Drinks were equally disappointing – I can only recommend water or maybe sparkling water. Plates and cutlery were often missing, and guests had to search for them themselves. Tables were cleared extremely slowly, so it was common to see dirty glasses, ashtrays, and leftovers by the pool even around noon the next day.

The beach was also unsatisfactory – small, dirty, with uncomfortable sunbeds placed way too close to each other. There is no natural shade at all, which is especially problematic for families with children. The sea was warm in September, but full of seaweed, not at all the beautiful Sitonia experience we expected. Psakoudia itself is very boring, with little to no content – just a few tavernas and shops, and no pharmacy.

In short, if you value your money and want a quality holiday, do not choose this hotel. It is absolutely not worth the price and will leave you feeling disappointed and deceived.

The only positive things to mention are the Nescafe frappe, the beer, and the fresh...

Positives - Hotel itself is nice, the rooms are clean and spacious Housekeeping service is good and done daily The bar on the 7th floor - stunning views at night, definitely worth the visit The pool was actually great, despite many reviews here. The pool was always clean, there were sunbeds available most of the time. Greek night was a nice experience.

Negatives - (unfortunately long list) The food is terrible, sorry but this is true. Mostly dishes are foods that are purchased at Lidl and heated out of a packet. The deserts are mostly mushy cream and pudding with some biscuit, but there is a good supply of ice-cream. If you do not arrive early to meals, it is very likely that you will miss out. Also there is often not enough room in the restaurant for all the guests, as well as not enough clean plates, utensils and glasses... There were no snacks at the pool bar, when I asked bar staff for a snack I was told there was none. I asked when will someone bring more, and I was told that there was no more coming, despite it only being half way through time when snacks are supposed to be available. When staff are questioned what can children eat, the response is something between I don't know and I don't care. It was not until I complained to the reception twice that more food came out. The ULTRA ALL INCLUSIVE concept at this hotel is totally missed. It is not 24 hours, and unless you go for a meal at breakfast, lunch or dinner, there is no food available if you are hungry. You can only take a cup of water from the bar, no bottled water is provided. Management of this hotel should consider providing a 1.5L bottle per room per day. Given the cost of bottled water in Greece is incredibly cheap (30c per bottle), it would go a long way to improve the comfort and experience of their guests. Speaking of experience of the guests, the towels provided by the hotel need urgent replacing. Most are torn and fraying, quite disgusting really given they take euro $10 deposit for each towel. I'm not sure why they think anyone would want to take a torn old towel home. The beach across the road is not very pleasant, the sand is dirty and the sunbeds are crowded. The concept of ULTRA ALL INCLUSIVE in this hotel translates to we are happy to take your money (this hotel is not cheap) but we are not will willing to spend this money to improve the comfort and experience of our guests by providing better quality food, access to food at the times promised, providing bottled water...