Kassandra Bay Resort, Suites & Spa — Hotel in Skiathos Municipality

Worst customer service I have ever received. For a 5 star hotel the way I was treated was unfathomable. I was served a “vegan” pizza, labelled vegetarian on the menu, however marked with the vegan logo from the allergen key. It was served to me but I knew the cheese didn’t look right as I haven’t eaten dairy cheese in 8 years. I asked roughly 6 times to different staff to ensure it was vegan to which they all said it was 100% without a shadow of a doubt vegan. After my first bite I knew it was dairy. However, as everyone insisted I pulled off most of the cheese and ate a few slices. After the third slice I started to feel very sick. I brought the leftover slices to my friends in the hotel to try and they all agreed it tasted like a regular pizza, not vegan. I approached a member of staff and told him that I thought there was a big misunderstanding and that I needed to see the packaging for the cheese to ensure it was vegan. He said he knew the pizza chef and called him, he got off the call and confirmed the cheese was NOT vegan. He then got a phone call very shortly after from a woman, I presume the head chef, who shouted down the phone at him that it was soy. Suspicious. He then offered me a free pizza.. He came back with the packaging and a sample of cheese on a tray. I read the packaging and it said “milk proteins” in the ingredients, which is not vegan! I asked for a manager, he did everything in his power to not involve the manager. To the point where a member of staff called John, who was the most ignorant man I’ve ever met, PRETENDED to be the manager to me. He told me the cheese was vegan, laughed in my face and told me milk proteins were vegetables and it was “no problem”. At this point my friend interjected and told them they were being incredibly insensitive, unprofessional and pointed out that they had lied twice during our conversation. John walked off during this. George was an absolute sweetheart and was the most memorable member of staff to show empathy, understanding and good customer service. The others made it so difficult to resolve anything. They claimed there was no manager on the premises, as he takes 3 hour breaks - which is madness to think in a 5 star hotel there are no alternating shifts with management and supervisors even. I was approached again saying I could talk to the receptionist if I liked and once more to tell me that they didn’t think I’d have a reaction to the cheese. I did in fact have a reaction and got sick that evening. I was too unwell, physically but also mentally by how I was treated that I didn’t even want to speak to the manager in case I got the same treatment as I did from the rest of the staff. Absolutely terrible customer service. Extremely disappointing and incredibly alarming. Instead of being happy to get feedback that their cheese could make someone very sick, they are misinforming customers of their capabilities and understandings of allergies and lack of care even for their customers beliefs - frankly it is not good enough. However I will say, their buffet had lots of vegan options and the rest of the staff were quite nice. I don’t write bad reviews often, and my intention is not to get anyone fired but I wont stand for you doing this to anyone else. Vegan, lactose intolerant or whatever belief/religion a customer has that you don’t care about. Update your menu - remove the vegan logo from it. Train your chefs better - allergies are extremely important. A matter of life and death in some cases. Train your servers/cashiers to be more empathetic and helpful, giving them the right information is a good start. Do not shield the manager from the public if an important issue needs to...

Standard rooms are no more than a 3 star hotel. 'Garden views' were nothing more than some shrubs and worn artificial shrunken grass on a roof. This roof was also used as a cut through for staff and where they hung out their mats, so not private or peaceful. There were also discarded cigarettes on the artifical grass too, which is unacceptable.

Service was great throughout - even when we had a grumble about the room. The hotel team offered us the opportunity to relocate further down, but this did not change things, so we politely declined. The team then offered an upgrade, but at 130 euros a night, which, was a cheeky solution given that all we wanted was what we thought would be a 5 star standard room. My view is that this is not a 5 star hotel complex.

The shower was cery clunky and the privacy sticker (covering the external window which leads out to communal area) had peeled. This was glued back by the maintenence team the following day when raised at reception, but again, not ideal.

Room 110 is based right on the end of a few blocks, so constant noise from other guests, cleaners etc. Pretty much all throughout the day and evening.

The construction of the buildings meant that you could hear everything with reverberation, such as; constant cutlery crashing, suitcase wheels zipping by, cleaners sweeping and wheeling things around, phones ringing in hotel rooms etc. If I'm honest, we did not have 1 good night sleep and felt pretty shattered a lot of the time as a result.

There is a fridge in the room, however, no near by supermarkets that are realistically safe to walk to. A supermarket nearby or onsite would be very helpful.

TIP: We found a great supermarket 15 mins walk from the hotel (turn left as you come out ot the hotel) - the owner is very friendly and kindly brought us back as they recognised that the road is often unsafe and steep. They did this for free because we spent over 25 euros and had availability.

Back to the hotel: most staff were extremely friendly and the service overall was great. There was 1 young guy (appears to be a manager) who walked around very quickly telling off other colleagues (especially gorgio), which was very uncomfortable to witness at most breakfast morning.

Breakfast was pretty decent with lots of options and a nice guy making omelletes at egg station. The breakfast area is extremely chaotic though and does not make for a peaceful start to the morning at all.

Pool area was very nice.

The spa area was not worth it in my opinion; the massages were nice, but no other facilities were available e.g. whirlpool, sauna etc. My friend and I were advised that these typically need to be pre booked as it's a lot of effort for them to use it, however this was not advised when we booked treatments. The spa advised that it's a lot of effort to run them and that they don't often get bookings, so don't turn it on. I think there's either deliberate or failed communications with being able to pre-book these.

The water taxi and watersports on the beach are fab! Great family managing the watersports!

I want to thank the reception team, who were consistently the most professional. Whilst we were unable to resolve the issues on site, they never made us feel uncomfortable and clearly appeared to try their best.

This hotel is nice. Not a 5 star in my view, but...

This hotel is of exceptional quality and is located inbetween the main Skiathos Town and Koukounaries areas. It may be within walking distance to some places such as the nearby Agnadi Restaurant (also a Hotel) however the hills are quite steep up to this. There are frequent buses that pass the hotel - with the bus stop( Stop number 8) directly outside of the hotel property - you just board the bus and pay €2 for a single one-way ticket - however sometimes these buses are full and they won't stop for you if this is the case. The water taxi located on the Vasilias beach (just past the private beach area) is more expensive at around €3.50 per person but provides an easy and fun way to get into Skiathos Town and you will most often be able to get a seat on this water taxi.

The hotel staff will also kindly arrange a taxi for you to take you where you need to go if the water-taxi and bus do not suit your needs. They will also help you arrange a hire-car if this is more suitable for you - especially if you want to explore the northern parts of the island.

As for the hotel itself - there was two pools - both of which are a decent size - the second pool also had a shallow area catering for younger children. Each sunbed came with a parasol umbrella, and you could press the button on the parasol and staff will come to take your drinks order (both on the Hotel's private beach area and by the Hotel's Pools). However we found that the staff did not come to take the order when pressing the button down on the beach - I'm not sure if our button was faulty.

The Hotel staff were really friendly and helpful - all staff spoke really good English so they will be able to help you and understand you. You'll find the same staff serving throughout the day from Breakfast and later on in the Poolside bar.

There is a Gym on site for over 18's only - and you have to request a gym card from reception to use this - the Gym is air conditioned with Cool water dispenser and provides a wide range of gym equipment.

If you are an Aviation Enthusiast, this hotel provides an excellent view of Arriving and Departing Aircraft (see attached picture taken near the pool) - however there are not too many flights so you will enjoy a quiet relaxing time by the pool or beach most of the time. I would recommend a trip to the Town to see the aircraft close up if you want a better view as they are not too close.

Overall, the stay was really enjoyable, staff were friendly, and the location was great. Be aware that due to it's high quality and great location, prices are a little on the high side (especially during busy summer season). But if it's in your budget it is definitely a...