Princess House — Hotel in Skiathos Municipality

Princess House is a relic from 4 decades ago. The signs outside proudly call it Hotel Princess House. But this is no hotel. Everything is tired and well worn. The gazebo in the garden looks attractive from the front gate on arrival until you get near and realise the roof is filthy, the frame is badly corroded and the seat covers are all ripped. At night it is where the cats sleep and do their business. Yannis the Owner/Manager told us that the decor and sunbed covers have not been changed since he took over the place in 2018. We suspect that nothing else has been done in the property since that time.

Yannis is a really friendly guy and was quite chatty during our stay. He told us that he intends to refurbish the rooms in 2024/25. The photos on Jet2 website make the rooms much more appealing than they are in reality. They desperately need some serious TLC.

The gardens are well kept however by the very helpful gardener who also repaired our shower a few times. Such a nice guy. He also keeps the swimming pool area clean. In reception the sign says the chlorine levels are checked every 4 hours but we never saw anyone checking this during our stay. Yannis confirmed that guests are permitted to lie on the fabric sunbeds without towels.These beds are just receptacles for people's sweat and were left there by the previous owner in 2018. Some are quite badly stained. Yuk!

The room we stayed in was very sad looking with fluorescent green walls, two odd curtains (one bright orange, the other an abstract pattern, bright pink bedspread, broken telephone and very tired bathroom. The shower had a rusty corner rack to put your soap on. A rusty stain extended down the tiles. The shower was broken on arrival, the shower curtain wrapped round us everytime we showered. There was a rusty waste plug in the bathroom sink. The kitchen equipment provided included; two odd plates, one of which was so worn and scratched we would not use it, two odd forks, two odd knives, two odd spoons (one stained/rusty) and two odd mugs, one of which was stained and chipped. Everything in the room was from left over bits. Even the random tacky pictures on the walls. Yannis said he wanted Princess House to be like a second home but I think my student accomodation was better than this and I paid less rent!

We had problems with the water pressure and had no hot water for over a day. Yannis explained that the hot water needed to be turned on for around 2 minutes to get a shower as the system was old. He also said if everyone was showering at the same time, there would be no hot water.

The property description mentions the word tranquil. However, Princess House is next to a busy road with traffic roaring past all day. It is opposite a car hire business that jet washes cars at all hours with a noisy machine. The aircraft sometimes come in very close to the rear of the property and made our room shake on a few occasions. And it is next door to a builders yard. One morning we were woken up in the early hours by workmen loading lorries full of building materials, yelling and screaching. We had a view of the scruffy builders yard from our front door. Yannis told us he reported the noise nuisance to the police on a regular basis but nothing ever gets done.

We have travelled in Europe and Asia and have stayed in better hostels than Princess House. Yannis explained that Princess House was only 2 star and customers regularly wrecked the equipment. I think we had all the left over stuff in our room! When we mentioned about the kitchen equipment Yannis arranged for a replacement mug (still non matching). Yannis refused to let us change rooms during our stay as he said all the rooms...

Stayed here start of July booking through Jet 2 Holidays for 1 week. Absolutely gorgeous hotel, the gardens and pool and bar area are clean and well kept. Yannis the owner met us off the bus and helped us with our luggage and was really friendly and helpful. Mera who worked in the bar was absolutely lovely and cooked amazing dishes at great prices. The bedroom was basic but clean and air conditioning and the safe were included at no extra fee. The kitchen was quite basic and could do with an update, but this didn't affect me and my husband as we went out eating most the time, would be fine to prepare cold dishes, not sure about the hob though! You can hear the planes setting off, but this didn't happen often and lasted only 2/3 minutes if that. Which is to be expected in Skiathos as the airport is so small and close to town. New port and town center was within walking distance, about 15 minutes or so. And the super market was about 15 minutes walk the other way. Sadly there isn't any parking, we hired a quad bike, luckily Yannis helped us find a little spot to park it nearby, but anything like a car you may struggle. Overall this hotel was absolutely amazing, staff were lovely and the location was fantastic, looking at booking again...

Arrived home after a 2 week stay, can't praise this place enough. Rooms cleaned everyday, but the jewel in the crown is Blerta who runs the pool bar. Her food and drink are delicious and reasonable priced. Blerta will do anything she can to accommodate you. Blerta definitely makes a fantastic holiday even better...loved our stay would...