Exotica Hotel - All Inclusive — Hotel in Zakynthos Municipality

My sister and I stayed in the hotel for 5 days, an “all inclusive” experience. When we arrived, the receptionist seemed rude and we were never shown around the hotel or were given an explanation of how everything goes, that made us not want to ask or annoy the staff as most of them didn’t come off approachable. It was never mentioned to us that the tourist tax was only in cash, which luckily we had but I consider it should be said as everything is in card nowadays. When we were given the card (just one card for two people) to access our room, the receptionist just pointed where our room was and we’re told to go there. I believe anyone who has payed a certain amount of money for an all inclusive experience should at least be shown or explain how the hotel works, what kind of activities it has, what it can offer us. When we saw our room, it was dirty, stains in the sink, finger prints in the glass of shower, balcony, mirrors, etc and some stains in the towels. There is a paper where it states everything you need to know about the room and charges, which in this case the AC and fridge were “free”, our AC never worked (we reported this with the receptionist and we’re told a technician would come to fix it, never happened) and the fridge was empty, wouldn’t expect to pay for an empty fridge, not even drinkable water was accessible. The wifi is a joke, doesn’t work at all. The card to enter your room allowed the room to have power/electricity, due that we were only given one, we couldn’t leave our electronics charging which was not convenient at all. Shower gel was filled half way, we had to go down and ask for more. The water pressure has no pressure at all, no hot water and water smells and tastes disgusting, so if you want a glass of water at 3am, you’ll have to go down to the restaurant and get yourself one. The food was basic, not a lot of options, so if you’re vegan, vegetarian or have allergies, don’t expect much from here. Most dishes were repeated every day/meal and there weren’t a lot of fruit options, only banana and apples which i can eat that in my country. The times to eat are very limited, so you have to keep and eye for it otherwise, no food for you. Also, they aren’t on time when putting the food on display and take the food earlier than what it states. The bar is nothing out of this world, it opens around 12 and close at 11pm, early in my opinion. All the drinks are served in plastic cups. Activities are basically putting on flashing coloured light in the restaurant and music. There is no public transport nearby at all, so you’ll have to rent a car or pay taxi to go to central. The cleaning is mediocre, they don’t change your bedsheets and only change your towels every two days, if you have any luck. They don’t give you a “do not disturb” sign, so you have to wait for the cleaning lady to knock on you door and say “no cleaning today”. The cleaning lady was nice though. The pool is alright, if you want a towel you’ll have to pay 10 euros of deposit and 3 euros for the towel, an joke. Also, chickens are around. Not enough sun beds. There is a spa, which we tried and was an amazing experience. The lady was nice. Although when reserving the hotel, it made it seem as if the spa services were included within the price. The checkout is at 11am, so if you have a late flight, you’ll be expecting a “ok bye” from the receptionist and waiting in the reception area, they have no area for your luggage. In conclusion, this did not feel like an all inclusive hotel, it felt more like a 3 star hotel with breakfast included experience, even that has a much better service. Don’t waste your money here, but if you want a hotel with no customer service and a big pool surrounded by a bunch of insects and a chicken, this...

We contacted the hotel in advance to confirm whether vegan meal options would be available. The response was clear: this wouldn’t be a problem, and we were told to simply inform the service manager upon arrival. Unfortunately, this promise was not kept. Upon our first visit to the restaurant, no one had any idea that a vegan guest was arriving. Instead of helpful information, I was asked if I eat fish – which clearly shows a lack of understanding of what vegan means.

The actual food selection was very disappointing: I was mostly offered pasta with tomato sauce or fries – nearly every day. Salads were usually topped with feta cheese, and it was rarely possible to get a simple plate without it. Even aside from the vegan issue, the overall buffet was extremely limited – both in variety and taste. Many dishes were bland and tasted like ready-made products. For a hotel of this category, that is simply not enough.

The service staff worked very fast – but often too fast. On several occasions, plates were taken away while I was still eating. In the evenings, there is no table service for drinks: guests are required to queue at the bar, which often meant long waits. This is far from relaxing. The cocktails themselves were barely drinkable – they tasted like overly strong alcohol mixes, with the flavor being completely dominated by cheap spirits. They tasted like something mixed in a state where you probably shouldn’t be drinking anymore. The rest of the flavor was artificial and excessively sweet.

A big plus was the cleanliness of the rooms – housekeeping did a great job throughout our stay. However, the rain shower in our room didn’t work, so the showerhead had to be held by hand the entire time. The toilet was only separated from the rest of the room by a partially open door, offering no real privacy – which was quite uncomfortable.

The pool area itself was nice, but there were frequently many insects floating in the water – and guests had to remove them themselves. The pool closes at 6:00 PM, which is far too early considering the hot temperatures – it would make sense to keep it open longer. Some of the parasols were broken, and the sunbeds were a mix of various designs and colors, which made the area look disorganized and unattractive.

The overall design of the hotel feels uninspired and lacking in care. The restaurant, for example, is very basic: no tablecloths, no fabric napkins, no atmosphere. For a 4-star hotel, this was truly disappointing. The buffet offered here would barely count as a starter buffet in similarly priced hotels. On top of that, there’s no dress code for dinner – meaning guests show up in very short or inappropriate clothing, which further diminishes the dining experience.

We also had a negative experience at reception on our arrival. Mary, who was working at the front desk that day, did not fulfill her role professionally. We were asked to pay the local tourist tax, even though it was clearly already included in our package through an external travel agency. (If you have booked through a tour operator as well, do not pay the city tax immediately – or only pay it upon checkout so you have proof of payment.) Furthermore, we received no information whatsoever: no meal times, no pool hours, not even instructions on how to get to our room. We had to figure everything out on our own or ask other guests.

All in all, this hotel has potential but sadly does not live up to expectations. Most of the issues could easily be fixed with better organization, clearer communication, and a bit more attention to detail. As it stands, the experience falls short of what one should expect from a 4-star property – especially for guests who value good food, a well-kept atmosphere, and...

First of all, let me say that the staff are absolutely lovely! Everyone, from reception, to bar staff to cleaners, to restaurant staff is hard working, kind, friendly to children… couldn’t fault them!||Now the state of the hotel… it’s deplorable. It’s a 2* rating at best. ||To list a few things:|- All the finishes are shabby, the plasterboard make shift wall between our shower and toilet only had one coat of paint, still showing the plasterboard brand, the tiles were unevenly laid, the front door was an atrocious upvc door with holes and mould all over, strong smell of damp everywhere, mould on the tiles grout, very thin coverless duvet, hairdryer melted and rusty, sharp corners on furnishings etc. |- I was grateful that rooms were cleaned daily but I still found hairs on pillowcases, had towels with holes and stains and found a piece of glass on the floor one day after cleaning (we hadn’t broken anything). |- you couldn’t close the terrace door from outside which was incredibly annoying and the room would get flooded with mosquitoes. |- there were a huge number of wasps and mosquitoes, small children were stung during our stay and it was awful to see. You couldn’t get a drink from the bar without instantly having dozens of wasps all around you. There were also several wasps hornets on guests’ balconies. |- the pools were freezing cold, not even the kids one was warmed. |- food was average, mostly catering for British clientele, with English breakfast taking up half the morning buffet every day. I’d rate the food an overall 6 out of 10. Definitely not what I’d expect from a 4* hotel. Went to the snack bar a couple of times during snack times and it was shut. Most of the fruit was tinned. Apples, bananas and plums were the only fresh offer. |- the drinks were awful. Juices available in 2L plastic bottles for people to help themselves. No fresh juice. Coffee was average at best. The “cocktails” were supposed to contain liqueurs and juices, but it was just cheap coloured syrups and cheapest brand of juices (not fresh). |- despite being out of season, if you weren’t on time at dinner, you wouldn’t find a table. Or at times, we had to wait for plates, cutlery, coffee cups or even the mains! Most of the dinner plates were also chipped. |-during meal times you can expect wasps, mosquitoes and many cats roaming freely. The staff did try their best to lure the cats out with food, but they’d get back in no time. My child would often stop eating to move away from the table either scared of the wasps or the cats. |- free wi-fi they say… but there’s no wifi in the rooms! Couldn’t even load a webpage! Had to sit outside or in the restaurant to have any internet access (still very poor connection, but something’s better than nothing). |- hotel lobby had 4 shabby, stained sofas which were always busy in the evening with people needing to access the internet. |- no gym/exercise facilities ||The positive part was that the hotel felt safe for the kids to walk around. ||Kalamaki and Laganas beaches didn’t have any facilities in October. No sun beds, umbrellas or even lifeguards. However, the water was clear, shallow and suitable for kids. You could walk on the beach from Kalamaki to Laganas (about 3 miles). ||Overall, I would definitely not return to Zakynthos and would not recommend...