Gloria Maris Hotel Suites and Villa — Hotel in Zakynthos Municipality

There are too many things to say about this place, after reaching the hotel in the morning we were told first thing that we need to provide them a credit card details, like very specific (probably the PIN code was the only thing not asked) as a “warranty” for the room itself which left me baffled, and if you refuse you need to hand them 100€ in cash or so and you’ll get it at check out. After this we wanted towels for the pool, for which again we were asked to pay 10€ deposit since according to the lady from the reception they get stolen frequently, from people who afford a 900€ hotel for 5 days, but ok I understood this as well. :) Now regarding the hotel facilities, you can forget about the infinity pool shown obsessively in the photos unless you booked the suites, the only access you get is to the main pool at which after one day of swimming my white pants became green, and you have some nice sun beds made out of wood which are 95% of them broken so you end up staying like you’ve just had a surgery on your side. But no worries, at least you do have a back up option since you’ve paid 250€\night, you can visit the tiny beach sitting at the bottom of the hotel, at which you can enjoy a relaxing 10 hrs/day starting from like 8:30am all the Afro hits at the moment, so you can have an unforgettable experience here in Tanzania safari, joke aside now, I spent most of my days at that beach and there was not a single day we had some normal music playing, or even better, some Greek music because we were in Greece right !? :)) Our room was not available even at 14:00, that’s after we kindly asked in the morning if there is any chance to get our room a bit earlier since our flight was during the night and we were tired, but instead we’ve got it even later than normal, and when we entered the room, it was completely wet since they just mopped the floor 30 seconds before entering, so we had to open all doors and windows for it to dry, then just to find out we received no amenities at all, not even a bottle of water, terrible start of vacation. After calling the reception like 3 times because we found each items missing one by one they even got annoyed by the fact that we disturb them with our requests and when cleaning ladies who bring the stuff weren’t happy at all either. Now breakfast, because that’s the most important meal of the day right ? Well, not so much in this resort, since it’s starting 30 minutes later than what you are told, and if you plan any trip early in the morning you can forget it, because after the first day, when we noticed it was closed at 7:30 when it should be opened, we talked at the reception (again) to make sure the next day it’s going to be opened at that hour since we had a trip booked at 8:00 from the hotel, so we wanted to eat something before going there, and they listened to our request, but just the request of “opening” since that’s basically what they did, they opened the door but there was absolutely nothing arranged there beside some croissants and some fruits, as it was probably too early for the staff to start preparing everything. The Coffee machine, if you can name it this way, was a machine you find in parking lots or I don’t know where since I’ve seen only few in this state, and they prepare instant coffee only, and that if you’re lucky because in our case it was broken for 3 days, so in this case you have to order it from the bar, for which of course you have to pay, since it’s your fault the machine it’s not working. One thing I also noticed regarding breakfast by mistake, was that even the chocolate which you put on pancakes was the cheapest one you could find and then you suddenly don’t feel like eating pancakes anymore :))

In summary, since I could still go on and on with this terrible experience, like the owners being shocked about what we told them and then claiming to refund us a part of the money, but then never actually doing it. beside the view, this place was not worth the money 100%, 250€/night for this conditions it’s just a rip off...

There are too many things to say about this hotel, starting from the beginning, after reaching the hotel in the morning we were told first thing that we need to provide them a credit card details, like very specific (probably the PIN code was the only thing not asked) as a “warranty” for the room itself which left me baffled, and if you refuse you need to hand them 100€ in cash or so and you’ll get it at check out.After this we wanted towels for the pool, for which again we were asked to pay 10€ deposit since according to the lady from the reception they get stolen frequently, from people who afford a 900€ hotel for 5 days, but ok I understood this as well. :)Now regarding the hotel facilities, to start with, you can forget about the infinity pool shown obsessively in the photos unless you booked yourself the most expensive rooms, the only access you get is to the main pool at which after one day of swimming my white pants became blue, and you have some wonderful sun beds made out of wood which are 95% of them broken so you end up staying like you’ve just had a surgery on your side. But no worries, at least you do have a back up option since you’ve paid 250€\night, you can visit the tiny beach sitting at the bottom of the hotel, at which you can enjoy a relaxing 10 hrs/day starting from like 8:30am all the Afro hits at the moment, so you can have an unforgettable experience here in Tanzania safari, joke aside now, I spent most of my days at that beach and there was not a single day we had some normal music playing, or even better, some Greek music because we were in Greece right !? :))Our room was not available even at 14:00, that’s after we very kindly asked in the morning if there is any chance to get our room a bit earlier since our flight was during the night and we were tired, but instead we’ve got it even later than normal, and when we entered the room, it was completely wet since they just mopped the floor 30 seconds before entering, so we had to open all doors and windows for it to dry, then just to find out we received no amenities at all, not even a bottle of water, terrible start of a vacation honestly. After calling the reception like 3 times because we found each items missing one by one they even got annoyed by the fact that we disturb them with our requests and when cleaning ladies came to bring the stuff they weren’t happy either. Now breakfast, because that’s the most important meal of the day right ? Well, not so much in this resort, since it’s starting 30 minutes later than what you are told, and if you plan any trip early in the morning you can very well skip it, because after the first day, when we noticed it was closed at 7:30 when it was supposed to be opened, we talked at the reception (again) to make sure the next day it’s going to be opened at that hour since we had a trip booked which pick us up at 8:00 from the hotel, so we wanted to eat something before going there, and they listened to our request, but just the request of “opening” since that’s basically what they did, they opened the door but there was absolutely nothing arranged there beside some croissants and some fruits, as it was probably too early for the staff to start preparing everything, since they were used to do this at 9 probably, one hour before the breakfast is closing. The Coffee machine, if you can name it this way, was a machine you find in parking lots or I don’t know where since I’ve seen only few in this state, and they prepare instant coffee only, and that if you are lucky because in our case it was broken for 3 days, and in this case you have to order it from the bar, for which of course you had to pay, because it’s your fault the machine it’s not working. One thing I also noticed regarding breakfast by mistake, was that even the chocolate which you put on pancakes was the cheapest one you could find and then you suddenly don’t feel like eating pancakes anymore :)) In summary,a terrible and...

We really enjoyed the view, staff and our room.

Now for the details that bothered me.

Tl;dr: Price to quality ratio is disappointing. Better options in the area.

Long list: The hotel needs a specialist on price management and optimisation. Prices are through the roof compared to the rest of island. We met a lot of hotel guests in nearby restaurants, enjoying mini market food or just eating from the lunch menu to avoid overpaying at dinner. Prices should keep guests spending in the hotel and high prices doesn’t mean you earn more. It seems the hotel doesn’t know its guest and what are they willing to spend. In some earlier review I saw the hotel response in which they stated how eco-friendly they are as an excuse why they don’t need refurbishment. It’s strange to hear that from a hotel that still uses plastic straws and plastic hygiene bottles in the room. That just makes me wonder if they stand behind their words or are they just not willing to invest. There are cups and tea, coffee in the room, yet no kettle. Asked for it at the reception but they wouldn’t keep their promise to put one in the room the next day. No hairdryer, no replenisment of shampoos for the entire week stay. TVs was a flatscreen but no smart options like Netflix or such. Bring an HDMI cable. Poor sound isolation in the room. It would be fine though if the hotel would stand by it’s policy to close the poolbar after midnight. However, friday night was unsleepable until 3 AM in the morning with music and guests partying. Had to go there and look into it at 1:30 AM, they promised to close in half an hour, yet didnt stand by their words. Next day I asked the reception if that’s normal, they responded with a no and didn’t know what was actually happening that evening. The only apology I got was a shot of liqour the following day. That what a half restless night is worth. If you go to breakfast at 9:30 AM be aware that you might eat pancakes with a spoon. Or cereal without one. It seems that such simple things like cuttlery, bowls, plates are just unavailable later in the morning. Juice and water machines out of order. Rentals at the hotel are about 15-20 euros per day more expensive than elsewhere. You can just spend a few minutes on Google Maps to find a cheaper option with free hotel delivery. Hotel transfers to the airport are about 10€ more expensive than taxi. Boat trip was a disapointment. Our guide was late. We had a 3in1 trip (turtle spotting, keri caves, turtle islands), the places where amazing but it more felt like a water taxi than a tour. No guidance, no stories, poor English and it’s overpriced. You can find much cheaper options with amazing guides at Agios Sostis. There where some really delicious options in the lunch and restaurant menu, we enjoyed BBQ night aswell but we never tasted a chicken fillet for 14€ that is so dry and flavourless. 7€ smoothies were awful aswell. I tried ordering a burger from the lunch menu 5 times, yet they never had it. Not much to do on a casual day in the hotel area aside from swimming and sunbathing. Little to none entertainment in the evening. No gym, no games rooms or any other such facilities in the hotel. No honeymoon, no birthday reception so don’t even bother to include your special occasions that you wanted to celebrate at the hotel. Poor communication via Booking app prior and during our stay. This just concludes how overpriced per night this hotel is and how far it is away...