Maistrali Hotel & Apartments Zakynthos — Hotel in Zakynthos Municipality

Insights from a week-long holiday in Maistrali. Pros: • A relatively small and quiet hotel (fortunately, I didn’t encounter any screaming children). • Excellent lunches and dinners – new dishes every day, including chicken, beef, pork, rabbit, lamb, fish, and octopus. At least one grilled item daily. Everything was excellent and fresh. Delicious desserts and ice creams, as much as you wanted. Varied salads, either mixed or self-made. Everything was sufficiently replenished. Breakfasts were a bit weaker for me – I would have appreciated more types of vegetables (sometimes there was only cucumber). • Friendly and helpful hotel staff. Patti and Giannis at the bar, the receptionists, and the cleaning ladies. Everyone spoke reasonably good English, and everything could be resolved easily. The hotel manager Vasilis was available at the hotel all the time except for two hours in the afternoon (siesta). He is interested in everything and has everything under control. Need something resolved? Go to him. • The hotel room was sufficiently large and decently furnished. The fridge worked, and so did the air conditioning. Our room (A105) had a balcony and sliding shutters with a fairly heavy curtain inside, so there was no problem with light or noise. I didn’t use the TV at all. The bathroom was smaller but sufficient – hot water ran all day. The bed was comfortable, and so were the pillows. What I missed were screens in the windows – repellent is a must (we bought some at the shop across the street). • For me, an advantage, for someone else a disadvantage – minimal animations. Definitely none for children, for adults, water aerobics and stretching. So, relatively quiet. No pushing of services like in Egypt. • The bar had local beer and local alcohol (for mixed drinks). A standard we renamed to homeopathic alcohol – you could drink it in large quantities with virtually no effect. I wouldn’t recommend the local wine, not even in a wine spritzer. Around 4 PM, snacks were available at the bar (toast bread with cheese and salami). The bar service was fantastic. Occasionally give them a tip; they deserve it. • Plenty of shops, car rentals, and a bus stop nearby. Cons: • The hotel doesn’t have its own beach; you need to walk about 300 meters (left from the hotel and left again at TEO’s place). On the beaches, umbrellas and sunbeds are paid. Or go to the beach at a nearby hotel; they had the same color wristbands, so it was possible. • The hotel doesn’t have bottled water (tap water is not drinkable). You need to go to the bar for water in a cup or have it filled in a PET bottle. • Some rooms lack screens in the windows – you need to pack repellent. • The internet at the hotel is really weak; if there are more people, you have no chance. But data in the EU works without problems. • For me, sometimes quite loud music at the bar. Fortunately, it was quite listenable (low-cost artists imitating famous hits – sometimes even original songs). • Beach towels for a fee (or bring your own). Practical tips: • For me, the best rooms are in A100-106 – the sun shines there only for a short time in the afternoon; otherwise, it’s shaded. At home, pack repellent and a beach towel/blanket. • Beach either at the Atlantica Eleon Grand Resort hotel or at the Ladofanaro Fish Restaurant. There, for 15 EURO per day for two sunbeds and an umbrella. Or free under the fig tree. • Trips through the travel agency are expensive – for example, a tour around the island through the travel agency is 58 EUR, elsewhere around 30. Summary: For me, a great holiday (despite minor shortcomings) – I would go again. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives. EDIT: Please give your employees better uniforms. Synthetic materials are outdated and in 40°C heat it is...

Poor star not four star. I will get this out of the way first because this really ruined out stay! Whoever ran the pool bar ruined it all. The extremely loud music played from 8am until 11pm, there was no need for it to be that loud and on occasions heavy metal music. It should be about a relaxing ambience not sounding like a night club. The morning after the night we arrived we desperately needed a shower after travelling but we woke to having no water at all, unable to wash or flush the toilet. We went across to the restaurant for breakfast and they also had no water, you would think they would give each table a complimentary bottle of water but not here, everyone was queuing with little flimsy plastic cups. Outside the restaurant I noticed a flashing red light on the wall the night before and it was still flashing in the morning, I wondered if that was some kind of low water level warning, when I asked at reception they said it was some road works locally that had caused the shortage. The night before we were due to check out the warning light was back on and yet again in the morning no water, this time we actually witnessed a water tanker arrive and fill the water tanks and yes the warning light went out. HOW CAN A HOTEL LET THE WATER RUN OUT. Again the same excuse about road works given by reception. We walked along that road everyday and never saw any evidence of any road works.

Ok, now I've got that off my chest I'll continue, the bedroom was large, clean and had a nice steel framed 4 poster, they want you only to eat in their restaurant so you get no cutlery or plates even though you have a small kitchenette, four coat hangers in the wardrobe, a phone which doesn't work, and no bracket on the wall to put the shower head in. The pool was clean and nice to relax around apart from the loud music but the toilets amazingly have no seats in the men's or women's. Room recommendations are room 307 has the only proper sea view and looks over the mountains and pool, 306 a slight sea view and pool, 205 limited sea view and pool. The restaurant was ok with a good variety but the staff were very unwelcoming and on occasions rude, to get to the cereals you had to reach through the swarms of wasps enjoying the open dishes of preserves and honey. Overall, I would never return to this hotel, it didn't feel like the usual Greek hospitality we are used to.

There is a very handy little supermarket opposite and it's reasonably inexpensive. A bus stop that will take you to Tsivili (12mins) Zante...

well, time for an honest review , as im not sure what hotel some of the older reviews were talking about , but it cant of been this one !, what a horrible place to stay, there is one good point the hotel is attractive and clean and the rooms are nice , thats it, these people are rude , obviously do not like the English, very very un-Greek ( been going to Greece 30 years never had such rude staff), we arrived late thinking we could pay for dinner , but was rudely told had only 30 mins and to pay at reception , 50 euros for 2 people !!! we only wanted something light they never bothered to tell us there was a bar in the hotel that sold food , we only had breakfast included , and twice the hotel ran out of water, we had no hot drink, no shower , couldn't wash our hands , teeth, one of these days was the day we were leaving, so went home smelly. the staff tried to lie and say it was due to road works ( none present ) we arent stupid the red light indicating water low has been flashing for 2 days , then we watched as the water tanker turned up refiled , and hay presto, the light went out. no shower hook or loo seats or soap on some toilets and they call it 4 star and charge 70 eur room tax for the privilege , only 4 hangers ! but what really spoilt our holiday , we were woken at 8am every morning by loud music from the pool bar, too early and too loud , but then in the evening we were treated to heavy metal until midnight , loud , not relaxing or nice music, we complained multiple times . i like music, but this was too much. no bird song or peace here .the location has nothing really to offer apart from a bus stop , a god send for us, hardly any restaurants and the two or so by the beach are expensive . the staff at meal times guard the doors , you have your short window to eat then they are very promptly shut , i would put money on the staff not being geek, as in my opinion Greek people are some of the nicest friendliest people ive come across, god knows whats happened here ? we normally go to the lower star family run Greek places ,and my advice is save yourself some room tax and stay with a nice basic family place , the rooms may be basic, but id have swapped that for this...