Kefalos Beach Tourist Village

Beautiful looking hotel as we pulled up I was pleased with my choice. I booked here because it had everything - beach, pool, not high rise and small apartments and all inclusive option. We arrived at night and were driven to our apartment. Beautifully clean and nice touch leaving sandwiches and water in fridge for arrival. They even placed apple juice in the fridge as requested. We were on the upper floor which I was pleased with. There are warnings about leaving things on balconies etc due to theft. That’s my first negative point - the resort is not a secure closed site. The harbour path runs straight through the front so be warned when letting teens wander off that members of the public are free to roam through too. We woke up on our first morning to see every single subbed reserved with towels by 8am. We did not get a sunbed around the pool for the whole duration of our stay which is frustrating. When I complained I was told well that’s what everyone does when they go for breakfast. This is not true, people set alarms and head out by 5am to reserve and when we were in the pool by 9am not a single person was on them. The hotel do not enforce their policy which states you must not reserve sunbeds and towels will be removed. Please note that this is not a beach hotel! There is shingle and you can access the water with beach shoes only. I asked my tour operator to find me a hotel with a beach onsite too so this was disapointing.

Second negative: the hotel is rammed with guests and the pool gets very crowded. We were unable to actually swim most days due to the incredible amount of Inflatable crocodiles, rubber rings, ducks you name it. People in groups will continuously throw balls over your head also regardless of young children in arm bands trying to play. The lifeguard is present but doesn’t do anything. It really is a free-for-all. We were kicked many times and this is why we opted to leave the hotel frequently.

We were only there one week and saw three weddings at the resort. With this brings huge groups of people and even busier pool, bar, sunbeds, restaurant. They also drive around the bride and groom on the golf buggy beeping insanely in the late afternoon. It just felt like the management were greedy and wanted as many guests in the resort as possible. If the resort did not host weddings in peak seasons then I am certain it would feel less chaotic. Positive: the staff do not stop working. They continuously wait on you and tidy. The resort is very clean and well looked after. The food was a good selection for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We always found something lovely to eat. We also really appreciated the snack times for the kids 10-12 and 4-6 where chips and nuggets etc were provided. This does need some watching though as certain guests are greedy and take an awful lot. We were told off for eating on the grass (by the only available sunbed!) and had to go back to eat at the pool side bar tables. I do not mind this at all but then we continuously saw others eating platefuls of food around the pool and this policy was not enforced.

Drinks: drinks were great. Iced latte was my favourite and the all inclusive cocktails were great too, lots of options. Be aware that anything on the menu with stars are chargeable though. You can feel like second class guests though, for example, a couple we know ordered milkshakes. When served, the waiter realised they were not wearing all inclusive wristbands and they were paying. He then took the milkshakes back and said he would make them a better one as those milkshakes are only given to all inclusive guests! After paying nearly £5000 to be all inclusive, this shocked me.

We ate out every other evening as there are beautiful places in the harbour and in the old town. We did not like how busy the restaurant at the resort got and people were consistently rude pushing in to get food and ignoring my little boy who was waiting patiently. I like to relax on holiday and it always felt a bit of a battle with the guests who wanted to be there first and eat the most!

Lots of guests also hire these scooter things that are driven way too fast up and down the harbour walk and even into the resort. One of our neighbours hired two and insisted on beeping every time he parked it up next to our room. I was concerned for our safety on the harbour walk many times because of the inconsiderate people driving these way too fast.

We enjoyed our holiday mainly because of top tips from other guests such as ordering taxis for 10euros at the lobby and visiting other beautiful places (boat trip to blue lagoon is a must).

This hotel would be beautiful with less guests; no weddings in peak season; a sunbed ticket system; another pool and staff who enforce policies to ensure it is fair for all.

We'd like to leave a positive review about the hotel and especially about Gela, the bartender

Location is excellent it’s only a short trip from the airport, so transfers don’t feel like a drag after a flight.

Atmosphere Lovely, chilled vibe throughout. Staff are friendly, always around, and genuinely focused on making your stay as comfortable as possible. If you prefer a holiday that isn’t loud or hectic, this place definitely fits the bill.

Food This is where I felt the let down. The soup was lovely, but every day the main option was a roast dinner with pork as the primary meat. If you’re a big pork fan, this might actually be a selling point. For me, the variety and overall taste was not 4 star. Desserts where a few cakes and some fruit. I feel if you just need basic substances then this would work, but for food you get excited for it didn’t have that factor. That said, the staff managing drink orders were fantastic 10/10 for them.

Room Room was a good size with strong air conditioning. We had a sea view room and the view was beautiful. Plenty of cupboard space if you’re not going all inclusive, plus a good sized sink, oven, and electric hob. Bathroom was fine with a large mirror.

Cleanliness No complaints at all. Housekeeping came daily to refresh shower gel/shampoo, mop, and empty bins when needed. Solid 10/10.

Beach The resort sits right by the beach, but the sea is rocky. Great for relaxing on a hammock, but if you’re expecting a picture perfect sandy beach with clear water, you won’t get that here. Additionally you need to swim out a bit till u get to sea without plastic bits in.

Value For an all inclusive stay, I wouldn’t say it offered great value for money overall.