AluaSoul Zakynthos

Location: The location is great. There are bus stops nearby and plenty of places offering car and quad hire, which made getting around really easy. Taxis to Planos and Zakynthos Town weren’t too expensive either. There is parking at the front of the hotel, although spaces are slightly limited. We also really enjoyed the access to the sea at the back of the hotel and the jetty.

Staff: The staff were honestly the highlight of the hotel. They were always friendly, happy and couldn’t do enough for you. Alexander and Tony were particularly fantastic and really stood out — they made a real difference to our stay and deserve a special mention.

Room: This was where we felt there was room for improvement. The downstairs areas, including the entrance and bar, were clean, but our room could have been cleaner. There were hairs around the room and a false eyelash on the bathroom floor, along with a few messy finishing touches. The shutters on the balcony also had a dirty mark which looked like it could easily have been cleaned or repainted.

The balcony view was lovely, although some are very overlooked. We felt that adding a simple partition on the right-hand side of the balcony would have been an easy way to give guests a little more privacy.

Tea, coffee etc. also aren’t routinely replenished. Some items can be requested through the app if you’re a My Favourite Club member, including coffee pods, but this isn’t available to standard guests.

Pool & sunbeds: One thing to be aware of is the sunbed situation. The pool doesn’t officially open until 10am, but by around 7:30am towels were already being placed on the sunbeds, so getting one was basically impossible. As a result we didn’t use the pool during our stay. We did, however, really like having access to the sea and the jetty at the back of the hotel.

Food & drinks: The food was good, although there wasn’t a huge amount of choice. There were the usual dishes available every day alongside some additional options, and there was always something we could find to eat.

The all-inclusive drinks were disappointing for us. We found most of the drinks quite weak and lacking in flavour, although the beer was nice.

Wasps were also quite a problem during our stay. This isn’t really a criticism of the hotel as they seemed to be an issue across the island, and there isn’t much the hotel can do about it, but it’s worth being aware of if you have a phobia.

Other things to note: The hotel has a very strict no-smoking/no-vaping policy in the rooms. The alarm actually went off late one night because someone was smoking in their room, which showed that the rule is taken seriously. We did find it slightly contradictory, however, that the maid was cleaning rooms while smoking.

The hotel was also much more British-heavy than we expected. We’re British ourselves, so it may sound strange to mention this, but we generally prefer somewhere with a mix of nationalities and hadn’t realised quite how British-heavy the hotel would be.

The entertainment was good, particularly the Greek music, which we really enjoyed.

We stayed as standard guests rather than upgrading to My Favourite Club. Having seen what was included, we didn’t feel that we had missed out by not upgrading, and personally wouldn’t have felt the additional benefits were worth the extra cost.

Overall: We had a good holiday and there are definitely things we enjoyed about the hotel — particularly the fantastic staff, location, sea access and Greek entertainment. However, taking everything into account, we wouldn’t return. We think it could work really well as a room-only base for exploring the island, but for an all-inclusive holiday, and considering the price we paid, we didn’t feel the overall experience reflected the cost.

We arrived for a 10 night stay and had an issue with our room on arrival but the staff were great and helpful moving us to another room which was much better. The entertainment most evenings was very good Food was a bit hit and miss, only thing really hot was the soup other than that food temperature varied , as a vegetarian it was very repetitive and little choice so boring over the time spent at the hotel Disappointing to also learn that due to their upgrade system part of the hotel pools and sun-beds is out of bounds and expensive to upgrade even for the day Some rooms at the back of the hotel just face other buildings This is not a four star hotel , the staff are lovely and work really hard to help everyone but parts of the hotel need some work as some areas are a little tired.

My partner and I upgraded to the My Favourite Club (MFC) swim‑up room prior to arrival. Check‑in at the MFC lounge was handled efficiently, and because we arrived after the dinner buffet had closed, we were provided with boxed meals. Unfortunately, no vegetarian option was available, and I was left with only two pieces of fruit, which was disappointing and not the standard expected at this level.We were transported to our room (911) by buggy. The room itself was spacious, with ample storage, a comfortable bed, modern bathroom, convenient bedside plug sockets and a straightforward safe. The mini bar was stocked on arrival only. Outside, we had a private Bali bed and bistro seating with direct access to the infinity pools. A bottle of red wine and a welcome card from the manager were appreciated touches. The sea view was lovely, and the jetty was only a short walk away. We enjoyed snorkeling and swimming most afternoons, and as we are not fans of sand, the lack of a beach suited us well.

Areas requiring improvement:

For the additional cost of the MFC upgrade, daily replenishment of the mini bar should be standard.The sliding terrace door was extremely stiff and needs replacing.The infinity pools did not appear to be cleaned during our 10‑night stay; green mould was visible on the tiles.On several afternoons, a strong sewage smell was noticeable outside our room. Parts of the hotel grounds (tiles, pathways, etc.) appear worn and in need of refurbishment, which is not consistent with a 4‑star rating.

Dining: The MFC outdoor dining area was frequently used by non‑MFC guests without any monitoring, and its location directly beside the smoking area made it far less appealing. Additionally, the number of wasps was excessive, suggesting nests within the grounds. It is unclear whether any action was taken to address this.The buffet food was acceptable, though not comparable to all‑inclusive resorts in destinations such as Mexico. My main concern was the temperature of the cooked breakfast items, which were consistently cold and appeared to have been reheated rather than freshly prepared.The à la carte restaurant offered unlimited bookings for MFC guests, but the format was unusual. Only the main course could be selected, with all starters delivered automatically, which felt wasteful. Three menus are rotated. Despite the unusual structure, the food itself was very good, particularly the salmon and swordfish.

Drinks: Only a limited selection of premium brands was included in the MFC upgrade. Several of the included drinks (local vodka and orange, the budget version of an Aperol Spritz) were undrinkable. The wine from the dispensers tasted like vinegar, and the draft beer (Zorba) was bland. Considering the cost of the upgrade, the drinks offering was below expectations.

Staff: The staff were excellent throughout — friendly, professional and attentive. A manager was frequently visible around the hotel and genuinely engaged with guests. None of the issues raised relate to the staff, who were consistently outstanding.

Overall, I would rate this hotel as a 3‑star property rather than 4‑star, and based on this experience, I am unlikely to choose an all‑inclusive option in Greece again.