Filion Suites Resort and Spa

Amazing location the staff was great and the location was pretty nice

I would not recommend this hotel, here's why.

The transfer nightmare: Our experience was a nightmare to begin with. We booked the transfer through onthebeach, the transfer company is TNT. We had a late flight, hotel was 1.5hrs away by car and the transfer took 3hrs to drop us off at a hotel called Bali Mare because they said the coach couldn't get to the hotel. Bali Mare was 5 min drive from Filion. The coach dropped us off there at about 2am abruptly and told us to call the hotel to get us or walk for 30 mins (with all our stuff at 2am in the morning!). We called the hotel multiple times - no answer. We called onthebeach who tried to get us taxi numbers, which were not working. At this point we tried to walk as we were stranded in the middle of the night. Walking in the road/dirt as there was no pavements.

We got abut 15 mins in and had to stop as it got to the point where there was no lighting and all you could hear was dogs barking and shuffling in the shrubbery next to us. We stood by someone's home who had a light on trying to find a solution and kept calling the hotel. Finally our call was picked up and a man said of course he'll get us and we had to walk back to the pick up point at Bali Mare. The man picked us up, no apologies, took us to our room.

The room: The room was a big let down, you see 5 stars on the hotel, you do get an expectation. The room was simply dirty and outdated. Rooms should come with "Cosy bathrobes and slippers" according to their onthebeach listing, yet there was no bathrobes and a single dusty slipper under the bed. Shows you how clean it is. Since we stayed there we let the cleaners in maybe 4 times and the slipper has remained there all week, ready for the next guest! The curtains were stained with what seems like blood. However nothing tops our least favourite feature, the bloody bogey on the wall above our headboard which also remained our entire stay. Needless to say this was not what you expect from a 5 star room which left us a bit shocked, especially after the transfer incident. Aircon was weak, TV was slow and had mostly German channels. Shower was fine, but not clean as someone's hair was left behind in the drain.

The hotel: It's fine, if I had to give the facilities a rating it would be a 3. Lots of weeds which could have been treated, random chairs left behind in hotel shrubbery. We've stayed in 4 star cheaper hotels which were miles ahead of this one where staff cared and maintained the gardens, paths and general facilities much better. The cleanliness again was a flop, empty drink cups on the sunbeds seemed to be collected very rarely, which meant you have to rely on the guests to clean up after themselves.

The pool(s): We used two of them, the top and middle one. Not massive pools, not very deep. The ladder on the top pool was falling off. Sunbeds were good, temperature of the pool was good.

The bar: Great staff members, they put on the football and played good music. The drinks for me were okay, for my partner it was too acidic (same as many other have said).

The restaurant: Food was ok typical all inclusive free-for-all, met my expectations. No issues really.

Shuttle service: Free pick up ends at 5.30 - so yeah, no evenings out unless you want to have a go at taxis (which we did not want to risk or pay for after our initial transfer incident).

• Transfer home was again a disappointment. Pick up by TNT Transfer to the airport was from Bali Mare which we had to wait at for an hour in the heat after the hotel shuttle dropped us off there. Not sure why a suitable timely pick up by a coach from the filion hotel could not be arranged as we saw a massive coach turn up for others.

The beach: It was great with the included sunbeds. No issues, best part.

We picked this hotel because of the 5 star expectation, don't be blinded by this like we were. See the photos.

I must start by saying, i've stayed in many cheap resorts in my time and not one to need all the "luxuries" and often laugh at the things people nit-pick about in reviews. But this truly does need a mention as I wish i could have read the same before booking.

This is marketed as a 5 star relaxing resort and spa. it is a 3 star at best and only just passable.

If thats your expectation then fine, you will be able to find something to eat, dip in the pool and a room to sleep in, but set your expectations low.

Our own experience and that of many guests is they will always check you into the lowest standard room possible, regardless of what you booked. We treated ourselves to the upgraded room and had to argue for the room we booked. this happened to everyone else we spoke to. On arrival we disputed this, Kostas on receptions attitude was simply that it wasnt his problem and come back in the morning, and proceeded to get very quickly frustrated with us. If you do book the standard room be warned, it has the thinnest springiest mattress you've ever felt in your life, air con that barely works, mould on the walls and the shower head wouldnt stay on the wall. Restaurant was closed but they prepared some "snacks for us".. 2 pieces of stale bread, 3 slices of cold ham and cheese. Honestly.. not to be dramatic but prisoners eat better.

Day 2, we received the room we booked. but they made us surrendur our current room immediately.. I guess so they could push it on the next unfortunate guest. and the new room was ready from 6pm... so we didnt have a room for the first day. The pools are pretty small, the best one is in the newer part of the hotel... there is no toilet at this pool at all, the nearest is up a very steep hill to the main hotel.. which made not having a room much harder. there is also construction work going on Mon-Fri at this pool which is loud and unmentioned.

During our weeks stay, our room was cleaned twice, one time they simply made the bed, (no fresh sheets). Also means no fresh towels most of the week.

Want a pool towel like you would at any 4/5 star resort? well, you have to go request this specially, and then pay a 5 Euro deposit each... (5 star service?) the best part was its cash only, even though they were happy to take the 105 euro tourism tax by card. We were told the card reader is for "special things". there is no cash point at the hotel.... Which leads on to my next point.. the local town. the hotel advertises a shuttle service to the local town/beach In reality, they take you to a entirely random destination, where there is a tiny crowded scrap of sand, and a resturant that is obviously owned or affiliated by them. there is nothing else there. if you want to go to the main beach and local town with shops etc you have to get a taxi, which is 15 euro each way for a 5 minute journey. Shuttle service also finishes at 5.30pm and the hotel is up a mountain in the middle of nowhere, so forget evenings out. but what about the in hotel evening entertainment you might say? well... just dont bother.

I've stayed in many cheap resorts, and fully expect unbranded alcohol, even soft drinks, but quite frankly the soft drinks here were undrinkable. every mean you attend, you have to forage your own cutler and cups from neighbouring tables, its a whole 5 minute game you must play before you can eat to collect your utensiles from various places around the resturant. not one time in 7 days did we receive a set table, keep thinking " 5 star?"

Main restaurant food is ok, you can find a plate of food. there is no "themed" evenings, or fresh food stations as youd expect with a 5 star resort. but there is various batch cooked options. we did notice they definately recycle this day to day.

pool snacks on the other hand are abysmal. one day there was gyros meat.. great, but no bread, chips are cold and left there all day. the rest is weird ham sandwiches left in a heated container

Above all of this, one thing I must say that stood out was the consistent and disgusting attitude of the management staff at reception. I had not met one guest during my stay that didnt have a aweful experience with the manager at reception, who argues, shouts and is outright rude about any inconvenience you raise When we suggested the late check out fee should be void as we didnt have a room for a whole day, he got so angry spit was flying off his face and onto my partner.

All in all, the pools are okay, the resturant food is okay, cocktails and beer are alright, and upgraded rooms are nice once you eventually get one. If you are happy with that for a quiet getaway without exploring the local area, it will do the job. but dont expect a luxury resort