Mitsis Family Village

Having stayed in Kardamena many times , we thought we would try this hotel The hotel is great . The girls on the reception desk ,bar staff, chamber maids and restaurant staff are all so friendly and welcoming. The main pool was lovely , although a bit cold . No problems getting sunbeds . Food in the restaurant was good , although , sometimes a bit cold . We made friends with a lovely waiter in the restaurant at breakfast and lunch , MARIOS, what a great person he is , chatted to us and we made good friends with him. A very polite and hardworking chap . Our room was quite a treck up the hill , but the views from the room were amazing . We definitely would stay at this hotel again .

We spend a lot of time reading TripAdvisor reviews to assess how well hotels cater for vegans before booking. As other aspects of this hotel are covered extensively elsewhere, this review focuses specifically on vegan provision and may be helpful to like-minded travellers.

The hotel knew in advance that it would be catering for a party of vegans. We contacted them before booking, after booking and again shortly before arrival. On arrival, we informed Reception that we were vegan, as instructed, and also spoke with the Executive Chef, again as instructed. We were led to believe our needs would be thoughtfully accommodated. In practice, we left feeling that vegan catering was largely an afterthought.

Main meals

There were various side dishes that happened to be vegan, but several other dishes could easily have been made suitable simply by omitting cheese. Some potatoes and green beans were cooked with bacon, further reducing the options available. There were no specifically prepared vegan main courses: the vegetarian burgers contained egg, and we did not see tofu, seitan, tempeh or plant-based meat or cheese alternatives.

There were also no nuts or seeds offered as part of the food selection, and no leafy green vegetables. This significantly limited the nutritional variety of our meals. In practice, we ate mainly bread, salad, chips and pasta with plain tomato sauce.

Labelling and food safety

Allergen and dietary labelling was incomplete and inconsistent. Cooked potatoes were always in the same location and displayed the same sign, “potatoes (vegan)”, despite being prepared in different ways. On some occasions they appeared to have a creamy sauce, and twice they appeared to have grated cheese on top. As the label did not change with the preparation, it was impossible to know whether the potatoes were actually suitable for vegans.

Where labelling was present, it was inconsistent. Some dishes were marked as containing dairy, while others were labelled only “vegetarian” without stating whether they contained milk or eggs. The chef confirmed that one soup labelled vegetarian was in fact suitable for vegans, so it was unclear why it had not been labelled accordingly. There was also jelly labelled as “vegetarian”; conventional gelatine is not suitable for vegetarians, let alone vegans.

Breakfast and hot food

A large vat of porridge made with dairy milk was available every morning. As oats and plant milk were both available, overnight oats would have been a simple vegan breakfast option using ingredients the hotel already had, but this was not offered.

The hot plates did not keep food sufficiently hot, and the hot side dishes were consistently only tepid.

Plant milk and margarine were available at breakfast, which we appreciated. However, oat milk frequently ran out and was not replenished. Plant milk was not provided at other mealtimes, so hot drinks outside breakfast were limited to black coffee or herbal tea.

Coffee bar and service

Obtaining plant milk at the coffee bar was a repeated problem throughout our stay. We had to involve Reception on four separate occasions, and the receptionist had to escalate the matter to the chef before plant milk was provided. On one occasion, I was given a glass by the barista and had to walk back to the breakfast area myself to collect oat milk for them to use.

Pizza was sometimes available at lunchtime, but never offered without cheese. We had to overcome a language barrier to request a cheese-free pizza and then wait for one to be made from scratch.

Puddings and snacks

During our stay, we ate in the buffet restaurant 35 times. On only five of those occasions was a dessert provided that was explicitly labelled vegan. In the second week, very few puddings were labelled at all. Otherwise, the choice was fruit or, rather bizarrely, jam, which the chef suggested as an alternative.

The ice-cream parlour initially offered mango, strawberry and lemon sorbets, but the choice quickly reduced to mango only. None of the cakes in the “pastry corner” had allergen labels.

Reception told us that vegan pancakes (crêpes) would be available at the pastry corner, but the serving staff said they were not. This was particularly disappointing, as vegan pancakes are straightforward to make and are offered by many hotels.

Packed lunches

The hotel provided a vegan packed lunch consisting of a wrap with olive paste and salad, a banana, a pear, bottled water and a carton of juice. We appreciated having a packed lunch provided, but it lacked a meaningful source of protein. Hummus, beans or another plant-based protein would have made it much more nutritionally balanced.

On the final day, we requested vegan packed lunches again and left a note asking for no olives or olive paste. We were instead given vegetarian lunches containing cheese and olive paste wraps!

Room facilities

The mini bar contained one small bottle of beer, one can of Coke Zero, three cans of full-sugar soft drinks and a bottle of water. It was replenished every other day. There was also a kettle, tea bags, sachets of instant coffee and pots of UHT dairy milk. Before arrival, we requested plant milk for the in-room drinks facilities, but this was refused.

The toiletries consisted of a bar of hand soap, shampoo and body wash, but no conditioner. These were from a local Greek brand with no readily apparent cruelty-free accreditation. A search of the ingredients suggested they were likely to be suitable from that perspective, however.

Animal welfare

The only animals we saw were a few juvenile cats on site, all of whom appeared to be in good condition. We did not see any mature cats. There were no excursions sold that relied on animals for entertainment, which was positive.

Overall

The recurring theme of our stay was missed opportunities. It is difficult to know whether the issues arose from a lack of knowledge about vegan diets, insufficient care in planning and delivery, or a combination of both. What was clear was that the responsibility repeatedly fell on us to identify problems, ask questions and find alternatives, despite having informed the hotel of our requirements well in advance.

The issue was not the quantity of food available, but its nutritional variety and the limited sources of plant-based protein and other nutrients. Small, thoughtful changes - clear and accurate labelling, consistently available plant milk, protein-rich vegan options, and menus planned with vegan guests in mind - would have made a very different difference.

For vegan travellers considering this hotel: some suitable food was available, but variety and plant-based protein were limited throughout our stay. More importantly, the repeated missed opportunities suggested that vegan catering was not being planned and delivered with the same consideration as the rest of the food offering.