Alykanas Beach Grand Hotel by Zante Plaza

The best thing about the hotel is location. It is beachfront onto a lovely bay which gently slopes into the sea, making it perfect for families with young children and those who want to properly swim. The worst thing about the hotel is the food service. The food service area is way too small for the number of people in the hotel, The food is okay, could be hotter but that’s just because it’s buffet style. Trying to get your food involves negotiating a bunch of people all set on the same thing without much consideration or courtesy – people just barge through to get where they want to be. The staff can’t keep the trays stocked quickly enough so there are often people milling around an already crowded area waiting for trays to be refilled. On one night there was a fight over a tray of chips because so many people were waiting for them. The absolute worst was barbecue night. We waited for 25 minutes in a queue to get our food and when we got to the front most of the dishes were empty. The 25 minute wait did however give us the opportunity to watch the bugs have a field day on the accompanying salads, cheese, potatoes etc which the hotel thought was a good idea to put outside in 29 degree heat. There were a lot of small things which you would not expect from a 4 star hotel which when added together made the holiday less enjoyable: The rooms are okay. We had superior rooms but three out of four of us found the beds uncomfortable. I wouldn’t want a basic room based on the standard of our superior rooms. There are not enough sunbeds so people get up early to reserve them, even though the signs forbid it. The cleaners consistently ignore ‘do not disturb’ signs and barge into rooms regardless. Whilst we were there the staff started to dig up some grass with a rotavator right next to the sunbed area with no regard for the comfort, or more importantly safety, of the guests. They then taped off an area of the already crowded sunbed area because they had put down new grass. Surely this kind of work should be done in the low season Altogether, not what I would expect of a 4 star hotel and would not return, especially when these are all issues raised again and again in reviews and which the hotel appears to acknowledge but do nothing about.

Stayed for a week, there were four of us. Overall you can’t fault the hotel. It was clean and all the staff are very friendly making you feel welcome.

The rooms were clean and had a modern Greek feel. The bathroom is more of a wet room and when you have a shower it does flood around the toilet area. The bed was comfy and air con keeps the rooms very cold which was lovely after the hot days around the pool.

The food and dining area. There are multiple areas to each, such as under the canopy over looking the sea. In the bar area or even outside. Overall with the food I don’t think you can moan. There was a variety of foods to choose from. There are the odd few posts moaning about food choice but ultimately if you’re fussy you’d be best going self catering. Each night has a themed night. The food area can get extremely busy and people are on top of each other.

Pool area was clean and the lifeguard does a great job at entertaining the children. However, I did feel that the pool area was sometimes overcome with children, but I appreciate you expect that at a non adults only all inclusive. There steps to the sea/ beach are very close so there is that alternative. The sea is lovely and clear, calm and by midday it was quite warm. In some area it’s very shallow too.

You are a stones throw away from a local bar called ‘Dilemma’ who are extremely friendly, have bingo on and show all live sports. Or alternatively walk further up the strip and there are plenty of other bars and lovely food restaurants. Even a 15 minute walk away you could walk into Alykes, another village with nice restaurants and bars.

This is my second time visiting here. I first came in 2019, overall the hotel has not changed a lot other than the rooms are more modern and it is now all inclusive.

I would return and it was a lovely holiday.