Kastelli Resort And Spa Reviews

We spent the first two weeks of June on our Honeymoon at Kastelli Resort, Kamari. We had an absolutely fabulous time and if you're checking this review to see if the Kastelli's worth a visit, we'd definitely say yes (No, we're not on the pay roll!).

The hotel - Breakfast is really good. American style and everything was freshly cooked. Not so good if you're counting points or whatever. My swimming shorts were getting tight by the end of the fortnight! The restaurant area's quite classy and the relaxing. The service and resetting of tables could be a bit slow, especially at busy times, but those people that were unhappy should remember they're in Greece. If you've been anywhere in Greece before, you know what we mean. Greek time is not the same as British time!! Plus, when you're on holidays, what's the rush?!

Staff are welcoming and friendly, and most speak good English. The spa's really nice, as is the pool. Our room was perfectly comfortable, as we spent little time in it. Rooms were cleaned every day and clean towels and shampoos etc were given each day.

Negatives. Well, not too many. There was a bit of a smell from the drain in the bathroom. Again, this is Greece though, so even 4 star hotels are going to have things like that. Ironically, we covered it with a brochure advertising the hotel as one of the ";Small Luxury Hotels of the World";!! Also, the minibar was really expensive, as was the pool bar ( A beer at the pool bar was 5 euro - about £3.50). Again, easy solution. Don't use them! Take your own drinks into the hotel and put it in the fridge. Especially water. Easy!

The Resort - Kamari's a pretty typical Greek resort in many respects. Set along a main beach road, and several back roads, it does have an unusually laid back atmosphere. We were in mid-season, but everywhere was nicely busy, without being packed. The beach is pebbles and some sand, so sea-shoes are a good idea. All the shops sell ";Mock Crocs";, as me and the missus called them, for about a fiver. Same as the ones in English shops going for about 30 quid, so why waste room in your case? Kamari also had a cosmopolitan mix of visitors, with Irish, British, American, Japanese, Italian, Dutch and Germans amongst the people we met. For us, this was good news as it meant the ";Red Lion"; and ";Best English Breakfast on the Island"; type places had not taken root. For us at least, that was a plus.

As with any resort, everything is set up to part tourists from their euros. However, that's the same everywhwere isn't it? The key is what you get for your money. We found that the bars serve good beers and local white wines, however the red wine is a bit 'Sarsons -esque' and best avoided. A large beer's about £2 and a large wine's the same. Cocktails are strong and tasty and come in at between 4 and 8 euros. As there are a lot of places to stop for a drink, there's a fair bit of competition, so the bar owner's are always doing offers. Restaurant's were a mixed bag. We really liked Atmosphere, Syrtakis, Alexandras and the fish at Mistral (the restaurant owner's a Fisherman). Most of all, we enjoyed Nyotepi (I think that was it!). It was on the beach road, around half way down. Painted in a slightly dodgy green colour, it's a lovely place with friendly, efficient staff. The meze is absolutely brilliant, and 4 or 5 dishes, plus a bottle of wine is around 45 euros. It's a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours and is very romantic.

Places to avoid - Several tavernas around Alexandras claim to offer traditional food with a family atmosphere. We didn't get a good meal in the two that we tried (my traditional village sausage was a hotdog... Not sure that's entirely authentic. We visited several historic sites and did read anything about Stone Age tin openers anywhere). However, everyone likes different things, so that's only our opinion.

The island - We hired a Smart Car (about 60 quid for 3 days) and found it the best way to get around the island. 3 days was plenty of time, and we did the whole island without running around like idiots. Oia (pronounced 'Ear') is about 25 minutes away, Fira's a little under 15 minutes and Red Beach / Akrotiri about 20 minutes. The roads are quiet and perfect if you've not driven abroad before. Several roads are along mountain sides with rather sheer drops on one side. With that in mind, I personally would not have been happy on a quad or a moped. You can drive to Perissa and Perivolos as well, but the water taxi (from Hook Bar on the front) is the best way to get to those places. 4 euros each one way.

In summary - Sadly, the airport's a nightmare! Think of a disorganised cow shed full of tired tourists in a bad mood as they're going home! However, it's only 2 hours out of your life, so what's the worry?

We were delighted with the whole holiday and couldn't really have expected more from our Honeymoon. Our expectation was that we'd be well looked after in the hotel, bars and restaurants, and that the scenery would be breathtaking. We also thought that it wouldn't be a cheap place. That was what we got. Since the euro, Greece is no longer 'cheap as chips'. However, we did find Kamari to be acceptable value for money. Fira and Oia are full of tourists that have quite literally come in on the last boat - Cruise liners moor up on a daily basis in the caldera. The Greeks in both Fira and Oia insist on ripping people off, charging £5 for a coffee, £6 for a beer and up to £25 for a main course in a decent restaurant. They cite the undeniably dramatic view and the sunsets as their reason for hiking prices. We didn't pay it, and preferred to watch the sunset in a quiet corner of a church courtyard or sat on a wall together. For us, that's an infinitely more enjoyable way of seeing THE most beautiful sunsets. Far preferable to being shoe horned onto a terrace, elbow by jowl, with loads of other people, paying top dollar for rather second rate food. However, plenty of our Japanese and American friends happily pay it, so can you blame the local businesses?

We thought Kamari and Perissa were the best places to stay, using them as a base to visit other parts of the island, and to relax in on the days that you don't want to get cultural and just want to crash out. We loved it. If you've booked it, we hope you do too.

we went to the kastelli in september 2006, hotel was lovely, room was very clean, maid service every day sheets changed and towels. staff were very helpful cant fault them. breakfast was buffet style served from 8am to 10pm, choice was excellent from bacon eggs to cereals fresh fruit and pastries. hotel itself was very good pool was lovely very clean never very busy either. restaurant food was nice but menu didnt change and was expensive, as were the drinks.

two minute walk away was the centre of kamari with its bars and shops one of our favoutites was to kati allo owned and run by manos and his family we made good friends there. the beach front was also a two minute walk away and there is plenty of restaurants to eat in. princes was lovely and the hook bar at the far end near the rock was also very good. went on the volcano trip which takes your breath away its a hard walk but well worth it and i even walked it in flip flops but trainers would be better. oia was breathtakingly beautiful exactly as it looks in brochures well worth a visit.

we thoughly loved every minute of our holiday and have already booked to go back in 2007 to kamari .

The hotel was lovely, on arrival we were upgraded to a suite (no idea why!) but it was really lovely.

Hotel 5 minute walk from the beach. The beach was a bit of a pain (literally!) very stony and rocky especially when trying to get into the sea. You definitely need your sea shoses (free at one end of the beach - they had spelt shoes wrong)!

Only ate breakfast in the hotel as evening menu looked a bit odd and didn't change at all. Breakfast was also a bit strange, it says American buffet breakfast but it was more of a continental style. I didn't eat anything other than toast or pastries as it didn't look particularly appertising. Service was also very slow at breakfast, I know no-one rushes but this was a bit too slow.

Wouldn't go again to Santorini, one trip is ample and 1 week was just right, 2 would have been very boring. Ideal for a quiet holiday if you want some lovely weather and nice restaurants to eat in. Try Navy's (far left of beach if you stand with back to sea).

Hotel was Fantstic and has obviuosly had a lot of thought regarding design and decor. Fantastic rooms, location prefect and Kamari promenade is approx 5 mins walk away with plenty of shops and tevernas. Highly recommend a walk along here at night.The hotel staff are very attentative and will wait on you hand and foot.
There is a bus stop right outside the rear entrance of the hotel that runs every 15 mins and takes you to the capital, Fira(15 mins away), for one Euro.

Only negative point was that the restaurant was not buffet and consisted of a set menu with no choice which got repetative as the week went on. Also the restaurant service was poor at times but could be down to the restaurant management and i would have thought by the time you read this the problem wil have been solved.

Overall i would Highly recommend this hotel and resort.