Hotel Bougainvillea Reviews

Barry Hotel !! Cant beat it. Suits our family to the ground. Have been three years in a row and have just booked again for next October.

This place was a dream. Went for three weeks and wished it was far longer.

The Bouganvillea was a delightful family run hotel... clean, well appointed and beautifully kept... although we booked accomodation only and had a one bedroomed appartment. It is run by Yannis and his English wife Linda who are truly wonderful hosts. Simply nothing was too much trouble for them and they did everything they could to make our stay as memorable as possible.

It is an ideal hotel for families, with an abundance of other children for their kids to meet and make friends with. Furthermore the hotel is well laid out and safe for the children to play around with a fantastic pool and a small children's play area. And if the children are happy then life is so much easier for the parents too!

If you are not allergic to children then there is no reason for couples to be put off either as the friendly and intimate nature of the Hotel makes it equally relaxing and accomodating. We met many couples who thoroughly enjoyed their time there.

Food at teh Bouganvillea is exceptional and we ate there most evenings by choice. It is reasonably priced and always of the highest quality. It also helps not having to stagger far to get home afterwards!

Zakynthos is small and relatively unspoilt... with the exception of Laganas where all the noisier nighlife is confined. Laganas is worth a visit, good for souvenir/present buying and a great place if you want to party. It is only 20 mins walk along the beach from the Bouganvillea or an 8 euro taxi ride home. Do not visit before 9 in the morning as they may well still be hosing the vomit off of the pavements!

The rest of the island can be seen on a variety of organised trips, or as we did by hiring a car for a few days and trying to follow a map! The car cost 80 euros for three days and was great value. The water park is a great day out for the kids and hiring a motor boat for half a day is fantastic fun.

The beach at Aghios Sostis is only 5 mins walk from the Bouganvillea and is deceptively accomodating. Only one sunbed deep in places it has the cleanest most gently shelving waters I have seen... ideal for even young children and great for snorkelling or games. The resort is quiet and comprises a few hotels, shops and tavernas.

I can not understand some of the negative comments about the Bouganvillea as they do not fit in any way with the experience that my family enjoyed. This was quite simply the best holiday we have had as a family anywhere in the world. I think the sheer number of guests we met who were enjoying second, third and in one case their seventh visit to the Bouganvillea speaks volumes about what a joy this place is.

We have already booked for next Whitsun without a moments hesitation...

we had a lovely holiday this year in peaceful aghios sostis at the bougainvillea. Our apartment was fantastic, we had 3 balconys and very spacious living area.

we had a maid every day who changed bins and towels, she was excellent and very friendly although she could speak no english. we were made to feel very welcome and do not understand the comments made by other people. yiannis and lynda certainly worked hard and service was always good and they were very friendly. all the staff were great especially mad athina.

the greek night on tuesday is really good and one of the best we have been to. we have been to zante several times and this was the best place we have stayed. lots of people had returned there again. aghios sostis is lovely and you can dine on the beach with the sea 15 feet away, with a good selection of tavernas to choose from. if you want a bit more night life and souvenir shops then laganas is a 20 mins walk along the beach. car hire is a must to see the northern part of the island and a trip to see the ship wreck should be included, but not on on one of those all day trips, take a shorter one or go to porto vromi and get a small boat from there.
all the taverna prices are excellent and you could not get a meal and wine anywhere descent in england for the prices you can here.

i would recommend anyone to go to agios sostis and the bougainvillea.

DO NOT GO HERE.
Our experience on the first day at Bourgainvillea was so appalling that we had to move the next morning. We were greeted my the owner and we were the only ones checking in at that time. We asked when our rooms would be ready (this was about 1pm) and we were told 10 minutes. Then another 10 minutes. We were told they were ready and followed the owner up to the rooms. He looked in and said they weren't ready and would be another hour to hour and a half. No problem, we said, but would it be possible to get these two done first as there was no else waiting? The owner just lost it - shouting, swearing, interrogating us and saying that he wouldn't be spoken to like that in his apartments and if we didn't like it, we could leave. I'd like to point out that not once did my father raise his voice; he merely said 'please do not speak to me in that manner'.

My mum went to the loo and the owner stopped her and gave her verbal abuse in front of many English holiday-makers and reduced her to tears. He then came back to my father and I, completely unprevoked, and told us to get out as he was not having people like us staying in his apartments. We got out but had to leave our cases there as we had nowhere to go. We eventually got in touch with the rep who told us someone had been down there and sorted out what she called 'a gross misunderstanding'.

We went back to the apartments, confident that this could all be forgotten and we could start to enjoy our holiday. As soon as we walked back in, the owner started on us again and shouted that we weren't to talk to any of his customers about what had gone on today. The rep witnessed this and we told her we were not staying there as we were very shaken and scared. We stayed the night there as they could not find us anywhere immediately and left the following morning.

Just to get it into perspective, please don't think that we are people out to cause trouble! The incident was completely unprovoked and it seems was not in isolation. Whilst we were waiting for our keys, a British lady came in hysterical saying that the owner threatened to call the police if she didn't give him all of her money because her daughter had wet the bed. So she left for the airport penniless and distraught. A Danish man was upset because the owner had shouted at his children because they were playing in the pool, as children do. And the rep herself admitted that even she's had problems: he threw her out one day completely unprovoked, although now they just leave each other alone and get on with their jobs.

PLEASE DO NOT MAKE OUR MISTAKE! We ended up being moved to the Nikos apartments in Alikes and had a fabulous time!

we paid half board for this holiday an extra £336 pounds. when we arrived we were told no buffets. we found out instead we had an allowance of 10 euros a day each for food!. after we clarified it with the rep. owner only happy with those over spending tried to embaress me into spending more. also get a receipt each night important, dont wait until the end of holiday and get a bill for £300. other staff excellent.toilet bins changed only twice a week same as towels.

trip around island is excellent but take food and drink prices on boat are expensive. wish we had been able to get into laganas at night more, as night life looked good. prices same as in uk. airport small dont expect to sit, take food and water. zante more for retired people. would recommend self catering as not tied to hotel.laganas good for partying.

DONT GO HALF BOARD the owner is only happy if you are paying for your meals every day and if you do not eat in his resturant he just totally ignores you . you have to choose from a menu and by two week you are sick of the same food.

overall i must say it is the wosrt holiday i have had . It has put me off going to any more greek islands .And take your own tiolet paper you never get any and empty your own tiolet bin.Go down to the front and eat in there cafes they are very freindly.

we had such a good time that we've already booked to go again next year. I've been holidaying in Greece for over 23 years and I can honestly say that this was the cleanest, most well equipped and friendliest place I have ever been to! Yannis and Lynda seemed to want only the best for their guests, they both worked very hard, along with Athena and Shelley, especially on Greek night (every other Tuesday) where Yianni even had the energy to dance at the end. I don't accept that they're only friendly if you eat there, as apart from the first night and snacks during the day we ate in other beach-side tavernas the whole of the first week and we found no change in attitude at all. Having eaten at other places I can also say that the choice and standard of food at Bougainvillea was definitely the best in the resort, and they had a children's menu which my daughter enjoyed very much.
The pool was always beautifully clean along with the rest of the apartments and we can't wait to go back. So if you are thinking of going here please don't be put off by some of the negative comments!

When we arrived at our accomodation, we had mixed feelings. Whilst it was very well set out for children, (childrens pool and play area) no allowance seemed to have been made for people like ourselves who didnt have children. We were put in a studio right below family rooms (which housed very noisy dutch families) We didnt let this put us off as we quite often find not everybody has the same consideration for everyone as we do.

We arrived on the Thursday, and were quite disgusted that our room wasn't cleaned again until Sunday, bearing in mind that you are not suppose to put loo paper down the loo but in a bin (great greek tradition !!), in fact the rooms only got cleaned twice a week, and this included a change of sheets and towels.(yuk yuk 95 degrees all that sweat and suncream etc.) We visit Greece most years, and so are use to basic facilities, but the catering facilites here were more basis than basic !! obviously to encourage you to eat at the Bougainvilleas restaurant.

We found the staff friendly at first, but found that as we didnt constantly use their bar/restaurant their attitudes changed.

It is an ideal location for young families, but a word of warning, make sure you pay for your drinks at the end of each evening and get yourself a receipt, because we actually ended up paying 15 Euros for something that we had already paid !!!

Aghios Sostis is a lovely Greek village, and the local tavernas in the village hold Greek nights, which are very entertaining. It is by no means busy, but should you want things livelier you can go to Laganas which is only 20 mins walk away, or a 5 min ride by taxi (8 Euros) We spent most of our days at the local beach (our pool area was to busy with dutch children shouting and playing on lilos etc.) but we also visited Kalamaki, Alikes, and St Nicholas Bay (Vasillikos) For full English Breakfast Siroccos is worth a visit.

There are plenty of eating places, including Syrtaki, Sirocco, Blue Horizon, Manthos, but are favourite was Maestro Restaurant, they do lots of Greek traditional food including Kokkinisto, Stifado, Moussaka etc. and should you have any room left we suggest their Banoffee Pie ! At the end of a hard day, Paradise bar is worth a visit (especially if you have children, as there is free use of a pool table and Table football) and to totally unwind cocktails at the OK Corrall is a must.

Hotel's facilities were good and clean. Found the staff to be friendly at first as long as you were spending money in their restaurant / bar. The welcome soon waned if you were not.

Resort is excellent for kids and not too far into Laganas during dayime for more to do / shopping etc. Wouldn't go there at night, but then I've got a family.

Favourite restaurant is without doubt Maestro - friendly, cheap and good.

Just had two wonderful weeks in Aghios Sostis. We were a little worried beforehand that it might be too quiet and remote (even for us) but there was more too it than expected. It's very Greek, relaxing, laid back and you can really chill. Plenty of tavernas, some right on the beach, you can watch the sun go down with an oozo, heaven!
The Bourgainvillea Hotel was great, very good food, staff were very friendly and it was only a short walk from the beach which was very clean and not too busy. The water is perfect for kids, shallow and clear. The only criticism would be there were'nt enough water sports (because of turtles nearby) and cooking facilities were a bit basic if you wanted to self cater. If you fancy a bit more nightlife Laganas is just around the corner but it's very lively, so be warned. Don't miss the Island cruise and the turtle spotting.