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.