Louis Imperial Beach Reviews

We have just returned from a fabulous 11 nights at the Louis Imperial. There were 7 in our party, 4 adults and 3 children. The hotel was very good, impeccably clean but perhaps it is now looking a little tired. The food was also good, especially since the restaurant is 'catering for the masses', they put on a good variety of foods.The beach is quite small, but again very clean and safe, it shelves very gently and doesn't have huge waves. On the beach you will find Mavratis Water Sports. My husband and his mate tried the jet ski's whilst my friend and I went parasailing. Great fun. They also do water skiing, banana boats etc. These are all at a charge, but the pedaloes and canoes are free.

The pool area is lovely and fairly spacious but the pool is very deep in places. Saying that it did spur our 9 year old to learn to swim (with some bribery) and he can now safely jump in to deep water, swim a width and safely get out the other side!

All 3 of the children loved the water slide - and I think the adults did too. There is still the usual pre-breakfast run out with the towels. This wasn't a problem whilst we were there, but I think getting a lounger by the pool may be a problem in the height of the season as the hotel was getting quite full by the time we left.
The animation team are there if you want them but are not intrusive. They are mostly German - but speak excellent English.Danny who does the Aqua Aerobics is lovely and great fun. Evening entertainment - probably best not to comment on that!

The highlight of the holiday must be the day trip on Mario's Glass bottom boat tour. Mario must be the coolest captain on earth! We are not talking a huge trundling tour boat with hundreds of people here, its a speedboat that takes a maximum of 25. You go through the caves, go swimming and snorkelling and then turtle spotting (we saw about 5) it was brilliant and well worth the money (40 euro's for adults - without lunch).

A few tips from me if you intend to go-
1) I personally would not go here if you have children in pushchairs or bad knees - there are thousands of steps!!!!
2)Definitely go All Inclusive! You will double the cost of your holiday if you don't on drinks alone.
3) Take high factor sun cream - it is incredibly hot.
4) If you drink Bloody Mary's - get Julian at the pool bar in the evening to make it - best I have tasted in a long time (and Julian is a babe)
5) If you want to by any gifts or essentials - DON'T go to the shop at the hotel. It is horrendously over priced. There is a small supermarket about 10 minutes walk away (take a bottle of water with you) It is half the price of the hotel shop and the lady is lovely.
6) Get to the airport really early on your way back. You will be queueing for at least 1 1/2 hours to check in and for most of that time you will be outside in the heat

I hope you give the Louis Imperial a try. We had one of the most relaxing holidays we have ever taken and would definitely go back. ENJOY!!!

Had a very good week all inclusive at the Louis Imperial. The resort and rooms are very clean and the pools are excellent for kids. You can keep an eye on them and there is a water slide etc. for extra fun.

The kids club was run by German speakers but their English was good, they also did the entertainment at night which was varied. Good on a couple of nights and not on others.

The food was varied and catered for everyone. Breakfasts were full english breakfasts as well as cereal and fruit. You could eat in a few different restaurants for various meals of the day. Waiters very efficient and fresh food brought out regularly. I would say the food catered for everyone.

Staff we on the whole helpful, some didn't speak much, but think that was down to language barriers and shyness rather than arrogance. Transfers are not too long and the island is beautiful if you get chance to see it.

Definintely go on the boat trip (forget the blokes name but funny fella) but do the full day rather than half it is worth it and if you want to leave hotel for a bit have a walk up the road to a little bar (forget the name) nice local beers and a funny barman.

I would recommend this resort to anyone wanting all inclusive and to chill out for a week. Good for kids and parents alike. Not a great deal of stuff to do in the immediate vicinty but a very good self contained resort.

Enjoy

We booked this holiday last minute. We paid £370 for 1 week all inclusive.

Firstly, after reading the comments on this site, I cannot believe what people really expect - too much, I think!! You get the use of all three hotels, Louis Palazzo, Royal Palace and the Imperial. The Louis Palazzo was my favourite - it really is like a palace, but all three were lovely. We had a wonderful time from start to finish, it was just too short. The staff were great, friendly and very smart. Our room overlooked the sea, and was large and modern with a lovely marble bathroom. The food, well, what can I say - OK so it is not Cordon Bleu, but we certainly did not have the same food every night, neither was it heated up. The choice was good, and there was plenty of it. Again, the waiters could not do enough for you.

Alcohol - well, there is plenty of it. Local brands, but what do you expect.

Yes, Vasillikos is a little isolated, but if like me you are normal and inquisitive, you look into what a resort is like before you go, don't you?

We went to the beach once, personally I am not a beach person - so it did not bother me that you have to pay for your lounger. (It is a minimal charge - everybody has to make a living).

The entertainment team are like any entertainment team - always around, you join in if you want to.

Yes, there is also a lot of steps down to the beach, but it's a pleasant walk down - and there is a lift if you really want to be lazy!

All in all, I can't think of anything negative to say - we thought it was great.

HAVE A GOOD TIME!!

The hotel is lovely, clean and stylish with beautiful views. All of the staff we encountered were extremely helpful and very friendly, from the maids, waiters, bar staff, management and the animation team who worked tirelessley - although they did seem to lose their way a little on the one morning we had a thunderstorm.

The hotel is fantastic for kids, with a big water slide (no charge).

I would certainly recommend the all inclusive package, we felt that this was great value for money, especially for families. Although the hotel is a little isolated, guests can use facilities at all three hotels on site, so there was plenty to do.

The food was good, the breakfasts were buffet style with english, and continental available. The evening meals were good, but a little bit ";samey";, having said that they did have a couple of theme nights to break the monotony. We didn't initially realise that we weren't supposed to eat at the other hotel restaurants so for the first week and a half we ate in the Palazzio restaurant which was a better standard than the Royal palace and the Imperial Beach. It was only when we saw someone being asked for their room key that we realised we shouldn't have been using it. (If you dressed correctly though we found they didn't challenge which hotel you were staying in).

Drinks and cocktail range was excellent. The only complaint about any of the hotels here is the location which is rather isolated. We hired a car for three days and toured the island which is wonderful (apart from Leganos which is awful.

The weather was superb and the icing on the cake was the looks on peoples faces if they asked what we paid for our holiday which was about half what everyone else paid for two weeks!

Holidayed at Louis Imperial 12th to 26th Sept 04. Completely disgusted would certainly give this a miss if I were you. Food at the hotel was recycled every day and always served luke warm. Staff stoney faced and rude. Booked through Travel Now on Teletext who made out this hotel to be something wonderful and All Inclusive it certainly is Not.

Remember to take plently of euros even although you are All Inclusive as you will have to pay 4 euros each for a sunlounger on the beach, nothing is put in your fridge, you have to pay for your water. There is a lift down to the beach which frequently breaks down resulting in having to climb out at a great height and onto an iron staircase. By the way there are 165 steps in total so not a place if you are not fit.

Courtesy bus runs from the hotel into town of zante but there is only 1 bus serving 3 hotels and you have little or no chance of getting on. Bus stops at 6.30pm. Cost of Taxi around 24 euros each way to zante if you want something that hasnt been recycled to eat. Hotel looks nice but underneath very poor. Entertainment in a stark theatre is an insult to anyone's intelligence.

My husband likened the place to Butlins in the Sun with School meals thrown in. All drinks served by rude staff in white plastic cups. If you want as much as a glass of water after midnight you have to pay. Definately give this a miss.