I have just returned from a stay at the Fresh Hotel and I am very, very disappointed.

I'll start with the good point - the location is very central: about a 10 minute walk to Little Venice, the Windmills, the Port, the Bus Station, etc.

Also, the restaurant (Kalita) in the hotel's garden is open to the public and is actually amazing and definitely worth going to, regardless of where you stay.

Bad points...

THE ROOM
Annoyingly we were given twin beds, despite the fact that it is a gay-orientated hotel and we are a female couple. I know that many of the other rooms had double beds, because the doors were left open for cleaning.

The room was tiny, quite dark and not very attractive. Thankfully, it had a small balcony which overlooked the narrow side street next to the hotel. I actually didn't mind being on the street, but others might hate being so overlooked by other apartments.

NOISE
We didn't hear much outside noise, besides people talking on the street in the morning. The rooms however, were not soundproof. We could hear people talking, laughing and playing music in their rooms at night. That doesn't bother me - but again, might bother other people.

SERVICE
The reception was closed after midnight and most of the time the hotel owner, Gloria, was away from the desk doing things in the garden restaurant.

1. There were no instructions for the safe and we accidentally locked it on the first night without putting anything inside. Although a receptionist was in the building, they couldn't fix it until the following morning; leaving our valuables outside the safe overnight.

2. We booked half board, but this wasn't mentioned at check in and when we enquired later, the receptionist had no idea what we meant. We ate at the restaurant anyway. The next day we spoke to Gloria, who told us that 'we should have told her we were half board when we checked in' (her hotel - yet we should have told her?).

We were then told that we would have to eat at a set early time, not off the restaurant menu, but eating "the food that the staff eat - less special food". We would also not be given a choice of what to eat.

Needless to say, this didn't sound appealling so we never bothered.

3. The day before we checked out, we enquired at reception about booking a taxi to the airport. The receptionist said we only needed to get to the airport an hour before our flight... After some debating, we managed to persude her that we needed to be there at least 2 hours early. She said she would try to book a taxi and that Gloria would confirm it in the morning.

Gloria knew nothing about it and then tried to arrange a transfer before telling us "it is not possible". Our flight was leaving in 3 hours. I asked her if there would be taxis at Fabrika square, to which she replied "you will see them". We got there - no taxis. Luckily one of the only 2 busses going to the airport was there.

Gloria and the night receptionist were friendly (moreso the night receptionist), but we really felt like they were of almost no use to us at all and it became really annoying!

CLEANLINESS
During the 6 nights we stayed at the hotel, we had to use the same 2 drinking glasses as they were not changed. The sheets were changed once. The toilet roll was not replenished properly. There were a few stains on the headboards and walls. Some towels had stains on and felt damp. The balcony was not cleaned during our stay. The bathroom needed renovating. The beds were made daily and the sheets were actually pretty good quality.

CONCLUSION
Even though the Fresh hotel is in quite a good location, there are so many other hotels to choose from. On the plane home, I met a guy who says he always stays at Tasaras Penelopes apartments, which cost about 50 euro per night and are right on the port. They are just as modern, if not a bit better, and half the price.

We paid over 700 euro for 6 nights 'half board'. Even the 500-ish euro standard rate is not worth it.

Stay somewhere else!

the hotel is part of a larger restaurant complex owned by the same company. all the rooms face the restaurant, which plays loud live music late into the night. closing all the windows and shutters doesn't help as they aren't soundproof. better count on ear plugs.. otherwise light sleepers can forget about a good night's sleep!

Fresh hotel is a pretty good spot to stay if you want to stay in the town part of Mykonos. When we were there, I don't think it was really a gay crowd as it seemed to be mostly couples there at the hotel. The way the place is decorated is very nice and trendy.

The owner is very nice and helpful in answering any of your tourist questions. The breakfast is decent for the price you pay. There is free wifi, but only 2 hours for free for your stay, after that you have to pay.

This hotel was magic. Booked through a last minute deal whilst in Athens our stay in Mykynos was brilliant, and most was creditable to our wonderful hostess Gloria who runs Freshotel. The place was small but well equipped with a family run feel. She personally came to meet us from the drop off point to ensure we found the place, and then gave us recommendations and directions to all the places we should explore.
Just perfect, cannot recommend it enough.