We had booked this hotel after reading Matt Barrett’s stellar recommendation of this place. We were planning a family reunion - 2 families coming from different parts of the US, 1 coming from Morocco. This was to celebrate my MIL’s 75th birthday.
After arriving in the afternoon, we knew late that night that we had to pull the eject, before the 3rd family arrived, even though we were booked for 4 nights. Thankfully we had just come from Molyvos, where we had a wonderful experience, so we just headed back. I would like to mention that in our group were 2 young children and a stroke-impaired 79 year old, so deciding to hop in the car with no reservations of where to stay in another town was pretty gutsy, and most telling of just how unacceptable the current accommodations were.
Our room, while tacky with pink and blue walls, was ok, my in-laws room was unacceptable. There was not even a window. Depressing, prison-like, down-and-out are a few descriptors I would use for it.
Lesvos does not have the number of tourists that the other islands we visited on this trip had (Milos, Paros, Sifnos). It is clear that this hotel (and Vatera in general) has fallen on hard times. Many items of the menu were unavailable - this was not a ‘we’ve just run out’ situation: all of the servers were well versed in what they had and didn’t have, and there were too many items that they didn’t have. We found the food to be mediocre and exceptionally expensive... a kid's burger was 8 euro. And eating there is really your only option as there aren't restaurants around that are easily accessible without a car.
There was a huge tv and video games set up in the lobby; we had seen kids playing with it earlier in the day. When we asked if we could use it, we were told by a child staffer that it ‘was his cousin’s, and not for guests’, which is a rather odd thing to have set up in a hotel lobby.
We realized then that the hotel seemed to be overrun with family and friends of the hotel owners - they were sitting and eating together; there didn’t seem to be other guests. When we asked the management if it was normal to have the restaurant be completely empty (it was Friday night), they said it was on account of a festival happening down the road. After eating dinner in the empty restaurant (just us, no one else) we walked to check out the festival. It was a local thing that never would have attracted vacationers (in my opinion), so to say that that was the reason the hotel was empty just didn’t make sense. We were then told ‘don’t worry, tomorrow the hotel will be very crowded’. I found this comment to be rather odd, so, later that night we did a little research and learned that on the weekends, the hotel opens its pool up to the public for €3 per person. As it is the only hotel with a pool, and maybe one of the few pools in Vatera... well, you can imagine. It became clear that the money-maker for the hotel was the pool and the very well stocked bar that serviced the pool - locals come for the day and spend money at the bar. One other thing - they offer ‘spa’ amenities: sauna, hot tub, etc. But these are all pay by the hour, which made more sense when we realized their ‘open to the public’ scheme on weekends.
The next morning we informed the hotel that we were leaving. We mentioned that the room accommodation for the in-laws was unacceptable, and while you cannot break a reservation (and expect money back) for a place ‘feeling depressing and empty’, I believe we had grounds for some sort of refund (even partial) for the fact that the pool is not reserved for hotel guests - that it is a public pool on weekends.
Their response was that it is ‘family run’ and that they never considered themselves to be a ‘private’ hotel. What they fail to realize is that by calling yourself a hotel implies that the grounds are for paying guests - the people actually sleeping in the rooms at night. And I’m not sure what ‘family run’ has anything to do with anything; everywhere we have stayed in Greece (this was trip #4 for us) has been family run; that is the Greek way.
Finally, I would like to say that the female manager that we spoke with was absolutely atrocious; she actually mimicked my words (yes, like a 6 year old) as we were voicing our complaints. Her lack of professionalism was astounding. Never have we experienced such a childish moron, especially in the hospitality industry. It was especially shocking encountering this in Greece, which is a country known for its hospitality. She told me that my problem was a ‘bad attitude’ and that I was ‘determined to not enjoy myself’. Why anyone would go to the lengths of planning a family reunion in a special place like Greece (especially when people are coming as far away as the US)... it’s just ridiculous to even say that to someone as a response to legitimate complaints. And, while the reader of this review can’t attest to this... to say these things to a person like me (often described as fun-loving, easygoing)... it’s just laughable.
To be fair, I must state that one of the male managers did comp our food bill, which consisted of 1 lunch for 4 adults and 2 kids and 1 dinner (though only 2 adults ate at dinner). He did this when we voiced our complaints.
In the end, there was no refund.
While it is unacceptable for a hotel to fail to mention that their facilities are completely open to the public on the weekends, I understand why they are doing it - they need the money. And I’m sorry for that.
Fellow traveler... please take my advice... it will save you from disaster and disappointment - DO NOT STAY HERE.
