Zante Maris Suites

We came to Zante Maris Suites for a number of reasons and previous TripAdvisor reviews figured in that decision. The suites are placed above Tsilvili up a steep hill but the app allows you to book a buggy up and down at any times and the drivers were always courteous and punctual when needed. The surroundings are peaceful and serene apart from the cockerel crowing every morning, which is much better than the noise of traffic. The staff are always smiling, happy to see you and ready to help you enjoy your stay. The breakfast buffet is fantastic with everything you could possibly want and the chef is willing to cook things off menu whenever he can. The suites are bright and airey, the beds are really comfortable for a good night sleep and there is plenty of wardrobe space and the fridge is supplied twice a day with water as the tap water is not for drinking. An ironing board and iron was be requested if needed but sadly it is a step back in time (see photo). While the suites have plenty of room and a balcony, sadly they are showing signs of wear and tear and definitely in need of crack repairs, tidying up and repainting (see photos). It is evident that the hotel has recently undergone some redecorating, but I can only assume it wasn't finished ready for the tourist season. Ledges on the balcony and the trees nearby show a rushed paint job resulting in overpainting the edges of the balcony and even the trees, rather than triming them back to do the job properly. Finally, Greek Night, which was the lowest point of our stay as it was both disappointing in authenticity, quality and value for money. You were given a list of food available for you to tick off to indicate what you were happy to eat, which we did. While we told that you could eat as much as you liked, they didn't tell us that everything you ticked suddenly turned up on the table, which was too much to deal and felt rushed. The meze we were expecting would have been a buffet of traditional Greek dishes to chose from allowing you to mix with others during the night enjoying the food, music and the experience. While the chef had included a mini moussaka on the menu, the selection would have also benefited from similar proportioned traditional Greek dishes such as lamb kelftico and beef stifado. However, it appeared more of a general Mediterranean menu which included lamb koftas (cheap), pork which was fatty and octopus that was chewy rather than tender. It was definitely not value for money at €40 each and that did not include drinks. Which brings me on to the final "nasty" of the night. We were give a wine list which stated 30% of all red wines. The sommelier was engaging, helped us chose a wine and always smiling. She chose a wine at €60 per bottle, which I assumed with 30% off would come in at €42 per bottle, which I would not normally pay, but thought, hey, it's supposed to be a special night....so why not? The night ended and we were asked to sign off the bill as we left and asked how was our night? I said very much as I have said above and their astonishment was very apparent and I explained that we didn't think it was value for money or truely authentic. At this point I noticed that the wine suggested by the smilling somelier was priced at €60 not €42 as I was expecting, as the 30% was aleady taken off as the wine would normally have been €88......no wonder she was always smiling, as she was probably thinking of the commission she was making. The bottle of wine (in the photos) retails to the public for €35, you can do the maths, but essentially it is sheer greed and profiteering and we left them in no doubt of that. The remaining 2 days went without incident, however the somelier didn't manage to crack a smile each time we passed by her. Yes, we paid the bill, but we felt sufficiently agreived about being taken for a ride, that I felt driven to write this review.

The hotel is fantastic and all the staff member are a huge credit to the hotel. A “Can do” attitude exudes from everyone. We were staying in a pool suite and any criticism relates to that only. The suites are lovely and spacious and the bed was extremely comfortable. Given the size of the suite, it would easily have accommodated an easy chair or 2 so that there somewhere for both of us to sit and read, other than the bed! outside on the patio there was a fixed double “lounger bed” and a hard bench. We were that other pool suites in different areas did have chairs on their patio as well as the double longer.

Unfortunately by September, given the direction that the rooms all face, the sun is sufficiently low that in our suite (303) the sun Andy reached part of the patio lounger for 2 hours in the afternoon. (I think this applied to 301, 303, 305 & 307). The even numbered suites fared not much better, getting sun during the morning. The pool received sun most of the day.

There is little that can be done about the shade to patios at this time of year, but the location of the hotel (generally north/ north east facing) meant i think no suites fared better. We were offered a different room, but it had the same “later season shade issues” In June, July & August the sun will, i suspect comfortably reach most patios! Just something to consider at this hotel, if staying past the summer peak.