Batelo Boutique Hotel

Amazing place and excellent service. The position is directly to the see and the view from the hotel is panoramic. The staff is friendly and helpful. Definitely i visit again batello boutique hotel. Highly recommend

We stayed at Batelo Boutique Hotel and overall had a good experience, but there are definitely a few things future guests should be aware of.

When we first arrived, we were surprised to find there was no reception area. I hadn’t been informed about this setup, though to be fair, I booked through an agency and not directly with the hotel. To access the rooms, you climb some fairly steep steps where you’ll find a board with guest names and arrows pointing to each room. As someone who works in hospitality, I couldn’t help but notice this goes against GDPR, especially with names clearly displayed. We followed the arrow to find our room (No. 4) unlocked with the key in the door. Not exactly ideal, but we assumed this must be the norm on the island, and if this is their system, it must generally be safe.

Once inside, the room was spotless, spacious, and comfortable, and the view from the balcony overlooking the seafront was absolutely breathtaking. The only downside was the weak WiFi signal in the room.

However, we ran into a pretty major issue — no running water. After a long travel day and intense heat, we were really looking forward to freshening up, but there was no water. Other guests mentioned this was their third day without water, and the only working tap was the hose faucet outside. We were also told that staff had stopped answering their phones due to the volume of calls. I managed to get in touch with someone via WhatsApp (tip: their numbers only seem to work there), and they explained it was a general issue across the island. While I initially accepted that, I later saw plenty of restaurants and other hotels in town with working water, so I’m not convinced the problem was island-wide. Thankfully, after two days, the water returned.

I had also emailed two months in advance to enquire about their car rental (they advertise having their own fleet), but I was told reservations couldn’t be made ahead of time and someone would assist us on arrival. Since there’s no reception and staff are only available from 7am to 3pm, this proved difficult as we arrived later in the day. This delay meant we had to walk to town for dinner, and let me tell you — that road is no joke. It’s narrow, there are no sidewalks, and drivers are a bit wild. Not the safest walk, especially at night.

There is a bus stop right outside the hotel, which is handy, but we hadn’t looked into the timetable since we assumed we’d have a car from day one.

The following morning, we met Alex, who was by far the best part of our stay. He’s a gem — welcoming, friendly, funny, and always willing to help. He gave us a map, shared restaurant tips, and helped us rent a car (though we still had to wait about three hours for it). Parking is tight, but manageable.

Breakfast was simple but enough: Greek yogurt, fruits, bread, Greek salad, cold cuts, tea/coffee/milk, and Alex kindly prepares fried eggs or an omelette, plus a little treat like cake or pastries. There are quite a few bees buzzing around during breakfast, but we discovered a little hack — leave a slice of ham on a plate a few feet away. The bees are just hungry and harmless — they’ll eat that and leave you alone.

Alex also booked us a boat tour to Paxos and Antipaxos at a good price and sorted our taxi to the airport, which wasn’t easy since taxis on the island are very busy.

All in all, Batelo Boutique suited us fine as we were out exploring most of the time. The room and view were lovely, and Alex truly goes above and beyond for guests.

That said, the office/customer service side and general organisation could really use some improvement. If you’re prepared for a more hands-off experience and can roll with a few hiccups, you’ll enjoy your stay.