Domes Noruz Kassandra

We have just returned from 9 days at the '5 star' Domes Noruz Kassandra in Hanioti, Halkidiki.

The Domes has a really good reputation and claims to provide 'culinary delights of fine dining ', 'eclectic gastronomy' and 'the food is both refined and sophisticated ' amongst other similar statements. We booked the holiday after reading this and paid a premium, expecting a fine dining experience. Unfortunately we found none of this to be correct.

On arrival in the buffet restaurant, we were left to find a table which were often not cleared /cleaned from the previous diners.

At breakfast we would need to seek out someone to take our coffee order and once taken it did not always arrive. Often we had to clear our own table to the service area, which is unacceptable.

Several times we had to ask for plates in the food area. The food was standard fayre nothing notable to make it 5 star.

The evening buffet was similar with regards to finding a suitable table. The salad bar was good but nothing spectacular and the desserts were lovely. On our first night, the live cooking station offering was a small roast beef joint together with chicken pieces in a warmer. The following evening there was pizza and one evening gyros, which we do not consider to be 'gourmet'. This area was also quite dated and scruffy. The dishes in the warmers were mediocre at best, very few protein options and many stew like dishes. They were not replenished regularly sometimes until asked and as with breakfast plates ran out. The service was reactive to requests but not proactive. For a 5 star hotel, once again, unacceptable. Drinks prices were 5 star with a glass of wine €10 + and bottles of wine over €40 . We did not want to pay those prices they did not match the food offering. We did not want to spend time in the area.

The hotel offers an exchange from evening meal to lunch with a set meal in the restaurant. This was good but a very limited choice of risotto, pizza or pasta. We tried this option on two of the days but chose to eat out for both lunch and evening meal for the rest of our stay.

We were asked for feedback, which we gave honestly, the response was a sequence of bland platitudes and we felt we had to continually repeat our concerns.

The room was quite dated and very poorly lit. On a positive note the bed and bedding quality was really good and the housekeeping ladies were excellent.

The hotel did provide a late check out and reduced our extras bill but it did not make up for the problems we encountered during our stay.

We were disappointed with our stay. We expect better considering the overall cost and associated 'reviews'.

This is our 4th stay at Domes hotels, prior we stayed at Noruz Chania twice and Elounda. We were very appreciative of an upgrade to a pool cabana room. The bed was super comfy as were the pillows and it was sparklingly clean every day with changes of linen and towels. We were very unlucky with the weather with only 2 days out of 7 being sunny!. The location is great with a lovely village housing shops and restaurants only a short walk away. First of all the good, the quality of accommodation, fixtures and fittings and standard of housekeeping throughout the resort. The service however was a story of 2 parts, in the main buffet restaurant although always packed the staff were helpful and cheerful. In Antonios and in the bar area however they were the opposite, the first time we ate in Antonios we chose a seafront table but were told by a surly waitress we couldn't sit there yet when a couple arrived after us they were "allowed" to sit there. There is not enough space in the main bar so if you fancied a drink after dinner it was pot luck. I am not a fan of buffet style dinner however the food was of a good standard with plenty of variety. There is no where in the Hotel where you can have a light lunch which is missing - you sometimes would fancy a snack but there isn't this offering. The other Domes Hotels have had sushi/wraps to cater to this. Drinks were frequently not in stock, if you have something on your wine list you should have a robust enough supply to provide what you have listed. Overall the holiday was good value for money, we booked off Voyages Prive and had paid a third less than another couple who booked off Denstinology! It was however poles apart from Noruz Chania in terms of personal service and luxury plus dinner at Chania is a la carte even on half board.

We booked this having loved Domes resorts we have stayed at previously but sadly it did not live up to expectations. We initially had a retreat room which we thought was an upgrade but the ‘view’ was non existent. Eventually on day 4/5 we got moved. The buffet was standard but the à la carte a real disappointment such that we cancelled our second booking. While the room was nice enough, the building looked tired. The pool is nice and the sea literally on your doorstep. Even off season it was a struggle to get a lounger unless you were up early! This had made me very cautious to believe the Domes name always equals exceptional and perhaps is more affiliated to mediocre..