Asteris Hotel

A lovely hotel. V clean, quiet, pool was ideal size, view is lovely and the shuttle bus is great. The staff could not do enough for us. Special mention to Anastesia who was always so happy all through out the day at breakfast and serving the Mythos in frozen glasses. I would go again next week! We had a car and went to the Caves, the Lake and we drove up to Fiskado which does take longer than you think, but the views as you drive are beautiful. We also went to the Petrakopoulos Winery which took abit of finding ,but what a lovely couple of hours sat have a glass and looking again at the view. The Licharis Olive Oil tasking was also worth a hour of anyone's time.

For those with a short span of attention, this is a very good hotel best suited to those looking for a relaxing break. For others put on the kettle and pull up a seat…

Location

The hotel is located on a hillside approximately 4km from Skala (10 min drive) and about 38km from the airport (1 hour drive). It’s a rural setting with no shops, cafes or bars within easy walking distance.

It’s not practical to walk from the hotel to town, and less so going uphill from the town to the hotel. Fortunately the hotel operate a minibus shuttle at various times of day which is bookable at reception and costs a nominal 1€ per person each way. On one occasion we booked a table via reception at the Nautilus restaurant about 2km from the hotel and they arranged for us to be dropped off by the shuttle on route to town. We later walked into town from there (taking approximately 30 minutes) and ultimately returned by taxi to the hotel. The shuttle stops operating at 10pm however in our experience it was easy to get a taxi from the rank and a plush Merc would speed you back uphill in a few minutes for 8€ in air conditioned comfort. (On one occasion the shuttle didn’t pick us up for the return trip at 10.00pm however after hanging around for 20 minutes or so one of the staff at a restaurant phoned the hotel on our behalf and the minibus duly arrived for us shortly afterwards).

With hindsight I would say that having a hire car would be very beneficial at this hotel. However I’d recommend organising it locally and using a private transfer to and from the airport. We arrived in Kefalonia at 9.40pm however it took almost 1 hour to get through immigration and 1 hour for the transfer so we got to the hotel in darkness at 11.40pm. The coastal road is winding and hilly so I’m glad I wasn’t driving after a 4 hour flight and a generally long day.

The hotel rooms are spread out over the site in several low level blocks. We were taken by golf cart from reception with our luggage downhill to our room which overlooked the sea and Skala in the distance. Due to an earlier rain shower we were given a soaking as water came off the roof of the cart and landed on top of us sitting at the rear! Welcome to Greece.

The hotel bar was open upon our arrival - most welcome - and remained so until a few other guests on our flight, who had opted for a coach transfer, arrived considerably later! This meantime was our introduction to the amiable member of bar staff who spoke good English and was often happy to chat with guests whilst keeping us all supplied with refreshments.

Room

We stayed in a Deluxe Double (#161) which was spacious, had a good sized balcony with table and chairs (but no sunbeds) and a clear sea view as mentioned. Some of the apartments overlook buildings in front however with a sloping site this is unlikely to impact their view.

The bed was king sized and comfortable in our experience so we slept well once we had mastered the air conditioning which was very effective. Too much so initially as we woke up feeling cold! We thought the noise of the fridge in the room would be an issue however it faded very quickly and was a welcome place for storing some bottled water and chocolate snacks. The hotel provide a kettle, coffee and teabags but we also took a supply of these for our own taste preferences. Tumblers are also provided but no wine glasses. Storage was a bit lacking in this room. A single wardrobe with some shelves, a small drawer, two shallow bedside drawers and an open rail with no hangers. There were about 10 hangers in the wardrobe but these were not enough for our clothing and consequently we had stuff lying around.

At the base of the wardrobe there was a safe which was free to use however it’s location meant getting on your hands and knees to access. The key has to be pushed in fully to turn the lock.

We never did master how to operate the wall mounted television however it wasn’t something personally we missed. There was a large screen TV at reception which would be handy for main sporting events for example.

The ensuite was spacious with a walk-in shower featuring a hand held unit and a rainfall shower option. On my first attempt to use it I thought that for some reason we were not getting hot water (similarly with the basin tap). Emerging from the bathroom, having had a cold wet shave and a cold shower, my wife then followed on to discover that the hot/cold options were back to front and there was plenty of hot water! It just takes a minute or two to flow through. This was our first trip to Greece and another feature which was “foreign” to us was the use of a bin for toilet paper rather than flushing it down the pan. We instantly adopted the routine, in fear of blocking the system, and had no issues. The room was serviced daily and the cleaner made a good job in our experience, including emptying the bin. Towels were changed daily also and beach towels for use around the pool could be obtained and exchanged at reception without charge.

There was a decent hair drier provided.

Food

We were at the hotel on a B&B basis and had breakfast daily. Officially served from 8am however if on an excursion you can get access from 7.45am onwards. The food is displayed in a room next to the kitchen, frequently refreshed by staff, and was self serve. There was a good choice of hot and cold items and aside from the usual fayre I enjoyed some of the little pastries with interesting fillings - especially good when still hot. The seating area alongside is outdoors overlooking the pool and the sea with tables in the sun or shade. We also had a meal and snacks at the hotel on a few occasions and these were very good and reasonably priced in our view. Waiter service is provided for lunch and dinner. However we often went into town for meals and a few drinks at night, returning to the hotel for a nightcap most times.

The hotel has a few resident cats which are forever looking for someone to feed them - something which we didn’t encourage. It was similar when eating out in the town.

Bar

The bar is centralised between the pool and an indoor area with comfortable seating, a pool table and a piano. As mentioned we thought the barmaid was very friendly and willing to chat with guests when possible. There was usually some guests around providing a relaxed atmosphere. A glass of house white wine was 5.50€, soft drinks 3.80€ but I’m not sure of prices for beer or spirits as we didn‘t get receipts - we chose to add all our extra food and drink costs at the hotel to our bill which totalled just over 364€ (£316) for the week.

Pool

There is one large pool and a small paddling pool for kids alongside it. Just beware that the main pool level drops suddenly beyond a shallow section near the bar. Like anywhere in the sun the water feels cold initially but less so when you’ve been in for a minute or two. It’s feasible to do lengths if you’re energetic. No jumping or diving rules apply however these are not enforced or exploited to any great extent. There were a decent number of sunbeds available and we only saw a rare occasion where anyone had reserved them with towels. We were there late May/early June so perhaps were fortunate in that respect as the hotel had only recently reopened for the season.

Most guests were British, mostly mature couples and added to this was a sprinkling of those with children. It was generally quiet and unlikely to suit those looking for a party atmosphere.

Staff

All the staff we encountered were very pleasant and willing to help with enquiries, etc. As mentioned reception were happy to book things on our behalf and all those elsewhere had a friendly nature. We were not due to be collected by taxi until 7pm on our day of departure however when enquiring about an extended check-out for our room we were fortunate that it was available and at no added cost.

Trips

We booked a couple of boat trips via reception with the local operator “Captain Vangelis”, who arranged to have us collected and returned to the hotel at no additional cost. Our first trip featured a visit to neighbouring island Ithaca and the second to Fiskardo in the north of Kefalonia. Both were enjoyable but if only doing one I’d opt for the former. Adult price for each trip was 55€ per person and was good value in our opinion. The Fiskardo one did have an option to visit Melissani for an additional 15€ per adult (cash only payable on board) and we found this to be a highlight of that trip.

Climate Resilience Tax

Hotel guests are required to pay Greek Government tax of 5€ per person per day which is collected by the hotel and this added €70 to our bill.

Overall it was a relaxing holiday.