Mitsis Norida Beach

If you’ve never been to a 5* resort before you will think the hotel is great. If you have been 5* before you’re expectations will not be met as this is a 4* resort at best so save your money and book elsewhere.

Hotel - Clean, spacious with rooms that are well looked after.

Sunbeds - not enough and you have to get up early to obtain yours. By 07:30 they are virtually all gone. Frustratingly, the hotel has more than enough space for extra beds but will claim health and safety reasons for not putting extra out. The towel policy is policed adhoc. The hotel is aware of this issue as we witnessed a constant stream of guests complaining all day every day. However, there are always beds on the beach which is lovely.

Food - Poor repetitive selection and issues around temperature in the main restaurant. If you can eat in the à la carte as much as possible. The selection is much the same but better prepared and in nicer setting.

Drinks - The main positive of this hotel.

Pools - At least two pools have what is best described as sharp pebble dashing on the steps and bottoms leading to people constantly cutting their toes and feet, especially children. Never experienced that before and an odd design choice. Again, witnessed a constant stream of people visiting lifeguards for first aid.

Staff - Mixed bag. To be fair when my wife completed an on-line survey sent by the hotel for her initial reactions and was honest with her thoughts on not being 5* the hotel acted immediately, up graded us to à la carte most mornings and sent champagne to room which was welcomed.

However, some staff are down right rude and lie about what you said when they get your order wrong, which they do a lot (Dea in the main restaurant is a prime example) and some can’t do enough for you (Giorgios) All boils down to the fact there aren’t enough staff.

special mention has to go to the waitress in the à la carte restaurant with two nose rings who tried to take our plates whilst we were still eating our starters because the main courses were ready, lied about the fact the kitchen was closing (there was 1hr 40 left until the restaurant closed) and then threw my wife a mucky luck

Beach/ Beach bar - lovely and very relaxing. The free pizza and giros are worth the wait. The inflatable water park is great fun and the 20Euro per person all day is great value

Entertainment - Middle of the road with most people preferring to play cards or compare foot injuries.

Check out - we were staying at one of the sea view bungalows up the hill from the main hotel. Despite ordering a buggy to collect our cases the night before and calling again on the morning nothing turned up so we ended up lugging them down the hill ourselves. When we complained to reception the man just walked off. We eventually spoke to a female Manager with red curly hair who was genuinely apologetic.

I will start by saying that we normally go to turkey but wanted a change this year, and this was our first time at a Mitsis hotel. The first impression of the reception area was that is was very dated the staff were all really nice and helpful, we were right at the top of the resort so had to get a golf cart with luggage to our room. The 2 bedroom family room 345 was so outdated the main room is the bedroom with a serrate room with twin beds, there was only 1 wardrobe for 4 of us in the bedroom. No additional draws or storage in the bedroom or bathroom although there was room for it. The decor of the room has clearly not been updated in a very long time and we were really disappointed in the standard given that this is supposed to be a 5* hotel, I completely understand that greek hotels are different from Turkish but the prices are not reflecting the difference in the standard you are getting. It was a real pain if you forget to needed something from the room as it was such a long uphill walk up that getting the golf cart from reception and waiting was easier especially in the heat.... The restaurant on the beach for breakfast lunch and a la carte bookings was modern and pleasant to sit by the sea the main restaurant was noisy and hectic in the evenings. The coffee shop and crepe place were good .The sunbed situation can be a nightmare and we did see staff removing towels if they were left unattended before 9am although the photos give the impression that there are lots of pool areas there are not that many sunbeds around them, so we ended up at the beach for the majority of the time, pebble beach with really clear water, but lots of rubbish glasses, bottles, straws left from the day before could definitely do with staff cleaning up every day. The pool and beach bars were busy and the waits could be long, but I felt sorry for the staff they were working as quickly as they could just not enough of them. Don't expect to see staff collecting dirty glasses with all the contents in black sacks and dragging them around the pool leaving a trail of the waste!! Surely there is a better way to do this, everyday this is how they collected the glasses. The entertainment was outside the main building not a lot going on for my 17&15yr olds we went into Kardamena 3 times to eat and break it up abit. Overall the quality of the food and drink was good and the staff friendly but I would not return or recommend, the older parts of the hotel need updating if they are going to attract people as I said Greece is not a cheap option and if your paying 5* prices you expect to be getting a 5* experience

ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE not a FIVE STAR!

Unfortunately, the problems have been continuous throughout our stay:

• All had single beds even double bed is two single pushed together • Fire incident, which was extremely frightening . Alarm and smoke smelt in night and staff refused to check. Took 10 minutes to investigate after approx 50 guests demanding • Cockroaches in our room, leaving us extremely uncomfortable about staying there and concerned about hygiene and contamination. Wouldn’t change our room so myself and children had to sleep in toxic room they sprayed to remove them • Yoga/Pilates: We were told we would have qualified instructors, but the instructor provided was not appropriately qualified. We were also told that she had concerns about working with children but was nevertheless required to do so. Given that I have a spine/knee injury, I was particularly concerned about the lack of appropriate professional expertise. • The yoga sessions were held next to sunbathers, with pipes/equipment around the area, rather than in a proper, dedicated yoga space. It was also next to the breakfast area, which was noisy and made it difficult to hear the instructor. Not relaxing at all. The mats were sweaty and were not properly cleaned between use which was confirmed by instructor. • We were effectively told by the instructor herself that we should complain to management about the fitness arrangements as she tok was fed up • No Thursday entertainment, despite this being something we expected as part of the holiday and the open aired theatre is only for Italians • Sunbeds: We have repeatedly struggled to get sunbeds, which has significantly affected our ability to enjoy the facilities. Had to wake up at 6am otherwise they is no chance . Everyone we spoke with was unhappy • Food: No steak served at Grill restaurant ! One restaurant experience was also particularly poor, with the restaurant effectively being split into three areas rather than providing the experience we expected. Very repetitive every day was same and bland. Not a five star standard • Spa: The spa experience was not as expected and involved a different hotel and cost • Water sports/boat experience: We paid nearly £100 for 10 mins for myself and my two children. I was not allowed to take photographs as I wanted to, and then had to pay an additional €20 simply to take a picture on my phone . This felt completely unreasonable and left us feeling that we were being taken advantage of. • sewage leak outside our room which came under door with no apologise or even made us aware of it • Transfer: Our return transfer was not properly booked, creating further stress last minute to book