Mitsis Summer Palace

We were really looking forward to staying at Mitsis, but unfortunately our experience was very disappointing, particularly considering how expensive the holiday was.In our opinion, this hotel should not be advertised as 5 stars.

The biggest disappointment was the food. The main “buffet” is essentially a salad bar and desserts, with the rest being à la carte, so we feel it should be advertised as such rather than a buffet.The à la carte restaurants were extremely inconsistent — some nights the food was enjoyable, while other nights it was very average but overall the food experience was not what we expected from a 5 star hotel.

There were also cleanliness issues. We had glasses with lipstick marks and dirty stained silverware. There were ants all around the hotel, including in our room, and they could bite.!There were also huge numbers of wasps around the dining areas, which made eating outside unpleasant.

Our room was another disappointment. We specifically booked a sea view room, but our room looked directly onto the road, with the sea only visible beyond it. Buses were constantly passing, creating a lot of noise. The shower was also a major issue, as the temperature constantly fluctuated and could suddenly become extremely hot.

We also felt that some of the advertising was misleading. We were told that guests could use facilities and restaurants at other Mitsis hotels, but when we asked Guest Relations too book a few reservations, we were told that we could not use the restaurants. We found Guest Relations difficult to deal with when challenging or questioning things, which was frustrating.

There simply wasn’t enough to do during our stay and, after a while, it became quite boring. Some activities were available but were extremely expensive, particularly the water sports and jet ski hire. The old beach umbrellas also didn’t exactly add to the 5 star feel.

The reception building is extremely outdated and, in our opinion, quite unattractive. The neighbouring Mitsis Family Village also had very loud evening entertainment, particularly children’s entertainment, which continued until around 11pm. From the restaurant Dusk, the noise was especially noticeable.

We were also shocked by some guest behaviour during our stay, including seeing a child leave the pool and urinate behind the sunbeds. Obviously this isn’t the hotel’s fault, but it certainly didn’t add to the experience.

One of the most frustrating things was feeling that the hotel didn’t match what had been advertised. We spoke to other guests during our stay and many expressed similar disappointment, with some saying they felt they had been “catfished”by the advertising.

There are, however, some genuinely lovely staff members.Alexis, Jerick and Anastasia were fantastic and worked incredibly hard. Unfortunately, it was clear that staff were working very long hours and there simply didn’t seem to be enough staff in the restaurants. We also don’t think that some staff should be asking guests for 5 star reviews, particularly when the experience doesn’t necessarily warrant one.

Overall, there were some positives, mainly the lovely staff, but the hotel is far too expensive for what it offers. Between the inconsistent food, cleanliness issues, room location, misleading advertising, lack of activities, outdated areas and noise, we left feeling extremely disappointed. For us, this was nowhere near the 5 star experience we had paid for.

Location, Atmosphere, Rooms and Service very good

Med Bar for Dinner and brunch is lovely

Positives: Unbelievable views from almost everywhere, extremely helpful and friendly staff, very good dining experience (at more than one location), very close to a blue flag beach), direct bus service Kos Town and to local town (or you can walk there in 50 mins). Negatives: Lots of steps on the site, so would not be good for people with mobility issues.