Exotica Hotel and Spa by Zante Plaza

Had an amazing stay at the hotel! The food is different for every evening meal and delicious, the hotel is lovely and clean and the staff are so kind and always willing to help. The manager Mary is amazing, she was so helpful for booking excursions and was so lovely to us. The lady working the desk in the evening is amazing, helping us to book a taxi every night. 10 minute drive to Laganas strip for 15 euros and so easy to get a taxi. Lots of shops nearby too and very close to the beach.

Ignore the overwhelmingly positive reviews on this hotel. In my opinion, they do not reflect the experience we had. During our stay we witnessed staff encouraging guests to leave positive reviews in exchange for perks such as waiving the towel deposit, which immediately made us question how genuine many of the reviews actually are.

From the moment we arrived, things started off badly. We were greeted by a young ginger-haired receptionist who informed us we had to pay €50 in tourist tax. We questioned this, as we hadn't been made aware of it beforehand and wanted to double-check our booking.

While trying to do this, we discovered the Wi-Fi didn't work. I explained this to the receptionist, who replied, "Yes, the Wi-Fi is very bad around here. It doesn't work in the rooms, but it usually works in reception." As someone who works from my phone, this was a huge issue. I then asked if this meant the hotel wasn't actually providing the Wi-Fi facilities it advertises. Her response was simply, "We're 4-star, not 5-star." Regardless of the number of stars, advertising Wi-Fi when it doesn't work in the bedrooms is completely unacceptable. Throughout our entire five-day stay, the Wi-Fi never worked in our room. If you didn't have mobile data, you would have been completely cut off.

The rooms themselves were acceptable but certainly nothing special. The shower pressure was very weak, there was no milk provided for tea or coffee, there was no telephone to contact reception, and the shower had no proper screen or wall, meaning water flooded the bathroom floor every time it was used.

One of the biggest issues throughout our stay was the service from some of the bar staff. The younger evening barman constantly stared at us, made us feel uncomfortable, and made several odd comments. To top it off, he actually asked if he could have one of our cigarettes in exchange for an all-inclusive drink. We were genuinely shocked by how unprofessional this was.

We also had an unpleasant experience with the older barman, who refused to let my friend and me order two drinks each because he wrongly assumed we were ordering for another group. We had to explain that the drinks were for us. His attitude throughout was rude, and considering we'd paid for an all-inclusive package, there should have been no issue.

The only reason we wanted two drinks each was because there was usually only one person serving behind the bar, resulting in queues of around 10 minutes just to get a single drink. The cocktails themselves were also extremely poor, coming from a machine and tasting very artificial.

The pool area was also disappointing. Many of the sun loungers were outdated and broken, as were several of the umbrellas.

Every evening the tables around the bar were covered in empty glasses and remained dirty for long periods. Finding a clean table to sit at was often difficult because nothing was being cleared or wiped down regularly.

The hotel also advertises itself as having a spa, yet the spa was closed for the entire duration of our stay. Calling this a spa hotel when guests have no access to these facilities is extremely misleading. Housekeeping was acceptable but certainly not thorough. The floors never appeared to be mopped, we had to ask reception for used glasses to be removed from our room, and we also had to request that the fridge be cleaned.

To end on a positive note, the food was good on most evenings, and there were some genuinely lovely members of staff. Mary, in particular, was friendly, professional, and a credit to the hotel.

Overall, would we return? Absolutely not. There were simply too many issues, from poor facilities and cleanliness to unprofessional staff and misleading advertising. This hotel does not deserve the rating it currently has, and based on our experience, I would strongly advise others to look elsewhere.

Amazing stuff, great room and delicious food!