Klelia Beach Hotel by Zante Plaza

Stayed in October 2024. My opinion? Don't go with expectations of 4* luxury and you will be fine. Were there issues which need fixing? Absolutely, but overall we had a great time in a beautiful location and in comfortable surroundings. Reading some of the reviews it is clear that some expect everything to be perfect, but in what is, at the end of the day, a reasonably priced hotel. Location? Great, with just a five minute walk to a beautiful beach with crystal clear water, sandy underfoot and very gently sloping for about 80m where the water was still chest high. Even in October the water temperature was incredibly warm for swimming. The beach here is a protected area for turtle nesting - sadly didn't manage to see any during our stay but several nests were still awaiting hatchlings and these are each covered by a wooden cage to avoid trampling. There is a very good snack and drink shack just above the beach serving filled rolls, sodas, beers, coffee or fresh fruit, but this was closed towards the end of our stay. Be careful when using the shack as the access from the beach is via some pretty awkward steps. Prices however were very reasonable and the coffee frappe was outstanding! No public toilets on the beach, so a strong bladder may be required, especially for the ladies, although facilities are available at the Crystalle Hotel if you are a customer at their bar or restaurant On arrival at the hotel, the lady receptionist was great, taking payment for the tourist tax politely and efficiently (standard in Greece and many other countries) - 7 Euro per night. Cash preferred as it has to be accounted for separately and paid directly to the government (again standard practice). We were given our key and wristbands and directions to our room (903 in the Annex building across the road. The room was actually far better than expected - twin beds with nice firm mattresses and pillows, as we prefer, nicely decorated, with plenty of hanging space for a few days' clothes, a kettle, coffee sachets and sugar packs. Milk and a bottle of water would have been good too, but there are plenty of small supermarkets nearby, so no problem to buy these and keep them in the fridge provided in the room. As a bonus, there is also a small terrace/balcony with a table and chairs to drink that early morning coffee. The bathroom is perfectly adequate, with twin basins, a walk in shower and decent flushing toilet - although there is a special place in hell for whoever decided that glass saloon doors at the entrance to a bathroom is a good thing. Nevertheless we are adults, and so long as you announce your intentions and give your partner the option to adjourn to the balcony for the duration this isn't too much of a problem! Locally, in addition to a couple of supermarkets, there are several other small shops and a number of bars and restaurants, and the main 'strip' is a short 5 minute walk away with countless others - a recommendation here for Dafni's, for good value, gr

We arrived after dinner service had finished, they had just finished clearing away, but we found they had plated up 2 plates of food for us which they kept warm. They didn’t rush us to eat even though they had to wait longer before they could finish up. As a first impression they were doing well. Our room was spotlessly clean, one or two minor things in bathroom like the wooden surround to the sink was a little water damaged. But none of that took away from how comfortable the room was. My only problem with the room was the mirror was placed in such a way that when you were laying in bed the slight gap in the curtain meant our neighbours could look from their balcony and see us in bed, which they did on the first night! I glanced in the mirror to see a man looking at me. This was solved by putting the chair against the curtain to keep it against the wall. The food was really lovely, so much choice, over 10 days I had beef, pork, chicken, turkey, duck, rabbit, seafood, fish plus a different vegetarian option every day. Always potato, rice and pasta options. Limited menu for children, or adults, if they are fussy. The staff were all amazing, I’ve never met a friendlier bunch, being a fairly small hotel you got to see the same people everyday which was really nice. We definitely plan to go back there, Kalamaki itself is lovely, our location was perfect, close to the beach, close to shops and a regular bus route to Zakynthos town.

We arrived early and waited for our room to be readied. The reception staff were polite and helpful. Our superior room 308 was pretty basic with a good-sized balcony. The mattress was a bit hard for us, so sleeping was a bit hit and miss. The shower was great, but the bathroom became wet very quickly, and you must be careful to avoid slipping over. We also had the smallest wall mounted television, which was no bigger than an iPad, lol. Their were a few English news channels. The wifi was excellent, so Klelia invest in some smart tvs, then your clients can watch their own streaming services, which would be handy of an evening for both adults and children. The young lady who attended our room was lovely and very efficient. On returning to our room daily, it was immaculate, so please thank her for us ❤️. We actually really enjoyed the food it was fresh and tasty, always hot, and the restaurant was extremely clean and efficiently run by the friendly and helpful staff. I'm afraid all of the alcohol we tried was of poor quality, so we ended up venturing out most evenings as for the entertainment we didn't see any, so we can't comment. The pool was not heated, and the majority of guests did not bother using it. We are regular swimmers, and the temperature didn't bother us at all. The actual loungers were of poor quality too low to the ground and, after a while, became uncomfortable. I can understand why a lot of guests have mentioned the poor quality in their comments. All in all, we enjoyed our stay because of the lovely staff all over the hotel and the friendly Greek people we met on our nights out. Would we come again maybe if we found changes had been made.

On arrival in the evening we met the young lady on reception, she didn’t seem as though she wanted to be there, and was more interested in getting us to fill in the forms & paying the tourist tax than telling us anything about the Hotel, our room, the facilities etc. We paid our money & also paid for a safety deposit box key. She then led us to the entrance and pointed over the road & said you’re staying in the Annex over there. She didn’t explain that we were on the 2nd floor or that there was no lift we had to find this out for ourselves. There was no offer to help with our luggage from any concierge either. Before we left for the Annex over the road she ran after us with our wrist bands as she’d forgotten to give them to us or put them on for us as we’ve had in other hotels in the past. First impressions weren’t good. When we booked, we read there was free WiFi. We assumed that meant in our rooms too. However there is no WiFi in the Annex over the road. And if you try to call Reception the telephone on the bedside table doesn’t work. The room was small, but very clean. Towels were changed every 2 days. And every day toilet bins were emptied and fresh toilet rolls left for us. The floors were swept every day. Can’t fault the cleaning services. Over at the main Hotel the pool area, bar and restaurant were immaculate. And all other staff were extremely polite & professional. They all spoke very good English and were always happy to help with anything. The food was amazing every single day. I could not fault that. The Chef’s managed to cater for all nationalities, which is hard to do. So much effort and great presentation, all delicious foods. I take my hat off to them for that! The day time receptionist a more mature lady was absolutely wonderful. She spoke perfect English & was always very helpful. I think the Annex could do with being updated, as the main building may be 4* but the Annex is not. Overall we enjoyed our stay here. The bar & restaurant staff made it for us, and the delicious food. However if we did stay here again in the future I would prefer to stay in the main building. I’d also like to see some signs up in the restaurant asking guests not to feed the Cats inside the restaurant. A member of my family actually tripped over a Cat that was eating some chicken from a napkin on the floor that another guest had deliberately placed there in the middle of the walkway! Not everyone likes Cats, some people are even allergic. And to be honest, having Cats inside the restaurant jumping onto seats & begging for food often put me off my meals, and other family members felt the same. I know it would be difficult to keep them out altogether, but they should not be fed inside as they will keep coming back. If guests want to feed & pet / stroke them this should be done outside the restaurant for hygiene reasons. Would also be great if the entertainment was better advertised around the Bar area. To be very fair, 99% of the staff were

This will be the first time in my 30 years of travel I will have ever have sent a formal complaint the the tour operator in the instance jet 2. we where given room 713 on the first floor . we noticed at some point the door must have been kicked in and filled with filler of some kind ,inside you could see broken plaster were the fixtures for the doorframe had been. still the door was serviceable. this was a family room to sleep four , there were 2 cups ,2 glasses ,4 teabags ,and 5 sugar and 2 patio chairs good job there were only 2 of us . coving was partly missing on the ceiling and there was blown plaster marks on the walls were the plaster was coming away , there was also rust marks down the edge of the wall were they had used the wrong nails and they had rusted .the air con was fine but the direction adjuster had either broken or had been taken out. but the room was clean and tidy and was cleaned daily by the maids who did a good job. but remember jet 2 class this as 4 star. it is not a restaurant at best a works canteen , you were constantly having to ask for milk or sugar. one morning we went in just after it had opened, many tables had no serviettes or salt and pepper, many of the table tops were tacky were fizzy drinks had been split the night before. one morning we had a power cut which took out the water . from 6.30 to 8.30 in the morning no fault of the hotels ,but they still opened the canteen in the dark, obviously there were no machines working, but the food had all been cooked , yes it could have been done on gas but who runs a kitchen with no running water. the food was going cold , we left and returned later.. there is no dress code even in the evening swimming shorts and vests no problem and who ever hears of a 4 star hotel were you fetch your own cutlery in the evening , no table cloths just the odd table runner on some tables .even in the main part of the canteen there are feral cats .outside the rattan furniture is worn and broken some of the sunbeds are worn and torn any many the material has sagged . back in the room we had seen a wire coming out of the wall behind the bathroom mirror and searched for maybe a mirror light but could not find one , on our last night curiosity got the better of me and I pulled the wire it was just hanging there with electrical tape on the end I hope it wasn't live . the steps to our room were washed down every morning which mad the marble steps quite slippery considering there is no grip on them. if you are booking one of there swim up rooms ,we saw 2 . as you look at the hotel they are on the left next to car park on the other side are the bins , part of the fence is missing so people can just look in and due to there position at the front of the hotel you will be in the shade come 12.30, the only bar is at the back. this is not 4 star , but don't compare it to hotels in other countries just compare it to hotels in the same resort. at the other end of the strip you have the 'Bit

This is a fabulous hotel with lovely rooms ( pay the extra for the stunning sea view) The food is what you would expect from a good all inclusive hotel at least 3 meat dishes, a fish dish, 2 or 3 veggie dishes and a stunning selection of salad every meal. The major plus in this place is the staff from Catherine & Co in reception to our lovely cleaner ( room 802) to the fantastic Nokos the chef and Nikos the staff in the restaurant but the jewel in the crown is George who runs the bar, a more polite, respectful young man who is good at his job you will not find anywhere. The pool is fantastic with plenty of sunbeds for everyone. Our only disappointment with this holiday was the beach, you could not get into or swim in the sea due to an inordinate amount of nasty looking black seaweed, such a shame, clearly not the hotels fault tho. Fab greek hotel with amazing Greek staff. Yamas.