Portes Lithos

This was our second visit to Portes Lithos, and once again, our family of three had an amazing time. The rooms were immaculate, and the swim-up pool just outside our room provided a perfect, more private alternative to the main pool area. The hotel truly offers everything you need for a relaxing holiday, and the fact that it's only a 40-minute drive from the airport is an added bonus. The highlight for us, yet again, was the incredibly warm welcome and professionalism from Maître D Giannis and his entire team, both in the main restaurant and the poolside restaurant. They are a wonderful group, always attentive and made us feel so well taken care of during our week-long stay. I honestly wish every hotel had a Giannis! The food was fantastic; every evening offered a new variety of dishes, and there was always plenty available, no matter how late we dined. However, there are some areas for improvement, specifically with the Front of House staff. While my arrival was handled warmly and efficiently, my husband, who arrived later due to a delayed flight, had a much different experience. He wasn’t offered help with his luggage and was simply handed a key and told where the room was. After such a long journey, this wasn’t the welcome he had expected. Additionally, upon checking out, I was disappointed that the staff didn’t ask how our stay had been or whether we enjoyed our holiday. This left us feeling a bit underwhelmed, especially since it was the final interaction we had with the hotel. Despite these small issues, we still had a wonderful time and would recommend Portes Lithos, especially for the exceptional service from Giannis and his team.

As a family we take months to research and book a holiday. We booked via jet2 holidays. We booked 2 x beach front loft suites. Please note these are on 2 floors but not on the ground floor, there is a room below you at beach level, this is not clear from the photos. Check in was fairly slow, bags taken to our room. No explanation on what all the 30 switches in the rooms do! Etc. View great room 6211, I would request the left side again. Room was clean and beds made everyday. The shower upstairs in 6211 leaks all over the floor! Air con worked well, shower toiletries were lovely, our minibar was not replenished daily with everything sadly. We were up early anyway so no issues getting loungers, red cards were put on people's loungers if they weren't there for a while but never any towels removed so it was a bit pointless really. We upgraded from HB to all inclusive but I really wished we hadn't, not worth it in my opinion. Cocktails weren't the best (depending on who made them) mojitos were undrinkable. Coke was from the tap so often flat. Even though it's classed as ultra all inclusive this is not the case, simple items such as chips, toasties etc were not included, it was very limited. The children 10 and 13 did sometimes struggle to find something to eat in the restaurant (they are not picky eaters) one member of staff made my 13yr old cry at dinner when she asked her why she wasn't eating! Not very professional. One big issue (for us anyway) was the main pool, it turns your swimwear green! Not just us either so I'm unsure as to why no other reviews mention this, we had to throw away 3 sets of swimwear including calvin klein! Must be a chemical in the pool. So bring dark coloured swimwear. Sounds like a negative review, just our opinions it's a 4* not a 5*. Pool area and rooms were beautiful and quiet but green swimwear and food and drink issues let it down. We would return but would only do half board and buy the food we actually want. It's also a massive shame that the only al a carte restaurant closes at 6pm so not possible to have evening meal there. Majority of staff were very friendly. Would recommend beach front loft suites as roof terrace was beautiful. Again ask for left hand side.

We booked this hotel based of research and other reviews having stayed in the area for prior holidays. The hotel is rated a 5 star but it is not their are a lot of improvements required to get it to a 5 star, i have detailed a list of pros and cons below. As per another persons review the staff are stretched there are not enough of them to serve you all in a realistic timely manner and they are pulled everywhere. The photos can appear mis leading and do not show the full picture, such as broken floor tiles along walk ways, a slope leading to the rooms near 3213 which is cracking and slippery when wet, the beach has a lot of stones, beach shoes / sea shoes are highly a must the beach is not cleaned or raked with cigarette butt ends left in the sand and glass. Dogs and cats roam free around the hotel grounds again this was not mentioned in previous reviews, we opted to eat inside to avoid animals, cats hover around you when eating outside wanting food. When raised to the hotel we were advised they have a lot of animals which are strays they cannot control them coming and going as the hotel grounds are fully open. We also found their to be confusion over what watersports are free as the beach company tell you nothing is free versus the hotel guide, all that is free is the canoe and the non slide boat everything else is chargeable ranging from 20 euros for the paddleboard up to 195 euro for the jet ski. No one on previous reviews mentioned about mosquitos; you need to take good repellant with you they are everywhere at night, you can purchase a mosquito bite stick from the local supermarkets for 1 euro. Evening entertainment is hit and miss, one night you may have bingo or a male singing other nights they're is nothing and no Greek nights neither, you entertain yourselves. Other people commented on this hotel being rural, it isn't, the hotel offer a free bus service Monday - Friday into the local village/town you need bus tickets from reception to secure your seat and can only come back on the bus after 3 hours i.e if you go to the market in the village at 9.30 am your bus return is 12.30, their are local taxis in the village who charge 12 euros from the village back to the hotel with a really good range of shops and market selection. If you want an evening walk you can visit other hotels less then 2 km away where there is also a large supermarket with great items. On Sundays you will find the beach areas get really full because the locals flock to the beach, they will use the sunloungers if they are not occupied and hotel towels. There is a sign up near the towel area on the beach stating if towels are left unattended for 30 minutes the items will be removed but this is not the case, we sat at the beach everyday and saw beds left for hours with no one on them. Towels can be collected either from the children's pool area or from the beach area from 8am you do not need to give them your room number the two male staff members are not Greek. Disappoin

This was our second visit to the hotel. We never return to the same hotel but due to the great experience we had last year we decided to return. The staff really make this hotel what it is - particularly the cleaning and waiting staff who work tirelessly in the heat. They deserve a lot of credit. A special thanks to our cleaner and Anastasia and Mary at the restaurant. The reason for the 4 star review is unfortunately we felt standards had slipped this year and bring into question the 5* rating of the hotel in comparison to others. There were a few minor issues with our swim up room which were eventually sorted out. However there were other issues which would detract from the hotel's 5* rating. Buffet is now very carb and sweets/pastries heavy. The managers seem to insist on squeezing families onto small tables in the buffet restaurant. There were also less waiting staff this year which meant longer waits for drinks etc and put pressure on the available staff. The hotel also no longer provides bottled water in the rooms - you have to ask for this at the bar / restaurant. Evening entertainment and kids activities mini disco) were also a let down compared to other resorts.

Absolutely excellent hotel! Great service, delicious food, ideally located, nice rooms, beautiful views, close sandy beach, nice swimming pool. Everything you need for perfect holidays. In the surroundings there are no attractions and the nearest shop ( apart from the hotel one) is quite far . I hope to come back there.