Avra Imperial Hotel

“great experience, I highly recommend it”

I visited the hotel for business reasons. I stayed for 5 days and I was very pleased. the breakfast buffet was rich with many options, the staff very willing and kind. I strongly recommend the hotel, they will visit it again. thank you very much for the very nice experience

“Great hotel, but not for families.”

This is a review from a family point of view, wanting to keep our 11 year old daughter happy but have a relaxing time as well. The Avra scored well on some but not on others. Checkin for us was late at night, we found our room wasn't ready so we got upgraded to the room on the other side of the r… more

This is a review from a family point of view, wanting to keep our 11 year old daughter happy but have a relaxing time as well. The Avra scored well on some but not on others. Checkin for us was late at night, we found our room wasn't ready so we got upgraded to the room on the other side of the road. This wasn't ideal but we got a good room and here discovered the excellent room service and the size of the club sandwiches which we underestimated! Next day we moved over to our room for the week with the private pool. There wasn't much difference, no Netflix in the junior suites though :( . Probably a good thing! The rooms were clean and the private pool was a decent size (and cold, more on that later), although the sun moves out of sight mid afternoon which we needed in October as it wasn't super warm all week. Food in a restaurant was very good, I wasn't too much of a fan of the breakfast but there was plenty of choice. I recommend the italian restaurant and the pizzas which were delicious. The all-inclusive option was the best option I've experienced with many top drinks brands available and the bar food was great. So far so good, but now for some downsides which were disappointing...the pool temperature! It was so cold, it was close to unusable. Not so much an issue in hotter weather maybe but my daughter who loves swimming wouldn't stay in for more than 5 minutes. It was bordering on an ice bath! In the end we used the 2 hours available in the morning to use the indoor pool by the spa. When you factor in that there were no daytime activities it just made our stay in the hotel rather dull. There was also no evening entertainment bar the first day (man on guitar). The beach is nearby but no one was using it (red flagged all week). There was also a complete lack of any music around during the week, nothing played by the pool or even sometimes in the evening in the bar area. We were staying during the final week of the season and it felt like it. There wasn't much to do in the surrounding area so we took the bus a few days and saw a bit of the island, there is a bus station outside the hotel which passes every 20 minutes. I would say this hotel would be good if you are looking for a chilled holiday (didn't use the spa but it looked nice) but not one if you are looking for a fun family trip away.

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“Lovely stay!”

Grab yourself a drink, it’s gonna be a long one 😂 Me and my partner have just spent 7 nights all inclusive here and we had a brilliant time. A lovely hotel porter met us outside and took our luggage up to reception and then to our room after checking in (we tipped him €5 - please don’t be a tight a… more

Grab yourself a drink, it’s gonna be a long one 😂 Me and my partner have just spent 7 nights all inclusive here and we had a brilliant time. A lovely hotel porter met us outside and took our luggage up to reception and then to our room after checking in (we tipped him €5 - please don’t be a tight ass and be sure tip them too!) - we also tipped them again as they carry your luggage out of the hotel when it’s time to leave and they offer to take them to the luggage storage room if you have time to kill before your departure. We were slightly disappointed checking in, as we had a note on our reservation stating we were there to celebrate our anniversary and was told when we initially booked that they would look to upgrade us if possible (seeing as they upgrade people randomly and there was quite a lot of vacant rooms, I thought we were in with a chance). Not that we were expecting it, but there was not a single mention of the special occasion but we were happy enough to just be there. The hotel is stunning, yes there are some tired areas however it looks beautiful especially in the night. I didn’t use the pool during our stay as the water was absolutely freezing however my partner enjoyed it. His only complaint was how dirty the pool was in some areas. The rooms are lovely, we had a garden view but we had a view (only slightly) of the sea! The rooms are spacious, plenty of storage and very clean. Our only complaint is that the beds are 2 singles pushed together to make a double. This was annoying when your room is listed as a double, it’s impossible to stop the beds from rolling apart but they were comfy enough. Housekeeping did a great job at keeping on top of our room. Our mini fridge was filled with soft drinks, chocolate, wines and beers which was lovely, although being all inclusive I would have expected this to be topped up daily. A plate of fruit and bottle of bubbly was also there to greet us. We did awake one morning to find a rather strange insect in bed with us but that’s very minor (even if I did nearly scream) The first night we went to the Blue Dong restaurant - I made these reservations months in advance (as advised) and despite this, there was a slight hiccup when arriving. The lady that greeted me stated I didn’t have a booking despite me showing her the confirmation email. She stated she has someone with my name but a different room number. I advised there is probably not 2 people at the hotel with the same name as me considering it’s quite a unique name and that I assume it’s a system error with the wrong room number. Still, she had to phone someone for advice. A few minutes later she said “well you’re here now so i will let you in” - umm.. yes rightly so you will as I made a reservation and my name is on your list! (It was quiet in there aswell) despite that, it was one of our favourite meals and we enjoyed every mouthful! It was stunning. We also attended the Blue Dong for the buffet lunch and this too was incredible. Those that did not visit here due to other reviews… you missed out big time!! We spent some days next to the pool having cocktails and snacks from the Aura Pool Bar. Their toasties and chips are amazing and they have a great selection of alcoholic and soft drinks. The cocktails are lovely! They are quite strong but we didn’t mind that! The staff come over to greet you when you sit down and provide a menu, they are very friendly and welcoming. One thing I will say is, once they have served you once and cleared your plates, it’s pretty hard to get their attention to place another order for another drink etc, half the time you find yourself going up to the bar to place the order. I have read a lot of reviews about rude staff, I can honestly say we didn’t really encounter any rude staff. There was one female that worked at the bar in the evenings (also served us at the Aura Pool Bar a few times) that was slightly rude, her smiles were very forced and on one occasion when we politely said “excuse me” to grab her attention in order to get a second drink, she was quite blunt with her reply and said “you have to wait” - she then went on to serve and greet 4 different tables, ignoring us each time she walked past. We waited around 30 minutes for her to come back to us, but she didn’t bother so we left. She did see us get up to leave and she didn’t say anything. We did slightly dread getting served by her as the holiday went on just because most interactions seemed false but apart from that, everyone was super nice and friendly! The international buffet is also another place we ate, we enjoyed it and as far as a buffet goes, it’s pretty decent! We attended there for breakfast and it was spot on and also in the evenings and it’s honestly worth a visit, they have a great selection of food and to my absolute delight - a sh!t ton of baklava which was incredible!! We also had another reservation for Al Fresco, the first time we went was at lunch time. I went for the pizza which I personally wasn’t fussed on, although my partner enjoyed his and a prawn starter with bread. Again - didn’t really like this but their brownie dessert made up for it. We then attended later in the week in the evening and my god - this was incredible. I had the beef fillet with sweet potato mash and honestly, it’s probably one of the nicest meals I’ve ever had! The sweet potato mash was to die for!! My partner had the chicken fillet and his was no where near as nice as mine, his chicken was quite dry but he did say it was fairly nice. We also had the mushroom starter and that was incredible too! It was such a nice meal to have had on our final night. Most days we went across to the beach across the road from the hotel, it’s not really a place you can sit and relax as the chairs are awful, dirty and broken but to get some nice fresh air and go into the water (which was warmer than the hotel pools) its a nice place to wander! We didn’t realise the Avra Seaside Pool was also a joined to this, we popped there one day and had lunch and then relaxed on the chairs next to the pool. We were the only ones there initially but another 5/6 people rocked up but it was still pretty quiet and relaxing! The pool inside the spa is also stunning. I actually went into the water here - don’t be fooled though, the first 3 steps the water is actually warm and then the colder temp hits you but it’s still a decent temperature and once you’re in, it’s perfect and relaxing. We also relaxed in the jacuzzi, sauna and steam room which was perfect. There is a mini market shop in the hotel, there you can buy a variety of things like sun cream, crisp, playing cards, drinks, ice creams, phone chargers etc. This is also where you collect your towels for the pool if you need one! There is a worker named Stella that was there each time we entered and she is super friendly and polite! If you fancy venturing out of the hotel, less than a 10 minute walk (right of the hotel) you can stroll up to the harbour. We visited a lovely restaurant down by the beach (not sure of the name but it’s the closest to the hotel) - we had their mussels and they were insane! I haven’t stopped thinking about them! Their spag bol was pretty bland but I enjoyed my visit. I’m fairly certain they are shut now as it’s end of season. If you fancy a big tasty pizza and a banging crepe, Freshness Lunch Cafe (turn left out of the hotel and it’s up on the left about 2 mins up the road) is the place to go!!!! My partner had a calzone pizza and the cheese pull was something else. I had a Texas bbq with 3 different cheeses and it was SO GOOD! I then had a Nutella crepe and it was jam packed full of Nutella! Prices were very cheap and the staff were lovely. The only thing that put me off was the fact people can smoke inside as you’re eating.. but it didn’t and wouldn’t stop me from returning. They also deliver up until 11.30pm! Another good place to go if you fancy getting out of the hotel or fancy watching a game of football - almost opposite the hotel is a little restaurant/bar called Blackout. This was lovely, we had gyros and a pint/cocktail and watched a match before heading back to the hotel and it was a lovely little visit. I did get chatting to an older lady during my stay, she was with her husband and she asked what I thought about the hotel. We had completely different opinions - she thought everything was rubbish, she disliked the food and she found the place boring. I’m not being funny, but surely you do your research prior to booking a holiday to see what is in the area or what entertainment the hotel provides etc? I do every single time. Yes there’s hardly any entertainment minus a piano player sometimes in the evening but who cares! We were (as were many others) happy enough to sit playing cards or just relaxing, chatting with a few cocktails with the most beautiful view of the pool. There isn’t much to do in the hotel or out of the hotel unless you venture out on a bus (maybe to Old Town etc which is around 1 hour on the bus - we didn’t bother going in the end) but we went for a relaxing, unwinding holiday and that’s exactly what we got. Peoples complaints about the food etc is baffling, I’m quite fussy when it comes to food but I honestly cannot fault the place. Also, it is well worth paying the £70 extra per person for the private transfer. A bus can take up to 4 hours to get you to the hotel. We arrived within 40 mins from the airport. Partly because our driver was absolutely savage at driving and wasn’t shy about the speed limit. But we literally walked out of the airport and straight into a mini bus and was whisked away, whilst others had to walk to a bus stop and wait for their shared transfer! The reason for 4 stars and not 5 .. we were not made aware at any point until we got to the hotel, that it would be a charge of €10 per night during our stay. We had to pay €70 upon checking out which annoyed us slightly as we didn’t take a huge amount of spending money due to being all inclusive. Also when all inclusive they provide You with a receipt of €0.00 but with a pen to write down a tip if you feel necessary. We tipped €5 at the Blue Dong - I wrote this on the receipt and left the tip on top. Upon checking out we had to pay an additional €5 as we didn’t realise they add it to your room number at the end of the stay! I was furious when my partner told me he paid this as we shouldn’t have paid it. Although it’s only €5, it’s the principal! It left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth and would probably in future decline to leave any tips if I did return. Would we ever return? Maybe.. maybe not (my partner deffo would) It’s a beautiful hotel and I wouldn’t have any problems returning, I just like trying new places. But honestly anyone that is contemplating booking - go for it! PS: if you plan on taking denim shorts - please bare in mind, come day 3 you will not be able to do them up. Worth it though!

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