Domes Aulūs Zante - All Inclusive - Autograph Collection

“Excellent hotel focussing on 5 star customer experience”

My wife and I stayed here between 11th and 18th October. The initial impression of the hotel was excellent having been greeted at the door and all paperwork brought to us without the usual queue at Reception, this was a really nice touch to give our holiday an excellent start. We continues to be… more

My wife and I stayed here between 11th and 18th October. The initial impression of the hotel was excellent having been greeted at the door and all paperwork brought to us without the usual queue at Reception, this was a really nice touch to give our holiday an excellent start. We continues to be impressed with the cleanliness of the hotel and how much all of the staff would go the extra mile to ensure a first class service. A special mention for our pool bartender Marios who looked after us throughout our stay, however the staff at the main bar were also outstanding. The room was clean and well maintained throughout our stay, the water preasure was extremely low resulting in a feeble shower performance. Food was as expected in an all inclusive which is difficult to try and accommodate so many different people, whilstbon occassion the food was cold it was edible and we never went hungry. There were some services which had closed due to it being end of season but it didn't appear that everyone was informed i.e. the Spa closed witjout warning and some guests had already booked treatments and a couple of the restaurabts were closed and we only discovered this when trying to book. It didn't spoil our holiday though. On the whole a really nice hotel that delivers a first classs service.

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“Great little family holiday”

Overall it was a pleasant stay. Any shortfalls encountered were quickly dealt with when brought to the attention of the front office team. The hotel is located between the busy Laganas area and Kalamaki that has a few restaurants and pubs. The beach is nice and sandy, great for families with young … more

Overall it was a pleasant stay. Any shortfalls encountered were quickly dealt with when brought to the attention of the front office team. The hotel is located between the busy Laganas area and Kalamaki that has a few restaurants and pubs. The beach is nice and sandy, great for families with young kids. The staff were very attentive and the food was plentiful. We didn’t get to eat at the Grill restaurant but that was fine as there was plenty of meat in the buffet anyways.

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“Pleasant family holiday during end of season.”

We stayed in grand tropical nest room which is 2 en suite bedrooms with interconnecting doors. Overall we would describe the hotel service as 5 star, the facilities as 4 star, and the rooms as 3 star. Firstly the rooms. Pros: beds were extremely comfortable. Free safe. Simple to use. Larg… more

We stayed in grand tropical nest room which is 2 en suite bedrooms with interconnecting doors. Overall we would describe the hotel service as 5 star, the facilities as 4 star, and the rooms as 3 star. Firstly the rooms. Pros: beds were extremely comfortable. Free safe. Simple to use. Large tv though we used this sparingly. It has bbc world news if you’re interested in keeping up with current affairs. Really good toiletries by Olivia Thinks. Good hair dryer. Well stocked mini bar. The maids restock the water every day. The air con system works very well. Areas for improvement: The showers would be good if there was any warm water. There was definitely a problem with the water system in the main part of the hotel. We weren’t overly bothered about this as it was quite nice to have a cool shower. We know of other guests that complained and they were moved to other rooms but the hotel really needs to sort out this problem as a warm shower is a fundamental expectation of any hotel stay. The shower drains also backed up very quickly. We couldn’t shower for more than a few minutes at a time. Again this is a basic problem to address. Whilst the room is relatively spacious and comfortable, the chair in the room is unnecessarily large and is more of a hindrance than a help as it just gets in the way when trying to get around one side of the bed or to access the balcony. The balcony is comfortable with a small table and a couple of comfy chairs. It would be nice to have a clothes dryer. We used one of the luggage stands instead which worked ok. The sliding doors to the balcony have an awkward locking system and the doors are heavy and difficult to open and close. Facilities: Pros: Really nice swimming pool. Easy to get a sun lounger. Parasols by every second lounger. The beach is lovely and accessible directly from the pool area. The hotel bar and the pool bar were very well stocked including premium spirits. And liqueurs. The gym though we didn’t use it looks very good. The main buffet restaurant was kept clean and tidy at all times and we could always get a table inside or outside. Areas for improvement: There was only 2 of the 4 a la carte restaurants open during our stay. We tried the Italian one night but we preferred the buffet restaurant as it had more choice and arguably the food was better. We had access to the cool living area which provides guests with drinks and snacks throughout the day. It’s nothing to write home about as you get any drink from the bar at any time and snacks from the buffet restaurant almost all of the day. I wouldn’t recommend paying for this upgrade Whilst the swimming pool is good and it was quiet when we were on holiday, only having one pool is a drawback and I can imagine it gets very busy in the summer months. Truly 5 star should have an adults only pool and area. Service: Definitely 5 star. The staff were so friendly and couldn’t do enough for you. Service in the buffet restaurant was always prompt with the delivery of drinks. The bar staff were friendly and knowledgeable even when run off their feet. Especially Marius at the pool bar and the restaurant manager. The service from the chamber maids was excellent. Rooms always made up fresh every day. Cons: Information about services and trips could be better. The hotel offers free turtle boat tours on a Monday but they do not advertise this. We paid £105 to do this. The hotel also offers access to another room on your day of checkout so you can freshen up. Again they don’t advertise this. When I enquired the day before they told me all about it but not that I had to book a time slot. However this was rectified the next day and we were given 90 minutes which was more than enough time. The only member of staff we had sn issue with was the pool attendant. He smoked. was on his phone and listening to music through headphones. Not really watching the pool. When he did do anything it was to unnecessarily give children into trouble for jumping in the pool. Children just having harmless fun. Not bothering anyone else. But this guy also gave some children in to trouble but not others so wasn’t even consistent. Overall: We liked the hotel though there was not enough to do especially silly at the end of the season. Overall we would say it’s 4 star and decent value for money. We had access to the cool living area

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“Mix bag and not without issues!”

The hotel is situated not far from the airport on a sandy beach with shallow sea. Turn east on the beach and you can walk for miles along the coast bordered by a nature reserve. Turn west and the development of Laganas confronts you. Luckily the night time noise from the clubs and bars doesn't trav… more

The hotel is situated not far from the airport on a sandy beach with shallow sea. Turn east on the beach and you can walk for miles along the coast bordered by a nature reserve. Turn west and the development of Laganas confronts you. Luckily the night time noise from the clubs and bars doesn't travel to the hotel. The hotel has a main block with rooms above the bars and restaurants. Other accommodation blocks are situated in the grounds some with a sea view. Sadly the grounds were poorly maintained with weeds and bare earth rather than grass especially around the main restaurant and room terraces. The rooms types have names which don’t mean much (e.g Tropical nest), so I’ve no idea what type of room we booked other than we paid more for a bigger room and sea view. Before our stay, I contacted the hotel to request a quiet room away from restaurants and bars. I reiterated this when we checked in but was taken to a room right by the Meze restaurant and bar. After some negotiation we were allocated another room further away. Unfortunately this room had limited / no hot water. After many trips to reception and maintenance men trying to fix it, half way through our holiday, they moved us to an upgraded room and threw in spa treatment for our trouble. Unfortunately the phone in that room didn’t work, so another trip to reception to tell them water was dripping through a hatch in the ceiling when the air conditioning was turned on! Aside from the problems noted above, the rooms were a good size and the bed comfortable. Unfortunately there are no drawers to put clothes in, only shelves and a wardrobe which was long enough for short dresses but nothing longer. There are tea and coffee making facilities in the room and a mini bar well stocked with water but nothing else. The shower room was small and not much shelf space. The toiletries were good and there is a robe. Slippers one size which is big, so of no use to me. The hairdryer was excellent and can be used in the bathroom via the covered socket in front of the mirror. No other sockets in the room were near a mirror. Most meals are buffet in the main restaurant. The choice was generally good, especially the fresh fruit and salads. Unusually for a 5 start hotel eggs can’t be cooked to order for breakfast. Buffet cooked food is never great (or hot) but it was acceptable. I didn’t like their desserts which saved my waistline! The choice of local wine and beer with meals was fine and typical of all-inclusive resorts. If staying for 7 nights, one lunch can be taken at Meze and one dinner at the Trattoria Tessoro Mio. It's best to book before you arrive as they can get fully booked quickly. Lunch at Meze was superb but the Italian dinner disappointing with not everything on the menu available and uninspiring choice. Also the wine was not Italian but the same local wine as elsewhere in the resort. We didn’t bother with The Griglia by Surfer Maya as it was buffet of burgers, wings etc. Hardly the high-end street food with a twist they boast on the website! Snacks are available all day from the pool bar and the bar at Meze. The pool bar usually had a queue and I felt sorry for the bar tender who had little support and must have been exhausted dealing with so many customers. Most guests seem to dine early to get a seat outside on the terrace by the main bar as it fills up quickly. Inside there is nightly entertainment which sounded good on the terrace but was ear splittingly loud inside. If you want a quiet room, stay away from one above the bar! The drinks available were high street brand spirits. Premium spirits are available at a supplement. As it was my partner’s birthday, I pre-ordered a cake and bottle of wine as a surprise in the room. Despite chasing this up during the afternoon, it finally arrived far too late after dinner and when we had already celebrated with drinks in the bar. Such a let down! The large pool is suitable for swimming and plenty of sun beds around it and on the sandy area adjacent to the beach. However, there was a shortage of umbrellas most being taken by mid-morning (if not breakfast). Beach towels were also in plentiful supply. There is a fitness programme (aqua, yoga, Pilates etc) which was not explained to us by guest relations but is bookable via the QR code. There is also a weekly turtle tour which was fully booked by the time we found out about it. Instead we did a private tour round the coast with Laganas Boat Rentals which is just on the beach by the hotel. They were great and cheaper than booking a private trip via the hotel. The hotel also has a free evening shuttle to Zante town twice (?) a week. Again it wasn’t well explained by guest relations on arrival. Similar hotels usually have an orientation tour / meeting for new arrivals and this hotel would benefit from that or at least telling guest everyting can be found via the QR code. Domes just about scrapes in what I would expect a 5* resort to be. As we stayed at the end of September, the price was low for an all-inclusive resort and we were happy that it represented value for money.

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