Gerakas Belvedere Hotel & Luxury Suites

“Terrific week away!”

Just back from a week in this lovely hotel. Terrific location and lovely views from it's elevared position. We went b and b and had a large, airy room with a very comfy bed. Although we had cooking facilities in the room we never used them as there are plenty of local tavernas to eat out in. The ... more

Just back from a week in this lovely hotel. Terrific location and lovely views from it's elevared position. We went b and b and had a large, airy room with a very comfy bed. Although we had cooking facilities in the room we never used them as there are plenty of local tavernas to eat out in. The pool is lovely and never got crowded, lots of sun beds, though it was so hot during our stay, we stayed in the shady bits by the pool bar! The staff are all very helpful, special mention to Spiros who seemed to be everywhere morning until night. Ate at the Villa Rosa a couple of nights, amazing freah fish. The pizza restaurant just up the road we also tried, which was very nice but quite expensive. If you want a quiet holiday with a great location this is the place for you.

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“A few facts for anyone thinking of booking this hotel”

I hope the following points will be helpful to anyone thinking of booking this hotel which I would recommend for a quiet, peaceful holiday. Very clean everywhere (except guest shower facilities for late departures - see below). Helpful reception staff, especially Nicole who went out of her way ... more

I hope the following points will be helpful to anyone thinking of booking this hotel which I would recommend for a quiet, peaceful holiday. Very clean everywhere (except guest shower facilities for late departures - see below). Helpful reception staff, especially Nicole who went out of her way to help us on the evening of our arrival. No information file/booklet anywhere, particularly about local facilities, which would have been helpful (apparently this is not usual in Greek hotels and the reception staff provide this service). Breakfast buffet offered a good choice but disappointingly the fruit was tinned cocktail fruit and tinned pineapple/pear. Would have been so nice to have some fresh fruit. On arrival allocated rooms 403 and 404 which are not garden view. They were very large with a small kitchen area but felt almost like a bunker as they were quite dark inside. View out to a few sparse trees and the car parking area. Moved to rooms 303 and 306 which were much smaller but cosier and perfectly comfortable. Views onto floral hedge. Description of 'lush green garden' on website I believe is totally misleading. We only saw one small area of lawn which was not lush! Garden-view rooms seem to be any room which is on the ground floor regardless of the outlook! Pool was a good size and we never had a problem getting a lounger. At the beginning of the week, when it seemed to be mainly English people, no one put towels down on them early in the morning. That changed with the arrival of more foreign guests towards the end of the week but we still always got a lounger. We didn't really use the pool snack bar. Drinks were quite expensive and I believe they only offered pizzas, equally expensive. There may have been other food options but it was pizzas being advertised. I think we ate at a total of five different tavernas for either lunch and/or dinner. One was very close but the others were a good 15/20 minute walk away. Definitely recommend Mai's as having the best food and service by far. Villa Rosa located in the 'garden' of the hotel was not usually busy. We had been told that the charge for wine was far more than at other places so we avoided it until the last night when we both had a cocktail there. The charge for those was the same as we had seen elsewhere. Pleasant to sit out at or around the bar. Facilities for late departures were disappointing. You were given a towel on request but there was only one shower in a room which also had two toilets. Some rickety shelving provided for belongings but generally it was quite mucky on the floor and I would assume not cleaned regularly. For a 4 star hotel I would have expected something nicer. Climate charge was 7 euros a day for 4 star - rather a lot to have to pay! Two beaches in walking distance: Porto Romo beach took a good 20 minutes to walk to (and that was downhill, longer coming back). The Porto Romo hotel was there and I think there was a small cafe a little way along the beach. Loungers with shade were 15 euros a day. Beach was extremely narrow - not much wider than the row of loungers - but the water was clear and excellent for swimming. We only went there once. Garakas beach was a 15/20 minute walk but a much flatter route. Three tavernas a short walk from the actual beach. Loungers and shade were 30 euros a day (had been 20 euros in May). Expensive but worth it. Nice sandy beach with roped off area so that the turtle breeding area was not disturbed. Much more space than Porto Romo. Supermarket was about a 15 minute walk away. Owned and run by a very helpful, local woman. You could buy anything you wanted there as it was a complete Aladin's cave! Definitely needed to visit for supplies of water as the hotel only provided one bottle in the fridge on arrival. We did two trips out. One to Zakynthos Town - very easy on the bus from a stop at the hotel. Two euros each way. Not that many scheduled timings so we only had 3 hours actually there. This is enough if you want to just go to the main shopping street, see the main square and walk back along the harbour to a restaurant for lunch. The last bus at 18.00 would be needed if you wanted to visit the museum or do anything more than we did. The second day out was a boat trip - but not a large, commercial trip thank goodness. There were only 20 of us on a small boat. Marios, who owned the boat, was very knowledgeable and keen on conservation. He ensured we saw turtles and marine life and told us a lot about them all. Lunch was not included but he recommended a small taverna where the food was very good. We left at 8.30 and I don't think we were back until at least 17.30. The cost was 60 euros each (larger, commercial trips were charging around 35 euros) but it was absolutely worth it. Lots of stops for sea swimming and he managed to manoeuvre the boat right inside caves. Buy tickets at the village supermarket. Highly recommended.

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“Good mid range hotel in quiet location”

Stayed for a week, quiet, good quality mid range hotel. Book a room with a sea view. Breakfast in the hotel is good, reasonable choice although repetitive. The rooms are cleaned daily and kept spotlessly clean The hotel is located near a few tavernas and a bakery coffee shop. If you want to see ... more

Stayed for a week, quiet, good quality mid range hotel. Book a room with a sea view. Breakfast in the hotel is good, reasonable choice although repetitive. The rooms are cleaned daily and kept spotlessly clean The hotel is located near a few tavernas and a bakery coffee shop. If you want to see the island then hire transport as public bus service is limited

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“Hopefully complete and unbiased review”

What a beautiful hotel. Does seem to need a bit of tlc here and there but not desperately yet. Position as many have said is perfect. Amazing views walking distance of at least 4 great tavernas that we tried. Reception staff lovely (especially Nicole I think her name is) so helpful giving gr... more

What a beautiful hotel. Does seem to need a bit of tlc here and there but not desperately yet. Position as many have said is perfect. Amazing views walking distance of at least 4 great tavernas that we tried. Reception staff lovely (especially Nicole I think her name is) so helpful giving great tips on the island. Lots of stairs even if you take the lift, could be an issue if you cases are heavy, luckily my husband carried ours up. The room was lovely, very clean. We spilt water on the floor and my husband used the pristine white towel 🙄 to wipe. There was only the tiniest mark on it after. Pillows pretty lumpy and bed firm but comfy….. it was VERY creaky. Bathroom was clean, Shower was strong with hot water. It did leak out of the cubicle but I’ve never been anywhere in Greece where it didn’t. This is just how it is. Just need to take care when getting out. Breakfast… spotlessly clean, but if I’m honest, pretty poor. Admittedly, Keeping buffet style food warm without drying out is very hard. fried eggs do not stay well in a warmer. They just don’t. There is cold meats cheese pastries etc and imo something for everyone even if it’s not quite the quality you would like. My reason for marking down…. The pool area. Before I continue I have to say we wasn’t overlooking the pool so didn’t see early morning or late for any maintenance if any ….But, the loungers….. really comfy with big thick cushions but my they are dirty. Really grotty actually. This was early season I’m assuming they hadn’t been cleaned before season start. It was evident that around the pool isn’t hosed down at the end of each day as well. Final comment on the pool. There is no shower to rinse of excessive sun cream before getting in, so by our 5th day you could see the oil/cream on the top of the water. The tiles around the pool were really slick/oily too. This does need attention and I hope whomever is in charge of this sees my comment and addresses it. For health as well as asthetic reasons. Ending on a positive….. the girl in the pool bar is AMAZING. She is rushed off her feet alone, cooking from fresh, doing hot cold drinks, working the till (receipts need signing etc) and still finding time to chat to guests and give helpful tips.someone get her some help. She is an asset to this hotel. All in all it’s a lovely place. If the pool area is cleaned regularly I would have given it 5.

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