Grecotel LUXME Costa Botanica

This is second stay at Costa Botanica there is a lovely holiday village feel to this hotel, all the staff as so attentive and happy to help, especially Nina at the beach bar. We had opportunity to speak with Maria a made a few suggestions,Maria was so welcoming,caring and tuck our feedback on board It made a big difference!! The water park and pools are clean an well maintained with lifeguards keeping everyone safe. The beach bar was a highlight for us with snacks and drinks available super service and very clean!! Huge thanks to Nina at the beach bar!! The beach is gorgeous and the water clear the bleach is a mix of sand and pebbles (so you may want to bring sea shoes) the beach is well maintained and also plenty of sun loungers available. There is a life guard on duty as well the sea was calm most days during our stay but the odd day the waves where big where it was still fun to get in and do some wave jumping but please be mind full and follow the advice of the colour coded flags, but still lovely to relax on the beach even on days with bigger waves. To sum up we will be returning guests to Cosat Botanica and to the Grecotel hotel chain. Thank you to Maria,Nina and all the staff at Costa Botanica.

I wanted to take the chance to write the review as we are four days in and we really worried about some of the reviews prior to booking, but decided to give it a shot. Here’s some important things I’d flag in what is hopefully a balanced way. Positives: very good for young kids - restaurants, entertainment, pools etc are good for kids of various ages including little ones (ours are 2, 6, 9). Aqua park is very very good and great fun. Beach bar is lovely. Older son loved the tennis coaching lessons. All the staff we’ve met have been very helpful and kind. It’s also genuinely all inclusive and other than spa and 1-1 tennis coaching we haven’t paid for anything. This is actually really nice as means you aren’t worried about running up a bill every time the kids want a drink or an ice cream. Lots of facilities. Quite a prettt resort and nicely spread out. It’s in a fairly remote area so feels peaceful. Cons: Overall I think it’s better to expect a 4* resort and experience, that’s not to diminish the Costa Botanica I just wouldn’t bank on finding it a 5* resort or experience. Also being frank they pitch the pricing on this basis as what I would describe as their genuine 5* resorts are a cut above and come with a corresponding price increase. We stayed at the Mandola Rosa and the Caramel Boutique and both were amazing. Examples are that it’s very much a classic all inclusive experience in terms of buffets everywhere, lines for food, the quality of the food itself. It’s not bad as such just what I’d call 4* all inclusive. It’s also a big resort and that sort of adds to the vibe. Second overall thing I’d say is there’s no escaping its creaking at the seams. Whether you chalk that up to the hotel over selling the resort in terms of capacity or struggling with staff but my sense is they are just about getting by. And you notice it more in the school holidays. I’ve had some classics on the WhatsApp service the hotel offers - asked three days ago for them to repair or improve the AC, two days ago for the safe to be fixed as it doesn’t work, maid service and water replenishment is patchy, bed also broken but I only flagged that 24 hours ago. The management are very kind and reassuring ‘rest assured we will fix this asap, it’s a priority’. But seriously, three days to fix the AC and two days to fix a safe (and counting). I don’t really hold it against them, they just sort of give the impression they’re struggling to cope. I think realistically if you can’t commit to fix a safe or an AC in 24 hours you’ve got to acknowledge something’s wrong. Also for completely clarity the AC works, just not very well and it’s centrally controlled, you can’t adjust in the room at all so needs maintenance to come and boost it I guess. If it was my hotel and I got these sort of consistent comments I’d personally lower occupancy or hire an additional external contractor as it sort of doesn’t reflect the service we’ve had at other Grecotels. Rooms themselves I’d say

We stayed here as a family with a 4 year old. The hotel absolutely exceeded our expectations. On arrival we were given fresh lemonade, ice towels while luggage taken to our room. The rooms are very well decorated, grounds are maintained so well and very picturesque. The staff and service make it, they are so helpful, welcoming and attentive. The food at the buffet is INCREDIBLE for all three meals and we also went to the White Beach Bar for a meal which was excellent too and a nice contrast. Water parks and pools are good, they are busy as other reviews state but not enough to spoil the experience. Beach is great and watersports well priced. Entertainment and cultural activities that are included are varied and fun. I would 100% return to the hotel, we all loved it!

This was one of the best family vacations we've ever had, and I'm already feeling so sad that it's over (we just returned home last week). My husband and I traveled with our 7 year old son and 5 year old daughter, and it was the most relaxing, fun and magical week at Costa Botanica. I don't even know where to start; however, I will say that I am not someone who normally goes back to the same place (I prefer new adventures) but I would 100% return to Costa Botanica. I miss it already, and I find myself daydreaming about our time there. Here are my thoughts & top memories from this wonderful vacation: **The resort itself is incredibly beautiful, peaceful and calm. We've stayed at a number of all-inclusives, and this one felt more intimate and less commercial, if that makes sense. Between the garden setting, the lounge area by the beach (we loved watching sunsets there while lying on the bed swings), the charming piazza and the serene spa; this resort is truly an OASIS. **The water park was wonderful, and I especially enjoyed the lazy river. The slides were adventurous enough for my two children (my 7 year old was able to do all of them, my 5 year old could do about half), but the equipment is a bit old and rough on swimsuits (my son's swim shorts ended up with some holes in the bottom). Though in need of some TLC, the slides were certainly safe and still a lot of fun. **There are plenty of opportunities for parents to get alone time, between kids' club, babysitting services and movie nights. The kids club ladies were amazing, especially Elpida - she really seems to enjoy her job and truly loves children. What a gem! **The gym and spa facilities were very nice. There's a cool vintage-style boxing ring, and one afternoon they were having a class for kids, which my son absolutely LOVED (he also now knows how to count in Greek thanks to his boxing class, haha). I went to the spa a couple times for treatments, which were all wonderful. **The buffet food was pretty good, not bad for an all-inclusive and with enough variety to not get too bored during a week-long stay. We tried the Italian & Asian a la carte restaurants, and they were both really good (Asian was our favorite). I thought the chocolaterie was a really fun touch and loved that it was open so late. And of course my kids loved the gelateria (they had ice cream 4 times one day, haha!). **The alcoholic drinks were great, and the staff were very accomodating, allowing guests to take entire bottles of wine if desired. The cocktails were very good, much better than I've had at other resorts. We did not experience the long waits for drinks that other reviewers mentioned. All service was very punctual & friendly. **Hotel staff were all WONDERFUL! They went out of their way to make our stay perfect. The concierge team helped us book an incredible boat trip to Canal d'Amour. The gentleman who took us on the boat ride was SO wonderful, even giving my kids a chance to "drive" the boat. It was a magical

Firstly, this is not a bad hotel, the staff are friendly and polite. It’s clean, the atmosphere is great and you feel safe and relaxed. The square is a really nice touch, and the family pool area is quiet and is perfect for kids. (Tip: you need to put towels out before 9am because there aren’t enough shaded sun beds). We avoided the beach bar pool after an initial look - a bit busy and boozy for us. Our main disappointment was that this was by no stretch of the imagination a five star hotel. The buffet food is repetitive and so unimaginative, the rooms (other than the most expensive ones) are very basic Premier Inn size and style. The booking system (app) for the non buffet restaurants doesn’t seem to work so you have to queue to speak to someone who will book your spots. Only they aren’t there for most of the day so it’s a drawn out process. This isn’t what you’d expect from five star service and we’ve stayed in other places with multiple food options that were simple and easy to book via an app or via a switchboard. Once you do book, the non buffet restaurants are below average. I’d advise not bothering. The Asian experience was very disappointing, cooking very poor - almost inedible super noodles in a pad Thai?! - and inattentive service. The Italian place is a little bit better but because it’s close to the sea it is overrun with mosquitoes. The food wasn’t very good there either. We didn’t bother with fine dining after reading the reviews. All this said, we did have a really lovely relaxing holiday. But we just expected a higher standard of food and service for the price we paid. The Instagram pictures don’t tell the whole story and this is not what I’d describe as a luxury resort. However, with some rethinking it could be much better. The mark of any good holiday is whether you would want to return, and I’m afraid the thought of another week of the boring buffet food and fighting off the mosquitoes means we wouldn’t go back. I can see why some people love it here but we felt it was overpriced.

Excellent hotel, throughly enjoyed our stay. Rooms are great, hotel grounds spacious, food good and sitting in the beach bar looking out could be one of my favourite places to be. I'd come back just for that.