Guest User
July 5, 2024
HOTEL KONTES, july 3 2024 They almost ruined our sought-after vacation in Paros Please, go else-where, …if you can! For details, keep on reading. Thank you for your interest. Expectations… We had built great expectations on Hotel Kontes by reading some reviews and lookig at the photos of the hotel, and by some very nice e-mail exchanges…but we were immediately disapointed upon arrival. My wife and I arrived in Paros early in the morning, after a night flight from Barcelona, getting a connection flight in Athens and picking-up a rented car at Paros airport. The island greeted us with a warm, sunny, brilliant morning! All was running perfectly well! … and Disapointment And then, we dropped our luggage at the corner next to the hotel, and we immediately realised the Hotel Kontes we were standing in front of was, and was not, the one we had seen online and had booked for our vacation in Paros. We were exhausted from the night long travels and could not believe what we saw. The hotel was not really first line in front of the harbour, but hidden beside a corner, the sea could only be seen from the alley to the enttance… The reception was unwelcoming. There was a stange perfume floating on the air. Our room was not ready yet (we had asked for an early check-in, which could not be guaranteed due to the hotel being fully booked). We could not stay at the reception to rest. There is not a nice hall a to relax… Worst of all, the much-desired breakfast existed only in photos. Breakfast The hotel has no restaurant nor a coffee-shop, and the breakfast the hotel includes in their offer is a totally unappetizing pre-set continental breakfast, with filtered coffe. That breakfast is offered at the terrace of the neighbouring restaurant, and there is no possibility to change the set menu, exclude it from the booking or get a refund. Yes, the terrace you see on the hotel website does not belong to the hotel… Since that breakfast upon arrival was not paid for in the reservation, we went for a proper breakfast at the hotel Oasis, right in the corner overlooking the harbour and the opposing Krios beach. Luck The Oasis Hotel staff, led by Maria, was so welcoming and simpathetic that we even checked if they would have a room for us. We were lucky, for they had a vacancy, and we could start in a standard room and then move to a room with a sea-view!!! Is there a way out? After finnishing breakfast, we returned to Hotel Kontes to check for the possibility to cancel our reservation, and ready to accept a penalisation. It was June 28th, a Friday early in the morning, and demand was high, so we expected the hotel would not be much damaged No-way!!! We would have to pay for the whole booking of four nights. The receptionist claimed not to be entitled to return the money (that, by the way, had not been charged yet against the credit card…) After trying to negotiate a way-out, we surrendered and asked to file a complaint, but we were indicated to rea