Filoxenia Hotel Zakynthos

i just got back from a week’s stay at the filoxenia and it was absolutely amazing. i don’t know where to start !! we stayed in one of the deluxe rooms which is absolutely worth the extra 100 odd we paid. it just feels like such a treat and a nice room makes the holiday more enjoyable in my opinion. before coming i was a little scared because of some of the really negative reviews but i'm not sure what everyone was complaining about. if you’re not a fussy eater, like the sun, all inclusive drinks, swimming in the pool. you can’t complain at all. everything was so clean, the food was brilliant and we tried something new every day. yes, the drinks are a little watered down and not ‘branded’ but again, don’t book an all inclusive hotel if you’re fussy about the brands of your drinks. you can get cocktails at the bar for €6-€8. tourist tax is €10 a night so we paid €70 which i was prepared for before coming. i didn’t get her name but the girl on reception with the septum piercing was so friendly, and the 2 bar men on the pool bar every night were so lovely too. the walk to the closest shop is about 5 minutes and into tsilivi town was 15, to the beach was about 25. we walked every time but the filoxenia have a free shuttle bus that can take you there. if you are coming to visit i would recommend booking a trip with nefis travel who have their office in tsilivi. we saw the blue caves and swam with the fish, shipwreck and xigia beach for only €38 euros each. the only downside was that we had 2 twin beds instead of a double and they’re not the most comfortable, the shower leaks a little onto the bathroom floor too but it’s not a huge deal. there isn’t much entertainment if you have kids; a couple nights we had live music, and in the afternoons there was bingo and a quiz. wednesday is greek day so dinner is greek with traditional dancing in the evening which was really fun. i could go on and on about my stay but it was just beautiful !!! we would definitely come back. thank you everyone at the filoxenia :)

Brilliant room ground in front of pool .And near the outside bar where the barmaid was lovely very friendly. Our room was great felt a bit cold during the night and made our clothes feel a bit damp bur not a problem. A good choice of food ony criticism could b a bit warmer. I have stayed here before and we love it all staff helpful and friendly we will b back .

Loved our weeks stay in this hotel. Clean, comfortable and great food. The staff worked hard and were very helpful. It was quiet the first couple of days as it was the start of the season but was very busy by the time we left. We never had a problem getting a sunbed/table/bar service. Not to far to the resort centre where there were some great bars.

I’ve never checked into a hotel for a week and checked out again in under four hours—but there’s a first time for everything. Let me start with the positives: check-in was smooth and the staff were incredibly friendly. In fact, they even managed to upgrade our room at no extra cost, which felt like a great start. The entrance and reception area looked clean, modern, and recently updated. Our first impression was, “If this is where we’re staying, it’s going to be fantastic.” And then we were escorted to our room. Unfortunately, this required a journey through what I can only describe as the unrenovated side of the hotel. We were led past water tanks and a generator, then up a set of rusty, wobbly steps (covered with equally tired carpet) to the back of the building. The contrast was startling. When we opened the door to our room, any hopes we had were quickly dashed. The floor was dirty, the furniture dated and mismatched, and the overall feel was more “budget hostel” than “four-star getaway.” The two brown air conditioning units looked like relics from the 80s—and neither of them worked. The bed linen had visible marks on it, and the wardrobe, aside from its sparse collection of coat hangers (presumably left by previous guests), contained three old blankets and a safe that looked like it had lost a battle with a crowbar. The bathroom brought back memories of visiting my grandparents’ house in the early 90s, and the balcony—if you could call it that—was just wide enough to hold the obligatory plastic table and chairs, with no room to breathe. The walls were scuffed, the grout in the tiles was filthy, and the furniture was literally falling apart. Still, we tried to give it a fair shot and thought, “If the food is good, we’ll make it work.” So off we went to the restaurant for lunch. Again, the staff were polite and the service was friendly. The food, however, was a different story. The selection was limited—chips, pizza, omelette, and a few other uninspiring dishes. The beer was passable, but the wine tasted like watered-down vinegar. As for the food: greasy, bland, and underwhelming. We held out hope for dessert, but were met with pre-packaged donuts, banana jelly, synthetic whipped cream, and the usual ice cream selection. Not exactly the culinary highlight we were hoping for. By this point, we were sitting on the balcony weighing our options—and trying not to be too disheartened. This was meant to be a much-anticipated holiday. But the more we thought about it, the clearer it became: we hadn’t spent all year looking forward to this. So we got online, found an alternative hotel nearby, booked it, called a taxi, and checked out. As we were leaving, a staff member approached us and rather aggressively questioned where we were going. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, and added an awkward final note to an already disappointing experience. To be clear, this isn’t a criticism of the staff themselves—they were doing their best and were,

What else can I say other than wow! The Filoxenia was absolutely fabulous from the very beginning! We were moved to the hotel from our original booking at another hotel due to the end of season change. We had 2 six year olds and 2 seven year olds to entertain and the Filoxenia was the perfect place! Much better than the original hotel! There is a large family friendly pool next to the animation bar, a medium sized pool at the main pool bar and then a baby pool next to it. There's a brilliant snooker/pool table, table football and ping pong available for people to play. The pool table takes €2 coins only. Our accommodation was stunning. The room was massive with 2 double beds and a single bed. Cleaners are in daily with towels changed every 2 days and linen changed every 3 days. The food was perfect, with a fabulous variety of Greek dishes, English dishes and tonnes of fruit and salad. Soft drinks, hot drinks and alcohol were self serve in the restaurants and readily available in all of the bars along with tasty unlimited icecream throughout the day. We played 3 rounds of Bingo on Tuesday with the lovely Keith after my husband failed miserably at the previous nights quiz! Everyone from the wonderful receptionist Vicky who showed us to our rooms to the brilliant gang of cleaners who looked after us and made the kids feel so welcome on their first holiday were absolutely perfect! I wrote a little thank you note in Greek (thank goodness for Google translate!) Then both myself and my sisterinlaw left our remaining euros as tips to say thank you! We can't wait to come back again! The Tacey Family and The Ekins/Jones Family Room 212 and 213

Family of 4, children age 16 & 14. We all had an AMAZING 2 weeks here! The hotel is a perfect size so not too busy. 2 main pools and 2 bar areas. Plenty of sunbeds and seating areas on both sides. We spent our daytimes around the pool by the animation bar, run by the wonderful Alexandra! We were introduced by friends we met to iced coffee with cream liqueur - absolutely beautiful! Ask Alexandra for a “Dirty Milkshake” as I named it . It’s also beautiful with iced chocolate too. She also serves a lovely G&T, which was our daily drink. Entertainment at the Animation bar is fun with something on a Friday, Sunday, Monday & Tuesday. There is a Greek night once a week at the other bar with great music and Greek dancing - so much fun! This was our first time doing All Inclusive and we were very impressed. The food is lovely and varied, but to be honest there isn’t much for really fussy eaters. Chips most days….. fish fingers occasionally….. pizza occasionally. All is cooked perfectly and stocked up as soon as becomes low. I thoroughly enjoyed the beef stifado, anything pork and the chicken was delicious. The turkey wasn’t my thing. The oven potatoes were gorgeous. Breakfast was great also with a good selection of Greek bacon, mini sausages, baked beans, scrambled eggs, fried eggs etc. plenty of salad at all times, plus fresh melon/watermelon/apple etc. Desserts at lunch and dinner were amazingly good. Snacks are served mid-PM and afternoon tea 5-6. Everywhere was kept clean at all times. All the staff work so hard! We would 100% return.