Our family of 5 stayed at the Hotel Bristol in June 2011. Being a family of 5, we opted for one of the hotel’s apartments rather than two rooms in the hotel. This seemed more practical since we wanted to stay together and the apartment was equipped with a small kitchenette. The apartments are also closer to the swimming pool, although none of the apartments open directly to the pool.

Our intent was to stay at the hotel for nine nights, but reduced this to six nights based primarily on the condition of the apartment. The apartment was comprised of one bedroom, a living/dining/kitchen room and one bathroom. A small paved area in front of the apartment was provided with a plastic table and four chairs that appeared to be purchased at a flea market. Two of the four chairs were broken and everything was dirty and discolored. We tried to clean it ourselves but eventually gave up realizing it was a lost cause. A tablecloth that we purchased ourselves helped moderately. It should be noted that the one descent table and chairs located at the swimming pool was often occupied by the owner’s mother and father who live in one of the apartments.

In order to accommodate sleeping arrangements for 5 persons, two single beds were placed in the living/dining/kitchen room. The one bedroom provided sleeping quarters for the other three guests. As a result of this arrangement, there were no sofas or seating arrangement where we could sit together and play card games or just talk over soda and wine. A rectangular sofa placed in one corner of the living/dining/kitchen room was more appropriate for a household pet.

The bedroom was the only room equipped with an air conditioning unit, and it was positioned so that the cold air blew directly upon the head of the queen size bed. The remote control was removed from the apartment on the fourth day for no apparent reason other than a technician saying that the apartment needed to be balanced. It didn’t matter at that point since I was already sick from having cold air blown on my face for four nights. The last two nights were miserably hot and uncomfortable.

The bathroom was also poorly configured although it appeared to be newly remodeled.
On a positive note, the Hotel Bristol is fairly clean, the swimming pool is inviting, breakfast is simple but good, and the location is a short walk to beach.

Before implementation of the Euro currency, travelers who went to Southern European destinations assumed and expected that the overall standard would be slightly lower than their northern counterparts. This was acceptable because of the lower cost for hotels, rental cars, food, etc. However, the Euro has leveled the playing field and it’s no longer a value to travel South except for the consistent hot summer weather. For this reason, expectations are naturally higher but we were disappointed. To make matters worse, we were charged an extra night penalty for leaving early and for playing tennis even though never informed that there was a cost associated with this activity.