This was our fourth time at the Alex and it just seems to get better. Maybe it was the fact we'd split our holiday into two and spent 4 days at a quite unremarkable hotel in Thassos town - getting to the Alex' was like going from a B&B to the Ritz.

I can't put my finger on why I like this hotel so much but perhaps it's part and parcel of the island's magic....i can't understand why people get so uptight about sunbeds etc as the ONLY thing to do in thassos is hire a car/jeep/bike whatever and get out to the beaches.

It's not an all-inclusive, you don't have to slavishly sit on the same bed for a fortnight to have a good hols - though I do know how tyrannical kids can be about not leaving the pool - our son would have quite happily plonked himself there and not moved.

I cannot agree with the reviews which say the food was poor - quite liked what we had and found lots of Greek dishes - the weekly barbeque was an inspired idea. Again, it's not worth sulkign about as Potos is wall to wall with great restaurants - try Irene's, everyone else did - ask her for fresh fish and get remarkable honestly - the mussels in tomato sauce are wonderful by the way but do ask for riceas it just comes on one vast dish.

Love thassos, love the alex and met numerous people plannign to return next year - probably not us as we like to have one year on, one year elsewhere. It helps us to realise just how great thasso really is if we go to other places. For instance, got pestered every five minutes in Sardinia by men/women wanting us to buy towels, jewellery etc...in thasso you get - but only if you're lukcy - one man per day strolling down the back selling either corn or doughnuts.....

I've recently returned from a week long stay at this hotel and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to visit Thassos. The hotel is very clean and the rooms are of a high standard. We stayed in one of the superior rooms very near to the main pool and restaurant and would defintely recommend that you pay the upgrade for a superior room.

If you want to get a sunbed round the pool then get your towel down early, there are not that many beds and they fill up quickly. I always got the towels down by 8.30am as a rule otherwise the germans and east europeans at the hotel snapped them all up! The hotel staff do come round between 10.30am and 11am and remove towels off of any beds without bums on them so don't leave you're towel unasccompanied around this time!

The beach isn't too bad, very shingly at the waterline and it leads straight on to a rock shelf, so splashing around in the shallows is out of the question unless you've got water shoes on. It is nice and breezy though so it's possible to lay there for a while if that's what floats your boat.

The food at the hotel is okay. They're not going to win any awards for creativity but it is all edible if somewhat bland. It would have been nice to see more Greek dishes on the menu as the food does seem to be aimed squarely at the German clientele. Lots of Schnitzel etc... The baklava at the hotel is very good though so if you fancy a sweet desert then go for this and grab some ice cream out of the kids section to go with it.

Potos town itself is decent enough with a good mix of bars and restaurants but it's well worth hiring a jeep and seeing the rest of the island. Thassos Town is a must and the Simi and Syrtaki tavernas in the old harbour are good restaurants. Make sure you try the fish of the day as it gets bought in fresh every morning. Just don't go before 8.30 as it's still pretty hot out (in July anyway). Get a jeep not a car as some of the more remote beaches and towns have very steep inclines leading to and from them. I saw a couple of people struggling to get off of Paradise Beach in their hire cars.

If you're going with Thomson don't hire through Europcar as they are very pricey. I received a quote of 293 euros to hire a Suzuki Jeep for three days from the Europcar rep at the hotel but managed to get the guy at Potos car rental to let me have one for 140 euros for 3 days. Thats less than half price and I had a third of a tank of petrol in it for free (maybe I was just lucky on this point though!).

All in all well worth the trip, just make sure you get out of the hotel for some real greek style food and relaxation.

The Hotel:

My husband and I visited this hotel with another married couple. We are all in our late 20's and 30's and found the holiday to be more than perfect.

The hotel is lovely and deserves its 4 stars, in a lovely situation near Potos with beautiful views. Some of the staff are very helpful whilst others (around the pool bar) could appear a little rude at times - but not enough to bother us!

The kids around the pool could be a real pain to be honest and in the first week there were the usual sunbed wars (I mean, who gets up at 7am on holiday to put their towel down!). We are quite relaxed though and it didn't bother us - sometimes we got a sunbed and others we went down to the hotel beach which is quieter. The beach is not that special but how many hotels in Greece have private access to a beach, so it is an added bonus!

The rooms:

Nice and clean, we upgraded to a larger room with sea view which I would suggest as some of the other rooms appeared to have fairly poor views. Lovely and quiet at night.

The food:

The food was OK, a little cold and we didn't really eat there in the evenings as we prefer to eat out and experience Greek culture. Perfectly edible though, just not that exciting!

The Island:

Amazingly beautiful - I am officially in love, so much so that I am looking to buy a holiday home out there! Do get out of the hotel and experience the island. Our best days involved a Jimny Jeep and a sense of adventure - there is only one asphalt road around the island (no traffic, bliss) and to get to some villages you have to go off road. If you have a 4x4, please visit Kastro (from Limenas) as it is exceptionally beautiful. A mountain village which has been deserted by it's villagers (who have gone off to the coast to earn their money) Kostas and his family still live there are will serve you drinks, show you around the church and sell you honey. There is also a stunning waterfall a few kms from the village.

Last but by no means least, I cannot miss out those lovely brothers Abe and Joe from Boomerang! Spent most nights there (some rather messy one's too as they are bad influences) -they cannot do enough to help and will always try and find you a sunbed on the beach. I just wish I was back there now...

We have just returned from alexandra beach and had a great time. The hotel was very clean and all the staff where fantastic. We read many reviews before we left and where most concerned anout the dining facilities. We didn't find this a problem, we where always seated immediately and staff where well organised to clear tables and seat you appropriatley. There is a special "kids restaurant" in the evening too. The pools where good too, there is a large one which can be quite busy and the smaller one which we spent most of our time by, great with a young child. Sunbeds where not a problem either. The beach is good but very pebbly, the north east of the island is sandy and about an hours drive. Car hire was really cheap at the hotel, we where quoted £180 before we left and paid 85 euros when we got there for 3 days.

Potos is a lovely town with some beautiful tavernas right on the beach front. We spent most nights in the Boomerang bar which was fantastic! The aussies blokes running it are so much fun and can tell you all the best beaches (they helped us track down some fags!) They had sunbeds on the beach which where free for customers and served the best cocktails in town. Would highly recommend it!

All in all a great holiday. The downsides where the long trip to get there (we where on the road for 12 hrs). The hotel is an hour and 20 from the ferry port. There are no tobaconists on the island but the kiosk on the corner at the main crossroads had a big stock. We asked the lady in the hotel shop to order us some which where delivered the next afternoon.

Hope you found this helpful!