Sunrise Zante Hotel - Adults Only in Tsilivi-Planos

This hotel was absolutely awful and we felt as though our holiday was ruined due to this. The biggest problem was the damp room. The room was so damp the bedding and our clothes were wet and smelt of damp. It was disgusting and I complained twice but nothing happened. There was no ventilation in the room, after we complained the maids left the balcony door open and we were bitten all night by mosquitoes!! Once we were home and opened our suitcase the whole house smelt of mould and damp and the clothes in the case were wet. The food was not very nice, not a big variety and was not hot. We had to eat out most evenings. The bar staff wouldn’t give you a full pint of beer, gave half pint cups which were 3/4’s full. The spirits were watered down and everyone in the hotel mentioned this. I will say that the staff were all lovely and the rest of the hotel was clean. There was a very rude gentleman that works at the hotel but apart from that the other staff were great.

Well where do I start............ This so called all inclusive hotel that we picked on good write ups on on the beach saying it’s a 4 star hotel, does not even come close to 3 star. The rooms and the pool itself were very welcoming, clean and tidy. So we then go onto the so called amazing restaurant that we were told on arrival, wow. If that’s what you call amazing, then please take a look at yourselves before you serve hot food at lunch time and evening meal, as majority was always COLD! I did love my bread and butter to fill me up, time and time again, along with my partner. Drinks, where do I start with this, so I thought when you book all inclusive you could drink what you want all day every day. Not here. Little half pint cups filled up half way majority of the time, making you taking numerous trips to the bar, with the draught lager tasting absolute poor. Couldn’t drink spirits until 4pm, are you for real. So paying what we did as two couples spending down quality time away, ending up paying over the odds for the hotel itself and then spending more money to venture out and eat a good evening meal down in the town. Which I can say was always appreciated by all the locals. So bye for now.

Pros Rooms are great, modern and spotless. Check in was speedy, Evi on reception was great and very pleasant. Only a quick walk to the nearest bar and shop. 15 minutes to more livelier bars. All on the flat so not difficult to walk. Great staff, Evi, George, Dimitra and Nicki. They work so hard and are a credit to the hotel. Cons The drinks. Served around the pool in tiny plastic cups. Yes I agree for safety the pool cups should be plastic but they really need to be bigger. 1) for the environment and you’d use less but also it was literally three gulps and it was empty so back to the bar you go. The beer was served with giant heads and two inches from the top making it even worse. They only served spirits and cocktails from 4pm. We’ve stayed at 20+ all inclusives and this is the first one we’ve found this to happen. You can get wine and beer from 1100 but if you don’t drink that you won’t get an alcoholic drink until 4pm. Very disappointing on your ‘holiday’. The cocktails hardly saw the alcohol. It was a small measure (less than 25ml) with a tiny slop of one spirit and a tiny slop of another. The food was just ok. Not much choice and warm at best. They charge extra rates for the safe and air con usage, and even if you pay for late check out they will even demand an extra fee for safe and air con use! As if the extra €50 you’ve paid for the day isn’t enough! And finally, to the management . The way you speak to the staff in front of the guests in disgusting . The only reason I haven’t given you lower is because I see how hard THEY work. They don’t moan about your tight money saving rules but get moaned at by the guests. Your rules are going to lose you guests. Your hotel is lovely and so are your staff but when you pay for all inclusive you want all inclusive and not tiny drinks for a hiked up price. I won’t be returning because of this, which is so disappointing because it’s so easy to sort out and put right.

The hotel was a big disappointment. First of all, it looked nothing like the pictures we saw online. At the reception, the staff member tried to act polite but was actually rude – she often avoided answering questions, pretending not to hear or simply ignoring us. Check-in was also a problem: although it says from 13:00, we were only allowed to check in much later.

The breakfast was extremely poor, with only very basic items, including cheap crackers and breadsticks you could easily buy at a supermarket. The only positive point was that the ladies at breakfast were polite and kind.

Overall, I strongly recommend not staying at this hotel.

Edit in response to the response of the hotel: “you can see how the management will twist the truth to get their way. I normally would not spend my time writing a second review from another account. However, since your response to my first review contained false statements, I felt it was necessary to clarify what actually happened.

You claimed that I arrived at your hotel at 8:00 in the morning and kept coming every hour to ask if the room was ready. This is simply not true. My ferry from Killini to Zakynthos departed at 07:45 and takes 1 hour and 20 minutes. After arriving in town, I had a coffee, so I reached the hotel between 10:00–11:00, not at 08:00 as you stated.

When I arrived, I asked politely if an earlier check-in was possible, knowing that check-out is at 10:00. I also clearly said that if the room was not ready before 13:00, I preferred to go back to Zakynthos town since I had a car. Your staff told me that “something could be arranged” and suggested I wait at the pool while the room was being prepared. Because of that, I waited by the pool until noon, when I came back to ask again. I had even given my phone number so you could call me when the room was ready. In the end, I was told the room would only be available at 13:00, and in reality I entered the room at 13:15.

The issue was not the fifteen-minute delay after the official check-in time, but rather the poor communication and the fact that I was told something different from what actually happened.

In addition, the receptionist’s attitude was clearly passive-aggressive. Later, when we returned at 3:00 in the morning, our car was completely blocked in by the hotel’s car, and we could not get out. This could have been avoided if we had simply been informed in advance that we could use the lower parking area.

Unfortunately, the lack of clear communication, the unprofessional behavior of the staff, and the disappointing quality of the room and breakfast will prevent me from returning to your hotel — even though I was initially considering coming back.

Second edit in respond to the hotel respond: “funny thing is after I pointed out that the management lied about our arrival time which they claimed we arrived at 8am and rushing them every hours, they just removed this from their original respond. Typical kind of people who like to twist the trust and lay behind lies.

Also the management doesn’t seems to understand our frustration. We were not accusing the hotel for giving us the room past 1pm. But it’s the communication. We mentioned that we were perfectly fine to go into the city if the room is ready later but they said it will be done earlier and we could wait by the pool.

This just really show how aggressive is the management. And seriously, if you want to respond, keep your original message like i did and not removing the lies.

It is pure audacity for management to claim they are not distorting the truth, while at the same time inventing the false statement that I arrived at 08:00. At that exact time I was still on the ferry from Killini to Zakynthos, which departs at 07:45 and takes 1 hour and 20 minutes. I only reached the hotel after 10:00. To insist otherwise is not just inaccurate — it is dishonest.

It is disappointing to see that instead of addressing my actual points, the management chose to dismiss my experience and even attack my credibility as a guest. This kind of defensive response only proves my initial concerns about poor communication and unprofessional behavior.

The real issue was never the fifteen minutes after 13:00, but the fact that your staff told me “something could be arranged” before official check-in, had me waiting by the pool until noon after giving my phone number, and then simply told me to wait until after 13:00. That is not “standard hospitality practice” — it is misleading communication. If I had been told from the beginning that the room would only be ready after 13:00, I would have left and returned later instead of wasting time waiting.

Equally troubling is that when I returned late at night, my car was completely blocked in by the hotel’s car, making it impossible to leave. This is not a minor inconvenience, it is an unacceptable practice that shows poor management of parking.

Finally, dismissing my review by pointing out how many reviews I have written elsewhere is unprofessional and irrelevant. Instead of addressing the specific problems I described — communication failures, the receptionist’s passive-aggressive attitude, parking issues, and disappointing quality of the room and breakfast — you chose to undermine me personally. That says more about your management style than it does about me.

Future guests should be aware that while the hotel insists everything was “by the book,” the reality is that communication, service quality, and overall guest experience fall far below professional hospitality standards.