Crystal Waters

I want to start by saying this is not a bad hotel. So why am I rating it poor? Well, for the price that we paid (EUR 500 per night or thereabouts), they fell significant short of our expectations and we were, to say the least, disappointed. The amenities are fine, but the overall customer experience is significantly lacking. Sadly the people running the hotel don't know how to offer an experience commensurate with the price they charge. Some examples: - they have 3 pools and almost zero shaded area. The only shaded areas are reserved for people who want to pay extra for a 'bed' (no one was using them by the way), so you are forced to stay under the burning sun - there was 1 lifeguard for all 3 pools. For the majority of the time he was busy serving and cleaning tables, so we were very lucky that we didn't need his services. I suspect only having 1 lifeguard for 3 pools who is actually constantly occupied on other duties isn't even in line with regulations - the towels had to be returned always by the reception. So I was 3 levels down, yet still had to go up in the burning sun because you could not return them without signing against the form. I guess after paying them over EUR 3000 they were worried that we might steal a towel that cost 5 EUR. - the breakfast area was understaffed and we were always waiting under the burning sun until a table was found. Did they think to provide some shade? No. - Good thing that they had an area for children. But because hotel management didn't want to pay someone qualified for the job, they had an 18 year old girl managing children. She was very nice, but policy was that children under the age of 6 had to stay with their parents even in this supervised children area. This was never the case in any of the large hotel chains and would not have been the case if the hotel management would have not been cheap enough to not hire someone qualified for the job. - I have one of the worse things for last: during one of the lunches, we were charged a different type for mineral water than the price on the menu. This is actually illegal. I didn't realise this at the time but only during the check-out. When I complained and asked to be refunded the difference (a total of a few Euros), I was refused. Again, evidence that a hotel that has already charged you thousands of Euros cares more about gaining a few Euros more than about respecting its customers. I am sure I am forgetting a few things, but wanted you to get the overall idea. Clearly not everyone can run a hotel that delivers customer experience, and the people running this hotel thing that just by charging higher prices they will make their hotel luxurious. Please spend your money somewhere else, there are so many hotels in Greece that actually deliver an experience in line with the money that you paid for it.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the most friendly reception staff, offered a well needed drink having walked up the slight incline with cases in the mid day heat …: but well worth it . We had our own pool which had a very spacious out door area and had the sun all day … what a bonus 👍. The rooms are very chic and cleaned everyday. The main pools although we didn’t use looked very inviting and were never over crowded, loungers were always available at the quieter pool. Breakfast was plentiful with lots to chose from and the staff were extremely attentive and friendly. There are plenty of restaurants at the port and on the main road for a weeks stay, delicious food and amazing cocktails. If you are thinking of booking, do - you will not be disappointed.

Beautiful, clean resort that offers a variety of room choices. The breakfast included with your stay is plentiful and delicious. We stayed there for the second time. First time was in 2019. In comparing our two stays, I think the resort is getting too crowded and may need to expand the breakfast seating and common areas such as the pool spaces. It does have three pools, however it was challenging to find loungers at times. Panagiotis at the pool bar was super friendly and made great cocktails. The staff work very hard and we hope they are compensated accordingly.

This was our third year in a row staying at Crystal Waters Lefkada, and we loved our experience and stay yet again and can’t wait to return. It’s paradise! The pools, dining, and service are amazing. Panagiotis who runs the pool bar is such a great asset to the hotel and treats everyone so well. He is beyond excellent at his job, knows all the guests, and is extremely welcoming and happy. He makes the Crystal Waters experience even better, and we love seeing him every summer! Cheers! We can’t wait to visit again.

Despite not being a boutique hotel (there are lots of rooms) the attention is great. Nice breakfast, lovely rooms and excellent location. Nikiana is close to the island centre but also to nidri which is where all the tours departure. And you ll find supermarkets and restaurants three blocks away if you want to have dinner nearby

Last minute break to an area of Greece we weren’t familiar with to great pools, nearby beach and tavernas. 5 star breakfasts and very helpful staff . Look forward to a return! Go Lefkada town excellent shopping and restaurants with authentic food. Lively evening scene!

The first thing to say is this is a lovely hotel with a friendly helpful team. The area immediately outside the hotel is a bit run down and in need of some inves**ent, there are, however at least 2 lovely tavernas near by offering good value and service there are some other restaurants as well which were also good but a little pricier. On the subject of food the restaurant at the hotel is excellent and although they don’t have an a specific bar area you can always get a drink there, the breakfasts were expansive but they struggled to keep the hot food on the buffet hot. The food served to table was superb and always with unfailingly good service but a bit expensive. We upgraded to the room with a small pool, this had good and bad points, it meant that we got privacy as the pool was screened however it did not get any sun to speak of. ( If travelling with TUI beware of their description of this room as being pool view, the pool view is of the pool you get with the room which is kind of obvious. The rooms are well appointed and very clean but the cosy double is an accurate description in that it is small however this, for us was only a problem when we had a significant thunderstorm (24 hours) and we were left with nowhere to go as there hotel does not offer any kind of lounge/ bar area. We were very happy that the hotel offered alcohol free beer which is sometimes a problem. We did encounter a small problem when a towel belonging to us was taken by housekeeping, this was obviously by mistake but I was disappointed by the guy on reception who just shrugged his shoulders and at no point apologised, however they did manage to get it back to us. This is essentially a quiet hotel and at the moment there is not a lot to do in the area although a trip to Lefkada town is recommended. And also Nidri which is easy to do on the local bus service. The pool areas and pool bar are excellent although it was claimed there was an adult only pool but this was not strictly managed. There is a steep road which you have to walk up from the road, this was not a problem for us however we were very impressed when we arrived around 9pm at night and one of the staff was waiting to greet us when the bus dropped us off and hauled our cases up to the hotel, we had not expected this. All in all a good experience.

Myself and my family stayed here at the beginning of September and we had an amazing stay. We had a pool suite which was definitely worth it, it was close to everything and beautifully furnished and was cleaned to a very high standard. The only disappointing things were a faulty shower and noise. Given the size of the hotel I did not expect the level of noise which we were subjected to during the night. On two occasions we had to call reception at 4am to complain of noise from staff sat outside reception. Although the rooms were beautiful I did not have a single good night sleep whilst staying at the hotel (this may have also been due to a large ITV production team arriving on the same evening as us). The food and drinks were great and breakfast had a large enough selection. Staff were overall friendly. The hotel would definitely benefit from a bar though, it would have been nice to have had drinks before dinner or drinks when returning from an evening out! The area in which it is situated is nice, although very small. We tended to venture into neighbouring towns Nydri and Lefkada as these were more lively and had lots of options, however this meant spending around 40-50 euro a day (was 100% worth it if you prefer livelier nights on holiday). The highlight of the holiday was 100% pipis boats and we could not recommend using them enough. We hired the boat for the day and had an amazing time, we saw lots of beautiful islands and stopped off for a beautiful lunch which was amazing. Could not fault the experience and was definitely a day to remember! Overall, we had a fantastic holiday and made some incredible memories. Would 100% recommend!