Alykes Resort - (Resorts in Zante)

Tim K           

Just arrived back from Alykes on Sunday 9th July.  Had a lovely time, staying in the Clio Hotel which is beside the salt flats.  The hotel is very clean, quiet location and not too far from the main strip of restaurants, bars and beach (about 800m) or 10 minute stroll.  Alykes is a relatively quiet resort with a great beach and some nice restaurants.  I recommend the Olympic Kitchen which serves excellent quality food and a great wine list, relaxed atmosphere but superior to the more touristy open air restaurants along the strip.  Do check it out- went there twice during the week and both times were very enjoyable.  Also the Paradosiako between Alykes and Alykanas is good, with a nice atmosphere and well cooked food.  Watch out for the mosquitos during the evenings though as it's close to the river and you are likely to be biten several times over a meal.  Another great restaurant is the Village Inn which is in Zante town, just along the harbour front and only a few minutes from Solomon square.  The quality of the food in these restaurants really puts all the other mediocrity to shame and for a euro or so more per dish, it's well worth it!

Alykes beach is great for sunbathing, swimming and generally relaxing, watersports are available near the Alykanas beach hotel in Alykanas which is only 10-15 minutes walk away.  The Dolphin tours boat stops near the jetty of the Astoria hotel every 2 hours, taking tourists on excursions to the blue caves and shipwreck beach.
Worth hiring a car and seeing some more of the island too- went all around the north coast and mountain drive, as well as Gerakos beach on the extreme southern tip where the caretta turtles nest.
If you want mad nightlife with rowdy bars and clubs then Alykes is definitely not the place to go  (stick to Kalamaki or Laganas) but if you want a relaxing family or couple holiday then it's a great location.

Relax Restaurant - (Restaurants in Alykes)

Tim K           

Ok, let's get real here.  This is a nice little outdoor/ terraced cafe but by UK standards wouldn't even make an 'average' listing in the Harden's guide!  Relax,  like it's almost twin like counterpart across the street is a nice place for breakfast or lunch during a break from the midday heat and beach, but you could do a lot better for dinner.

First place I went to for lunch on my first day in Alykes.  Nice little omlette and greek salad - good for lunch but if you're willing to pay a few euros more per head for dinner then I'd say avoid this place along with most of the other beach side or main strip cafes.  Go for the Ponderosa which is run by a very nice English woman and her greek husband, or Paradosiako on the main road between Alykes and Alykanas, or even the Asteria beach front cafe which has a huge terrace and nice evening views out onto the beach and sea.  Best by a long shot however is the Olympic kitchen.

Clio Hotel - (Accommodation in Alykes)

Tim K           

A nice little (about 30 rooms) family run hotel.  Vicki and her husband, and father own this 30 room hotel.  It's clean, quite newly built, pale yellow walls, settee in the rooms, great air conditioning, superb idea of putting sliding doors on the balconies with mosquito nets in the panel so you can leave the doors open without fear of being bitten alive.

Nice little pool area and a Greek night every Friday which the family participates at with dancing, barbeque etc.
 
Near the salt pans so it's about 800 or so metres to the beach and main strip of restaurants, bars etc but a quiet location and beautiful view of the mountains from all the balconies!
If you want to hire a car don't bother with the places in the main town or through your rep - go directly through the hotel owners who will get you a great hassle free deal for about €40 per day.
 
For a hassle free, well thought out studio room or 1 bedroom apartment which is impeccably clean, and convenient without being on top of all the cafes and bars, this is a great choice.  The Olympic holidays apartments across the way also looked pretty nice.